North Carolina Quilt Symposium!

Last weekend I got to spend my birthday at the North Carolina Quilt Symposium!

Me and Pepper Cory in front of her curved piecing sampler

They hold this even every year.  It is a great opportunity to take some workshops, attend some lectures and just hang out with quilters for a few days.  And bonus...there is a quilt show and vendors!

Best in show quilt...the Harry Potter Bookcase!  

Yes I did some damage at the vendor mall...but I'll hold that off for a future post.  Still haven't totally unpacked yet!

I took Pepper's conquering the curve workshop.  Strongly recommend it.  She is a very good teacher.

A 1930's 

and one of Pepper's recent patterns using the curve!

Also attended her lecture on Drunkards Path.  Love how she moved from antique through vintage and then showed her own interpretation of that pattern!  Also love her peppered cottons which I believe are the fabrics in her pattern!  They "play" well with so many other lines like Kaffe and reproduction fabrics.

Also attended a lecture on using the computer for quilting with Mary Ellen Kranz who authored "Blending Photos with Fabric 2."  Another great instructor!

I can see myself using that book soon!

Peace College in Raliegh, NC has a beautiful campus

Finally I took a lecture with Harriet Hargrave on Battings.  No photos...I was too busy taking notes!  What that woman doesn't know about batting is't worth knowing.  I think that deserves its own blog post!

A "new to me" sailboat quilt

I went to a local estate sale this week because the photos online showed a stuffed sewing and craft room.  It was "stuffed" but not just with stuff but with people...boy was it a crowded sale!

I did however get a twin size quilt pieced in a pattern I had never seen before.  Now if I was going to make a sailboat quilt (again) this would be the last pattern I would choose!

Talk about making something difficult!  Anyway, I posted the quilt on a vintage and antique facebook site and within a few hours one of the members had the info I needed on this quilt...

I did give the quilt a good bath when it got home...it had a few stains and really didn't smell so good.  Glad to report stains are gone and it smells fine!  Fabric are all solids: medium green, watermelon pink, and an off white.  The back is off-white and the binding is front to back.  There is some bunching in the batting.  I'm estimating mid-1940's.

I also got some vintage packages of needles.  These are tricky to buy since so many reproductions were done and sold in stores like Joannes but since one of the packets is printed with "made in occupied Japan" I'm pretty sure I'm good on these.

Some Denim in the driveway!

It looks like my love of textiles has extended into my choice of vehicle!

This is the stock photo of my new VW "jean bug."  It is actually a bit bluer in real life...

It is a blast to drive and I love the retro feel!  And it drives so much better than the VW's of the 70's!  Though I doubt I could change out the engine in this one like I did with my college roommates in her '72 beetle!

I'm wondering how the project on my design wall may have influenced my choice...

lots of Indigo on that wall!

And I was just folding an early carpenter's wheel with lots of indigo...and it is the indigo that is holding this 1848 quilt together!

or maybe it was my photo visits to Sibley Mill - a local mill that dyed and wove material for blue jeans until the late 1970's...

This is a quilt that has a back made from mill scraps photographed by a friend on the steps of Sibley Mill!

A few more quilts in my collection with denim.  Guess I just love my indigo, jeans, denim...

Pat Wys Workshop

Last week my guild had a workshop and trunk show with Pat Wys, Silver Thimble Quilt Company.

She wrote two book on using Neutrals.  Now I'm usually a brights or reproduction fabric fan (I know two polar opposites) but I really liked Pat's quilts.  Definitely something I'll try - most likely when I have to make a "guy" quilt!

Pat demonstrated several different techniques during the day while folks sewed on the quilt pattern they selected.  So we had lots of different colorways (ya, purple can be a neutral to some folks!)

It was fun to see the different quilts coming together.

The trunk show was wonderful...she and her husband brought lots of quilts!

I loved her Christmas book...ya, she brought lots of patterns and books!  And it is never to early to start stitching for the holidays...my Grandmother started on New Years Day!

So I bought some neutrals at the Hancock's going out of business sale and added a couple from the stash that I will use on a quilt soon....

Another quilt for the VA...

A few months ago a dozen pieced 12-inch blocks were donated to the quilt guild.

They were really well done. The fabrics are all civil war reproductions.  I added sashing and cornerstones to make a 9-patch secondary design and then added a border with 4-patch corners to camouflage the fact the border fabric had to be pieced!  (I even had some of the fabrics the maker used in the blocks!)

Now the to just needs to be quilted and then I can put it in the pile to be donated to the memory unit at the local VA.  I think the last count for our Guild is around 125!

So I think I deserve a piece of this banana cake with peanut butter fudge frosting!

Catawba Spider Lily

Yesterday I took a road trip with my photography club to upstate South Carolina to view the Rocky Shoal Spider Lillies in bloom.

It is a really pretty park.  Would like to go back in the late afternoon so the sun may be better positioned to photograph the flowers.  Not happy with my shots...

however there was a lot of fun things to photograph...like frogs (toad?)

spiders...real spiders

and this good sized rat snake that surprised me on the trail (lets just say snakes should not be in trees...my rule!)

So how does this fit with quilting?  I loved the shape of the spider lilly!  I have drafted a string block based on the flower and plant to stitch one up tonight!

It is fun when I can merge the two hobbies...like knowing how to remove stains from quilts and from the slacks after a photo shoot!

Helpful things...

Though I am pretty much a traditional quilt when it comes to techniques I am always on the lookout for something to make the process a bit easier (and safer!)

A Splendid Sampler block from Pat Sloan's sew along....

So here are a few of the things I've added to my sewing space the past couple of months that I like.

First, a new sewing chair!  The difference between this and the office style chair I was using is "huge!"  This one goes up much higher making it easier to get to the right height for us vertically challenged folks (aka...short!)  Also the seat is much larger giving me a larger landing spot...yes, this purchase was sparked by my missing the seat on my old chair and landing not so gracefully on the floor!  Duh!  I think the base with the rollers may be larger and more stable as well...

Also in the photo above is my new peg-board!  How many times have you gone out and purchased a new _____ (fill in the blank)___ even though you knew you had one?  I'm hoping this pegboard will help eliminate some of that!

On the smaller side...I am loving this tinted 2-1/2 inch ruler from Missouri Star!  The measuring lines sort of glow making them so much easier to see!  And it is small so easy to carry in the sewing tote.  Even on a bad MS eyesight day I can use this ruler...now, that my friends is sayin' something!

This little wooden rotary cutter stand came from a recent quilt show...wish I could remember who I bought it from.  I usually have a fairly messy cutting table...ok, I almost always have a messy table!  Having a set place that stands out from the piles for the cutter has been a real bonus!  Also, it is easier for me pick it up when it is already almost standing.  Only down side is the stand is the same color as the table...thinking of painting it a really bright color!

What is on the design wall...

In addition to going to workshops I have been trying to do some sewing and even a bit of "designing!"

My sister requested a quilt for her cabin up in Maine.  I started to make a Scrappy Trip Around the World from Bonnie Hunter's website.  I've made that pattern several times and I knew it would work up fast and use some of my overflow of 2-1/2 inch strips.

But of course midway I thought...why not put these blocks on point?  And maybe turn them different directions...oh no, then I have to piece the sides

ok, so I made a very simple project into a real pain!  But at least it is almost finished!  (btw...Goldie my cat is not making this process any easier...one block went missing and still has not been found!)  Thought for sure once I remade it the block would show up!

The other quilt I'm working on is just starting!  Each year my guild makes a quilt to raise money for a local camp for children with cancer, Camp Rainbow.  This year the quilt is based on an Irish Chain with flying geese borders in the Kate Triplett's Indigo Quilts book.  Of course it was only a photo so I had to draft a pattern (with Kate's permission.)

Then the committee thought it would be good to have applique in the open blocks...because my guild loves to applique.  So I drew some designs.  Now the blocks are starting to come in and it is sort of exciting to see them!  Saturday is the deadline for them...should have a photo of an "almost quilt top" then!

Bernina Workshop day 3!

Day three of the Bernina workshops was with Sarah Vedeler.  She is a really good instructor and has beautiful patterns.

I love how the little purse came out...just not sure this is the process for me.

On this day we used the 800 series for both the quilting and the applique.  It is all done in a hoop and is automated.  So basically you set the machine up press a button and watch.

If you like embroidery and you like items you make to look perfect then this is for you.  I just feel like I need a bit more involvement.

That said...it really is pretty!

Also, on day three the Owner of Bernina, H.P. Ueltschi,  visited from Switzerland.  It was interesting to hear the story of how the company was started.

Gail your blog commenter is set to "no reply" so I hope you get this!  The carrot cake I showed a few posts ago came from this site....http://www.shugarysweets.com/.../carrot-cake-cheesecake-cake