Retail Therapy and Experiments

I sure don't buy much fabric anymore. I made a calculated decision about 4 years ago that I needed shop my stash and I have done a reasonably good job of that. When I do buy, it is to get a backing or a piece to complete a project that most was already coming from the stash. I also allow myself to shop sales. When I'm given a gift certificate to my local quilt shop, I then splurge on some pretty new stuff - and Lord knows there's plenty to choose from!

On Friday morning I attended the Circleville Quilt Show, and while I mostly wanted to see the quilts and check out how the new venue worked for them, I knew there would be a chance for shopping. Wanna' see what I got?

I have no explanation as to why these three fabrics from Primitive Gathering appealed to me, but they did, so I bought them. I also picked up a hexagon ruler with several sizes marked on it. I think I will be able to make good use of it. The business card is from the shop that these items came from. Pumpkin Ridge Quilt Shop is located near McArthur, OH, which is on the way to Athens where my DD2 lives. I think I will make it a point to find this store.

Another shop I stopped at, but alas, did not make any purchases was The City Stitcher out of Centerville, OH. She does not have an actual shop, but sells her items at shows. She also is affiliated with Quilter's Warehouse as a pattern designer. I was fascinated by this vendor because she had a huge array of blocks made up for quilters to buy. So, if I wanted a bunch of 9-patch blocks for a project, but didn't want to take the time to make them, I could get them from her, and then just work on completing a quilt top. Janet, the shop owner, says she has really good success with the sale of these blocks and she offers many colorways and other blocks, too, like churn dash, in several sizes.  

I thought the Primitive Gathering fabric would be all I went home with, but on my way out I remembered the "Sale Room" - a great place to find unique treasures. Members of the guild bring items from their sewing rooms that they no longer want to sell for others to use.

The last table I looked at had these feedsack fabrics, and I just knew I had to have them. I was so excited! I have seen so many great quilts made from  vintage fabrics, and I really think I will have fun coming up with ideas and seeing them turned into quilts.

The feedsack fabric did stay on my mind all through the weekend. I searched the internet, Pinterest, Instagram and various blogs for ideas. One that really appealed was a 9-patch with a white center. So I tried it. If I go with this, each 9-patch will be separated with white sashing strips. Go here to see my inspiration.

Two things make me reluctant to proceed with this 9-patch plan, however. First, I have only 6 fabrics, and I feel like this plan would require more variety. Second, the 2.5" squares are so small, and I think they lose some of their impact when placed side by side like this.

 The other idea that I really wanted to try was a Great Granny square. I have a nice big tub of solid fabrics from my grandmother. I rarely use them, and this seemed perfect. I used the 2.5" squares and laid out this design first.

Again, I thought both of these options really do not focus enough on the feedsack fabric. The solids were too dominant. So I tried one more option and I really like this one.

Removing that solid in the center and replacing it with the floral is exactly what the block needed.

I stitched it up and am very likely going to go with this design for a full-size quilt. I don't know when I will get back to this, but it will not be put off too long, I hope.

How much auditioning do you do before you come up with a design that you like? I probably should do more, and this experiment was worth the time I took to come up with the results that really pleased me.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Goodness Gracious!

Goodness Gracious! Is that a phrase you grew up hearing? I did. Or more completely, it was "Goodness gracious sake's alive!"

And "goodness gracious" is about all I can say after what happened at the fair on Saturday.

I won a rather surprising ribbon for one of my entries.

That ribbon is something, isn't it? It covers up half of my little quilt! This is one of three quilts I entered. And to be honest, I entered them practically on a last-minute whim.

As I was finishing my 6-Point Star quilt, I had in mind that I would put it in the fair. It was the motivation I needed to keep my efforts focused on finishing it. You can read about my finish here, or do a general search of the blog for '6-point star' for lots of progress reports.

This quilt got a blue ribbon in the hand-pieced/hand-quilted category. That was gratifying news.

I entered my little doll quilt, too; it got a red ribbon.

And then there is my miniature quilt - Pincushion Stars. I began it back in January and finished it in early February. Click here to read about the finish, if you like.

I still have a hard time believing that this was selected for BoS; there were several very accomplished quilters in the same department, so I was definitely not expecting it.

And just so you know that I won't be getting a big head over this, my drive home from the fair served to keep me on an even keel. My car broke down; I had to call a girlfriend to come fetch me as DH was out for the day and a tow truck had to retrieve the car. I still have not heard from the mechanic what is wrong with it. Geesh. 

I have linked up with Sew Fresh Quilts/Let's Bee Social; check it out for a dose of inspiration!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

These Struck My Fancy

Friday morning's trip to the Circleville Quilt Show provided me with a wealth of inspiration for quilts to get busy on. Here are some pictures of a few that caught my eye for one reason or another.

So pretty; tremendous appeal!

Interesting design. Unusual, to me at least.

Shoo-fly block; I love those old-time classics.

Close-up of quilt above; I wanted to remember the quilting.

A modern quilt; appealing.

I like the fabric; I think I have a big pack of it somewhere.

I really want to make a quilt like this someday.

Little quilt; simple block; wonderful results.

Sewing with Sharon today because she has a Ross County Fair commitment tomorrow. I must get busy!
Happy Quilting, Friends!

Quilt Show Highlights

The Good Time Quilters, the guild headquartered in Circleville, hosted its annual quilt show last week. The guild is a well-established group and have had an annual show for many years. I have gone for at least 20-25 years, and it was going strong before that, I believe.

This year the venue was new, and gosh what an improvement! The lighting was wonderful; the spaciousness was wonderful; the parking was wonderful. I heard many attendees making very positive remarks about this show.

The location was the gymnasium at Ohio Christian University. The pictures below are taken from the upper level looking down on all the quilts and vendors.

The quilts were displayed in the center of the gym, while vendors set up against the walls surrounding the quilts. It was nice to stop by a vendor's table at the end of each row. The space between the rows was more than adequate compared to the previous location. And just look at the well-lit space! Gosh, it couldn't have been nicer.

The smells of the kitchen permeated the lobby as one entered.Seating was ample and since I arrived just as lunches were being served, the room was quite full. Off to one side was a separate room for scissor sharpening and 'yard sale' - members bring unused or unneeded items from their own sewing rooms to offer for sale to benefit the guild.

ALERT!! I grabbed a wonderful find in the sale room; I will get back to you in a few days to share it.

Several of the friends I quilt with are in the Circleville guild and entered quilts. I will show you a few. I am sure I didn't find all of them.

Laura H. quilts with us at Canter's Cave each April, and occasionally at Terry's when her work schedule permits. The two quilts pictured above are both by Laura; I have seen the HST quilt before, and of course I loved it. Look; it has a blue ribbon! The quilt above (Hovering Hawks?) has a red ribbon.

The two quilts above are the work of Susan H. also of the Canter's Cave retreat and Terry's. The sampler quilt in French General fabrics was one of the first ones visitors saw upon entering the room. It is spectacular.

Side note: Sharon P. and I have tossed around the notion of using either our French General remnants or our Roman Holiday remnants in a sampler quilt. This can be our inspiration!

Susan's geometric quilt with green border is the quild's mystery quilt from their retreat. Our friend Terry quilted it.

 Jan got an extra-large ribbon - judge's choice, I believe - for this stack-n-whack she called "Go Bucks." I remember her starting this quilt way back at the quilt camp we had in June of '15 (or was it '14?).

I know I've shared bits about this quilt of Jan's in previous posts. I recall seeing her blocks at one of our Canter's Cave retreats; I also recall seeing the finished quilt at least once or twice. I am so happy it received a blue ribbon. The work is exquisite.

You learned from reading this post that Sheryll was entering  her Long Road Home, and look at that red ribbon! Well done, my friend! ;=)

Those are the pictures of quilts from my quilting buddies. I have a few other pictures of quilts that captured my fancy which I will share in another post. And I won't forget to show you what I bought. (It starts with an 'F'.) Stay tuned, dear readers!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Finished That 6-Point Star Quilt!

I did it! I have finished the 6-point star.

Finally.

To briefly recap this quilt's journey: In 1998-99, when DS was in high school and going to track and cross country meets, I needed a hand-stitching project to fill car time and down time. I selected as many random fabrics as I could from my stash, cut the parts, packed them with needle, thread and scissors into a zip-lock bag. Off I went! These stars saw a lot of running action around the state of Ohio.  After I had a goodly number of stars, I decided I'd better get to creating a quilt top.

So I did.

Then I stopped. I couldn't figure out how to even out the edges. The quilt found its way to a bin in the sewing room for about 10-12 years. I finally did what I thought was impossible: I whacked off the points of those outer stars. It didn't hurt at much as I thought it would. *grin*  This post shows those whacked off points.

In November of last year, I put the quilt into the quilt frame. Since it had been entirely hand pieced, it seemed only a matter of course that it would have to be hand quilted, as well. 

As I do a lot of things, my work occurred in spurts. I'd go like mad at it for a few weeks, then I would barely touch it. I even took the frame down through the Christmas holidays and hid it in the sewing room.

I am very relieved to have a finish. It's like an old friend, I've spent so much time with it in recent weeks. Make that months. Or years. We go way back, I guess you could say. 

Today, I will be helping out at the Ross County Fair as quilts are entered. It will be a long afternoon, and I will even enter a few of my own this year. 

I did go to the Circleville Quilt Show yesterday, and it was spectacular! I took quite a few pictures, and I will be getting those organized and edited ASAP. Stay tuned.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Binding For An Old Friend

This story can be told in pictures.

Binding prepared for quilt. Cut at 2.25" - for future reference, because that is always a tricky decision for me.

The quilt has been trimmed; a few wonky sections will be tricky. There were many, many biases in this quilt.

Attaching was a breeze. I have mentioned in previous posts about this quilt that it is entirely hand pieced and hand quilted. So attaching the binding by machine was a big decision. I just couldn't see myself doing it by hand, so under the machine it went.

This is my first opportunity to use my little clips. I like them!

The binding is the same fabric as the backing; I just used the cut-away pieces to cut my strips. Now I am ready for a long afternoon of sewing the binding. Notice that safety pin? That is my reminder that one section of that star didn't get quilted. I will come back to fix that after the binding is on.

Tomorrow I will have pictures of a finish! Come on back for the big reveal!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

A Pre-Quilt Show Quilt Show

Today the Circleville Quilt Guild opens its annual quilt show. I have pictures of quilts that my quilting friend Sheryll will be entering in the show. So you, dear readers, get a pre-quilt show quilt show.

This will look familiar to you if you have followed this blog for any length of time. It's called All in a Row by Kim Diehl, and we each made our own versions at the Canter's Cave retreat in April.

This shows off Sheryll's skill with applique; a few weeks ago she was putting the finishing touches on this quilt called A Little Porch Time.

I do not know the proper name for this quilt, but it is lap-quilt size, and I particularly love the crosshatch quilting in the borders. Very much the perfect fall decoration, isn't it?

Long Road Home! I made this quilt, too, so the name and quilt should be familiar to you. Sheryll followed the directions more closely than  I did, though, in that she used a subtle variety of neutrals for the setting blocks. (Mine were more colorful.)

Here's another quilt that will have to go nameless, as I did not get the exact title. Quite patriotic, though, and very striking.

I do not know when I will travel over to Circleville for the show; I was thinking of going tomorrow, but perhaps I will slip away later today. Whenever I go, I promise to get as many pictures as I can!

Happy Quilting, Friends!