Some Eye Candy

Quilt Alliance

The Quilt Alliance, founded in 1993,  is an organization whose mission is to preserve the American quilt heritage.It is a labor of love, especially for those individuals who gather the information to record. I  participated in one of their projects, called Quilters' Save Our Stories or QSOS.  I was interviewed in 2006 about my quilt "Leaving Us" that was part of a traveling exhibit, Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative. My interview and many others are now preserved  in the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress.

 This year the Quilt Alliance held a contest with the theme:"Home Is Where The Quilt Is". Each participant could interpret the them as they saw fit but the quilt had to have a given house shape measuring 15" wide x 19 1/2" tall. 

This contest was right up my alley.  I really planned on participating, but.... you know.  The deadline was June 2012.  But, the next best thing to participating is viewing all of the winners who were just announced and the other entries.  They are just fabulous.  I got permission to share a bunch of the photos here.  But I have to tell you that the photos are courtesy of the Quilt Alliance and the design copyright for each quilt is maintained by the individual artist.

There were 119 entries.  I'm sharing some of my favorites here. 

You can see the rest of them here:  See more quilts  The exciting news is that you can own one of these.  They will be auctioned off in November to raise funds for the  Quilt Alliance. Check the link for more info.

"A Place To Grow"
Ellen Kane

"A Quilter Lives Here"
Lashonne Abel

"Bird House"
Pamela Allen

"Chickadees At Home"
Cynthia St. Charles

"Dare to Live Your Dreams"
Lynn Dell Swapp    

"Home Is Where Your Story Begins"
Jamie Fingal

"Quilting in the City House"
Karen Bennick    

"Quilting Makes My Heart Blossom"
Margarita Korioth    

 "When Life Gives You Scraps"
JoAnn Hoffman

And yippeee - Martingale is sending me 2, yes 2, Ruby Beholders, so there are 2 winners:

Upstate Lisa

and Hillbilly Tonya

Congratulations!!

Color vs Value Give-Away

COLOR     VS     VALUE

Original

Do-over

I have received a bunch of e-mails  and comments about my stitchery coffee cups.  I have often struggled with contrast and lots of you told me you have the same issue. It brought back a memory of a saying that another quilter told me once.  I don't remember who it was and I don't think she invented it, but this is the saying:

"Value does all the work, but color gets the credit."

 Lots of you also gave me suggestions about how to avoid the low contrast - can't see the difference problem.  And it is all about value.

Other then using a design wall, one of the most popular suggestions was the use of a red tinted viewer. I checked around and the one that is the most commercially available is the Ruby Beholder. It was \made for value comparison.

It's made of plastic and That Patchwork Place markets and sells it.  You can find it here:

Ruby Beholder

I was pleasantly surprised to find out that it is sold by my publisher, so I thought I would ask them for 1 to give away.





Do-Over

        

Original





Now this is what happened when I used this gadget with my blocks.  The value of the threads in my original block was just too similar to the background fabric.  In the Do-over block, the values are different enough that  most of the thread shows up.

I'd like to share this tool.  You'll have fun with it. It will minimize those value mistakes.  Become a follower, if you are not one already, and leave a comment letting me know either your solution to value or how you would use the Ruby Beholder.  I'll pick a winner on Monday, July 16th.

 (Make sure there is an e-mail address in your comment and you are not  no-reply blogger.)

And if you missed the free pattern for the coffee cup, click HERE.

My Mulligan

For those of you that don't have a golfer in your life, a mulligan is a do-over.

Here's my do-over

I received some great tips to getting good contrast:

1.  Kelly of www.pinkadotquilts.blogspot.com told me since she has been using one of those red see-thru plastic viewers she has had very few contrast issues.

2. Judy and Norma recommended using a design wall and stepping back frequently.

3.  Cornwoman suggested sticking with a more solid looking background.

Wednesday's Wanderings #29 & #30 - Slow Down and Smell the Coffee

Slow down and smell the coffee.

That's what I decided to do this week.

1.  I've made time to meet with some non-quilting friends for coffee. 

2.  I'm trying to learn to like to drink coffee, starting with it in the iced form,

so that I can meet my friends for a cup.

3.  Hand stitching slows me down and lowers my blood pressure.

I have an admission to make.  I often have issues with contrast.  It has happened again with this block.  The choice of the polka dot background, although potentially interesting, detracts from the hand stitching.  It is a lesson that I learn over and over, but I keep experimenting because sometimes  I end up with something fun and exciting. 

So I did take a "mulligan" (as my golfing friend has taught me) and redo this block. 

 

If you'd like to try it, here's the pattern I designed.

Being A Francophile

I came across this adorable video this morning.  Click on the link for a most delightful treat!

How To Visit A French Bakery

The timing could not have been better.  The bicycle race known as The Tour de France started last Saturday, June 30th.  These amazing athletes will ride their bicycles for 3497 km or 2172miles.  Those that survive will ride into Paris on Sunday, July 22nd sipping champagne.

I used to be an avid cyclist.  I would spend hours on my bike during the weekends, often riding over 100 miles.  I was lucky and  traveled many places such as Spain, Canada, the Fingerlakes of NY, the Outerbanks of NC and I even rode my bike across the entire state of North Carolina from the mountains to the shore.  Bicycling consumed my life.  I was the most fit I had ever been.  I had little time for quilting.  This ended several years ago and now with 2 broken shoulders and 50 lbs heavier, I still love to watch the pros ride their bikes and I do enjoy an occasional bike ride, especially with Bailey in my basket.

My most favorite bicycling vacation was a trip to France.  It was during The Tour and my husband was with me.  It was a group trip.  We would spend the days riding through the most beautiful little villages and the nights eating 3 hour dinners.  We stayed in a village called Autun in the Burgundy region.  It was 2007.

The best day of the trip was the day that the cyclists rode through Autun.  In the morning, the leaders of our trip led us on a ride over a section of the day's stage early in the morning.  There were fans and  RVs already lining  the road waiting for the pros. But in the meantime, they were happy to cheer us on. At first I felt a little self-conscious ( being the slowest one of the group) and then I started waving and just enjoying the entire experience. 

The riders were to come through Autun in the afternoon.  We hit the little market and stocked up on baguettes, cheese and meats and headed to our hotel room overlooking part of the course.  With the TV giving the commentary in French, we waited for the riders to come past our window.  It was one of those European style windows that opened like shutters.  We knew when the riders were close and as they approached, we leaned out our window and cheered them on as they rode by. 

 Allez!  Allez!

I am done Couching

I am done "couching" and ready to do some sewing again. In actuality, my couching lasted less than 2 days. But I was able to do some fun sewing before I start my new project next week, which is a commission for the local synagogue.

My friend Ann owns a tablecloth business and she called to tell me they were doing a bunch of cleaning and did I want some fabric before it was thrown out.  She let me pick through a mountain of her tablecloth remnants a few months ago. This bright pink velvet caught my eye.

I knew exactly what I was going to do with it.  I needed to make a pillow/dog bed for my BFF, Bailey.

I embroidered her name.  It was a little hard to sew because it was so slippery.  I wasn't proud of my workmanship, but the button tufting really improved its appearance.

Then while cleaning my studio (aka searching high and low for something that I never found), I came across a bag filled with an assortment of red, white and blue fabric in various stages. Obviously I had started something, but I can't remember what! But this is a great start for a quilt for a veteran and perfect for this time of year. My quilt guild donates quilts to the local VA hospital.

I turned the contents of the bag into the quilt below.  

Now it will wait to be quilted.

Wednesday's Wanderings #28 - Happy Birthday America!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA!!!

Freedom, apple pie, fireworks, the red white and blue.

I am proud to be an American.

Everyone loves fireworks, no matter where you live, whether you are 8 or 80.  My goal was to make something recognizable with fabric and thread.

This is the story of how I became the owner of hot fix Swarovski crystals and a heating tool to apply them.  I have seen these crystals on quilts of varying quality.  Several of these quilts were of award winning quality at some of the most prestigious quilt shows. 

 I just could not see myself gluing these crystals to my quilts.  Glue? I have no problem sewing on beads or sequins or buttons, but glue?  No, I don't think so.   But, never say never.  Some crystal bling is just what is needed.

   I was inspired for my WW by the fireworks to come, tonight.  I thought about how to achieve those flashes of light.  After quilting the background of the block by machine, I hand stitched the streams of light using a 12 wt rayon/metallic thread called Dazzle. 

It looked pretty good, but it did need a spark of bling!

These are 3mm hot fix Swarovski crystals. 

They are the smallest ones I could find in the local chain craft stores.

 I'm glad I had a coupon because they are very expensive.  This little bit cost almost $5.00.

The crystals have glue on the back that is activated when it is heated with this special tool.

I glued the crystals to the tail ends. You have to heat each one for 30 seconds.
 (I can't imagine applying hundreds of these to those award winning quilts.)

Just the right touch of bling.

 

Happy 4th!