IQFOI - part 3

The Garden exhibit.
As you entered the quadrangle at NUIG (National University of Ireland Galway) you were greeted with pots of fabric flowers like these.  There were all types from Poppies to Tulips and Pansy's.  These pots filled in spaces where the quilt stands and screens came to corners and on the ends.  It was a well thought out exhibit and it has to be my favorite of all the displays. 

This rose quilt was very impressive to me with precise applique and quilting.  The pieces didn't look flat like some applique can look, but I don't think it was trapunto. 

This quilt was unusual and 3 dimensional.  The quilting was also impressive with thread painting in the 3D butterfly. 

This is another 3D quilt.  The hydrangea petals looks so real but are actually fabric that has been fused and backed with a contrasting fabric and a bead in the center of the petals holds them onto the top.  I made a similar 3D hydrangea quilt for my sister for her birthday years ago however, I used french knots for the centers. 

This quilt was very creative as the river in the quilt flowed down the left side down the wall and onto the floor.  I had to crop this picture but there was another 3 feet to the end.  You can't see by the picture but on one of the fabric rocks was a frog, a dragonfly and butterflies.  These are only a few of the quilts from the garden exhibit. 

I will post part 4 soon which will be my final say about the festival. 

IQFOI - part 2

As you entered the Town Hall on campus to register, the vendors were located almost straight ahead through a doorway.  To the left of that was the Antique quilt exhibit.  These quilts were amazing.  No photography was allowed, so I do not have any pictures of these quilts.  There was one that really stood out for me.  It was made of silk ribbons in the log cabin pattern.  It wasn't very big.  Wall hanging size, not a miniature and certainly not a usable throw quilt.  The colors were still vibrant and I saw only minor damage for an 1880's quilt.  Above the reception desk was an enormous 20 panelled quilt suspended from the balcony which all linked together in design.
                                    

This is the work of the Irish Patchwork society and called "Cu Na Mara" or Seahound.  Below was the reception area where the "Cead Mile Failte" (100,000 welcomes) hands display was. 

Next door to this display was the Wellness cafe where you could sit and have coffee or a snack.  Across the hall from the display was the Wicked Thimble pub.   Doors leading to the patio with picnic tables meant we could enjoy the view of row boats on the river while sipping our coffee and snacking on fruit scones.  There seemed to be plenty of places like this where you could escape from the crowds if you wanted to. 

The theatre next to the pub, held the Neighbors exhibit.  Here are just a couple quilts I found very interesting from this display.

This is a close up of the right upper corner of this quilt.  It was dark in the theatre with spot lights on the quilts, so some of my pictures did not turn out the best.  

There's still more to come.  I need to take a break now.  We are finally getting some summer-like weather, so I must go soak in some sun rays.  Here are some pictures to give you a little inspiration.  We walked along the beach between Galway and Salt Hill and here is what we found.  These are all shells, not stones. 

It is very shallow here for a long way.  The tide was still going out. 



IQFOI - A Week in Ireland

This Connemara marble was in the floor at the airport.  I can't resist marble.  Doesn't it look like a flag?

We arrived in Galway in the early afternoon and got a bite to eat right away in our hotel.  Everyone greeted us with big smiles and were eager to find out where we were from and what we wanted to see in their city.

The IQFOI website mentioned that this festival would be unlike all others with a quilter's village and exhibits in classrooms on the NUIG (National University of Ireland Galway).  Lectures and classes would also be held in the schoolhouse.  I couldn't quite picture this in my mind, so we headed off to see the campus and find out if we could register.  I was surprised to see that there were no signs directing us and no quilts either.  There were people about getting things ready to put up, but it just seemed to go up late and a little disorganized.  Friday was the opening, one day away, after all.   The last big show I attended was Quilt Expo V in Lyon France over 15 years ago.   These venues were always held in a convention center with everything under one roof; ie: classes, exhibit halls and vendor stalls.

We roamed around, then headed for the Cathedral. 

Sundays exhibit.  The Cathedral is where a Texan man displayed his quilt of the Last Supper which took him 2.5 years to complete.

Up close this quilt looks like dots of different colors like pixels in a picture on the computer.

As you can see this was no small quilt.  I was amazed at the marble and stained glass works in this Cathedral as well.  We visited this Cathedral every day since we arrived so that we could take pictures and get up close, but I have to say that this wasn't the best exhibit as you cannot roam while there is a service going on and there was a service everytime we were there, even a funeral service that carried on so long that we had to leave after an hour to make it to a class in  time.
   

I was glad I brought my hiking boots as we must have trekked at least 4 miles every day to and from the campus. 
Saturdays exhibit.  The Christmas exhibit was held in St. Nickolas church. 

This one is my favorite of the Christmas quilts, but then again, I am a Santa person.  This quilt was gorgeous and the picture does not do it justice.  It was made with cotton and velvet fabrics and quilted by machine.
                                                   

This was a gorgeous table runner, again my pictures do not do it justice.  The gold is really beautiful.  Since this was a church, hanging these quilts was a no no, but they should have had screens in place to display them like the other exhibits. 

Here you can see more detail on the table runner.  I made an ornament to exchange.  The tree had quite a few to choose from and it was a hard choice.  My ornament was a celestial Santa and I exchanged it for a pink cathedral window block ornament. 

Come back soon and I will post more about the festival and the exhibits on campus.

R/ E/ L/ A/ X

Sunprint baby's breath branch with cobalt beads and painted edges



"Life is like a race, you run like mad toward the finish line trying to get ahead of everyone in front of you"

How do you relax?  Working out? Cooking? Gardening?  Quilting?  All these things are great and can take your mind off other things like the workplace, but to me the only way to unwind and relax is to get a full body massage.   I went yesterday for my monthly massage.  I didn't realise I had any tense tight muscle groups, but my therapist found them and worked hard at getting them relieved.  The music she plays is nature oriented and easy to lose yourself in a dream world.  Before you know it, the hour is over and you wish it wasn't.  After drinking about a gallon of water to work all the toxins out, I take a very warm bath and cover my face with a hot wash cloth.  It's the best feeling in the world and no one can take it away from you.  You take in a deep breath and as you let it out, all the stresses of an entire month melt away.  Ahhhhhh......Suddenly, the phone rings and DH pulls in the driveway expecting something on the stove.   You're dropped back to earth and the race begins again. 

A couple things...

Batiks are my all time favorite fabrics.  I like to pair them up with printed fabrics.  Some quilts I see are nothing but a sea of batiks which is great in its own right, but to me, they are great mixed up with other fabrics and they fill in the gaps or brighten up something dull and boring.  I've just completed this table runner top and will back it with the geometric orange.   The orange was also used in small amounts for the paper pieced spikes.  It measures 42"X15".  I have some wonderful rayon threads that I am thinking about using for the quilting.   I need some practice on my feathers, so will quilt a wavy feather around the outer border and a small meander stitch in each block.  

Has anyone used fusible batting?  I am not liking it in the least.  It is very hard to work with and I am wondering of its long lasting effects on the fabric, like staining.  You can prewash it and render it un -fusible. (? is that a word?), but then what's the point in buying it?  I will never purchase a fusible batt again.   

This block measures 10" square and will be shipped off this week to the IQFOI which will be held in June.  The finger nails were thread painted.  I wanted the hand to stick out, so I only added a small amount of regular cotton batting to the hand and arm.  It is backed with a piece of calico as requested.   

Our friday group will be working on Cathedral window blocks, so I'm thinking batiks for this beautiful block.  When it's completed, I will post a picture here. 

TGIF

Yeah, it's Friday!  Being Friday the 13th doesn't bother me in the least, just that it's Friday and the weekend is just a short few hours ahead.  We are blessed with sunshine, so I am soaking some of it up by sitting near the sunniest window in the house. 

I want to touch on a subject today and that is COLOR!!  Why do so many people have trouble with color?  Just the mere mention of color (like yellow) sends some people running for cover.  I LOVE yellow!  Actually, there is no color I don't like.  If you like a particular color, what is wrong with using it? 

Does Orange bother you?  My fall pumpkins attic window quilt is full of orange. 

How about blue?  Or the center squiggle, an orangey red?  Do these colors make you cringe?  Especially when they are put together like this? 

Do you like black and white?  This has a bit of yellow/gold, and yes, it hangs this way so the bargello stripes are vertical instead of horizontal.  Probably another of my "mistakes", but hey, I love it. 

My surprise boxes quilt was made using whatever was in my scrap bag at the time.  It's a mix matched selection of great colors.  It's tremendous freedom to just reach in and pick whatever is on top for each one.

The colorful stripey squares around the first border were already cut pieces in my scrap bag from the

"Color My World" quilt.

"Color My World" won a design competition in July 2000

Do these colors make you scream?

This one is full of texture in the quilting and just that thin blue line of color makes this quilt. 

Jinny Beyer's "Sport" pattern.  To add interest to my quilts, sometimes I infuse just a spot of unexpected color.  Notice that the bridles on the horse heads are not all the same color?   Next time you make a monocromatic quilt or one using just 3 colorways, try an element of surprise in color and see if it works for you, if not proceed with your original design or pattern. 

Years ago I took a color class with Jinny and I bought 3 of her books one of them was "Designing Tesselations".  It is a wonderful book.  I have taken other color classes with different teachers and they were all great resources.  The best tool you can make or buy is a color wheel which will help you make some decisions on color choice, but ultimately if you love a color don't be afraid to use it. 

Portrait quilt

This is my portrait quilt I did last year for the green and white challenge I participated in.  It was my first attempt at this monocromatic and portrait type of quilting.  I don't take step by step pictures of each quilt I do, as you've noticed.  It just takes me too much time to locate the camera and have enough lighting and space to lay everything out.  So, if I'm lucky and make an effort, I usually only take one shot of the quilt when I'm finished with it.  Sorry, but that's just the way I work. 
We had set instructions for size and color, but after that anything goes.  Our dimentions were 6"X24".  Strange, I know.  It limited me to making a wall-hanging or a table runner.   Really, I didn't need another one of either of those.   But, my thoughts have drifted back to my love of photography and how I like to frame photos to hang.  Way back in the 1970's and 80's tole/folk painting was very popular.  You could find family plaques at nearly all the craft stalls where there would be a nice folk painting in the center and on top would be a family name and the bottom would read something like "est. 1974".  So using that idea and the fact that I wanted to practice my machine's capability of sewing the alphabet, I used that on this piece.  Of course, don't look too close, as a couple of them are slanty and my binding strip pulled slightly at the end so it hangs slanty as well.  All these little mistakes gives it my homemade flair and I will not rip it apart to fix it to make it perfect. 
There are quite a few publications out there on portrait quilting.  Here are 2 that I have used.

Fabric Photo Play: Love to Quilt Series by Julia C. Wood

Faces and Places: Images in Applique by Charlotte Warr Andersen

I am going to do another challenge this year, however, it is my own personal challenge.  I have done a red and white quilt for my mother before, but this time I want to use red and white a little differently.  So, I will try to keep you posted on my progress.

Rave On

Happy New Year!  What happened to December?  I blinked and it was gone.  Honestly, I know I'm getting older....thankfully, everyone is.  But, time for me has always been an issue.  Its careless fleeting cosmic course sends me reeling from one edge of my existence to the other.  Although I would rather blame time itself, I realize I am to blame for not being an expert at time management.  I sometimes brag to my DH about how I can multi-task by balancing a huge arm-load of folded laundry with a mouth full of papers to shred and my treasurers notebook tucked under my arm, up the stairs to the bedroom to unload the clothing and then the office to dump the notebook and shredding on my desk.  Back tracking only once to put the clothing away, then into my office where I'll spend the next 2.5 hours either reading emails, shredding or doing other necessary office related tasks.   It's boring work, but if I don't do it and at intervals so I can tolerate the boredom, it will never get done.   Stay at home wives or husbands have been short changed for years.   I absolutely despise the term "Stay at home wife".    Being called a "Lady of Leisure" is hardly the proper term to use in this country as well.  Only the very rich and elite who wouldn't do one chore to risk breaking a nail should be called this.  It's insulting to those of us who actually work at home and don't get paid to do it.  It's also the most important work anyone can ever do, and that is taking full care and responsibility of a household.   In the 1950's it was expected that women would stay home to raise their children and be there for them after school and the wives were happy to do it.  They made meals from scratch, hung the laundry on the line, washed dishes by hand, made minor repairs, sewed everything from clothing to curtains, and helped the children with their homework.   Call me old-fashioned, I don't mind at all.  But, don't ever call me a "Lady of Leisure"!   If I need a title, then it should be "Household Director/Manager", thank you very much. 

Motivation

Maybe these pictures can offer some inspiration. 

          Thank you to our service members now and past who have honorably served our country. 

Frieze in St. Mary's Church at Fountains Abbey

 I'm in the middle of decorating for Christmas.  The house is cluttered with full and empty boxes.  We have the same dilemma every year...where to put things.  It just isn't big enough to set decorations out.  Somewhere in the attic, I have a set of Christmas dishes.  They haven't seen the light of day in about 7 years.  Why have them, you say?  Because I love them and if I had to buy them today, they would be too expensive.  So, there they stay for the time being.   

  My pumpkin yielded 3 pies and I still have about 1 1/2 cups of pulp left to use.  Maybe soup today?  Have a  Happy Thanksgiving. 

Scotland

How about these for motivation??

 Ben Nevis

Eilean Donan Castle

 Glamis Castle



Finished

When my machine is not in use, I like to cover it to keep the dust off.  It came with a carry bag when I bought it, but I don't want to take it out of my sewing table and put it in the bag each time, so I came up with this cover/cozy.   It was an easy pattern, however, I had to alter the calculations just a bit on the instructions for the angled pieces in the spool and under the arm.  The back is the exact same as the front.  The embellishments include 2 black buttons for the knobs and 2 buttons sewn together on the very top so it's easy to pull off.   This is another one of my "fly by the seat of my pants" type projects.  I roughly sized up my machine by noting the height, length and width and chose the pieced sewing machine block that I found online at the fabshophop.com website.  This is a 12" finished size block, so I made 2, one for the front and one for the back.  I added the black strips to each side of the blocks to get to my length measurement.  The black and white diamond fabric for the gussett was measured according to the width measurement.  I sandwiched each section (front, back and gussett) with batting and backing and quilted each piece.  Then, I sewed the sections together and bound the edge with a black binding strip and finished with the embellishments.