HRQG Quilt Show 2022

 Over this past weekend the Herring Run Quilt Guild held a very well attended show in Marshfield. I believe the number of attendees on Saturday alone was three hundred and fifty! I spent time stitching at one of the exits and had a chance to speak with some of these visitors who were all highly complimentary of the show. Quite a few visitors were not quilters themselves but indicated they enjoyed seeing all types of art exhibits. Three ladies were painters who were amazed at the designs and use of color in the quilts. They could not have been more enthusiastic.

Here’s my friend Maribeth with her amazing “Jack’s Chain.” She received a vender’s award for machine piecing and use of color. I asked her how many pieces were in the quilt, but she didn’t know. Let’s just say. . . a zillion!!! I cannot even begin to contemplate attempting a quilt such as this! 

Here are two of the three quilts that I had in the show. The first was a mystery quilt from the Crosstown Quilt Guild; it was begun before the pandemic. I love the colors in this one.

The second quilt was from a pattern, “Eel Grass and Eddies,” by Marge Tucker Designs. It, too, was begun before the pandemic. As I have mentioned previously, I lost my quilting mojo during those long dark days. Thank goodness the quilt show finally motivated me to get them finished. :-)

The third quilt was “When Life Gives You Lemons” which I made during the pandemic. Alex Andersen had a stitch along on Youtube using her pattern, “Sequoia Sampler.” You were able to use any fabric of your choice, so I decided the “lemon” theme would be pandemic appropriate. :-) (This photo was from my files.) I purchased some gorgeous tulip fabric in the spring and will eventually get around to making another piece using that pattern.

Now, there seems to be a problem with receiving notices about new posts on this blog. Why? Who knows? I haven’t changed anything. I have been posting on average once or twice a week. Anyway, if you enjoy this blog and I sure hope you do,  I would suggest bookmarking this site and checking back occasionally to see if you are receiving all the posts.

If you haven’t received the latest posts, sign up for the email notices again or the “Follow It” on the right side of the blog. If you don’t see the right column, go to the bottom of the page and click on ‘Browser View.”

Now, I know what you are thinking. If some people haven’t been receiving email post notices, they won’t see this note either, but I’m hoping that some might do a search for this blog, A Positive Outlook. :-)

What’s up this week? Well, Cluck, Cluck, I need to work on my chicken quilt. All twelve members of the flock are pieced; but there is still much to do. I also plan to make an autumn themed project bag and a pair of placemats. I’m feeling the urge to finish a Sue Spargo autumn piece also begun before the pandemic. (Do you notice a theme here? I really am going to try to get some things accomplished in the months ahead . . . fingers crossed.)

Have a wonderful, creative week and enjoy this near perfect weather. Happy Fall, Y’all!!!

Busy As A Bee and an Upcoming HRQG Quilt Show

 

Okay, I haven’t been quite that busy, but I will use that excuse for not posting sooner. :-) I love this time of year when the Autumn Joy sedum is blooming and attracting honey bees. 

So, what have I been doing? Wearing my mask (I’m not taking any chances,) I attended the first meeting of both the Crosstown Quilters Guild and the Herring Run Quilt Guild which is having a show this coming weekend. You may click on this image to view a larger version with information. It should be a wonderful show. If you have never been to a quilt show before, come visit this one; you won’t be disappointed.

It is with joy that I report that I finally finished adding the labels to my three quilts. It takes me a l-o-n-g time to hand stitch the bindings and sleeves, but I have been working on them steadily while watching all of the coverage since Queen Elizabeth’s passing. The ceremonies, the vigils, the church services, and the processions were all truly magnificent, truly worthy of a Queen who served her country as monarch for seventy years. It was said that four billion viewers around the world watched the Queen’s funeral. 

I also attended an author talk at our local library and will be telling you about that soon. All I can say is “Wow!!!” More to come . . . 

Have a great week.

Cluck! Cluck! Let’s Talk Chickens!!!

 I’m sure that in my previous post when I mentioned that this post would be about chickens you suspected that I now have a chicken coop on my castle estate. You would have been wrong although I do think having a few laying hens would be cool.

No, I am simply working on a quilt for my soon to be fourteen year old cousin, the actress in the family. The last quilt that I made her I think was when she was five. That was a Halloween themed quilt as that is also her birthday. I thought it was time for a new quilt as I had made quilts for four other older cousins when they became teens. So, I asked her what she would like. I was envisioning a modern, colorful batik quilt or perhaps a teen friendly black and white quilt. Nope, she said she would like a chicken quilt. I checked with her a couple of times, and she confirmed that was what she wanted.  (With teens you never can tell if they are serious, but in any event, she is getting a whole flock of colorful chickens! )

I had a chicken pattern in my stash but decided instead to go with one based on Lori Holt’s recent Chicken Salad design. She doesn’t sell patterns, but instead on her blog, Bee in My Bonnet she shows you step-by-step how to make the quilt. The wonderful thing about Lori Holt is that the directions for each of her quilts remain on her blog, so say you bought the templates for one of her quilts, you could always find the directions for it in later years.

I purchased the Chicken Salad templates but not the fabric kit. Before the pandemic, I had purchased her Happiness quilt kit. Then in March of 2020 as you know things began going down hill fast, and I wasn’t motivated or in the right mindset to make a Happiness quilt. So, I decided to use that Lori Holt for Riley Blake Design fabric kit for this quilt. I also added a few pieces from my stash; the tiny red and white print used throughout, a couple of neutral backgrounds, and honestly, who wouldn’t want a navy blue polka dot chicken! Polka dots make me smile.

I had used Lori’s step-by-step interfacing method for her Let’s Bake Quilt, but this time decided to simply do raw edge applique. Here is my Let’s Bake quilt from 2018. It was great fun to make! You may click on it for a more detailed look. The small blocks around the edges are cross stitch on gingham. :-)

This time I decided to make Lori’s design boards. If you go to Youtube and search for Lori Holt Design Boards, you will find her tutorial for making them. You may make them any size. Since I already had a sheet of foam core, I was able to divide it to make six twelve inch square blocks. It’s an easy process. She used a hot glue gun on hers as did I for my first four boards,  but then my finger tips began loudly complaining as you need to fold the fabric over the edges. I found that Aleene’s Tacky Glue worked just as well for the last two.
  

Here I have my pieces of fabric and the traced template on Wonder Under and am heading to the ironing board. In this way, I was able to prepare a stack of separate blocks. Then I was able to cut out each shape and lay out the design for the next step. 

If you make any kind of pieced blocks, these boards are invaluable. You may purchases Lori Holt design boards, but they a bit expensive if you want to have more than one or two. Following her tutorial, they are super simple to make. (My fingertips wanted me to remind you to use the tacky glue.)

Lori Holt is a quilting and cross stitch goddess and so giving with all her tips, designs, and tutorials. Be sure to check out her blog, Bee in My Bonnet and her quilting and cross stitch episodes on Youtube.

Now, after posting this I’m going back to continue stitching the chickens’ beaks, legs and feet. I’m using a tiny zigzag stitch, and it takes a l-o-n-g time. Lori had suggested that you work on one color at a time for all twelve blocks so you would not be constantly changing thread colors. That’s why I am up to my eyeballs in yellow!!!

Cluck! Cluck! That’s all for now. Cluck! Cluck! Have a great weekend.