Beach Cities QGuild Quilt Show Part 2 06-15-14

Before the Thomas Contemporary Quilt Collection took over my life, I rather casually collected antique and vintage quilts.  Signature quilts have always impressed me and there are several antique ones on my shelves.  I was quite taken with Maggie Ezell's two quilts for her daughter's weddings.  

 

This one is very effective, despite her problem with the size of the signature blocks.

It also has great quilting done on a domestic machine.  

[I think this should read "Her friends 'made' the quilt with their great signature blocks.]

Another successful signature quilt using the very simple block.  Such a wonderfully loving tribute from friends, family and mother. 

 

Here is another bunny for my bunny lovin' friend.  Grace Errea is creating quite a name for herself and a loyal following.  This is another of her successful quilts. 

 

 

Is this a happy quilt, or what?!  It has all the elements to attract my attention - little blue birds, happy flowers and that lovely acid green.  The 'randomness' of the design is a delight.

 

I have a few more pictures to post later in the week.

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A Little Sewing 03-08-11

As I have said before, I haven't been sewing for almost a year.  An occasional mending job and some fiber postcards are about the extent of it.  But here it is the end of the year at Surfside Quilters Guild and time to make a quilt for outgoing president Sharon Whelan  - for which members make the blocks.  The very first president's quilt I participated in was twenty-nine years ago for Orange County Quilters Guild - which is celebrating a thirty year anniversary tonight.  I was the newsletter editor for the first few years of that guild, as I am with SurfsideQG, and I appliqued a hat, since I always wear a hat.  Since then I have made hats for various president's quilts - memorably for Nancy Ota and Maggie Ezell of Beach Cities QG.  This year I am again a (retiring) newsletter editor, Nancy Ota is in charge of organizing the quilt for the outgoing president and the theme is "The Beach".  A hat seems appropriate.  Click image in enlarge.  

A 5" finished block is required.  First I folded a square diagonally and cut a hat shape.  I didn't like the brim, so I used tape to add paper over the offending brim and cut a new brim shape.  Then I centered that on a five inch square of paper and traced around it to make a smooth outline.

Using freezer paper and a fine point Sharpie I traced it again and added tic marks so I could later match up the pieces.  I allowed a half inch on all sides to provide room for trimming the block to match the size of all the other blocks turned in.

After selecting the fabrics, I cut apart the freezer paper pattern and ironed the appropriate pattern pieces to the various fabrics.  (Shown here on a black background to clearly show the pieces).

After clipping some curves I sewed everything together and pressed the seams so that the hat would have a natural look with the hatband on top of the crown and the background recessed.

Here is my hat!  There is a red thread X in the exact middle of the block so that whoever trims it can line it up accurately (I hope).  The threads are not knotted and will pull out easily.  When the quilt has been assembled and quilted I will add a 3-D flower to the hatband. 

This is all Ruth McDowell's method and I was thrilled to find that I had not forgotten how to do it during my sewing hiatus.  A few things that I did differently:  Ruth teaches to mark lines on the shiny side of the freezer paper and tic marks/numbers/notations on the dull side.  This will provide the image in the original orientation.  However, since I was working with a symmetrical image the orientation is the same either way.  It is easier for my brain to mark everything on the dull side of the freezer paper.  Also, I use lots of pins, which Ruth does not need to do; I find that increasingly my arthritic hands have a hard time holding on to small things, which makes the pins even more important today.   Especially when working in such a small size block.  Ruth has written quite a few books that explain her construction techniques and include a wealth of tips and hints to make the process easier.  All her books are published by C&T Publishing  www.ctpub.com , so you can check their website for titles.  Two of the best are "Ruth B. McDowell's Design Workbook" and "Ruth B. McDowell's Piecing Workbook" - signed copies are available in the shop on Ruth's website  www.ruthbmcdowell.com , at the C&T website, or check your local quilt shop. 

Ruth has recently posted three new original flower quilts on her website, each is a joy. 

A Friend 12-29-09

What sustains us better than our friends? Since I stopped celebrating Xmas I have discovered that everyone else is terribly busy just when I am not! They are shopping, wrapping, cleaning, preparing for company, cooking, etc....! Meanwhile I might clean out a drawer or two and do my usual chores (or not). And I certainly have lots of time to think about friends I am missing. The list is long, but here are two friends who are close to my heart.

Friend Toni Mahoney at her 2nd home in Colorado in August 2004. Toni and her husband live in Tustin, CA, with their amazing cat Stanley. http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=3236658054810119404&postID=8710554107460630782 Toni belongs to quilt guilds in California and in Colorado, although she seldom attends those in CO; she has in the past year returned to playing the violin and is involved in several small groups. Her husband's health is not good, so they seldom travel these days. Toni and I are determined to get together soon - between her schedule and my poor health these days we most 'talk' via e-mail.

I took this picture of my friend Maggie Ezell in Feb 2007 - the occasion was Karen Kolwalchuk's birthday party held at Maggie's house. A perfectly lovely party - bittersweet because we knew that Karen was moving east before long.

Maggie has just had major surgery and is waiting for results from biopsies - so everyone is sending good thoughts, prayers and meals (unfortunately I live too far away to be much help in the food department). Maggie is one of those amazing people who always makes others feel good when she is around; she has done several jobs for Beach Cities Quilters Guild (including President) and is active in a number of none quilt related philanthropies in south Orange County. I have not seen her for sometime, between her busy life and mine it just doesn't seem to work out as often as we wish. I hope we can get together early in the new year to catch up on all our news. Meanwhile I solicit your good thoughts and prayers for a very special lady.

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