1/27/14

Stitches in Bloom: Last Bunch and a Giveaway

Today is the last posting of quilts from the Stitches in Bloom quilt show. If you missed the first two days, start right here to see both days. The quilts I've posted are by no means exhaustive of the quilts that were on display...they just happen to be some of my favorites. So I'll just get right to it.

This first bunch of quilts are all made using the challenge fabric. You can see the best example of the challenge fabric in this first quilt. It's the poppy fabric in the center two strips.


Now see if you can spot it in the rest of these challenge quilts. Pretty easy in this next one, but I love how cleverly this quilter used it in her window blind design.


Here's the pull cord. In my house, someone with gray fur, sharp teeth, and a spotted coat would have chewed these off by now.


Here's another:


And believe it or not, this one also uses the challenge fabric. Very cleverly incorporated, I'd say. Look at the mushrooms just below the foxes. She used the poppies as the bottoms of her mushrooms.


And I always love spider web quilting, but I've never seen anyone actually quilt the spider.


This next one was my favorites of the challenge quilts.


Look at the details. Ever come out of a fabric store with a load like this?



Now you can see the challenge fabric in this girl.


And here's a different way to finish off your quilt:


Here's another one that uses the sort of curved free piecing technique I learned in the workshop:


Sorry for the blur in this next one, but what a cute quilt.


For the vegetable gardeners out there...me included:


with such clever details:



This one below really called my name for some reason. It's certainly not subject matter one would usually think of for a wall-hanging, but it was so cleverly and elegantly pieced, that I really fell in love with it.




This one below was very interesting. I wish I knew a little more about its story. Remember when you were in grade school (if you lived during the 14th Century you might remember this), when we had little autograph books? And we wrote little poetic sayings along with our autographs. My favorite one to write was this:

"Yours 'til the mountain peaks and sees the salad dressing." 

Ha! such a comedian, even in the third grade. Anyway...I believe this quilt was made from pages of such an autograph book.


Here is the cover:


And here are a couple of the pages. Be sure and notice the year!


In case you can't read it, it says:

Dear Laura,
We two have met like ships upon the sea,
Who hold an hour's converse, so short, so sweet
One little hour! and then away they split
On lonely paths, through mist and cloud, and foam
To meet no more, but I trust not to forget.
Your schoolmate and friend,

from Gary Sharp College, May 27th, 1878

Or how about this one:


It says:

When this you see, remember me,
and take a little catnip tea.

April 20th, 1882

Cool, huh? Makes me want to peruse antique stores looking for such a treasure.

So, more quilts. I love this can-can girl. She was three-dimensional.


And I was so sad I couldn't get a better picture of this next one because of the bright sunlight:


But I had to show you this detail:


This next quilt uses a technique the quilter called "Japanese Stencil Technique". I googled it and came up with a Wikipedia page that I think describes the technique, also known as "Katazome". You can read about it right here. And if I have this all wrong, please somebody correct me.


And I loved this next quilt, which I studied to see if I could figure out how it was done. The accompanying card didn't say, but I have a feeling it's the same stencil technique:


Here is a detail of the wall, which did not appear to be pieced or appliqued, and so I figure it must be some kind of stenciling technique. It didn't appear to be a fabric design.


Here is some more three dimensional detailing.


And I wish, wish, wish I could have taken a picture of this whole quilt below. It was a large quilt, but again, it had direct sun on it, and I simply couldn't get a meaningful image of it. It was layers and layers of these various landscape prints, but the main part of the quilt was this bird. I love the details in the stitching.


(Updated to say that you can see the whole quilt right here.)

Finally, there's this masterpiece of thread painting. Where do some folks find the patience to do this?


Here's a close-up:


The vendors were all around the perimeter of the room, and so after looking at all the quilts, Sue and I took a lap around to see what the vendors had for sale. I fell in love with the hand-made buttons this vendor was offering. She had all sizes, colors, and designs:


Her buttons were adorable, but I didn't really have a purpose in mind, and I wasn't sure how I would use them. She directed me to a rack that had pins on it, and I did pick up a couple of those, including this one for you!


This is a little ceramic (or maybe it's clay...not sure) pin about 1 1/2-inch square. You could pin it to a coat or a hat, and announce to the world who you are! Also, be sure and check out her website. She has some of her buttons for sale there, but she also has a list of stores that carry them.

So this is just a little thank you to all of you for being such supportive, encouraging, and faithful readers. I really appreciated your encouragement on my scary three-day quilting workshop recently. It so helped to have you all reading, writing, advising, and supporting me through it all. It was like an oasis in the desert to return to my room at the end of the day and read your many comments. Thank you again.

And now, if you'd like to win this, just leave me a comment...any comment will do. If you can't think of anything, just tell me which of the quilts from the quilt show you liked the best. And you don't need to be a follower, but if you are, just leave an extra comment telling me how you follow for an extra chance to win. If you'd like to become a follower, check out those methods in my left side bar and sign up for one or more.

I will ship internationally and interplanetarily, so this giveaway is open to everyone in the Milky Way Galaxy. I'll leave comments open until midnight on Thursday, and then announce the winner on Friday morning. Good luck!  

95 comments:

Kathy Felsted Usher said...

There are so many talented quilters out there doing things with fabric that are incredible. I fell in love with the one where the owls are holding the banner above the little foxes.

Vroomans' Quilts said...

Some great pieces today - well, everyday. The Oregon challenge piece (girl and horse) was probably my favorite. Thank you for sharing your venture with all of us.

JoyceLM said...

Beautiful quilts - thanks for sharing the pics. My favorite has to be the can can girl. Thanks.

Michele T said...

All of the quilts are amazing and special in their own way... I can't pick one I like the most!! Thanks for sharing and inspiring!!

Dana Gaffney said...

Wow, I love the stone walled quilt, the details are amazing, but my favorite is the bird, there's something very soothing about that one.

sunny said...

Wow -there is a lot or quilting talent out there! I especially love the quilt with the shore bird. Thanks for a chance to win!

Linda M @ Pieceful Kingdom said...

I'm glad you had a good time at the workshop and quilt show. I love the autograph book quilt. I have one of those books from my great grand mother from the late 1800s where her friends wrote poetry to her. I was wondering what to do with it to preserve it. Maybe a quilt!

Mommarock said...

Sure am glad I came by today! Love these quilts!! Your photography is excellent, thank you for sharing them

Donna said...

Beautiful quilt show. I would have loved to have been these. Happy quilting.

Sherry said...

Fantastic show almost felt like I was there. Thanks for letting me tag along.

Sherry said...

Thanks for the giveaway I follow you on GFC, Facebook and Bloglovin. that way I don't miss a post! giggle giggle.

Marj said...

I really enjoyed the quilt show, thanks for taking me along.

Diane Wild said...

Utterly amazed at all the quilt talent. I wish I were more imaginative in my quilting. I can't seem to get my hands to do what my brain imagines most of the time. Thanks for inspiring.

Jeanie said...

I've enjoyed the quilt show, especially since I'm snowed in and cant' get out. Thanks for sharing!

Jeanie said...

And I'm a follower... thanks for the giveaway!

Jeanne said...

Thanks for sharing the show! The fox crazy quilt was my favorite, but so many of the quilts are amazing! Love that cute little quilter pin :)
Jeanne

Marjorie's Busy Corner said...

Oh Barb;not sure I can pick just one..lol. I do like the won you were drawn to, but the fringed one about Oregon is so unique too...oh I hate not being able to make a decision...lol.

carla said...

Hi!!! I love all or the quilts!!! Wonderful!!!! Thanks for sharing them!!!!

Sher S. said...

Good morning, it's so hard to pick a favorite quilt from all that you have shared but the one with the girls, fabrics and horse seem to jump out at me. That is an amazing quilt.
Thank you for taking us with you on your adventure, enjoyed your class and the show. looking forward to seeing your roses in a wall hanging.

Sher S. said...

I'm a follower also on Facebook and blogging

quiltzyx said...

Thanks for a great start to my day with the final quilt show episode Barbara! I liked pretty much all of them, but the ones that stick in my head right now are the detail of the bird & the stacked stone building/wall.

Cross your fingers for me - I'm off to a job interview right now!

quiltzyx said...

Yep, I'm a stalker...

Marei said...


Every time I go to a quilt show (even virtually) I'm left feeling amazed and distressed....amazed at the incredible talent out there....distressed because none of the talent is mine!! Sigh**

Cherry said...

I'm a GFC follower and while all the quilts are pretty, I'm drawn to the 'vegetable lover' quilt.

Cherry said...

What a generous giveaway! I so glad you stuck it out at the workshop - not all of our progress and growth as quilters is measurable in finished quilts. You took a huge step forward and I can't wait to see the rose quilt as it evolves.

sophie said...

I love the appliqué ´quilt–too bad about the bright sunlight streaming in on it.

sophie said...

I follow you with Feedly.

NancyA said...

I appreciate the pix from the show--almost as good as being there. But I really appreciated the time and detail that you put into describing your classes! It was so great to learn about all those new techniques, especially since I am a little isolated where I live and most of the quilters here are traditional quilters. Thanks!

Lynda Halliger Otvos (Lynda M O) said...

How fun to see all that talent in one spot !~!The cancan dancer quilt was the one that struck me as the neatest. It was informative to read your posts during the quilting three-day; always interested in how others deal with rooms filled with unknown people.

Lynda Halliger Otvos (Lynda M O) said...

Following on Face book and with Bloglovin.

Janarama said...

The techniques people use to make quilts is really mind blowing to me. Truly amazing. Thanks for the pics from the show. I really can't pick a favorite. They really are all fantastic.

Janarama said...

I happily follow you via GFC.

bluenines said...

Thank you for posting all the
pictures of the quilt show, they are wonderful to see, I read you blog all the time and enjoy it very much, happy sewing

Terri in BC said...

I do remember those autograph books! In fact, I think I still have mine in funky '70s colours. Loved your virtual show.

Anonymous said...

I got a sympathetic giggle out of your comment that your cats would have chewed off the window blind pull cords. :) Mine don't do that particular thing but they have plenty of other naughty tricks. :)

Linda

Mara said...

So many beautiful quilts there is no way I could just pick one, they are all great.

kathyinozarks said...

I so appreciated it that you shared all these beautiful quilts with us
Kathy

kathyinozarks said...

I follow you on google friend, and also bloglovin

Anonymous said...

Really enjoyed the challenge quilts. The poppy fabric is beautiful and certainly lends itself to fussy cutting!! The buttons/pin is wonderful!!! Thanks for sharing................

MalinisQuilts said...

wow! Thank you for sharing the lovely pictures. the first quilt was my favorite one. Simple yet stunning.
Also like the bird one, which you mentioned was too big to take full pic of.

Cath said...

Great pics of the quilt show, it would be so hard to pick a favourite out of todays selection. So pleased you had a successful trip and thank you for sharing it all with us. Love the pin! I have been following you for awhile and infact seek your blog out first before reading any others.(hope that is not classed as stalking) I usually leave a comment every time.
Cath @ Bits 'n Bobs

Christine M said...

How amazing are all those quilts! I just love the one with the bike and fabric sitting on the back of it. My second favourite is the one with the bird walking through the water. Thanks for sharing the photos Barbara.

Cecilia said...

Wow! It is amazing what people can do with thread and fabric. Thank you for sharing the pictures of the quilts. I like the quilt with the girl and the bicycle.

Julianne said...

Hi Barbara! Wow..what an awesome quilt show! My favorite quilt is the bird quilt, it looks so real!!
Thanks for the giveaway, I'd wear that button with pride!

Anonymous said...

Wow looks like you had a great time! I really really love the appliqué quilt with the block with the little kitties sitting under the tree, would love to find the pattern for the quilt!

Junebug613 said...

Again, I love what you chose to share! They are all amazing. I feel like a kindergartner in the school of quilting, when I see all the different types and techniques. And I could be wrong, but the can can dancer looks like a dancing angel to me. Either way, she is wonderful. The bicycle one is great. I can't pick a favorite! You are so generous, with all your giveaways! You really are one cool lady! :)

Teresa in Music City said...

Oh my definite favorite of these is the bird on the water - it looks like I could touch it and it would fly away!!! Such talent - oh my!

Thank you for thinking of us and bringing home a treat :)

Teresa in Music City said...

And of course I'm a happy follower!

Dogwood Lane Rambles said...

certainly have enjoyed participating in your workshop vicariously. You were so good at describing everything I felt I learned a lot too. Thanks for taking all of us along with you.

Judy1522 said...

I remember autograph books. I received two of them one Christmas and still have at least one somewhere. Amazing quilts you have shown us.

Donna said...

I have my old autograph books plus my mother's and my two aunt's books. Theirs have the really nice verses like the ones in the quilt...mine...not so much!

liniecat said...

What a feast of inspiration and stitchery.
Do you think the fabric stash on the bike was a photographed fat quarter stack or two, then printed in a reduced size onto fabric to applique on? Very clever aforethought if so!
Loved the white cats beneath the tree naturally lol
I wonder also if the wall quilt that intrigued you wasnt so much stencilled but hand painted on a whole cloth?
I love that theres often 3D effects on quilts too.
I devise and make tactile resources for blind bairns so love to see anything arty that might encourage touching for those who have no useful sight.
Not that I imagine these quilters would have welcomed any fingers touching these particular gems lol

Lora said...

Those quilts are amazing. I can't believe the detail and the 3d is beautiful. The fox quilt is the best. The amount of detail is unbelieveable.

DebraKay Neiman said...

I am blown away - thanks for sharing the wonderful quilts. I am starting vintage tin, finally found enough inkwell fabric. Greetings from Oklahoma, USA crystalbluern at onlineok dot com

Elaine said...

Loved seeing the pictures of quilts from the show as well as your workshop results. I am excited about a workshop coming up through my local quilt guild where I hope to learn a new technique as well. I think my favorite is the girl with the bike (and all her fabric, lol).
Thanks for the opportunity for the pin!

Doris Rice, The Quilting Queen said...

Thank you for sharing all the quilts. How do they think of their ideas? I'm not sure I'm too artsy though. I'm more of a traditional quilter.

Jan Baker said...

I follow you by email.

Jan Baker said...

This is why I have so many UFOs. I look at these quilts and get all these ideas that I want to start right away.

Beth said...

Thanks for sharing your pictures from the quilt show. I'm tied down here at home right now, trying to coax a sickly cat to eat about a dozen times a day, which is less fun than it sounds. Sigh. Since I could not get to the quilt show, you brought it to me.

My favorite of the quilts is the construction equipment against the bright blue sky. There is a feeling of exuberance to it--I got a sense of how much the person working up there might revel in the freedom. No office job or office politics for that guy (or gal). It made me think of my grandfather, who was a large equipment operator. His job took him on a lot of adventures; I don't often remember that the daily work might have been an adventure, too.

Beth said...

I follow you via email.

works4me said...

Thank you for sharing some amazing quilts. It is tough to choose a favourite but it is between the bird in the water and Cat in the Patch. Cats win, mostly because of the expression and the fact that it combines my two favourite things - felines and Halloween. I wish I knew where to get a pattern for it.

works4me said...

I follow by having you as a favourite and checking daily.

LethargicLass said...

When you are trying to take the pictures with the sunlight, try using your flash next time... I have had it work before :)

LethargicLass said...

I am a faithful (if slow) follower :)

LethargicLass said...

I am a faithful (if slow) follower :)

Dar said...

What a great quilt show. Thanks for all the wonderful pics. I think my favorite would have to be the tired little girl resting after all that shopping AND near a field with horses. I loved them so when I was a young girl in the city and always wished I could have one. Thanks for thinking of us while you were in your workshop too.

Dar said...

Of course I'm a faithful follower too by way of email and Google+.

Kathy H said...

What a beautiful bunch of quilts. I always enjoy seeing the challenge quilts. I always wonder if I could think of something wonderful too.

Kathy H said...

I follow you on email.

Nita said...

It must have been incredible to see all those quilts. The landscape ones look so real! Like paintings with fabric. I would love to learn how to do that someday.

Gill said...

What fabulous quilts - I think my favourite was the vegetables!
Could anyone tell me what the poppy fabric is please???? I love it!

Gill said...

Old GFC follower!

Lyndsey said...

Another group of fabulous quilts. I find quilt shows so inspiring and I've got a few ideas from those you have shown.

Lyndsey said...

Another group of fabulous quilts. I find quilt shows so inspiring and I've got a few ideas from those you have shown.

Lyndsey said...

I follow by GFC

Dawn Frisch said...

Barbara,
Thanks so much for taking pics of the quilts for us!! That's so nice of you to do that. I just love the Outside fabric shop one with the bike and the "Low Tide" one with the bird. There is so much talent in this world... it's so incredible!
Dawn
array-dawn at cox dot net

Dawn Frisch said...

I follow you on Bloglovin' and I really like your blog! Keep up the great work! It is appreciated!
Dawn
array-dawn at cox dot net

Janet S said...

Thanks for sharing your beautiful pictures of the quilt show! I love the challenge quilt with the girl, red bike and LOTS of fabric!

Snoodles said...

So many gorgeous quilts....love the ones with 3d touches, and I think the best one was the rooted veggies growing. Or maybe the window blind. Or perhaps that lovely scene with the bike and fabric purchases. Oy. I can't choose, but thank you for showing us!

Brown Family said...

I follow on blogger and on Facebook.

Nan

Brown Family said...

I enjoy seeing the quilts from other shows. THe Dallas show is coming up in March. It takes me two days to see the quilts and all the vendors. I have my autograph book from the 50's and I may have my mothers from the 30's! It would be fun to use them both in a quilt!

Tami C said...

There really were a lot of very nice quilts at your show. I liked all of the challenge quilts. I'd be hard pressed to come up with some of those. Love the fabric load on the bike! I liked the vegetables, especially the close up of the onion. All the three dimensional detailing in the fire place is really nice. Thanks so much for sharing!

Tami C said...

I am definitely one of your followers both on Facebook and Bloglovin!

Pamela said...

It was a really great show - so many wonderful quilts! I love the challenge quilt with the foxes on it. So cute!

Lynn - JnL4God said...

Thanks for reminder saw this the other day and was going to come back... :) I love the quilt with the little girl and the bike. And of course the fabric. Thanks for the giveaway.

Lynn - JnL4God said...

I follow with bloglovin and facebook. :)

Dasha said...

Had to smile at the quilt with all the autograph book sayings. My favourite was to find the very bottom edge of the last page in the book and write "By hook or by crook, I'll be last in the book". There's another one I can't quite remember which counters that one if you can squeeze it in somewhere.

Dasha said...

I have been following your blog for a while. Makes me chuckle every time!

Dasha said...

Forgot to say - that wall is probably done with fabric pencils, quite possibly with Inktense Pencils:
http://www.pencils.co.uk/product.aspx?mid=718

Anonymous said...

I like the one with the bicycle, horses, and the girl who dress was made from the challenge fabric.

I also like the first one.

Emilly said...

My favourite is the bright landscape with all the little white houses

Bluequilt said...

My favorite one is the detailed work on the vegetable garden. All of your work is beautiful and unique.

Lynne said...

I thought my favourite one was the bicycle laden with fabric (yes, I've come out of the chain store like that -- 72 half-metres of fabric!) until I scrolled down and saw that fabulous stone walled building!

Lynne said...

I follow by Feedly (but I also have Bloglovin, just in case!)

Michele said...

I couldn't pick a favorite but I really enjoyed seeing all of them. Thank you.