2012 NW Quilting Expo, pt. 1

What a fabulous time I had wandering in a state of overstimulation at this year's NW Quilting Expo this past weekend at the Portland Expo Center.

Maria joined me for the initial PMQG meet-up, but then we got so eager to get started we kind of separated from the group.

We decided to begin by viewing the quilts in the exhibit, then doubled back to look at all of the goodies that the vendors offered... and where better to start than with our guild's mini-exhibit! Following are a few that I wanted to document, though do not be mistaken, I loved most everything there!

(designed and pieced by Kristan Collins, quilted by Nancy Stovall)

(a collaboration based on a challenge to the PMQG community using Michael Miller Cotton Couture fabrics, the quilt on the left called "linear" that on the right is "improv", both quilted by Nancy Stovall... missing is the "graphic" quilt, hanging a few steps away.)

(designed and pieced by Brittany Scott, quilted by... can you guess it??? Nancy Stovall!) Brittany's quilt was not technically hanging with the rest of the PMQG exhibit, but we do call her one of our own so I include it here!

(pieced and quilted by Anne Whiting, pattern by Elizabeth Hartman)

(pieced and quilted by Heather Lott, pattern by Cherri House)

And then, of course, I had to take a photo of my own quilt hanging (Maria wanted to take a pic of me standing in front of it, but that was an honor I happily declined).

(mine on the left... designed and pieced by yours truly, quilted by the lovely Melissa Hoffman).

Next I'm going to share some of the quilts that stood out to me in the general exhibit, though unfortunately I have to edit so that this post doesn't get unwieldy.

(constructed and quilted by Cheryle Jolivette)

(pieced and quilted by Betty Davis Daggett)

(pieced by Suzanne Waldrop, quilted by Cathy Frank Quilting, pattern by Cara Gulati)

(made by M. Jill Sullivan)

(constructed and quilted by Judy De Meire)

(Made and HAND quilted by Terri Doyle... that ribbon is for 2nd place in the hand quilted category)

(designed, constructed and quilted by CarolAnne Olson... in conjunction with the "Cover to Cover" quilt group illustrating the classic Peter Pan).

(made by Sara Shayne Miller)

(designed and made by Margaret Miller - I think... please correct me if my information is wrong.)

(made by Mary Goodson)

(designed, pieced and quilted by Sara Horner)

(piecing, applique and quilting by Jean Ludeman, pattern by Karla Alexander)

(made by Joanne Roth, quilted by Joanne Roth and Karen Saltzberg)

(pieced by Cristina Pera, quilted by Elegant Expressions, pattern by Pie in the Sky)... this pattern, Bouillabaisse, has been in my possession for many years - one of those that I loved at first sight and is a perfect pattern for using scraps and strings!

Phew! My feet are killing me just revisiting the photos and labels! That must be why we felt it necessary to break for snacks before continuing on to shop. In that respect, even though the post will be considerably shorter, I think it's wise to leave the vendors info until a later date... but tune in and you'll get to see my swag!!

A New Bloom

About a year and a half ago I posted a photo of an "upcoming project."

Last Friday I was in the studio putting away some fabric yardage on the shelf and it occurred to me that of late I seem to be doing projects that either use scraps almost exclusively or are placemat sets that had been decided for me a while back. I don't feel like I've been taking advantage of my actual stash! And it's a sizable one, in dire need of being whittled down and put to good use!

I also realized that I've kind of veered away from some of the designs I've thought of doing over the last couple of years - things I played with in graph paper AND EQ7, like the project pictured above. Maybe it's time to revisit some of those older inspirations that got lost in the shuffle. Have any of you had that feeling - you've moved forward with things and have been making stuff that you're happy with, but looking back realized that there were projects you considered but hesitated on and then forgot to get back to??

So I pulled open my little wire basket with that same stack of fabric neatly folded together along with that same piece of graph paper, but as I looked at the pattern I was less inspired. Plus, I couldn't even remember which fabric I had envisioned in which position, which to me says it might be time to reconsider. I've been wanted to do another Blooming 9-Patch and these fabrics seemed to be a great starting point!

I started with those focus fabrics, Larkspur from Alexander Henry, plus the Kona Solid and Shot Cotton and an Australian print I had grouped with them originally. To those I added just 4 more fabrics to round out a nice progression for the alternating 9-patch and plain fabric blocks: another Alexander Henry blender from about a decade ago (one I've used in bits and pieces in MANY quilts over the years!), a batik I bought and used in a Trip Around the World variation I made for my father in 2005 or 2006, a coveted Joel Dewberry print from his Modern Meadow collection and a perfectly coordinating Anna Griffin print also from years ago. Did you notice that? Using fabric I've had for years and coveted fabric?? That's something to be proud of, yes?


I got all of these together at some point on Friday, with enough time to get everything except the setting triangles cut out, and began piecing the 9-patch blocks. When I left the studio, it was starting to look a little like this:

By Sunday I was rarin' to get going again on this puppy. My friend Maria came by the studio for a sewing day together, and while she was playing around with a stunning new quilt from Elizabeth Hartman's newest book Modern Patchwork, I continued on my 9-patch journey. By the end of the day I had all of my diagonal rows pieced together!

My next day in the studio is Thursday and I am holding myself to high standards to finish piecing this top by the end of the day. Will I be able to do it?? That's a fair number of corners to match up...

I think I really mean "Never Again"!

Okay, so I think I ought to begin this post by saying I mean no disrespect. However, for the first time since I began doing the online bees I was presented with a block that kicked my butt!! And by that I mean it tried my patience more than I can say, and by the second one (which took me a week and a half just to decide on the fabrics) I really was chanting the "Never Again!!" mantra.

For our May blocks in the Bliss circle of do. Good Stitches Carol chose to go with a block tutorial that Elizabeth Hartman posted for the Modern Quilt Guild – Octagonal Orb Block.




Now don't get me wrong... the tutorial is EXCELLENT! Like every single one of Elizabeth's patterns I've tried out, which can be found at her blog Oh, Fransson or at Sew, Mama, Sew!, it is written impeccably, is as clear as can be and is very well organized. However, this one block just calls for too many fabrics, too many pieces, too much precise cutting, and let me just say right now that if you ask me to press my seams open in the future, I may just ignore the request. And I LOVE scrappy quilts! Perhaps if we had gone with the scrappier option of the block construction I wouldn't have had so much difficulty. Who knows.

And though I didn't mind cutting from the template, this felt SO GOOD...


But now I can say I gave it a shot, and am looking forward to packaging them up and sending them on their way (which I am sure will also please Carol). And I'll likely think a bit more about what to choose next time it's my turn as a Queen Bee.