Daily Blog - TheQuiltShow.com

The Night Before - podcast 55

Please visit my site www.alexandersonquilts.com to listen to the interview/chat with Ricky and myself on the eve of the first taping.....Having just listened to it, I'd say it is a true snap shot of the entire scene. Coming up soon (that's called a tease in TV land) pod cast 56 is a reflection of the crazy fun filled taping days in La Veta. Photo: Gregory Case

Add new comment

The Tale of a Quilting Nightmare

Story Submitted by: Pattiwatti

Once upon a time, there was a quilter who decided she would enter a national quilting exhibition / contest. She was very excited as this was the first national competition she ever had entered. Wow ! A non-juried show. This was great ! No problem here.. she could easily enter three or four of her favorite quilts with the high hopes of winning the sought-after ribbon. She felt she had a good chance because the "quilt in question" had already taken Grand Champion trophy, a First Place ribbon and a Tri-Color ribbon at a county fair. Her quilt was very, very large with a black background, some lilac kaleidoscopes and a medallion of some beautiful white kittens placed ever so gently within the fussy-cut, fused and machine-appliqued center of the lilac medallion collage. So cute they were... peeking out from behind the springtime floral display. The image of the sweet little kittens was something she had never used on anything, let alone a quilt, that being an iron-on from a craft store purchased 3 years previously; you know, one of those rubbery type things you cannot iron once it's on. She and her husband, who was also very excited for her and being ever-so helpful as he always is, decided to help her prepare for packaging them off to the show people. We all know that quilts entered into any show must be clean, without odor and without PET HAIR (from the 3 cats that ruled the house). Out came the lint brushes, waving fast and furious to get said quilts off to be shipped (the next day). Alrighty then... one quilt clean, two quilts clean, three quilts clean and then onto the final fourth - the one with the kitties. "Wow, we're almost finished", they said. As she and her husband were waving their lint brushes and using some very mild scotch tape to pull out the stubborn cat hairs on this last quilt, he said to her, "This works much better than regular scotch tape!" She turned around to see her husband with the dreaded silver duct tape wrapped around his palm..... need I say more. Off came the kittens' faces. She thought she would have a heart attack! There is no hope. She decided to run to the craft store after having purchased this iron-on so-o-o long ago with the high hopes of finding another. What a miracle. Lo and behold, they had not one, but three of them left in the store. She whipped out her wallet and purchased all three. At this point, with time running out, there had to be a better way. While almost crying over this major dilemma, she meticulously picked out the stitches from the machine applique and scraped off the rest of the kitties. Aha ! A light bulb moment.. photo transfer. The kittens were now scanned into the computer, printed on some fabric, fussy cut and hand-appliqued back into their home to hide in the center of the quilt while other collateral damage repairs were done as well. The 4 quilts were on their way to the quilt show "just in time". She lived happily ever after. Can you guess who this quilter was? Yep...it was me, Pattiwatti

Add new comment

Celebrating 10,000 with Champagne

Gregory Case, the quilt show photographer, gave Alex and me a bottle of champagne when he arrived before the tapings last weekend. In all the hustle and bustle we never remembered to pop it open. So, Alex just called and suggested that our dye class celebrate our 10,000 member mark. We just did - complete with dye gloves! Justin is teaching the class today - I am tomorrow. Tonight - all of our Wolrd Quilt Community members should raise a glass! We've reached our first milestone. This is only the beginning! Whoo Hoo and here's to all of you!

(Photo by Shirley Hammond)

Add new comment

YYIIPPEEEE

Ten thousand!!!! Welcome everyone to our growing web community! Hey RICKY - where is that bubblie Gregory brought to the set? Break it open for Justin's class (he's teaching a dye class today) and tip the glass for me, ok? What an exciting journey this continues to be!!!!!

Add new comment

Quilt Stories to Read

The stories link in the menu bar has new member-submitted quilt stories for you to read. If you would like to submit a story, just do so in that link by typing the story - submit it - then upload a photo to go with it. Once it gets approved it will post right on the Stories link. If you want to read the author's profile, just click their name and you will go to the profile page. There you have the opportunity to email them if you like.- Enjoy!

Add new comment

Take Ten

Cheryl (if you don't know, you will soon learn who she is) just sent me a stack of photos via email - gotta love the internet! Anyway, right before I left La Veta we hit the road to get some A&R's (Alex and Rickys), and truck after truck passed us on the road until I literally sat on the side of the road laughing my brains out (hopefully we can put something together for you to see - it got a little raunchie). What a wonderful way to end our first taping.Wow - memories........

Add new comment

Single and Available

Who said we aren't a full service web site? Meet Jeff! Actually, he is Ricky and Justin's master dyer and digatizer and The Quilt Shows right hand guy. Jeff wore many hats these past two weeks. From Camera guy to quilt hanger, we couldn't have done it with out you baby! Hugs and thanks!

Add new comment

The Story of Rutledge Red

Story Submitted by: sewraysofjoy

Ten months ago in the frenzy of getting Christmas presents planned, I knew I would not be able to do all I wanted. The thought came to me that I would send out a request page of what kind of Quilt I could make for my brother and his wife. I knew that would buy me some time. By March they sent me their specifications – all that really stuck out from the page wasn’t the size (queen) or the type (traditional) but one little word – RED. I practically had red as non-existent in my stash. Not that I didn’t like it, I loved red, but I had never worked with it. Why? Fear of bleeding? Too Red Raider-ish? Too valentiney? Nonetheless I began my red quest frenzy every time I came near a fabric store or went on a shop hop. By the end of April I had so many reds, blacks and pinks and every thing in between that I was ready to find the right pattern. First I had a great “scrappy” pattern and began slashing and slicing all the pieces. I followed the next step a quilter usually does and threw them up on a design board. “Threw up” is not to be taken lightly --- scrappy became crappy. My fears were realized; it looked like a chewed up and spit out Valentiney Red Raider horse blanket. I abandoned the whole thing – in despair. Now what? I lamented my dismay to my dear quilting friends, Maureen and Beth, as we were walking into a favorite store. I pulled out my recent magazine on the subject and began flipping through the pages. I said if I really wanted to do one right for them it should look like—this--- pointing to a pattern featured in the magazine. “So let’s look at likely fabrics”, Maureen said. Thirty minutes later we were walking out the door with all the fabric for THE ONE. I was ready to “get’er done.” Little did I realize that the 20 blocks had over 60 pieces in each of them, and I was also going to be tackling a never attempted skill of appliqué. This might take a little more than the couple of months I had planned. I didn’t even want to think about the quilting itself, so I proceeded to piece, and piece, and piece all summer long. Finally in August the top was done! I called on a few friends and we “sandwiched” the top, batting and backing together in record time. Maureen offered to teach me how to use her big long-arm quilting machine. Pushing my new fears aside, I said okay. For about 3 weeks I would go over to her house after school and quilt. I soon stopped my “white-knuckle” driving and began to really see this beauty emerging. In spite of all the imperfections, I was proud to pull it off the machine and hurry home to bind it. That gave me the slow down time to think about the label, and what I would name it. As I formed the pieces for the label Rutledge Red came to mind. That had to be it. Knowing how much Tricia loves red, and how much Tom loves Tricia, the two came together. The two words joined a perfect union, just like Tom and Tricia do. I began quilting as a selfish act as a way to work through my own grief and healing, but it has now become such a piece of myself, that I want to share it with all whom I love. But, I also hate to “push my homemad-ey” stuff on people. Hopefully this quilt created in love will be used in the same spirit it was given.

Add new comment

Quitling B

Story Submitted by: kayzwart

How did you do that? Is that your work? Unusual!! WOW! Are you a quilter? These are some of the questions I get whenever I arrive with my newest quilting project. . It all started when my 16 year old daughter got a new little car called a Scion. These not being common made it seem exciting for her to seek out a Scion Car show in our town. Hmm… considering that the local Rap/heavy metal radio station was sponsoring it, I thought I had better go along to watch out for my little princess. . It did turn out to be a “Pimp my Ride” kind of cultural event . All the little Scion XBs and Tc's done up so elaborately with dragons and flames and such. Those little Boxy XB’s really caught my eye. The owners while they had the typical look you might expect with piercings and tattoos aplenty, were so proud to show off their “Rides” It seems that our Creator God gave all who are involved in a creative endeavor, one thing in common. We like to share the joy of our heart in our creation. That was when the seed was planted. How could I, a quilter, “Pimp my ride” to reflect who I am. . The next thing I knew I was off to the quilting store for fabric. I turned some beautiful batiks into one of my favorite patterns , A Virginia Reel with a star in the middle. I first saw this wonderful combination in a book by Judy Murray. My hubby photographed the quilt and we sent it off to a graphic artist who work on it to show some of the patches along the side of the car look like they were ripping off and leaving a swirl of stitches. (no doubt because I would be going so fast to quilt meetings, shows and shops). Next came the car and the installation that was done by a very clever Jamaican fellow named Ryan and his handy blow torch. . I have had my scion XB changed forever into a Scion “Quilting B”. One unexpected effect that my cars transformation has had…… Everywhere I go now I have meet folks who say hi and want to chat a bit. Most everyone I drive by is now smiling!! No road rage near by my car. It seems like a friendlier happier world driving in my car. Isn’t that really what a Quilting Bee is all about? Time to smile, enjoy other people and find out a bit about each other and our creative endeavors? Maybe I have started a trend! If you see me tooling around in My “Quilting B “ stop me, say hi and chat a bit. Kay Zwart Mom, Quilter, Cat lover

Add new comment

Comfort for a Soldier's Son

Story Submitted by: SandiMako

A friend was tormented because her daughter's boyfriend had just left for Iraq and her children missed him terribly. The little boy was especially sad and started acting out. He didn't understand the concept of war and the need for his "daddy" to go away. Her little baby girl was also anticipating his presence and obviously confused by his absence. I told her about an article I saw in a quilting magazine about making memory quilts for the soldier's families. Framed photographs are often off-limits to little ones, but by putting the soldier's photo on a simple baby quilt, the children could cuddle, hug and talk to their mommy or daddy. They saw an immediate decrease in the stress level of the child. I had her daughter send me photos of the soldier, mommy and the children. I used a simple, pieced design around six 8" by 10" fabric photos. Then I used my extensive collection of children's novelty fat quarters to border the photos and make the quilt. I even found some Marine fabric to use as the backing. The quilt was a complete success.

Add new comment

Page 1286 of 1303