6

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 third 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 196 created by Ethelda Ellis and Sharon Moore.

Title of Quilt: Autumn Antics

Quilter's Name: Ethelda Ellis

Location: Rosenallis, County Laois, Ireland

My love to create in miniature and the opportunity to work with an unknown partner, made this an appealing challenge. I connected easily to Sharon as she has visited Ireland before and although we live on different continents we belong to the same church. Her more traditional designs juxtapose with my art quilts. It was easy to agree on a theme of Seasons and in particular Autumn through our mutual love of the warm colours. The little red squirrels have always delighted me on my walks in the natural woods around Emo, a small local village near our home in the Midlands of Ireland. They are indigenous to Ireland. I received written permission from Paul Whiteley to use his detailed photographs of them and used my own photographs of the mushrooms growing on our lawn. The background is machine pieced strips of hand and commercially dyed and printed fabrics. The red squirrel and mushrooms were made separately by fused appliqué, enhanced by free-motion thread work and then appliquéd onto the background. Free motion quilting was done on a sit down sewing machine. I hope that Sharon, my new quilting friend will like the quilt I made and that the two of us can meet one day in person. It was a wonderful experience to build a relationship with someone as passionate about quilting as I and a privilege to belong to the international Quilting Community. Thank-you TQS!

 

Title of Quilt: Autumn Stars

Quilter's Name: Sharon Moore

Location: Montpelier, Ohio, USA

This has been great fun. Hope you do it again. My teammate is Ethelda, a doctor originally from South Africa but now from Ireland. We are the same religion. We both teach quilting. She teaches how to make and machine quilt beautiful pictorial quilts. She does this in Ireland, England and Scotland. I teach new techniques that work at Sauder Historical Village and at the WCOQG retreat. I am a hand quilter and have done some machine quilting. I have never done a pictorial quilt but plan to try some day with Ethelda’s guidance. Ethelda has been a wonderful partner. Even though she is a very busy person she has found time to share through email. We discussed colors she liked so I made Ethelda ‘Autumn Stars’. The star fabric came from a Moda Autumn Elegance jelly roll and coordinating fabric for the other parts. The backing is a surprise from Kaffe. The pattern was modified from Terrie Sandelin’s Miniatures In Minutes star pattern. The quilting is my own design and yes, it is machine quilted (got to keep leaning). We are enjoying having the quilt hang in our house until it becomes Ethelda’s. Some quilts are harder to give up than other and this is one of them but it is going to a very special person.

 
 

  1
Cheryl Lynch will be teaching her mini mosaic class this summer and you can join her at the Quilt Gallery in Kalispell, MT. Click on Learn More to get all the details. (July 31, 2019 - August 4, 2019)
 
 
The first two days of class will be spent choosing and completing one of Cheryl's Mini Mosaic quilt patterns. There are multiple pattern options provided, students will choose their favorite design (9” x 12”) to create under Cheryl’s direction. Each completed mosaic can be bordered and quilted.  

Days 3 through 5: Creating your own mini mosaic! 
Students will create their own design (16" x 20" or 18" x 24") using the skills you learned in days 1 and 2.

  14

Sandy Curran's Wild Cat (39" x 45") quilt was on display as part of the Throwback Thursday quilt competition at Quiltfest Lancaster 2019. This larger than life collaged cat has stunning green eyes that draw you into the quilt.

Sandy writes about her quilts, "Sometimes my work is an expression of my joy in the things I love. Often, eyes, the "window to our souls" are central. For me, if the eyes are alive, I have succeeded."

We think she definitely succeeded with this quilt. 

We know that this is a Throwback Thursday quilt as we found it on exhibit in Paducah in 2009.

 

  3

Teresa collaborated with her boyfriend, Hawke Hamilton, to make the uplifting quilt, Ascension. It's based on one of his paintings and even includes a pair of his jeans.

Watch Teresa in Show 2410.

Original Photo: Mary Kay Davis

  2

Teresa collaborated with her boyfriend, Hawke Hamilton, to make the uplifting quilt, Ascension. It's based on one of his paintings and even includes a pair of his jeans.

Watch Teresa in Show 2410.

AscensionbyTeresaCoates - 36 Pieces Non-Rotating

AscensionbyTeresaCoates - 100 Pieces Non-Rotating

AscensionbyTeresaCoates - 289 Pieces Non-Rotating

AscensionbyTeresaCoates - 36 Pieces Rotating

AscensionbyTeresaCoates - 100 Pieces Rotating

AscensionbyTeresaCoates - 289 Pieces Rotating

Original Photo: Mary Kay Davis

 

  1

How much of your life do you spend quilting and crafting? Protect yourself from back and shoulder pain caused by quilting, sewing, and crafting at the wrong height! 

So many aspects of quilting can put strain on your body if done at the wrong height, cutting fabric, piecing on a sewing machine, pinning for quilting, anything where you lean over or work with your arms outstretched.

These electric craft tables adjust to whatever height best suits you and your current activity at the touch of a button (from 27 to 45 inches high), reducing stress and pain on the back and shoulders. Opt for the ergonomic table top with a crescent-shaped cutout and reduce stress even further!

Shop Now

Ships free in the USA!

It is so important to us to keep our employees happy and healthy, and this is the table that we use in our fabric room. We like it so much because we can very easily adjust it for different tasks. Just push a button to adjust it lower for sewing on, higher for cutting, and in between for assembling kits and doing other small tasks. Plus, we have different people working on it at different times, and for each person the settings can be suited to them.

Shop Now

 

  3

Alex and Ricky are back in Iowa with Kim Eichler-Messmer. A fiber professor at the Kansas City Art Institute, Kim shares tips for eco-friendly dyeing using organic materials and then moves on from that to improv piecing with her serger (including some tips for working with lamé).

Judy Martin also joins in the fun by sharing a myriad of possibilities when working with Lone Star blocks.

Watch Kim and Judy in Show 2411 when it debuts Sunday, May 19, 2019.

  3
The weather is finally starting to warm up (we hope) and you are already thinking of all the Summer fun ahead. The kids will be out of school and it will be time for camping trips, sleepovers with friends, and sleeping out amongst the stars. So why not sew up a quick and easy sleeping bag with a tutorial from Art Gallery Fabrics and WeAllSew.com?
 
 

  5

Alex talks to Barbara Black about the Month 5 Block for the TQS BOM Sizzle (and shares her itty bitty mistake). She also gives a bit of a teaser regarding the Month 6 block and what's coming up for next year.

  10

Kathy McNeil delivers another appliqué beauty with Music (40" x 47") on display at Quiltfest Lancaster 2019.

Kathy writes: Words often fail, but Music always delivers the emotions of life. This quilt is my visual tribute to Musical shapes, sounds, and movement.

It is Machine Pieced, Hand Appliquéd, and Machine Quilted. We were wowed by the curling pieces being in perspective. We also loved the variations in the quilting which added to the feeling of Joy.

Music also won in the category Judging Floor Staff Favorite at Road to California 2019.

Kathy's quilt is available for sale, click here to inquire.

Star Members can watch Kathy in Show 1802: Fearless Quilting and Fabulous Results.

(Image: Teri Lucas)

(Image: Kathy McNeil)

(Image: Kathy McNeil)