Quilt Show Inspiration

This past weekend I was able to attend the Chicago International Quilt Festival.  What a treat this was.  I was looking for new ideas, wanting to learn new techniques and of course shop in the vendor mall.

I took an all day painting class and learned some very innovative ways to use paint in my quilting.  I cannot wait to put my new found knowledge to work.  Cindy, our instructor, creates beautiful and amazing quilts from painting fabric alone and beautiful quilting.

The vendors are always tempting me with beautiful fabrics, chotchkies (sp?), threads and tools.  Yes, I succumbed to a few items.

However, the most wonderful part was looking at the amazing quilts and seeing the talent men and women have in textile art.  WOW!  The "Wicked" challenge quilts were fun and oh so creative.  It was very hard to pick a favorite.  Following are a couple quilts that caught my eye;

If you have opportunity to attend a quilt show I highly recommend it.  Take a friend(s) along, wear comfortable shoes, carry a lightweight bag with you for all the goodies you will be buying and find the foot massage people for a pick me up when the feet start getting tired and achy.

Happy and Blessed Easter everyone!
Christ is Risen!

Dee

Half Square Triangles

There are about six projects in progress in my studio right now and several of them have half square triangles involved in some way.  Making them is a pretty basic quilting technique.  I would like to share a few of the ways I tackle them.

Putting two squares right sides together and marking on one your sewing lines and cutting line makes the square come out well.  I also oversize them and cut them down after sewing them which really gives me great accuracy.

Using my easy angle ruler, especially when I need to save fabric, is another way I enjoy making the half square triangles.  With this ruler you don't need to add the 7/8" to the finished size but cut strips adding only the 1/2" seam allowance.  Put the strips right sides together and follow the directions with the ruler and sew.  Be careful as you sew not to distort the bias edge.

Using these Star Singles papers when I have a lot of half square triangles to make is probably my most favorite method.  They sew up quickly and I get great accuracy and it makes the job less daunting.  The paper comes off quite easily, especially when I run the back side of my seam ripper down the stitched line the paper practically falls off.

My retreat in California was wonderful.  I so enjoy being with the ladies that come and I certainly relished the warmer weather and beautiful sunshine.  I am now preparing for the upcoming retreat in Michigan.  It promises to be fun and productive.

Enjoy this first day of Spring and its promise of good things to come.

Blessings,

Dee

Early Spring

I do hope you each had a wonderful Valentine's Day.  My husband and I usually don't do a whole lot for Valentines Day.  This year was a little different for us.  It was snowing like crazy here and we made an effort to stay in and keep warm.  I spent the better part of the day in my quilting studio preparing for my upcoming retreat.  I asked my husband to join me and help me with my projects which ended up being the perfect way to spend the day.  He was entertaining as well as helpful to me.  He chose fabrics, arranged things, designed some of my Lucy Boston blocks among other little things.  For me, it was the perfect way for him to say, "I Love You".  He was happy not to spend the day grading papers and doing work he had brought home from the office.   I fixed him one of his favorite meals and we topped the day off with a shared movie.  Absolutely wonderful day!

At the end of this week I will get to experience an early taste of Spring.  I'm off to CA to lead my retreat in the Sonora area.  I am excited to thaw out and be warm for a few days.

Have you come up with any ideas about the fabric or color of courage?  Let me know your thoughts please.

What would be the color of the sun?  Is there a fabric out there that would meet that criteria or would you have to create it?