American Quilt Study Charleston

There was just so much to see and do during this year's American Quilt Study in Charleston...

                                                                 Chintz circa 1820...
it was great but I am still recovering energy!

In addition to the great paper presentations, show and tell, vendors and auction I took a seminar on the color Cheddar,

 toured the Quilt Exhibit at the Charleston museum (wonderful!), and took part in a round-table on string-quilts!

Add that to lots of walking around seeing the Charleston sites and eating way too much good food...it made for a great seminar!

I did bring home a couple of quilt tops, a quilt, and lots of books.  It is a great opportunity to get quilt history and textile books...the only one I missed was one on Chintz...have to go back and get it on Amazon.

I brought home Carpenter's wheel top from the auction.  It has a great collection of browns, pinks and indigo.

The live auction was a lot of fun and the proceeds go to support the American Quilt Study Group.

This is part of a turn of the century Ocean Wave that I picked up in the vendor mall.  This is my third O.W. so I guess you could call that a collection!  It all fits in with a program I do on quilt collecting...like how I rationalize that one!

What to do...

Do you ever find yourself looking at a quilt and saying to yourself, "I should like this quilt but I don't."

That is what has happened to me with this string star quilt that I bought a few months ago.  It is string...I love strings.  It has a lot of red...I love red.  So why isn't this working for me?

I think it is the red in the string pieces doesn't work with the red in the outside...makes the star look too fractured for me.  (trust me it looks better in photos than in real life...)

The stars in the corners don't have any solid red pieces and I like those a lot.

I could applique some vintage fabrics over the solid reds in the stars.  Could be a lot of work.  Or I could take out the corner stars and half square setting pieces and replace them with a different solid - orange or yellow perhaps?  Less work than the applique and it would give me four stars I really like to put together into a wall-hanging or some pillows.  Third option is to do nothing and either wait and see if I like it better next time I pull it out of the closet or to sell it to someone who can decide what they want to do with it....

Meanwhile Dobby doesn't understand what all the fuss is about...

A start or a finish....

Only a few more weeks and it will really feel like autumn...can't wait!  I have a stack of wool projects just waiting for the weather to turn...

At the show last month up in Columbia I found a new wool project designer..

it was only her second or third show.  She had her daughter and granddaughter working in her booth!  I've read through her pattern and at first glance looks well written.  

I bought this "worm of wool" from Shakerwood Woolens to add some fun colors to the projects.  These pieces are only 2 inch square but enough for a spark.  She has added some clear colors to her line and I really like them.  Sometimes wool can be a bit too muddy for my eye.

In the meantime I am trying to finish up a few Halloween projects for this year.

This is a little string pieced bag that still needs straps...should get on that today.  Also I have the tumbler quilt that only needs two more rows...surely I can finish that!

Of course it would be easier and faster to finish if I got off the computer and onto the sewing machine!  Have a great weekend everyone.  I'm off the finish something!

Getting organaized

The next two months look like they will be very busy so I am trying to use this week to get organized!

First I'm getting ready for the AQSG Seminar in Charleston.  I have one bag packed with things for the silent auction, another with some "show and tell" for the string quilt round-table/study, another bag with an example of Cheddar and some vintage cheddar fabric for the Cheddar study session, and finally a bag with some wine and treats for the room...yes, I know I still need to pack clothes!

I'm also trying to get ahead of the curve on my guild's quilt show next month...I made a spreadsheet.  If I just follow that I should be fine.  It includes everything from date to turn in the registration form to if the quilt has it's sleeve, label,

and labeled pillowcase...I bought a stack of pillowcases at a yard sale many years ago and just use them for storing quilts and for carrying them to the show...This pillowcase has gone to three shows!

I am only having four items judged.  I have five for the Bonnie Hunter Inspired Quilt Display...looks like we will have about 25 quilts made from Bonnie's patterns!  I also finished one for the guild crayon challenge.  Phew...oh ya, and I donated to the silent auction.  The only thing I haven't done is something for the Guild's Member's Table...hand-made items made by guild members are sold at the table.  Not sure if I'll have the time or energy for that one!

Things have been slow lately...had a bad re-occurrence of optic neuritis.  It is a symptom of the MS...a painful symptom.  Makes it difficult to drive and the pain sort of wipes me out.  It is slowly getting better so I am hopeful I can avoid any medical intervention (that usually involved steroids which are just yuck...)  Thankfully my show quilts were all at the final stages...just needed bind, label or a case...but I will need to ration energy and events the next couple of weeks!  So as long as I just stick to that spreadsheet....