After sharing most of the top winners with you in the last blog I’m moving into the show area to show you lots of my favorite quilts.
“Just Call Me Jack” was made by Virginia Greaves from Georgia. I believe this is a picture of her father-in-law when he was 18 and entering the military during World War II. The fabric choices and the use of shading on this quilt gave it depth. You can find out more about the artist at http://www.virginiagreaves.com/
Here is another great pictorial quilt. The name of the quilt is “God’s Greatest Gift Was My Dad”. It was made by Cindy Garcia from Wisconsin. This quilt won 3rd place in the “Art-People, Portraits, and Figures” category. Another quilt showing the perfect use of fabrics to achieve the picture. Again, this quilt has great shadows and depth. You can find out more about Cindy at http://cindygarciaquilts.com/
I loved the movement in this piece. It is called “Checks & Balances” and was made by Caryl Bryer Fallert from Kentucky. It won a first place in the “Art-People, Portraits, and Figures” category. Caryl is a master of fabric choice and design and uses her great skills to move us across the quilt. To find out more about Caryl visit her website http://www.bryerpatch.com/
“Artichoke in Bloom” won a Judge’s Choice award. It was made by Andrea Brokenshire from Texas. I’m sorry I did not write down the process of how this was made but I believe there was painting involved.
I loved the color balance and design balance of this quilt.
In the category called “Digital Imagery” this quilt caught my eye. It was made by Barbara McKie from Connecticut. The name of the quilt is “Crested Barbet”. The information on this quilt said she used the following techniques: dispersed-dyes digitally-manipulated image printed to polyester crepe, trapunto, thread painting, machine applique and machine quilting. The information also stated that she saw this bird in Botswana. You can find more information about Barbara on her websitehttp://www.mckieart.com
I may have shared this quilt with you when I saw it at another show earlier this year but I’m going to share it again. I really love this little quilt which was also made by Barbara McKie. This quilt used thread painting, trapunto, free motion machine quilting and machine applique. It amazes me how real it looks, including the water.
I thought this little quilt was adorable. It is called “Towhee” and was made by Judy Greenwood from BC, Canada. The quilt has ink painting and is machine quilted.
Here is another one of my favorite quilts from the show. I just loved this face. And oddly enough it was made by the same quilter as the quilt above, Judy Greenwood. The name of this quilt is “Lucy”. Don’t you just want to hug Lucy? I know I do.
“Lucy” won a 3rd place ribbon in the Art-Miniature category. Judy used some of the same techniques in this quilt as in “Towhee”, ink painting and machine quilting.
I’ll have more quilts from the show to share in upcoming blogs.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Book Reviews
“Adventures in Design” was written by Joan Wolfrom and published by C&T Publishing. I know there are a lot of quilt books on the market right now but I think this is hands down one of the best I have seen in a while. It is loaded with information on making good designs and how to apply the elements to your work. Not only does Joan explain it well but she shows lots and lots of quilts with each element and explains how the elements were used. This is a quilting book you must have in your library. To order a copy of the book go to Joans’ website http://www.joenwolfrom.com/
_______________________________________
Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
During this past year when I ask my students if they have read any good books lately one title kept coming up. When that happens I know it is a book I should read. This was the case with “Sarah’s Key” written by Tatiana de Rosnay. The story starts in July 1942 in Paris. 10 year old Sarah and her parents were taken by the French police as part of the French round up of Jewish families. Sarah locks her brother in a bedroom cupboard to protect him and tells him she’ll be back as soon as they are released, thinking she’d be back by the end of the day. On the 60th anniversary of the roundup a reporter by the name of Julie Jarmond uncovers Sarah’s story and so much more. The book is very well written and will hold your interest from beginning to end.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
New Quilt Tool
While at Quilt Festival I stopped by Cynthia England’s booth. Cynthia has a new tool which I had never before seen. It is called the “Strip Stick” and is used for pressing seams. It is especially useful if you have long seams close together, if you are sewing long strips to then be cut into smaller sections or if you have skinny borders strips….. I’m thinking it would be great for the type of paper piecing that Cynthia does as there are lots of little seams, close together, that need to be pressed. It is a very simple, yet effective idea. The strip is placed directly under the seam you need to press. It lifts that seam above the rest so the other seams are not disturbed. Often when I have pressed seams close together the seams close to the one I am pressing are disturbed which means I have to go back and repress them. This stick eliminates that problem. Very clever idea. You can find out more about the stick and see a video of how it is used by going to Cynthia’s website http://www.englanddesign.com/content/welcome-england-design