Daily Blog

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Design inspiration can strike at any time. Last year it was at the auto show. This year it was an exhibit of Jukeboxes from the golden era.

Jukebox Saturday Night presented at the Blackhawk Museum in Danville, CA, featured jukeboxes from the 1940's and 1950's.

The colors and grillwork on these magnificent machines might just be found in your next piece of applique or your next quilting design.

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The author of the Girl with a Pearl Earring, Tracy Chevalier, met with the curator of the Victoria & Albert museum to work on a commissioned article for the V&A Magazine.  It turns out that Tracy was also going to begin some quilt research of her own on  for an upcoming book on Quaker immigrants.  To learn more about quilts, Tracy visited the textile store at Blythe House where she met Quilts curator Sue Prichard.

Tracy was commissioned to write the article to mark the opening of Quilts: 1700 - 2010, which is no longer at the museum.  However, you can download an App which allows you to view some of the quilts, click here to learn more about the app.

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Judy Murrah recently started a blog.  She has a background of 30 years in teaching quilting and related arts, worked as an International Quilt Show planner, the author of a number of books, and also took over duties as the Vice President of Education and Adminstration for Quilts, Inc.

This last job keeps her quite busy and she misses contact with her students and friends. She started the blog to build a creative community of students and contemporaries.  And the best part is, she is a great friend of Ricky's!

Judy is going to be sharing with TQS now and in the future.  To start us off, here are directions for some beautiful Valentines.  Just head on over to Judy's blog by clicking here.  (http://judymurrah.wordpress.com/) Then scroll down the page until you reach Play Date #1 Valentines.  You might want to spend a little time looking over her adorable Heart Pillows as well  - Play Date #2 Heart Pillow.

If you have any questions, Judy will be looking at comments, both here and on her blog. 

Judy also just might be sharing a few stories about working with Ricky...

"There are stories to tell about working with Ricky when he was just a pup. We both weren’t sure how his musical program would be received so he first was presented at Quilt Festival with Virginia Avery. Virginia lost her voice and so he got a little more show time. I’ve always loved his music and his stories no matter how many times I hear him."

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Spool Quilt by Edyta Sitar

If you missed out on the whirlwind of activity with the HST (Half-Square Triangle) exchange, here is your chance to join in on another sharing opportunity.  Winding on the Reels of Tangled Threads (Wot RoTT) is another fabric exchange that is being organized by TQS member PosyP. 

Instead of HST, this time it is Reels/Spools of color based on Edyta Sitar's lovely example featured in Episode 802.  But don't delay, PosyP says that there are only spaces for 80 participants!! Here are basics to the participate, but be sure to visit the discussion on the Forum here to get all the details.

• Contact PozyP by sending her a private e-mail titled "Wot RoTT".  This exchange is First Come, First Serve, so don't delay.
• Pre-wash all fabrics.
• Use Starch for stability.
  
• All of your thread reels (spools) should be made from the same color family (i.e. pink).
• Please put your Screen name, Town/City, Country on each section.
• Don't forget to include an envelope with your personal address.  That way you are sure to receive reels back.
• Put each set of 41 labeled strips in a ziplock bag, then place them in an envelope with an address label.  They don't need a third ziploc bag.
• Your package must arrive to PosyP no later than February 29, 2012.

Don't forget to share your quilt in the Show and Tell area titled "Wot RoTT" here.

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Happy Birthday Alex!  Hope you can party like an Alpine Rock Star!

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Here's another winning exhibit from the International Quilt Festival in Houston. Tactile Architecture^TM is an annual juried event featuring quilts based on architectural themes and inspirations.

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Do you suffer from Paraskevidekatriaphobia? If you do, than you know that it means you have an irrational fear of Friday the 13th. There are all kinds of scary superstitions associated with Friday the 13th (except China where 13 is a lucky number). Everything thing from cutting your hair on the 13th will cause a death in your family to starting a trip on a Friday will bring you bad luck.

It's said that if you change your bed on Friday the 13th, you will have bad dreams all night? As quilters, we find it hard to believe lying under any quilt could cause bad dreams.

Here are 13 quilts from TQS members which should only bring you Good Luck, Good Fortune, Blessings, Happiness and might just make you smile! 

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This project would make a great gift for any relative or friend—whether grown-up or child. The instructions are for making a "name" quilt, but the idea can be adapted for messages, or keys on a keyboard, too!

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On Ricky's recent visit to England he encountered a number of drive-by quiltings. He traveled by train so he had to stretch the definition from Drive-by to Train-by and Ricky also chose to bend the rules a bit because two opportunities happened while they were arriving or departing from a train station (rather than passing by) and one happened during a visit while traveling on the London Underground.

It's always great to see quilts and showing them in public places makes for a lot of curious onlookers.

To see the full stories of what actually happened in each photo and to learn about the quilts, click here and look for Drive-by Quiltings numbers 16-21.

Reading, England at the Reading Station with Pam Day:

Swindon, England at Swindon Station with Heather Bennet and her husband, Michael:

Bath, England at the Bath Spa Station with Sandy Ospina:

Mortimer, England at the Mortimer Station with Paula Doyle:

Oxford, England at Oxford Station with Sue Maddox and Sue Watters:

London, England - in the London Underground with Ferret and Tet:

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Every year The National Quilt Museum holds an international contest challenging quiltmakers to create an innovative quilt based on a specific traditional pattern.

This year's theme was Baskets and eighteen winning quilts were chosen and will be published in a book created by the American Quilter's Society.

We are proud to announce that four TQS members were in the top five, including the 1st Place Winner, Karen Grover (Groverquilts) of Rockford, IL with her quilt, Book Plate I. 

The Second Place winner was Leona Harden from New Tazewell, TN with Basket Case.

In Third Place was TQS' own Michael Michalski (BKLYNMIKE) with Basket Weaver.

Fourth Place went to another TQS member, Marilyn R. Smith (marilynrsmithquilts) with Bark Baskets.

And rounding out the top five was Ann L. Peterson (annlp) of Aurora, CO and Basket Case Flowers.

To see a list of all the winners and photos of the top five, click here.

The Museum will exhibit the 18 finalists and winning quilts March 10 through June 5, 2011. The exhibit will then travel to other venues through December 2012.

Next year's theme will be...Jacob's Ladder.   Click here for a 2013 Contest Brochure & Entry Form.

(quilt: Bark Baskets, by Marilyn R. Smith - photo: www.quiltmuseum.org)