Quilt Show!

My guild had its biannual quilt show this past weekend.  The show looked great!

Our judge this year was Scott Murkin from North Carolina.

I entered three quilts for judging.

My Harvest Moon and Pumpkins got a second place.  the pattern is from Blackbird designs (with alterations.)

Raspberry lemonade (which should have been Strawberry Lemonade for those of you who also did this blog project!) received a third place ribbon.

My Pink Spider Web didn't get a ribbon but it is still my favorite quilt.

I also entered my little shirtings wallhanging "Augusta in April."  These are all recycled shirts in colors we see here in spring.  I machine quilted it in the wavy modern style.  Learned a lot!

And also in the non-judged category I put my Halloween tumblers.  It was a just a fun quilt.  I also quilted this myself on my domestic machine.  Just went through the photos and realized I don't have a good one of this!  duh...will post a photo later!

We also had great vendors at this show...lots of wool, baskets, storage systems, machines, and of course fabric.  Our local quilt shop had a fatquarter special of 20 FQ for $25!

The guild tried something new this year.  Instead of door prized they had drawings on special baskets...$1 a chance.  These were great prizes.  Both of the local shops donated a sewing machine!  There was a vacuum cleaner, several baskets with sewing items, a dog care basket, a coffee basket, and a tourist in your home town basket with tickets to various museums.

Cool Weather quilting

As the weather is finally cooling down here in Georgia my guild had a "nature" workshop with Marilyn Walls.  A chance to do some fabric gardening!

My workshop project...sunflower!

Generally I'm not a big fan of fusing but I've always liked her large flower pieces.  Besides learning new techniques help me in doing my appraisals of nontraditional quilts.  Marilyn is a good instructor. I'd highly recommend her if you get a chance to take one of her workshops.   Likely I will finish my Sunflowers! 

Marilyn Walls class sample

Marilyn taking about choosing background fabrics...

 

On other fronts...I broke my beloved camera!  Ok, it was 8 years old and had a hard life but still...it was hard to decide to not repair and get a new camera body.  Still learning new one but so far so good!  I stayed with a  Nikon and it has kept the learning curve to a minimum.

Also, have started my fall cooking!  Out has come the pumpkin and apples...color me happy!  I made a pan of pumpkin cheesecake bars for the workshop...sigh.  Somehow they just taste better in the Fall...

Auction finds!

I did get to go to the auction Saturday and I'm glad I made the effort!

This woman had more thimbles, boxes, thimble boxes even, and other sewing items than I've ever seen in one place!  (It made my husband very nervous.  "You are only getting one thimble, right?" he asked.  Silly man!)

There were however many folks there for the sewing items and several aggressive dealers bidding so I didn't come home with too much.  Happy (?) to say I stayed within budget even with the cake dish I couldn't resist!  (crystal is going for such little money how could I not bid!)

The auctions here are not nearly as organized as the ones I went to in England.  The auctioneer was sort of making lots as he went along just keeping them within the cosigner grouping.  This works well for the dealers but for those of us who just collect it means we go home with some things we don't plan on.  Some, like the German needle barrel, are a happy accident...others not so much!  I mean do I really need two walnut shaped thimble cases?  hummm...obviously the woman who collected this stuff would disagree since she seemed to have at least of half-dozen of everything!

All in good fun.  It did wear me out though.  Glad we had home-made New England Fish Chowder and banana bread left over from the day before so I didn't have to make dinner!

I did however pull out an UFO to try and get a quilt out to the folks in Washington who lost so much n the mudslide last week....have the back ready just need to get it quilted, bound and shipped.  First however, I need to get Goldie out from underneath it! (can yo spot the "quilt" tail!)

Quilt Day!

I know I am a few hours early but thought as I am on the computer...

Happy National/International Quilt Day!

Usually my guild gets together and has a sew in but next week we have Karen Stone coming for a trunk show and two workshops!  So we will "celebrate" later...

We also just met on Thursday...one of our guild members shared how she used photos for inspirations for her small applique and embroidery pieces...she does nice work!

I really liked her idea of keeping "doodle-clothes" to test out new stitches and to save them for reference later.

All the photos in this post are from the show and tell...always good!  (Thinking I may make one of these bags tomorrow!)

I'm back...

I know I've been off the grid for a bit...a mixture of travel and MS had me out of touch but I'm back now ...

This may be the longest I've been away from my blog.  My apologies.

Earlier this month I went to a Susan Edmonson class and a trunk-show.  She is a very talented artist and a lot of fun.

Her style is a bit wilder than mine but it is always good to try new things.  As usual I haven't finished my project but I so plan to get back to it after the holidays.

I was looking at my list for 2013.  I did pretty well on finishes this year.  I still am a bit overwhelmed by my pile of UFO's and am determined to stick with my rule of only starting a new project if I've finished one.  I at least can keep the crew for "Hoarders" at bay that way....

Quiltshow Roadtrip

Visited a quilt show near Athens, Georgia yesterday.  Funny how many quilters from my guild I ran into there!

It was interesting to see a quilt in the show that used the same Piece of Cake pattern that we are using for our donation quilt.  They couldn't look more different!

 The one in the show is done on a white background with a vine border while ours is on a pieced gray background with a half flower border...

or at least will be once it is finished!

I did a fair amount of damage at the vendors...mainly things I needed that aren't available around my home like Jeanna Kimble straw needles that I like to use for applique, some bright wools from Shaker Woolens, and a layer cake of the new Moda Indigo!  I also got a couple thumb thimbles from School House Quilts.  I had been using the same one for years and a couple weeks ago it went missing...I'm thinking one of the cats made off with it!

(had to include this block...it was in a quilt that had blocks with all wild animals titled "what doesn't belong in a zoo"....very fun!)

Update on the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative...

Below is an update from Ami Simms on the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative.  This has been a wonderful program that not only raised money for Alzheimer's research but increased awareness of the disease and provided support for family members by letting them know they were not alone in facing this disease. 

So if you haven't made a small quilt or bought a quilt to support this great cause know this is the last year to be a part of it!  Lets help make this a banner year for AAQI!


Note from Ami:

The Alzheimer’s Art Quilt Initiative will most likely reach the $1,000,000 mark in money raised for Alzheimer’s research some time in 2013!

The work of your hands and the compassion in your hearts has brought us to this milestone. I will be forever grateful to each and every one of you for your support and dedication.

Ami and her mother, Beebe, in 2006 shortly after the AAQI began.

What began as one person’s response to sorrow and frustration has grown into a national charity embraced by a large portion of the quilting community. More than 13,000 quilts have beendonated, turning sweat equity into over $883,000 for research so far. For many donors these quilts were healing works of art which helped them grieve as they stitched for the greater good. Hundreds of thousands of people have seen the AAQI’s two traveling quilt exhibits about Alzheimer’s. Through this artistry came the realization for many that they were not alone on this journey of heartbreak; others understood, perhaps for the first time, what a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s really means. Together quilters have funded 11 research studies at six universities and a medical school. Three more studies will be funded this month and hopefully more throughout 2013. Because of the AAQI, scientists know a little bit more about Alzheimer’s than they did before. Hopefully this understanding will bring us all closer to a cure.

When I created the AAQI back in 2006, I never expected it to become so successful! I also never imaged how much work it would take to keep it going. As the AAQI blossomed, board members and core volunteers have had to increase our hours and pace to keep up. While I find enormous satisfaction in nurturing the AAQI, I much prefer sewing to administrating. I miss just being a full-time quilter.

For this reason, 2013 will be the last year of fundraising for the Alzheimer’s Art Quilt Initiative. I hope you will help the AAQI reach our goal of One Million Dollars for research and then at the end of 2013 celebrate with everyone who made this tremendous achievement possible. Please review the important dates below:

February 15, 2013: All bookings for the traveling exhibit “Alzheimer’s Illustrated: From Heartbreak to Hope” must be finalized.

March 1, 2013:  First online auction of quilts from “Alzheimer’s Illustrated: From Heartbreak to Hope” traveling exhibit. Twenty-six Name Quilts will be auctioned during the first 10 days of March, April, May, June, July, August, and September. Payment will be required at the conclusion of each auction with shipping in October 2013 after the exhibit retires. The 54 Priority: Alzheimer’s Quilts from the traveling exhibit will be auctioned during the first 10 days of October and December.

July 2013: Last month to participate in the Quilt-A-Month Club.

August 1, 2013: Last day to register Priority: Alzheimer’s Quilts. Quilts delivered to scanners after August 20 will be refused.

October 29 – November 3, 2013: International Quilt Festival. We hope to be invited back one last time to sell quilts in Houston, TX.

November 1-10, 2013: Celebrity Invitational Quilt Online Auction

December 30, 2013: Last day Priority: Alzheimer’s Quilts can be purchased online.

December 31, 2013: Quilts For Sale and Donation pages will be removed from the AAQI website and all solicitations will cease.

2014-2015: The Alzheimer’s Art Quilt Initiative will monitor research grants awarded in 2013. The AQQI web page will be left intact for at least six months. Any funds not needed to sustain the AAQI’s final expenses will be donated to research. Remaining assets will be disposed of according to IRS regulations after which time the corporation will be dissolved.

There is still much work to this year as we sprint to the finish line. I hope everyone who reads this will join in, either as a seasoned veteran or a first time quilt donor or quilt buyer. We will continue to make a difference until the very last quilt is sold. Let’s make 2013 the best year ever!

Thank you for your support,

Ami Simms
Founder & Executive Director
Alzheimer’s Art Quilt Initiative