Progress on Projects

POP: That could be the acronym for this post.
I have a few photos of projects I have worked on in between all my other tasks. 
I finished four mug rugs for a craft show. I have quite a few other things to make before November 16. It is at the church and it is the first time I have considered having a table. I will see how it goes. While it is not a juried craft show, I would like to have a variety of well-made items.

I used some scraps for these, with the backs being pieces cut from yardage. These were the simpler ones. The slightly more elaborate mug rugs are in the next few weeks. And I hope to have our oldest daughter who is at home with us help out.

Quilt Guild Show is over

The Tall Pine Quilters Guild had a wonderful quilt show on Friday and Saturday. This was the first big show we have had in 11 years. We had 463 people come to the show. There are about 70 members in the guild and we had over 225 beautiful quilts on display, a quilt appraiser (one of our long-time members),12 vendors and raffle prizes every 2 hours. I was able to spend a few hours viewing all the quilts on Friday and worked at various jobs today. The committee that worked on this event did a fantastic job of organizing the displays, advertising, and laying out the timeline and schedules. 


The importance of a blog schedule:
While searching for information on how to add a comment counter to my blog (which I still have not really been able to find or understand), I found a blog telling of the importance of a consistent posting schedule. It gave me something to consider. I know my schedules change from day to day and week to week depending upon the needs of others. But I now understand how those of you who follow my blog (or any blog), and those who I hope will begin following it, come to depend upon consistency in posting. So....

This coming week, the establishment of a regular schedule will begin with (Drum roll....):

the Autumn Animal Applique Blog Hop. I participated in one of one of  Bea's other blog hops, and this one I know will be enjoyable. There is a grand giveway from EQ--an EQ7 program for the one lucky winner who visits us during the week. 
But I want give all of you a chance to win a giveaway that I have. I will announce it on Monday, with a photo, and all the details on how to enter for a chance to win the Patchwork Breeze giveaway. So stop back at Midnight (EST), October 21!

New Fabric Aquisition: 
The quilt show clean-up was complete. I left and took a side trip to The New Ewe (one of the show vendors and the store where I teach) to see what might be new. Well, I spotted a bolt of fabric I had not seen. But the date shows it has been there for months. Where it was hiding I do not know. I have a hankering to work on another Stack-N-Whack quilt. So I bought enough to do an 8-layer Stack N Whack. Of course, I had to find something to go with it because, like many of you, I just do not have the right colors in my stash to work with. Here is a photo of what I bought. Blue is my favorite color. I realized that years ago, when I sorted my fabrics by colors and my stack of blues was 3 times more than any other color?!

Do you have a favorite color, or a favorite technique or block? Leave a comment and let me know. Do you EQ? Send a pic of a block you designed with your favorite color(s) or pattern. I would be happy to see it. 

A Little Bit of This and That

In the email I got from AQS today my eye was drawn immediately to the words:  "What A Boost: Art Quilt Wins BIG!" The article is about the Art Prize Winning Quilt by Ann Loveless. If you'd like to read what AQS has to say, here is the link:

A section of "Sleeping Bear Dune Lakeshore" 

Art Quilt by Ann Loveless

Later today I opened the email from The Quilt Show and there was a link to hear the interview Alex Anderson had with Ann Loveless. There was a slideshow of some photos from Ann that show her process and some of the quilts. Click HERE to hear the interview.

What is it worth?

As I looked through my Facebook feed, a quilter asked how she should figure the price for a quilt she has been asked to make. I think we all have faced this dilemma at some point in our quilting journey. I am facing it right now as I prepare items for a local craft show. A reference was made to a blog post from November 2012. I am bookmarking this blog post because I am sure I will refer to it in the future. (A follow-up was posted on April 4, 2013.)

WHAT IS IT WORTH?

Follow-Up: A BIGGER PICTURE

Off to sew some mug rugs. What are you sewing?

Blog Hop Prep

It's less than a week until the EQ Autumn Applique Animals Blog Hop starts. I was very pleased to have had an email from Bea asking if I would like to participate in a blog hop with an autumn theme. I replied right away with YES! 

I have designed a few "friends" as applique blocks. I am working on one small project to show as an idea on how to use one of the blocks. AND, I am diligently working on getting the tutorial ready to share with all you bloggers. 

It should be FUN. Each of us will have tutorials, there will be an awesome giveaway, and new ideas for quilting projects. Mark your calendars for October 21, 2013.

Here is the tentative schedule of Blog Sites:

October 21st

Bea Beaquilter

Jane’s Quilting

October 22nd

Connie Freemotion by the River

October 23rd

Amy Sew Incredibly Crazy

SewCalgal

October 24th

Nancy PatchworkBreeze

Marian Seams to Be Sew

October 25th

Carol Funthreads

 "EQ Mouse" Electric Quilt

Art Quilt Genre Gets Big Boost

I will cut to the chase. Ann Loveless won the $200,000 Art Prize Award for her stunning art quilt! The public had 10 finalists to vote for as their choice for Grand Prize Winner. I quote my friend, Leslie's, Facebook post:

"More than 49,000 people cast 446,850 votes over 16 days, 

divided into two rounds of voting, 

to pick "Sleeping Bear Dune Lakeshore" its favorite 

among 1,524 works of art in ArtPrize 2013. It is amazing!"

Her work is amazing. She has entered the ArtPrize twice before. Guess "3rd time is the charm."

MSN News has a report here.
A local story shows more photos of the mural.

Ann taught a workshop for our guild a year ago, which I was able to take.  She is an amazing artist and a wonderful teacher. It was so easy to follow her instructions and leave with a great landscape quilt. Unfortunately, I was able to visit ArtPrize only one day and did not get to see her piece.

I am going to be participating in another Blog Hop sponsored by EQ and headed up by Bea from Beaquilter. I look forward to designing another cute fall-themed applique to share with you. Mark your calendars for the starting date of October21. 

I have finished the last of the Persian Star blocks for the swap. Well, I still have one of my own blocks to finish, but those that had to be mailed are done and sent. I wish I could have gotten better photos, they do not show the actual colors. 

Quilting Has Gone to the Dog

I began the day doing some chores around the house. Then I got busy cutting out a dog coat pattern for our daughter's dog. It was a very easy pattern to make. I had the main part sewn in no time. I took a break to meet a quilter for lunch and a chat. I then visited The New Ewe Quilt Store to chat with the ladies at the Open Sewing. After getting home I finished the strap and velcros for the belly band on the dog coat. It is done, fits well, and is reversible. I like the blue side best.

Tomorrow a friend is coming over to help me learn a bit more about working with my embroidery machine. I look forward to trying some kitchen towels for Christmas presents. Maybe there will be another dog coat with some embroidery on it!