All Dogs go to Heaven - Quilting Gallery

WOW - summer really got away from me!  Mostly it was hot & dry too early with scary-close forest fires.  Lots of people lost homes & pets so it seems rather petty to complain about the heat.  With the recent (& unusual for August) rains, life seems almost back to normal.  And, the older I get, the more I realize that loss is a normal part of life.  And, it's what makes the in between time all the more precious.

Found a really great site called the Quilting Gallery - A Place for Quilters to have FUN!  I'm honored to be included in their Quilter Blog List - yaaa!!  Lots of free quilting projects, giveaways, swaps & competitions (friendly!) - so be sure to check them out!   

The theme for this week's Quilters Show & Tell is "Pet Quilts".  My entry is called:  "All Dogs go to Heaven"

You can win all sorts of goodies from the sponsor just for commenting/voting, so be sure to chose your favorites!  "All Dogs" has 45 votes so far!  

All YOU need to do to enter is submit a photo of your quilt that fits the theme & fill out a very short entry form.  Here's the list of previous winners, as well as future themes:  Quilting Gallery - Show & Tell

Looking ahead, I see "Little Things" is on the agenda very soon - Mug Rugs, Purses, etc.!  Geez, not sure where I can find a Mug Rug pattern with pizzaz!  lol  Happy Quilting!  Faith.

Montana - Helena Quilt Show

Just back from a trip to "Big Sky Country".  Managed to catch the Helena Quilters Guild Quilt Show entitled "Stars of the Big Sky".  Oh, yes, there were Stars!!  Here's a little sampling of what I saw:

I entered the lower level of the Helena Civic Center which had vendors around the outside perimeter & quilts hanging in the center area.  Looking up into the chandeliers, I noticed another level - WOW!  Chandeliers & quilts are lovely together - don't forget when designing next dream house!  lol

This quilt is called Sidelights - I just had to add a closeup shot of the Inspirational Words the quilter added - making the design her own:

I'm always on the lookout for needlework & quilting combinations.  Here's a lovely sample (quilt on left - one block closeup on right):

3-D Cacti

I'm in love with circles, spirals, saw blades & wheels ....

Absolutely prehistoric!

Snowy & Gray

Those are pieced PENCILS!!

Nice collection of work - I swear the Bear kept staring at me as I walked by :)

 

Critters & Coffee!!

             Very creative - I LOVE how the swing is tilting the center block - my favorite FUN piece of the show.

"Love Letters"

Great Use of Focus Fabric - love the tease of partial blocks as the outside border!

 

 

 

 

And, of course, this is a Judy Niemeyer quilt - the Helena Guild has a certified Judy teacher - how lucky are they??!!

 And, some more!

 OK, I ran out of time after that :)  There was much more to see & buy (although I managed to blow my budget anyway)!!  

It's hard to top a fantastic quilt show that happens once every two years.  But, the most wonderful thing about Montana isn't found indoors! 

  
"Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference."

 

--- Robert Frost

Bag Lady

I'm not really a purse lady - I'm kind of a bag lady - there's a big difference!  I've watched the purse-sewing craze from the sidelines over the past few years.  I have quilting friends that LOVE the latest designs, spending hours sewing exquisite works of art disguised as purses.  I've even bought a few purse patterns myself.  But, they tend to be patterns for Bucket Bags or Messenger Bags or even this one - called "The Poacher's Bag" by Charlie's Aunt - Vintage Inspired Sewing Patterns.  You can kind of tell that these are really bags disguised as purses :)  Don't get me wrong, they have lots of style, but function comes first!  And, no frilly stuff!

And, if you can recycle/reuse, that's even better.  One of my favorite books The Perfect Handmade Bag  inspired this one :

 Bag Front:

I splurged at the Pueblo Quilt & Stitch Expo & bought a panel print from the "Sewing Seeds" line by J. Wecker Frisch.  She's a wonderful illustrator & has several fabric lines through Quilting Treasures.

I need to get up to Na-La's Quilt Shoppe to see if they carry any of her other lines of fabric.

 Bag Back:

Found some bright fabrics with orange & green Spools of Thread called Cut & Sew by Robert Kaufman.  Combined with some Moda Solids I've been collecting & bright flower fabrics from First Stitches. 

Bag Bottom:

My favorite fabrics, though, ended up on the BOTTOM of the bag - big oops!  I forgot I was boxing in the bottom for maximum carrying capacity (quilting stuff, of course) & ended up with just a little of the bright flowers showing!  

 

Oh well, guess I need to make another :)  And, maybe a matching Keychain Clutch from Michelle Patterns.  Tiny and Functional - yaaa!!  Faith.

Happy Easter - Bring on Spring!

I've been quietly busy since the year started!  Taught a Beginning Paper Piecing (Traditional & Freezer Paper combo) class in February at a new shop in town.  It's a sweet little store called First Stitches located in the back of a used BOOK shop.  OMG!!  Sewing and multitudes of Books under the same roof - I'm in heaven :)

It was crazy fun & here's the proof:

Owner & admitted thread-aholic, Kim, posted some other photos (when we were actually working!) on her blog - check it out:  Paper-Piecing at First Stitches

We are SO fortunate to have TWO sewing & quilting destinations locally.  Our other well-established, well-named quilt store is Denise's Creative Cloth Closet  - you don't want to miss "First Saturday"!!  (or, any other Saturday for that matter!)

Some businessy-stuff had to get done in between the fun.  I finally got all my patterns converted to pdf downloads (now available in my etsy shop).  I also started selling a few patterns on Craftsy!  There are some lovely designs out there, as well as fantastic classes.  I've already signed up for a few & if you've ever had the slightest interest in Modern Quilting, the FREE Quiltcon Lecture Series is a wonderful treat.

I also do a little on-line shopping (don't tell anyone!) & picked up a lovely kit at a fellow Etsian shop - The Baily Girls.  The kit included 5 fat quarters, Minky backing & a PDF pattern at a great price.  It went together fast & I just love the sweet, optimistic colors:

And, of course, I couldn't pass up a new journal with it's eternal promise - for today & every day!!  Happy Easter - bring on spring - I'm ready!!  Love, faith.