Saturday, December 31, 2011

A Little Bit more Christmas and a Happy New Year Too

Okay, so I made a bunch of gifts to give at Christmas -- such a satisfiying experience! Anyway, here is a photo of a gift that my family received for Christmas -- a gorgeous hand-crafted kitty cottage for our rag tag bunch of furries! The kitties love it already and are even taking turns napping in it. Isn't it the cutest thing???????



Are you ready for 2012? I truly believe that I am, if you can believe it! Right now 2012 is full of great promise for me -- I'll be writing a new book, I'll have pieces in at least two House of White Birches books, I'm working on some new online quilt classes for CraftArtEdu(more about this later, of course), my first fabric collection will come out, and I'm going to continue to work with Quilter's World magazine and maybe a few other magazines too. As I read what I just wrote, it strikes me that only in the last couple of years did I have so much excitement to look forward to!

It's time to revisit my 2011 New Year's Resolutions:

1)keep moving forward in my quilting career.

I KNOW that I have fulfilled this resolution. 2011 was a great year for me as a quilter and 2012 is going to be even better!

2) Downsize UFO's amd WIP's.

Well, I started out 2011 and finished three or four projects, but then things got busy and I never got back to that. 3 or 4 isn't bad for a year, though.

3) Blog more often.

Overall, I met this challenge to myself, although there were some months that I was busier and didn't blog as much as I would have like. But still, 100 blogs for the years isn't too shabby.

4) Eat better and exercise more.

This one is still in progress. I didn't really get started seriously on this resolution until the beginning of November, so this one will be continued.

All in all, I'm pleased with how I did with my resolutions. I think I'll keep the same resoultions for 2012. How did you do with your 2011 resolutions??

HAPPY NEW YEAR and A NEW YEAR FILLED WITH LOVE, LAUGHTER, AND QUILTING to you!

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Christmas Goodies

Things are finally settling down after the rush rush rush of the holidays. I promised to show some of the quilty gifts that I made for Christmas and then I realized that I didn't take pics of everything.....

Anyway, here are a few of the items I did take photos of: Steelers pillowcases for my borther in law, purple wool mittens for my niece Meg, a soccer purse for my niece Morgan, and a casserole carrier for my sister. I think I made a total of thirteen gifts for Christmas. I also made tool pillow cases for my Dad, a shopping tote for my Mom, red wool mittens for a friend, and a framed collage for my friend Isaac who went to Europe in the summer for the first time. I also made some cool stuff for my two BFF's, but won't show pictures yet becase we haven't gotten together for our holiday get-together yet. So check back next week to see their quilty gifts.




Thursday, December 15, 2011

I'm so Embarrassed.....

Well, I've been a lousy blogger this past month. I admit it!

Life has just been happening way too fast recently (if this is a real excuse). I've been making lots of fun and quick Christmas gifts (I promise, I WILL post pics, I WILL, I WILL...) as well as quilts for Quilter's World. I had two projects accepted for a new House of White Birches book on Pillows, too. FUN FUN FUN! So there's been no end to sewing in my studio. One of my favorite new gifts to make this year are cozy mittens made out of recyled wool and leftover fleece! So cute and so warm!

I AM VERY EXCITED TO ANNOUNCE THAT I WILL BE WRITING A NEW BOOK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I met several publishers while in Houston for Quilt Market and submitted a proposal to Kansas City Star Quilts. I just found out the end of last week that they have accepted my proposal. My book will come out July 2013. So 2012 is really looking up for me!

Monday, November 14, 2011

More Quilt Market

Oops, I really intended to write a series of blogs about Quilt Market in Houston, but somehow I keep getting bogged down with things like life and work, and family. Go figure.

Anyway, here's another great find: Villa Rosa Designs, www.villarosadesigns.com. We found this booth last year and really loved grabbing up their fabric bundles -- Dr. Seuss for me of course while my friend Leslie scrafed up bundles of batiks (her favorite). But my favorite thing in the booth were the quilt postcard patterns that had a glossy quilt photo on the front and the instructions on the back! POSTCARD-SIZED!

The patterns are scrappy, contemporary, and feature lots of precuts. I'm not a shop owner but if I was, I'd have a display of these postcard patterns next to the register -- they retail for $2 each! They'd also be great kitted up with super fabric collections.

Anyway, I decided to buy some more of these postcard patterns this year -- I ended up buying the whole set of 40! WOW! Looking forward to putting them to work after the holidays. Check out their website (above). I was going to add a photo here, but for some reason I can't get it to work so I'll add the photo later.

Monday, November 7, 2011

New Books at Quilt Market

Following is a selection of great new books debuting at Quilt Market. It was great to meet most of the designers or to attend their schoolhouse lectures. Leslie and I went to lots of lectures, demos, and signings to find out what's new and I think you'll like what we discovered:



Leslie and I went to the schoolhouse lecture for this book and were so impressed with Kay -- she was such a dynamo and her samples were incredible. We liked the bags so much that we decided to go to one of her booksignings. I really like the way this book is organized from simple projects to more complex. It really mades sense. Kay is very skilled at bag construction and even shares her tips and tricks in the book to achieve professional-looking bags!



Edyta Sitar was a wonderful speaker/demonstrater at her book demo! We really enjoyed hearing about the importance of quilts in her life from the doll quilts and Barbie quilts made for her children to larger projects. This book has gorgeous photography and is an excellent read. There is a CD in the back which includes nine quilt patterns, but the book is devoted to quilts and their stories, or reasons.



One of my goals at Quilt Market was to stop by the Quilter's World booth and meet the the editors in person. I was fortunate indeed to not only meet Carolyn Vagts, but also to get a copy of her new quilt book for beginners. This book concentrates on a single quilt block that can be arranged in different ways. It also takes a beginner from the beginning to end. Good photos. I really liked the idea of working with a single block that can be flipped and flopped into different designs. Very good for a beginner, the one block will keep the newbie from getting to overwhelmed!



I'm not much of an appliquer, but this demo was very cool. I loved the concept of using both the positive and the negative shapes created when you cut out an applique! I don't know if I'll try this technique, but for those of you who are into machine applique -- this book would be a nice addition to your bookshelf.



I really liked Gudrun Erla's other Fast and Furious books so when I saw that she was doing a schoolhouse on her new book, I grabbed Leslie and we went. The samples were great and somehow, I was the lucky winner of one of her book giveaways. If you like fast and fun, this book is for you. I particularly like the curved placemats -- these would look nice on my round table!



Pam and Nicky Lintott did it again! Another awesome book using those yummy precuts! Very clever designs and a feast for the eyes with all of those terrific precut packs.



Are you familiar with the Schnibbles patterns and the first book? Carrie Nelson does it again with her second book, which features even more designs for 5" and 10" squares.


I had the pleasure of meeting Cassie Barden and Adrienne Smitke at several book signings/demos. Of, course I was carrying my "Birdwatching Bag" which was a project in Cassie's first book, The New Handmade. Cassie and Adrienne were absolutely delightful and so energetic! Cassie even sports the most wonderful magenta hair color!! This book, Everyday Handmade, is the folow up book for Cassie's first book and well worth the wait. Filled with lots of great everyday projects.



Leslie and I attended the schoolhouse lecture for this book. Happily, Cassie and Adrienne were the featured designers. There are actually 25 projects from 23 differnet designers, including Cassie and Adrienne. Definitely a fun book with lovely gifts for everyone on your list.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Quilt Market...The Beginning

I'm back from Fall Quilt Market and full of all kinds of ideas and inspirations -- I just don't know where to begin! In the next week or so, I'm going to write several more blogs about Quilt Market, so I hope you'll come back to read them all.

But first, let me tell you about the beginning of our trip. My friend Leslie and I arrived at the Erie Airport with plenty of time to spare. Unfortunately, the plane was an hour late. We were crossing our fingers that we might still make our flight from Cleveland to Houston.... When the plane landed in Cleveland, the flight attendant asked passengers who didn't have an immediate connector flight to stay seated so that those who had to get to their next flight could get off first. We were hopeful that this would help us get to our next flight. So, when the plane stopped and the seatbelt light went off, Leslie and I stood, gathered up our stuff, and stepped out into the aisle. There were at least nine other people who did the same. We then waited at the front of the plane until the flight attendant opened the door and gave us the go ahead to get off. Suddenly the attendant starting yelling at us, wanting to know why we were standing and telling us to sit down. We tried to tell her that we had to get catch our next flight, but she just didn't listen and kept telling us to sit down. Of course, we couldn't because there were a lot of people behind us. The attentant seemed to get really irritated and mad at us (Leslie and I were at the front of the line).

Finally, she let Leslie off the plane, but wouldn't let me off with her because I had to get my carryon off the cart outside the plane because it had been stowed in a compartment (this was a small plane). She made me sit down in the nearest seat, meanwhile other passengers were getting off. Then I heard Leslie yelling at the flight attendant from outside -- she was yelling "Tell Tricia I have her suitcase!" The attendant started screaming at Leslie to get inside the terminal. Finally the attendant let me off the plane. Leslie was on the ramp, holding my carryon up so that I would see it. I got to her, grabbed the case, and we both started to run. We were in the D section of the terminal and had to run to the C section. Leslie was half a hallway in front of me, but I watched closely so that I could follow her. I was so out of breath and my heart was really pounding. Leslie got to the correct gate before I did and found out she was 1 minute late. We'd missed our plane to Houston. SO did the other nine passengers. If the horrid flight attendant had listened to what we were telling her, we probably would have made it. Anyway, we had to take a later flight and didn't get into Houston until that evening. Seriously, after running through the airport like that, both Leslie and I were not feeling well for quite a while. I'm not asmatic, but I wheezed and coughed for about an hour or so afterwards.

This was not an auspicious start to our trip, was it?

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Quilt Market Here I Come

Well, the time has come to pack my bag and head off to Quilt Market. In fact I'm leaving in less than an hour. I've already got the butterflies in my stomach (flying makes me nervous) but I am so excited! Can't wait to see what's new in the quilt world. I'm looking forward to connecting with various editors in order to cement our relationships.

This year I am attending as an up and coming fabric designer for Northcott. Along with my trusty sidekick Leslie. I will be attending my first Northcott Sales meeting and we'll have a designer dinner Saturday night. What fun -- I'm really excited to meet the other designers and get to know them.

Check back next week for my post-Quilt Market blog. If I get a chance, I'll try to add a blog while I'm there to tell you all about some of the things that are new, but I make no promises!

Ta Ta!

Friday, October 21, 2011

Strange Things Happen.....

I'm sitting here shaking my head at how crazy things are again. Just the other day, my Northcott design director told me that they decided to go with my second collection, Cocktails at Eight, instead of my first collection, Louetta's Garden due to the amount of 1930's and 1940's reproduction fabrics already out there. I'm fine with that -- I really love the Cocktails collection -- it's fun, fresh, and funky 1950's! So, okay, time to switch gears. This collection will launch in January 2012 and will be available in late spring/summer in quilt shops. I'm so excited about this -- I haven't been able to sleep for a couple days! Now I need to get the artwork done PRONTO, design some quilts, and then come up with another collection for my second collection. Hmmmmmm.

This week end I'm hoping to do some more fabric dyeing so that I have everything that I need for my upcoming fabric dyeing article in Quilter's World June 2012. Hopefully the weather will hold and will stay dry.

Last week end, I went to a fun indoor flea market and of course there was a quilt waiting there for me -- an ingido and white double irish chain in great condition, pretty much only needing a bath. I'm thinking circa 1915 or so.




I'm also trying to get everything ready (and into a carryon) for next week's Quilt Market in Houston. It's my second time going. My pal, Leslie, is going with me again and we're going to have an amazing time! Check back to read my Quilt Market blog(s) in a couple weeks!

Saturday, October 15, 2011

It's Fall!

Fall in finally here in NW PA. Sadly, the bad winds and rain today are knocking all the leaves off the trees! It's snowing leaves!

I'm still working hard on my two quilts for the House of White Birches book. I'm making headway, but still have lots to do. Here's a quick pic teaser for you!




Ta Ta for now!

Friday, October 7, 2011

Playing Catch Up / Orphan Quilt Update

Do you know the old saying, "When it rains, it pours?" Well, that pretty much sums up the last week or so for me. After I returned from my quilt vacation at Chautauqua, I made a list of items I wanted to make for people for Christmas. I even made some Pittsburgh Steelers pillow cases for my brother in law and I gathered up additional supplies that I would need for my special one of a kind Christmas gifts for my friends and family.

I was on a roll and getting ready to start my next holiday project when I received an email from Quilter's World magazine -- an acceptance for an article for the June 2012 issue. Super!

Then in the afternoon, I received another acceptance from Quiler's World -- this time for two quilts for an upcoming House of White Birches book! I was ecstatic, but there was a catch -- a deadline of Nov. 8th, which is only about four weeks away. Oh my!

Of course, I found all this out this past Monday and I had to work all day on Tuesday. I called one of my local quilt shops and begged them to stay open a little later so that I could get the fabric for one of the quilt projects so that I could get started that night. And they did! It took me about fiftenn minutes but when I walked out of the shop, I had the perfect fabrics for the first of the quilt projects and the perfect backing to boot! Let's hear it for our local quilt shops -- you wouldn't find that kind of service at a chain store, would you?

By the way, today is Friday and the first quilt top was DONE yesterday. That's three days, not too bad for a throw-sized quilt top, eh?

ORPHAN QUILT UPDATE:

A few blogs ago, I included a photo of Nancy's orphan quilt, which she made from blocks purchased at an antique shop. Well, Nancy emailed me back to say that she won a ribbon at the Fair! Well Done, Nancy!

Valerie sent me this photo of her orphan quilt -- sorry it's taken me so long to get this on the blog. The blocks were hand-pieced by her great grandmother. Great quilt, Val!




Recently, I also reconnected with a very dear quilt friend who moved to Colorado three years ago. She emailed me and then called me shortly thereafter. My friend, Dot told me a little bit about her home in the mountains -- she can see Pike's Pike from the potty in her upstairs bathroom! Anyway, she asked me for my mailing address because she said she had something for me. I figured that she might have come across some old blocks and thought of me.

A large box arrived the other day. Inside the box was a treasure trove of vintage fabrics, old blocks AND newer blocks, a pieced apron, a prairie hat, and even a few quilt tops. I was speechless. Completely. Just thinking about Dot makes me smile. She never was a quiet quilter -- always prefering red and orange and purple with a splash of lime green. It was Dot who taught me how to dye fabrics and got me hooked. I've really missed her a lot in the past several years. I'm so happy to reconnect with her.

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

BACK HOME ONCE AGAIN

Isn't it amazing when you get home from vacation and then begin your life once again that it seems like you never went on vacation at all? I always anticipate that my vacation-feeling will spill over into reality for at least a few days, but I am usually wrong.

Three of my friends and I went to our annual trip to Chautauqua Institute in New York state. We stayed in our usual cottage, called Bee Haven. Every year, we leave a little something behind and this year was no different -- this year we left a one-of-a-kind throw quilt to match the living room sofa with appliqued bees in the corners. Of course, I totally forgot to take a photo of the finished piece, so you'll have to wait until next year.

The reason we always go to Chautauqua the third week end of September is to be part of the annual Quilting Around Chautauqua event. Every year, it seems to get bigger -- there were more than 800 quilts on display from local guilds and somthing like 80 vendors. A totally awesome event -- difinitely one to go to if you ever have the chance. Each year there is a guest speaker -- this year it was Jinny Beyer!

We love Chautauqua so much that we actually leave on Wednesday so that we can have a few days of quilt retreat with friends, sewing machines, lots of Jane Austen movies, and even our laptops before the hustle and bustle of the show, which is actually on Saturday and Sunday.

I hope you enjoy my photos!

I have a thing for pink cottages! The Bell Tower celebrated its 100th birthday this year! The front of the hotel!




Monday, September 19, 2011

Cuddle Quilts

If you read my previous blog, you know that I've been hustling to get emergency quilts done for the children. I was fortunate that I had one quilt already finished in my "stash" of finished pieces. So, really I only had to make 1 quilt in 48 hours. Which I did. See the pic, below. I took the quilts to the funeral home with the intention of leaving them for the children, but was lucky enought to ge tto give the quilts to the children personally. I hope those quilts provide something to hold on to in the middle of the night when they're missing their Mom the most.




You'll notice that these quilts aren't "show" quilts but simply cuddle quilts that can be used up.

I'm also happy to report that I shipped my three quilts to Quilter's World magazine today. I really consider that an achievment -- three quilts for one issue -- the April 2012 issue. I hope you check it out.

In the meantime, I have a great baby quilt featured in the Quilter's World October 2011 issue. It's on page 15 -- check it out. Super quick and lots of fun.

One last thought for tonight -- in two days I'm headed to my annual quilt-cation with my three friends Mary Lee, Leslie, and Cathey. We're headed to Chautauqua Institute for the Quilting Around Chautauqua event. The event is actually on Saturday and SUnday, but we start the week end early -- on Wednesday so we can get in some serious quilting. Stop by soon for more about Chautauqua!

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Quilters Respond to Tragedy

In my community yesterday, there was a terrible tragedy. A man shot his way into an ex-girlfriend's home in the middle of the night and murdered her. Then he shot himself. Upstairs sleeping were the woman's two children. I saw it on the news and thought "how terrible." This morning, while reading the newspaper I saw the name of the victim. It looked very familiar to me so I began trying to place it. Then I knew. The woman killed was the mother of two children I had in my prekindergarten classroom anout five years ago.

I flashed back to a similar tragedy that happened perhaps eight or so years ago when the father of a former preschool student shot and killed the mother and then himself while the three young children watched. At the time, my response was to make quilts for the three children -- my former preschool student and her brother and sister. I organized my coworkers and we whipped out three throw sized quilts for the children.

I'm already beginning quilts for these latest two children who are now motherless in a blink of an eye.

The area where I live is quite rural and it scares me to death that even bad things happen here. To people I know. To children that I loved and once taught.

Then I think of my response as a quilter to such tragedies and I think of all of the other quilters out there in the world who respond in a similar way in similar situations. And I know I'm not alone. Quilts of Valor.....Project Linus -- these are but a few charitable quilt projects. I know that great numbers of quilts were sent to Japan after the earthquake and tsunami. What about September 11th? I bet there were a lot of quilts donated to victims and their families.

The incredible capacity that quilters have to care for complete strangers and their troubles is a humbling thought. Quilters are some of the most special people in the world.

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Quilts Talk....REALLY!

It's hard to believe that today is the 10th anniversary of September 11th. It was aday that our nation will never forget. I hope everyone takes a moment today to reflect on all of the lives lost on that day as well as on your own life and how you can make a difference in the world. Perhaps today you planned to make a quilt and donate it to a charity. Or to volunteer your time to help others in your community or in someone else's community. It doesn't really matter what you do, just do something.

The past few weeks have really flown by as I've picked apples, made applesauce and apple butter, prepared and froze garden produce for the winter.... Oh, I've been working like a crazy woman on the three quilts for Quilter's World, too. I'm almost done and hope to ship them at the end of the week. At the latest, I need to ship them next Tuesday.

I promised to share a photo of one of my new quilt acquisitions -- the one from my Berlin Ohio trip a few weeks ago. So, here it is:



It really isn't anything spectacular, but this quilt told me a story. I fell in love with the story of this quilt and brought it home with me for a pretty reasonable price.

The center part of this quilt (the pieced blocks and alternate pink squares) was made in the circa 1900-1920 era. The top wasn't put together very expertly so I'm guessing that it was never completed into a quilt.....that is until the Depression. The person who completed this quilt (it could have been the original quilter, but who knows?) added chunks of opened up feedsacks to three of the edges to make the quilt top big enough. Big enough for what? you may ask. Well, the batting inside this quilt is a worn out indigo and blue quilt! The backing of the whole completed piece was made from several opened out plain off-white rough feedsacks. The back was brought around the front and whip-stitched for binding and the quilt was tied with multi-colored crochet floss.




It's too bad the "filler" quilt is in such bad condition. I can just make out the pattern, swastika blocks alternating with indigo squares set on point. It was probably made 1880-1900. Perhaps I can reproducs it......

Speaking of quilts that talk to us, here is a photo of an orphan quilt made by a new orphan quilter friend, Nancy. Nancy kindly emailed the picture so that I could share it with you. SHe bought the wonderful set of scrappy late 1800's strip blocks at an antique shop. She lovingly completed the blocks into a beautiful orphan quilt. Kudos, Nancy -- way to rescue orphan blocks and give them a permanent home!



If you've made an orphan quilt (with antique or even modern blocks) email me a photo -- I'd love to show it off on my blog. My email is: littlequilts@windstream.net

Oh, one last photo about quilts talking. This orphan quilt, although completed in the 1980's or 1990's has a fantastic collection fo 1940's blocks! These blocks have incredible fabrics. Eventually I'll probably take the blocks out of the quilt and reset them in something more appropriate. This quilt really talked to my shih tzu buddy, Gizmo!

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Long Time No Write......

Sorry about the lapse in blogging that I've had recently. The last couple of weeks has been so crazy I swear I see myself going when I'm coming.

I've been plugging away on my three quilts for Quilter's World magazine. My deadline is in the end of September. I have two of the quilts almost completed and I'm making the top for the third quilt right now. I hope to have it at least into the binding phase by the end of the week.

I did receive some disappointing news about my first fabnric collection for Northcott, Louetta's Garden. It was bumped from an October Launch to a spring launch. Although I am disappointed, it does make a lot more sense for it to debut in the spring -- it is a "garden" collection. I will also be designing exclusive patterns to feature the fabrics in my collection, so you will have to stay tuned for these designs.

It's funny, though, because I am now finding inspiration in so many things from old scraps of shredding wallpaper to the skirt of a vintage dress on display in a museum to dirty old rugs. I must admit that I am nowed hooked on textiles and designing! Oh, but what a wonderful addiction!

I was reading an article on quilting today -- did you know that the quilting industry is a 3.58 billion dollar industry annually? WOW! I knew the quilt industry was growing but I had no idea -- how exciting to be part of that industry now. It makes me feel even more inspired!

My garden has also been producing a lot of wonderful goodies, too -- so much it's hard to keep up with it. Tonight for dinner we are having stuffed pepppers and corn on the cob along with applesauce. Yep, you guessed it -- the peppers and corn are fresh from the garden a few hours ago and the applesauce was made fresh on Sunday (two days ago) with our very own apples. It's a lot of hard work to put up fruits and veggies for the winter, but oh so wonderful when there's three feet of snow on the ground. Our two apple trees (macintosh and courtland -- yes, I'm a northern girl) are having a bumper year. We didn't spray them so our apples have spots and blemishes BUT there are so many. It was windy on Sunday and I must have picked up at least 50 apples off the ground. That, of course, is not including the laundry basket I picked on the tree on Saturday.

A week ago, I went on a bus trip to Berlin, OH. It was a lovely visit to the heart of OH Amish country. We visited several quilt shops and I checked out three or four antique malls. Of course I brought home a new vintage quilt! I'll try to get a picture posted soon. The best part, of course, was spending the day with my two best friends, Leslie and Cathey. Oh, and the cheese factory was great -- I bought some mediterranean sunset cheddar cheese -- YUM!

The local fair, the Crawford County Fair, which is the largest agricultural fair in PA, ended this past week end. I was very pleased with the quilts that I entered. Six quilts yielded six ribbons -- 1 blue, 2 red, and 3 white. I was very surpised because the competition is usually quite intense -- there are a lot of talented quilters in this area.

Okay, I think I'm all caught up now. Time to get back to work.

Thursday, August 18, 2011

BUSY WEEK END

Whew -- just got my supplies in order for a fabric dyeing demo I am doing tomorrow. It's at my friend, Melanie's shop, Quiltessentials in Pittsfield, PA. I will be demo-ing how to dye cotton fabric (one color, light to dark). A friend and Quiltessentials partner, Anita, will be demo-ing how to dye wools.

Of course, before that, I have to drop my quilts off at the Crawford County Fair for judging. Wish me luck!

On Saturday, my friends Leslie and Cathey and I will be playing hookey and going on a shop hop to Berlin, OH. We are really looking forward to this quilt escape for the day. What's more fun than spending the day going from shop to shop with your best pals???? (Except maybe unlimited funds to use at those shops, of course!)

So here's to busy week ends!

Monday, August 15, 2011

In the Good Old Summer Time

Like most of you, it's been really hard recently to keep up with my garden. The weeds are growing as fast as the veggies. It's race with the bunnies to see who gets the beans and carrots first! But the fun is beginning, too, as I've begun doing some of the harvesting. The cukes have been doing well -- there's nothing yummier than fresh cukes out of your garden. Unless of course it's the broccoli or the green beans. I'm not crazy about tomatoes, but they are fun to grow. Our tomoato plants are more like bushes than plants. Does anyone else have crazy tomatoes?? Then of course, this is a bumper year for our two overgrown dwarf apple tress. Yesterday I picked two bags of apples. They're small but they'll make great apple sauce and apple butter. Ah, these crazy summer days.

Of course, I've been doing some quilting as well. Right now I'm working on three quilts for the April issue of Quilter's World. The first top is doen at at the quilter's and I am ready to quilt the second top now. THEN I'll move onto the third and final quilt. Oh, I still have to write all of the instructions too.

About a week ago, I had the opportunity to do an orphan block mystery quilt project with the Happy Scrappers quilt guild. It was a lot of fun -- I hope they all had as much fun as I did. Check out these photos! This was my first orphan block mystery quilt, but as you can see, it turned out great! Each quilter brought her own blocks and fabrics and each quilt turned out great. It never fails to amaze me how it all comes together and that no two quilts are ever the same!





Thursday, August 4, 2011

Support YOUR Local Museums

Have you taken the time to visit a museum in your area yet this summer? Today my mother and I went to the Baldwin Reynolds House Museum in Meadville, PA. It's a wonderful place to see. The house itself is magnificent and such a "fish out of water" in northwestern Pennsylvania, so to speak.

The house is a circa 1840's Southern style plantation home with a Victorian mansard roof (added later) and an amazing solarium on the side of the house. A second floor wrap around veranda adds to the Southern feel. The house was built by Supreme Court Justice Henry Baldwin, later purchased by his wife's nephew, William Reynolds. William Reynolds' son, John E., inherited the house. John E.'s widow, Katherine lived in the house until the 1960's. It was later purchased by the Crawford County Historical Society and turned into a House Museum.

I have always had a special place in my heart for this museum. I worked there through college as a curatorial assistant. Later I ran the house for a little while until they hired a new curator (which wasn't me, sadly). Currently the museum has a fantastic director, Josh Sherretts. Josh has done wonders with the displays and the tour information. I was very impressed. And oh so pleased to see the house so alive.

Our main purpose for visiting the house today was to see the museum quilt display (which is over this weekend, unfortunately). It included several gorgeous Victorian crazy quilts in the downstairs parlors as well as some Civil War era quilts in the bedrooms upstairs. Oh, did I mention the log cabin quilts?

It was lovely to get lost in history this afternoon. Josh has set up the exhibits so cleverly -- a bottle of wine and two glasses on an occasional table.....a pair of spectacles on an open book next to a comfy uphostered chair. These little touches made it seem like someone had just left the room right before we walked into it!

If you haven't visited the local museums in your area, you really should. Most of them have quilt and textile collections which are truly a treat for quilters to see. Not to mention the art, the furniture, the architecture....

It's important now more than ever to support your local museums due to so many funding cuts at the local, state, and federal levels. The Baldwin Reynolds house received about 25% of the funding it used to. Your support could mean the difference between staying open or closing the museum. So get out there and keep history alive in your community! You know, local museums are oftem desperately in need of dedicated volunteers as well, so get involved!

Below,enjoy some photos from our trip to the museum. Please note that I did not use flash when photographing because flash photography is damaging to textiles, etc.





Saturday, July 30, 2011

CRAZY FUN!

Oh WOW! A few days ago, I received an acceptance letter for the April 2012 issue of Quilter's World magazine. I am utterly amazed - they accepted THREE of my quilt designs for the April issue. Isn't that awesome!

Of course, reality soon set in when I realized that I have about eight weeks to create three complete quilts from wall quilt to throw-sized as well as write the instructions.... Am I insane or what?

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Fabric to DYE For

Recently I finally found my crate of fabric dyes in the garage. Hurray! That really made me happy.

I haven't dyed any fabric for the last two or three years because of my book and such, but since I agreed to do a fabric dyeing demo at one of my favorite quilt shops, Quiltessentials, located in Pittsfield PA, I thought it would be a good idea to actually find my dyes AND do some practice dyeing so I don't look like a complete idiot! The demo is part of their Summer Lawn Lecture Series and will be Friday, 19 August. The fun starts at 5 PM, and I will be demo-ing at 6:30 PM. A fellow dyer, Anita, will demo dyeing wool.

SO I dyed. Under a tree. Twice so far. Fourteen yards and counting.

I mixed red and yellow to get orange and also yellow and blue to get green. All I have to do is dye red and blue to get purple and I will have the whole color wheel. Cool, huh?

Have you ever tried dyeing fabric? It's a lot like doing t-shirts (tie-dye anyone?). I use the submersion method along with professional-grade Procion dyes. Here's a photo of my two dye runs so far. Yummy, aren't they?

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

More Great Finds

On Sunday, my parents and I took off for a few hours in the afternoon. We went to a big indoor flea market (in an old department store). I was lucky to find some more vintage quilt blocks -- including a signed star from the 1930's -- utterly charming! What a fun week end! I'll post pictures of my new finds soon!

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Victorian Days in Mercer, PA

My lecture at the Mercer County Historical Society yesterday went very well. There was a nice turn out. As always, I totally enjoyed talking quilts and quilting for an hour and a half.


Here I am talking about the cover quilt of my book, Orphan Block Quilts. The quilt is called Lavender Green.

After my lecture, the intern, Morgan, kindly helped me pack up and get my stuff out to my car. THEN it was time for some old-fashioned fun. On my way to finding something yummy to eat at the food vendors, I checked out a corner antique shop and then hurried to the quilt shop, The Gallery. I was so pleased to find some great pieces of fabric for my niece, Meghan's graduation quilt (she will graduate in 2012 and has requested a purple and green quilt for college). I even found the perfect brifge fabric that breings all the other colors together! SO after the quilt shop, I enjoyed a philly gyro while listening to live dulcimer music. Next I wandered through the crafter's tents. Finally I started to get a little tired and decided it was time to head home -- there was one last antique shop to stop at and I didn't want to miss it.

I made it to the last antique shop, housed in a charming old mill, and happily found a little gift for one of my BF's as well as a few vintage aprons, a 1930's quilt block, and some 1930's quilt pieces. What a nice end to a great day!

Friday, July 15, 2011

Lecture

Well I'm off to Mercer PA tomorrow. I'm doing a lecture at the historical society during Mercer's annual Victorian Days celebration. I plan to show some of my quilts from my book, Orphan Block Quilts, a few magazine pieces, and even those three recently acquired crazy quilts and tops (you know -- the ones I blogged about last month).

I'm looking froward to it. I had wanted to do something with the Mercer County Historical Society last year, but it just didn't work out, so I'm happy to be working with them this year. In anticipation of my lecture, they've put many of the their own antique quilts on display. I will be there to talk about the collection's quilts as well.

So, if you're in Mercer tomorrow, stop by the historical society, my lecture will be around 1 PM upstairs in the museum.

BTW, Mercer has a nice little quilt shop AND there are several antique shops, too. Hope I have time to visit. OH! No visit to Mercer is complete without going to the Old Fashioned Soda Shop for a flavored coke, either!

Monday, July 11, 2011

A Little Bit About Copywright for Quilters

Recently I've begun to gather information about designing patterns to go with my quilt fabric collections. It's definitely more complicated than I first assumed. Again, I turned to my dear friend, Cheryl Weiderspahn, who owns Homestead Speciaties Pattern Company. She is one of the most amazing people that I know AND she has mentored me through the crazy world of publishers and pattern-making. THANK YOU, CHERYL!

Anyway, we had a discussion the other day about the ins and outs of creating original patterns. Cheryl referred me to her website where she had a page devoted to "Copyrights and Copywrongs." It made so much sense to me and really helped me to understand how copywright laws apply to quilters. I asked her permission to post her article on my blog, and she agreed.

I hope you get as much out of it as I did!

By Cheryl Weiderspahn
Pattern Designer, Homestead Specialties Pattern Co.


“If you didn’t write it or create it, you do not own the right to copy it or distribute it!” - Susan Levin

Our schoolteachers warned us all about plagiarism. We were refused when we took a professional studio photo to Staples to make color copies. We all know we shouldn’t buy a movie video and make copies for our friends. We all have heard about the piracy controversy over illegal music downloads from the Internet. Yet quilters and sewers are incurable sharers and we think nothing of laying a magazine or pattern in the copy machine and distributing copies to all our buddies. It all seems innocent enough at first.

Copyrights protect “Visual Art” such as drawings, sketches, paintings, blueprints, maps, labels, photos, charts, stationery, music, movies, architecture, sculpture, cartoons, patterns, how-to instructions, books, fabrics, quilt designs and other two- and three-dimensional works. (Patents only apply to inventions.)

Copyright Law was established in 1710 to protect the creator’s “intellectual property” and has been updated many times to reflect current society and technology. Since a law change in 1978, any “Visual Art” is protected under Copyright Law automatically upon it taking on a tangible form. In other words, a thought, concept, idea or intention is not copyright protected. But the minute it takes on a physical and visible form (a created design or writing that others can see, and therefore copy) the work is protected under copyright law, even if no fees are paid and no papers are ever filed with the Copyright Office. The symbol “©” followed by the year and the artist’s name is not required, but constitutes a “Public Notification” warning and simply expresses the artist’s intent to claim her “rights to copy.” So, if in doubt, anything in tangible form (if you can hold it and read it) is protected. Ask permission!

This copyright grants the creator five inherent rights: the right to reproduce or copy their work; the right to distribute their work; the right to publicly display their work; the right to perform their work; and the right to create derivative works of the original work.

How long does a copyright last? In 1998, Congress fine-tuned the law to allow works to be copyrighted for the life of the creator plus 70 years. This means that 70 years after the creator dies, the copyright expires if no family heir files for an extension to renew it. After that it is in “Public Domain,” allowing anyone to use the work. So the fact that a magazine, book or pattern is out of print, or the author is dead, does not mean you can copy it.

But many Public Domain works are available for legal copy. Also, there are copyright-free sources such as some of the EQ5 designs. I got over 20,000 results when I did a Goggle search for the topic “public domain quilt patterns!” Take the time to look and ask for necessary permission and grant credit where due.

Let’s dispel a few myths. First of all, forget any nonsense you ever heard about “If I change it 10%” (or 20% or 30%, the myth varies) or “If I change three things” then it is my own design. That is a myth. What will a judge look at? If the work is in any way recognizable as the work of another artist, and you use it without permission, you have created a derivative work of art, which is an infringement on the original artist’s work and a violation of Copyright Laws.

Another myth is that if you don’t sell the work, or if you create it for charity, you aren’t infringing on the artist’s copyright because you aren’t making any money. That is a myth. The law is not based on how much money YOU make, but on how much money the artist might lose had she been able to charge you for your use from licensing, royalties and other fees. An artist denied this income has no money to invest in future designs for you. Artists are in the business of selling their designs. If they don’t sell very many, they can’t keep designing new ones, and the entire creative community suffers in the process.

A quilter called me one day to ask if she could make one of my vests to donate it to a charity auction to benefit Breast Cancer Research. Of course I thanked her for calling and granted permission. It was my choice to enable her to raise money for a worthy cause. Any artist with a heart would grant permission. She was not claiming it as her own design and I did provide her with a sew-in label stating “Created with a Homestead Specialties Pattern” and a catalog flyer to include with the vest. Can she also make one of them for her niece for a Christmas gift? Of course, I see that as being for her own personal use. Would I have grated permission if she had asked to make four vests from my pattern and sell them for profit at her local gift shop? No way! Would I ever find out that she sold four vests at her local gift shop? Would the Copyright Cops arrest her and haul her off to jail? Probably not, but she still broke the law and ripped me off. If I were she, I would not want that guilt hanging over my head.

In a shop class situation, that is why each student is required to purchase the pattern/book being taught. Otherwise, the artist is being denied her income from the sale of her pattern/book. Does paying for that class entitle the student to make and sell those items? No, not without the designer’s expressed permission.

This is also why shop owners must buy the patterns from the designer herself (or one of her distributors, like Checker Distributors), rather than laying the pattern on a Xerox machine or scanning it and making copies for sale. This is clearly denying the artist of her deserved income and the shop owner’s professionalism and integrity is in question to all who see this activity. Legal action could easily follow, especially since the shop owner is bold enough to expose the counterfeit patterns to the public eye.

If you copy a quilt or garment, even making changes, and enter it in a national competition as your own design, you are not only guilty of infringing on the rights of the original artist, you could be forced to forfeit all prizes, as well as any commission work that came as a result of that show. By all means, you should give credit to the original artist and say so when filling out the entry forms!

When I do retail shows with my original garment designs all over the country, I do not allow photography (which amounts to “copying”) in my booth unless the person taking the photo has already bought the pattern. Many people take photos with the intent of making their own garment from the photo rather than buying the pattern, and this denies me my earned income. This photography policy is printed in the show program and most show attendees have the courtesy to ask my permission to take photos.

Have artists actually stood up and won? You bet! For example, Connie Spurlock, owner and designer of Sew Wonderful Dreams Patterns told me how she was looking at patterns at her local fabric chain store one day and was shocked to see that a “major pattern company” had a pattern very similar to one of hers. She opened it up and saw that it was her design; even the instructions had been copied word for word! It was just a crafty little doll pattern, but they settled out of court for a tidy sum of money! True stories abound where the artist prevails over copyright infringement.

If in doubt, ask permission and give credit where credit is due.

For more information:

U.S. Copyright Office: 202-707-3000 Copyright Information Office: 202-479-0700 To request a publication: 202-707-9100 www.copyright.gov/

Permission is granted by the author to reproduce this article in its entirety.

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Amazon's Top 100

I am so very excited to shout to the world that my book, ORPHAN BLOCK QUILTS, has made the top 100 quilt books in the Kindle category on Amazon. Wahoo!!!!! Yesterday I was #91. So, if you are interested in getting my book as an ebook, go to Amazon and download it for $11.99. Oh, and don't forget to leave a customer review, too!

Sunday, July 3, 2011

Fabric and Quilts, OH MY!

Here's that promised photo of my new collection of Louetta fabrics. Mostly 30's and 40's with a few 50's thrown in for fun. There were also several WHOLE feedsacks -- what a wonderful surprise! There is definitely a lot of inspiraton in this stack of fabric!



The other day my boss called me at the library and told me to stop a a country church rummage sale on my way home becaause there were three quilts there and one of them looked to be older. So I did. I found a circa 1920's cotton crazy quilt. It was folded inside out like a comforter. It is in perfect condition and freshly washed. Of course I grabbed it! I looked at the other two quilts and they were circa 1970 polyester double knit quilts and they were priced higher than the cotton crazy. To each his or her own, I guess. I'm happy with my crazy.



As you can see, my dog Gizmo really liked this crazy quilt! I laid it out on my bed to look at and he jumped up. He rubbed his face on it and snuffled -- I think he liked the fabric softener. The quilt has some great fabric in it, too.

So much inspiration........too little time.

Sunday, June 26, 2011

More Quilt Acquisitions

I can't believe that June is almost over. Where did this month go?????

I finally connected with my design director at Northcott and everything is on track for my first fabric collection to launch in October at Quilt Market. Now I have to get busy designing quilts for the fabric line, not to mention more fabric collections. :)

My friend Leslie and I are planning to go to Quilt Market again this year -- I definitely don't want to miss when my first fabric collection debuts!

Earlier in June, I went to another garage sale and purchased two crazy quilt tops. One had some moth damage to the wools along the edges. The other one was in much better condition and even has some embroidered motifs inside some of the crazy quilt blocks like a fish, snowflake, flower, etc. I think they are both from the circa 1890-1925 era.




Last week I did a program for a guild as a last minute thing and wouldn't you know it, but one of the guild members brought boxes of vintage and retro fabrics/blocks for the taking. OF COURSE I came home with a stack of mid-century blocks and two boxes of precut fabric pieces. My nieces came over on Father's Day last week end and the three of us had a blast digging through the little squares -- even my young cat, Pip, got involved! I gave each niece a plastic sandwich bag and told them to stuff it!




Today I also acquired a really nice grouping of vintage fabrics from a friend of mine who was visiting from SC. If you're familiar with my quilt book or else know the story of how I got started making orphan quilts, tthen you'll recognize the name Louetta. My visitor was none other than Louetta's granddaughter, Nancy. Nancy is the one who had the garage sale that changed my life -- it was the one where I bought the first pieces for my Louetta collection (of blocks, fabrics, tops circa 1840-1960). Five years later, I'm still adding pieces. Thank you, Nancy!

I went to take a photo to show you, but the camera was dead so you will have to wait until my next blog.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

The Busy Days of Summer

Okay I admit it -- this month I am being a lousy blogger. There's just so much to be done now that the weather is getting nice.

In the last week, we've been putting in our garden. We enlarged it this year so now we have to add some extra things such as corn and potatoes. Hopefully our fall harvest will be wonderful with lots of yummy fresh food.

I am also working on a new possible book project. This project requires extensive research so I've been spending lots of spare time working on that.

With the summer season finally in full swing, my program schedule is getting busier too. I am designing my very first mystery quilt for an upcoming guild workshop in the beginning of August. ANd I am still working on an occasional quilt design.

Of course, I am still working on fabric design as well. Right now I am on my fifth collection, but Northoctt is still on the first collection so I am taking a little break so we can get in synch with each other. I am planning to sneak in some Photoshop classes in July which should help me to understand the program better.

Did I mention that I'm working more hours at the library? And that I'm tutoring two children in reading in my spare time?

You know, looking back over my schedule right now, it's making me tired and I think I'll go to bed. G'night!

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Alzheimer's Quilts

Check out the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative website, http://www.alzquilts.org/index.html, and get involved! If Alzheimer's hasn't touched your life yet, it will.

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Yard Sale Finds

The Memorial Day week end means a different things to different people. Here, in my neck of the woods, in additon to visiting graves and planting flowers, the Memorial week end means Cochranton's annual community garage sale. Most years I miss it, but not this year.

On my way to work at the Library yesterday morning, I stopped at an interesting sale in the yard of a very old and battered house that I had driven past the day before. It looked intriguing. Of course the first thing my eyes saw was a tumbled quilt tossed on top of a worn out table that leaned. The young guy having the sale told me the "rules" -- fill a back for a buck, a crate for $3, or a tote for $5. My heart began to pound as my brain wrapped around that information. I asked him about the quilt and he said a buck! One single dollar bought me a circa 1900 quilt.

Of course, it's not a valuable quilt -- it's smelly and tattered with holes and wear, but it is an old quilt. It is simply roughly six inch squares sewn together. Hand quilted with black thread and not-so-tiny stitches, and backed with a once-lovely turkey red decorator fabric. Washed and folded just right, it would make a lovely decorative piece in a primitive pie safe. Or, I could salvage the useable bits and create something else -- a pillow, Christmas stockings, a jacket, a wall quilt, or?????? An antique damaged quilt can yield much creativity.

Additionally, as a new fabric designer, I spied several interesting fabrics that could provide inspiration for future fabric collections.




I didn't have enough time to dig in the tons of boxes before work, but a few hours later, my boss offered to watch the library so that I could go back. One my second trip, I adopted an upside down triangular little shelf painted apple green for $1. I also rooted throuhg boxes and suitcases and found lots of vintage embroidered linens as well as few pieces of interesting fabric. A whole back of goodies for a buck.

So what's the moral of this blog? Never pass by a yard sale outside a decrepid old house because you never know what you'll find. 'Nuff said!

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Catching Up

So sorry -- it's been almost two weeks since I last blogged. I have a good excuse, though -- I've been working very hard to get completely caught up on projects. I finally completed my two projects for the Dec 2011 Quilter's World magazine issue AND the instructions. Sent them earlier this week and they arrived safely at the office today. Whew -- I always get a little nervous when shipping quilts.

The two quilts really took quite a bit of time to finish -- particularly the miniature quilt. I put as much time into the mini quilt as I do several larger quilts -- the piecing alone took over nine hours (not all at once, thank goodness!).

Of course, writing project instructions is nothing to sneeze at either -- it's exacting and time consuming.

Then of course after the projects are done and the instructions are written, then it's time to prepare for shipping the quilts. This process takes some time too -- printing ALL instructions/patterns, emailing ALL instructions/patterns, completing submittal forms, packing slips, addresses, inspirations......Are you as tired as I am yet???

I just wanted to show a little bit that goes into the planning and execution of quilt designing for those of you who might not know the process. It's a lot of hard and challenging work, but of course it's fun and rewarding too. Hopefully the next time you look at a quilt project, you might take a second to think about all of the work put into it. Perhpas it's something you'd like to try for yourself....

To change subjects, I'm still diligently working on fabric designs. My design director has been travelling all over going to all the big shows and hasn't had a chance to get back to me with feedback yet, but I still keep plugging away, hoping that I'm on the right track.

I think I see a distinctive style evolving -- my designs are grounded in actual antique, vintage, retro fabric designs, but with a little extra something....Can't wait to post images of my first collection for Northcott, Louetta's Garden, as soon as they are available.

Monday, May 16, 2011

Fabric Designing 101

Well, after the craziness of the last four weeks, I'm finally getting back to designing fabric. My first collection, Louetta's Garden is at Northcott already and I anticipate it to launch this fall and to be in quilt shops in spring 2012. Hopefully soon I will be able to post digital images of the fabrics in the collection

In the meantime, I've been working on four more collections. Along the way I've learned how to create repeats, to reduce colors, and lots of other things that I can't remember the names of right now. But right now I'm trying to figure out how to separate my designs into different color layers. Luckily my design director sent me a disc with sample fabric files on it so that I can see what the correct format is (but now I'm trying to figure out how to reproduce the correct format).

I watched a few videos on youtube that gave me a little bit of a better understanding about the importence of separating color layers (it's kind of like creating the color screens for the printer). Then I checked my book, Adobe Photoshop for Textile Design by Chipkin, and got hung up on spot channels which are not the same thing as color layers.

I began to get a little frustrated so I started looking through the differnet pull down menus and playing a little bit. I think I might have stumbled onto the right thing and if I am correct, it's really quite simple.....I emailed the image file to my design director to find out if I did do it correctly. Keep your fingers crossed and wish me luck!

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Dianne's Orphan Quilt

Recently, a friend of mine sent me this photo. Dianne used the Art Deco Quilt Design from my book, Orphan Block Quilts, to create her own version of the table runner. She used a wonderful scrappy appliqued sunflower block and contemporary coordinating fabrics. Well done, Dianne!



If you've made any projects from my book or have designed your own orphan quilts, email pictures to me and I'll post them on my blog. My email is: littlequilts@windstream.net.

In the meantime, keep rescuing those orphan blocks and making more quilts!
_____________________________________________________________________________________

One last thought for today -- check out the newest issue of Quilter's World magazine. I have a placemat design as a web bonus that features the twist and turn ruler..... CHECK IT OUT!

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Programs and Lectures, Oh My!

Whew -- I am still recovering from last weeks craziness. I had the program in Warren, PA on Wednesday and then I did a lecture, "Saving History One Quilt at a Time" at the Library. Since I was going to talk about how to repair/clean/care for, I had to go digging for some examples to use in deep storage. I think I must have moved twenty 18 gallon storage crates to get to the ones I wanted to. It was worth it, though.

Once I had selected the quilts and tops that I needed to take with me, I began to notice all the wonderful fabrics in the quilts/tops. I was already inspired and I hadn't even taken photos yet.

The lecture went great at the library -- a small group, but very interested, nonetheless. Between their questions and the info I wanted to share (with examples, of course), I talked for about two hours. I was definitely tired after that. It never fails to amaze me how tired I feel after doing a lecture or trunk show -- it's like I ran a marathon (with my mouth/brain, I think)....

After the program I couldn't wait to take photos of the fabrics that interested me in the quilt and top examples that I had unearthed. The first evening I took around 180 photos. The second time I took around 200. That is a lot of inspiration for designing fabric and quilts.

Speaking of fabric design, I am hoping to have images of the fabrics in my first collection soon -- can't wait to share them!

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Guild Program Review

Whew -- am I exhausted today -- in a good way, of course! Last night I did a trunk show/lecture for the Quilter's Night Out Guild in Warren, PA. It was a bit of a drive, about 1.5 hours each way, but it was a super positive experience.

About 40 or so people came for the program (gasp -- me!). I even got to wear a cordless microphone so everyone could hear me. After a while I actually forgot about it and had a lot of fun telling the guild the stories of my orphan quilts, because of course each one has its very own story to share.

They were a great group -- very curious about my "orphan block" quilts and how I went from quilter to author/designer. They had a lot of great questions too! A few members showed me recent projects, including a central embroidered block surrounded by mini pieced blocks -- the mini pieced blocks were made from vintage fabrics salvaged from a 1930's ninepatch quilt top. One member even told me that she had boxes of orphan blocks stacked on top of each other, rescued from an attic, and she was now inspired to perhaps "cut them up" to make a new project..... Hopefully, they'll email some pictures so that I can post them on the blog.

If you go the Quilting Around Chautauqua event in September at Chautauqua Institute in New York state, look up this guild's display. I guarantee that you won't be disappointed -- it's always one of my favorites. Last year they moved to a different location from the colonnaded building to a cafeteria down towards the lake (near the gymnasium). Don't miss it and tell them The Orphan Quilter sent you!

Monday, May 2, 2011

Cochranton Quilt Show

Okay, here are pics from the Cochranton Quilt Show. Saturday's weather was really nice so the show was busiest in the morning. Sunday was a bit rainy so there was a nice light steady flow throughout the afternoon. I promoted my book at the show. I had some of the book quilts with me for display as well as my current magazine pieces with the magazines. It was nice to talk to so many people. On Sunday, I even gave a short spur of the moment demo on miniature English paper piecing because my newest take along project is a mini Grandmother's flower garden quilt which will finish at about 9" x 11".

I had some quilts in the quilt show, too. I won a first place in the original design category with my 2011 Barns and Hexes and Stars class quilt and a second place in the novelty category with a hand-pieced hexagon Christmas table mat.