Saturday, November 27, 2010

Selvage Quilt Won a prize!







Several months ago, I posted pictures of this quilt that I made entirely from selvages.

It was for a show to be held in Burnsville, NC. I was fortunate enough to be in Burnsville in early August, when the show was held, so I got to see the show. There were several quilt shows around the Asheville, NC area at the same time.

(It was also the same week as the quilt shows in Berea, KY, where I did a demonstration at the Kentucky Artisan Center.)




I am happy to report that my selvage quilt won the selvage category of the show.

I have to confess that there were just a few pieces in the selvage category, and they were very traditional, as were most of the pieces in the entire show.







I have seen many quilts made with selvages, and virtually all of them were very linear, with lots of right angles and straight lines.

So I wanted to do something different, and made the water quilt with lots of curves. I also embellished it with beads.

I am still saving selvages, so maybe someday, I will get an inspiration to do another quilt with them.


















































Friday, November 26, 2010

Here I am again!






























The last time I wrote, several months ago, I lamented that I hadn't been doing much sewing...

In October, I went to my Monday night group at the Forget-Me-Knot quilt shop, and when they had show-and-tell, I had to say "I got nuthin." It was very difficult, because I almost always have something that I have been working on.

But after that night, I was determined to have something for the next meeting. Our challenge was to make a quilt based on a photo. The photo was a still life taken by Robert, one of our most talented members.

I did a very literal translation of the photo. I found some perfect blue and
white fabric for the teapot, and I enjoyed doing some thread painting on the lemons.

I was also pleased with the way the shadows turned out. I showed it to the group, and they made a few polite comments.

THEN, Robert showed his interpretation of the same photo, (photo shown below) and he got applause and practically got a standing ovation. But that is what is nice about our group. It is a very supportive and friendly group, and there are people in it at all levels of experience and accomplishment.

However, I was glad I showed mine first; his would have been a hard act to follow. A very masterful use of fabric, and wonderfully embellished.

I am still working, and have less time to sew than I did, but that is a reason I am sewing less, not an excuse. I am working on several Christmas gifts, and then I hope to get back to some of the other unfinished pieces I have, as well as several I have planned. If there is still anyone out there reading this, stay tuned.....