Lovely Alexandrite gives hope to those who are in despair about their lives. It brings strength and constantly reminds us of the light. With wildly changing color, it is a reminder that life is not always what it seems to be. Thought to bring luck, good fortune and love, Alexandrite is also considered to be a stone of very good omen.
Get great tips from Barbara about the Month 6 block of the Sizzle BOM. While she says it's probably the easiest block to make, there are a few things to look out for when piecing the block. The key is being well organized.
Barbara also talks about appliqué and mentions that now is also a good time to start watching Becky Goldsmith's Appliqué videos. Three new videos have been posted in her classroom. Even if you aren't making the BOM, Becky always has great ideas.
Eclat, by Sophie Zaugg of Switzerland, won 1st Place Piecing at QuiltCon 2019 this year. She was inspired by a street art mural and created a fractured shape which led to the title Eclat. In French, the word has several meanings including "fragment" and "light".
Take a moment to try and figure out how she pieced it together.
They had us at Dr. Matsumoto’s “Klein quartic quilt” which contains 24 seven-sided polygons, with three meeting at each vertex. Read about it in this fascinating article from the NY Times, ‘Knitting Is Coding’ and Yarn Is Programmable in This Physics Lab by Siobhan Roberts.
(Who knew they had weekly knitting meetings at the Georgia Tech School of Physics?)
This quilt, Wave on Wave, is another Lone Star beauty from Judy Martin (which you can find in her book Singular Stars). We love that it is strip pieced and yet displays a "wavelike" appearance.
Watch Judy in Show 2411.
Original Photo: Judy Martin
Now that the first 24 teams selected for the IMQE Exhibition have been featured, we will be showing the five reserve finalists. Here are the quilts for the fifth team of reserve finalists from the over 320 teams that participated in the International Miniature Quilt Exchange (IMQE). 201 teams submitted their quilts to be a part of the Exhibition in Houston 2018.
Click here to learn more about the International Miniature Quilt Exchange (IMQE).
Enjoy the quilts from Team 273 created by Maria Rosaria Roseo and Geneva Carroll.
Title of Quilt: Volcano
Quilter's Name: Maria Rosaria Roseo
Location: Rome, Italy
I'm Maria Rosaria, an Italian quilter. I've been doing quilting since 2013, I love abstract art and I'm inspired by the design of my quilts. I had the honor of exhibiting some quilt show jobs in Europe and the United States. The exchange experience with the International Miniature Quilt Exchange was very pleasant and interesting. It allowed me to meet a very nice American quilter and share with her the passion for this art. Quilting in Italy is little known, and having the opportunity to exchange experiences with the immense world of American quilting is a fabulous and unique opportunity. In Italy I am part of the Roman School of Quilting, founded by a dear friend of mine and known quilter. The school aims to spread the knowledge of the textile tradition of quilting and art quilting. The opportunity offered by TQS fits perfectly into our goals and wishes.
Title of Quilt: To Rome With Love
Quilter's Name: Geneva Carroll
Location: West Richland, Washington, USA
The IMQE has been a lot of fun for my partner and me. When I first learned that Maria Rosaria Roseo lived in Rome I was so excited! I love visiting Rome and how lucky was I to have a new friend that lived there! When Maria Rosaria showed me photos of her quilts and her work with the Roman School of Quilting, I was even more excited. Here was a quilter like me! Maria Rosaria and I agreed we didn’t want to do traditional miniatures. We are both followers of Jean Wells and her work. We decided to make each other a miniature quilt with the influence of Jean Wells. After reading through Jean’s book “Intuitive Color and Design” I decided a log cabin innovative pieced quilt was perfect for the IMQE challenge and for Maria Rosaria. I chose my fabrics, hues of primary colors and went to work! This was a fun quilt to make and I am honored to be able to give “To Rome With Love” to my friend, Maria Rosaria!
For More Information:
To Book a Tour contact:
We think we would need a vacation after completing this appliqué beauty by Amy Allen of Honaunau, HI. Tropical Vacation was created with machine appliqué, beading, free-motion quilting, freestyle piecing, hand piecing, improvisational piecing, machine piecing, and trapunto, and more...whew! It measures 94" x 94" and was exhibited at AQS QuiltWeek Spring Paducah 2019.
We love the color palette and great use of kaleidoscope fabric. And did we mention the scalloped border and amazing quilting?
Kim Eichler-Messmer writes about her landscape quilts:
"I am affected by light more than any other external factor. My face turns towards the sun like a sunflower, trying to soak up the warmth of the rays. On dark days I am slow and quiet. I shiver under the darkening sky of a thunderstorm and feel a crushing urge to flee. The long, dark shadows of an autumn afternoon infuse me with a strange balance of sadness and contentment. The pink clouds of sunrise fill me with hope.
It is the quality of light, weather patterns, and dramatic skies particular to the American Midwest that I attempt to capture in my work. In my quilts, I visually abstract the landscape while also bringing it into sharper emotional focus. Diligent photographic documentation of the sky forms the starting point for decisions about composition and color, which are then shaped by mood and memory."
Watch Kim in Show 2411.
62" x 70"
Original Photo: Kim Eichler-Messmer