Quilters Unlimited Show 2019

The Quilt show was May 30 through June1, 2019.
I went to the quilt show with two of my non-quilty friends - Patsy and Sandy.  I know them from yoga classes and they are not quilters. This fact is important to the story that follows.

When we got to the "Trees of Life" quilt, I requested Patsy to take a picture of me with the quilt.
You know because a selfie would just not do it.

As I handed off my phone to Patsy, I noticed a couple of women walking towards us.
I went to stand next to the quilt and Patsy turned around and remarked to these women - My friend made this gorgeous quilt.
I blushed. The woman smiled, nodded and moved on.
My color deepened when I realized that Patsy had just addressed Jinny Beyer. It was just another day at the Quilt Show.

There is  something magical about the show.
I have made the quilt, photographed it and blogged about it but when I see it at the show, my heart skips a beat. Does this happen to you?

Here I am beaming with the "Fire Pit" quilt.

Here I am with "Mixed Feelings", happily reporting that all feelings are upbeat now.  The pain has receded into the dim caverns of my memory.

And lastly with Lo and Behold. Princess Bonniebella can be seen just over my shoulder and the Christmas tree plugged into the sunflower is just northeast of the princess.

If you have not, you have to see the full quilt and read the whole story here.

Here are some of my favorites from the show. The credits immediately follow the quilt picture

This looks so Indian to me with red and yellow which are considered auspicious colors and are used to clothe the Goddess, as well as the patchwork design reminiscent of the Rangoli patterns.

I love the bicyclist and the teddy bear in the doorway. Fun details.

Susan is in my guild and her work never fails to impress.

 

Delicate flowers to depict the mighty elephant - who would have thought?

 

So cute. Made me smile.

Spectacular. How do they make everything fit?  I am sure it is the magic of paper-piecing. Well-behaved paper-piecing, I guess.

 

I have seen this pattern before but not in solids.  I believe it is the black/white bands that add extra oomph.

 

The simplicity and straightforwardness of this quilt was very attractive to me. Fabric choices are important.

 

This intrigued me. I remember standing and staring it for a while to find all the embellishments she used.

 

And this small quilt was the show-stopper (in my opinion)

I returned from the show super happy and super exhausted.

Paul: Babe, are you ok?
Me: Yeah, why?
Paul: You seem subdued.
Me: The quilt show was fabulous.
Paul: And that has depressed you?
Me: No. Yes, in a way.
Paul: How so?
Me: Well, there are so many quilts to make and so little time
Paul: Ah OK. Well, are you going to finish this (pointing to the Trinket flimsy) one?
Me: I am not feeling it.
Paul: Whoa, What, Why?
Me: I completed every step, posted on Instagram religiously, sent an email for the finished top...
Paul: And?
Me: And I did not win.
Paul: Nothing?
Me: Absolutely nothing. I got oohs and aahs, nods and appreciation from other quilters but I wish I had also won something.
Paul: Was this like a lottery or a competition?
Me: Both. Well, first it was a weekly lottery and then it was the Grand Prize.
Paul: So who won?
Me: Bunch of people won. Not me.
Paul: Who won the grand prize?
Me: One very spectacular quilt - monochrome of blue and white. And another one had this very special layout where she made a picture or a landscape with these blocks.
Paul: So better quilts won.
Me: Some were better than mine. But mine is up there with the rest of the fancy ones.
Paul: Don't you have to finish this?
Me: Yes, but not this minute. It is not like I will get a prize for finishing it.
Paul: How about I give you a prize for finishing it.
Me: I am listening.
Paul: Gift Card to the Spa.
Me: I promise to complete it before the end of the month. But I want to play with my sisters now. They will cheer me up.
Paul: Good. Because I do not want a grumpy date. 

The rest of the exchange between Paul and me is redacted :-)


The new month had begun. The RSC's color for June is blue and I dived into my blue stash/scrap pile to make my blocks.

Blues for June

Complexions

in the works

Almost there

 And here they are - International sisters for the month of June

Her face glows and the dress too

Perfectly placed rose in the headdress

Oh yes I will dance

Me too

Did someone say dance?

Princess of Whimsical Seas

Wait for me

Oh yes, I must finish the Trinket quilt so that I can get the gift card to get the massage that I can definitely use :-)

I will be sharing with all my favorite linky parties. See full list on the side bar.
As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Stash Statement Blog Hop - Fire Pit

 Welcome to my turn on the Stash Statement Blog Hop.  Here is my version of Fire Pit.

Finished Quilt

I was thrilled when Kelly asked me to be a part of the blog hop. That was the easy part. But it was tricky to pick just one because there are several pretty quilts in this book.

Finished Flimsy

I picked Fire Pit, because it is such a striking pattern. This pattern requires Tri-Rec rulers. I have had these rulers for a while but had not used them and this was the perfect opportunity.

Secondary Pattern - the Star

Kelly's new book - Stash Statement Quilts is all about Structured Improvisational Piecing. This means two things in this order (just my opinion)
1. Go crazy with your scraps (all shapes/sizes) and experiment with improv piecing
2. Rein it in with Kelly's techniques of structure (block creation methods)

Warm Chaos

Cool Strips

THEN we get to the patchwork, followed by quilting and binding. 
I spent a whole month just making the blocks.  Why is that?
1. I chose a finer grain (smaller scraps)
2. I chose to make a twin bed size quilt instead of the lap size in the book.

Shall we start at the beginning?  I started with warm colors for the square blocks.

Chunky

I made four blocks. I stepped away from the design wall to admire my handiwork. Looked good, but the block looked chunky.

So, I cut them up, and re-stitched to end up with a finer grain, so that the block was made up of several smaller pieces than a few large pieces.

Chopped

A more cohesive look

I like this look much better. And the tone was set.

I was having so much fun that I ended up with way more blocks than required.

Needed 25, Got 42!!!

Is that a problem? Of course not.
I'll just make a larger quilt.

Next came the cool blocks, the triangles that required the tri recs ruler. Since this was my first time, I figured - let me make a couple of test blocks. When I placed the ruler/template on the improv slab, I realized that the ruler is bigger than the slab, by just a smidge.

Slightly bigger than 6.5"

A smidgen more than 6.5"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH.

See, that is why you make audition blocks. I chose to cut the next slab a 1/4" larger, allowing some wiggle room.

Cool Slab

Cool Triangles

42 blocks were arranged in a 6 by 7 grid, resulting in a flimsy that measured 72" by 84".

Design Wall

This is when I stretched the quilt (a little imagination and lots of scraps) by 3" on top and bottom to get a top measuring 72" by 90".

Finished Top - About 72" by 90"

This was now a perfect size for a twin bed.   I chose this green wide backing to speed things up.

Quilted it simply with my walking foot and wavy line quilting. For binding I chose a striped brown fabric.

Does the striped binding on green background remind you of a snake in the grass?  Don't worry, I have tamed the beast :-)

Who is the boss now?

In the end, what you get out of it (life, school, workout etc.) depends on what you put into it. And for the six weeks that I put into making Fire Pit, I am thrilled about it.

Setting the Fountain ablaze

It was a gorgeous sunny day and I got carried away. So here are a few more pictures.

My sunshine

bee happy, stunned owls, and dancing stick figures (can you find them)

Since my stash includes a lot of cute fabrics, you can see a glimpse of them in the picture above.

Getting Close

smiling snails

sheep and chick - deep in conversation

Labelled

Stay Still

Loving it

Finished!!!

But I am dying to know what you think. Only honest opinions, however brutal they may be...
I will be linking with all my favorite linky parties.  See sidebar.

Every week, two quilters showcase one quilt from the book.  Here is the entire line-up. 

Stash Statement Blog Tour Schedule-

4/16- Grand Bazaar    Shelley @ Cora's Quilts

                                    Connie @ Freemotion by the River

4/23- Louvered  Lindsey @ Primrose Cottage Quilts 

                           Diann @ Little Penguin Quilts

4/30- Precarious  Jess @ Quilty Habit                       

                             Myra @ Busy Hands Quilts

                                                            

5/7- Beach Retreat  Sarah @ Sarah Goer Quilts                               

                                 Liz @ Savor Every Stitch 

                                                           

5/14- Fire Pit   Alison @ Little Bunny Quilts                                          

                         Preeti @ Sew Preeti Quilts (you are here)

                                                            

5/21- Detour    Laura @ Slice of Pi Quilts                         

                         Shelley @ The Carpenter's Daughter Who Quilts

                                                            

5/28- Murrina    Yvonne @ Quilting Jetgirl             

                            Leanne @ Devoted Quilter

                                                            

6/4- Scattered    Jayne @ Twiggy and Opal                      

                           Christine @ Triangles and Squares 

                                                            

6/11- Bloom Chicka Boom   Chris @ made by ChrissieD            

                                               Michelle @ From Bolt to Beauty

                                                            

6/18- Regatta   Susan @ Quilt Fabrication                             

                          Debbie @ A Quilter's Table    

                          Christa @ Christa Quilts

                                                            

6/25- Catch a Falling Star  Cynthia @ Quilting is More Fun Than Housework        

                                              Anja @ Anja Quilts

                                                            

7/2- College Prep   Hilary @ by Hilary Jordan                 

                                Lori @ Crossquilt

                                                            

7/9- Take Flight (bonus digital pattern)  Kelli @ Seriously, I Think It Needs Stitches 

                                                                 Paula @ The Sassy Quilter

Stash Statement is available from the following:

• Kelly Young’s Shop – buying it here will get you a signed copy!
• Martingale – Stash Statement by Kelly Young
• Amazon – Stash Statement by Kelly Young