I've been busy again! My hubby hasn't seen much of me lately, but there are a number of good reasons. Well, my quilt guild will tell you they are good reasons!
I'm the membership chair, so finalizing the roster and getting that handed out took a little work.
The guild also voted on an official logo, so I decided to work with my brother who, with his wife, run a company that does custom screen printing and embroidery. Many of my fellow guild members and myself now own shirts sporting our new logo. This was done in a rush to accommodate the last big project on my plate...
Last weekend was our guild's annual quilt show! We wanted to be able to wear our new shirts at the show and look official. I think we looked quite nice, though the shirts were optional and not everyone ordered one.
Here are a few (not so great) photos of the show:
We had 91 quilts on display. From a guild of only 45 members, you can see there is a LOT of variety and even more talent. We crammed these all into a small multi-purpose room at the local library and had a free-admission show Saturday and Sunday.
Friday I spent a good portion of the day on a ladder hanging quilts from poles up at the ceiling. It was a long day, but well worth the trouble and frustrations. We had about 150 people come - on an advertising budget of $0, I'd say that's not bad!
What you don't really see is that we set up tables around the room and actually worked on projects (small ones) during the show. It gave visitors a chance to ask questions and see how we do what we do. And I think we might have a few new members again this year as a result.
Sunday afternoon we tore everything down. I was on the ladder less because lots of husbands showed up at the end and were able and willing to spend time on ladders, so I just ran around and did whatever. I guess you'd call me assistant chair - I helped a lot last year, but this year did more and the gal in charge says next year this is my baby and she'll be my assistant. We're going to have to have a serious chat about that (she's got some BIIIIIG shoes to fill, never mind that I work full-time), but I did enjoy getting to be so involved.
I took Monday off work to recover. Since I was gone most of Friday, Saturday and Sunday, many of the chores I do during the weekend got neglected. Plus I just needed to recover!
During the show, I worked on sewing strips together for a charity quilt. These strips came from the bag my sister-in-law gave me a while ago and I'd had an idea in my head for a while, having seen a quilt at a show. But since we didn't have an iron set up (which is normal for our weekend sewing days), I couldn't work too much on this. (That's okay, there were LOTS of distractions!)
Monday I figured out block placement:
These fabrics make me think so much of Love and are definitely not anything I'd choose on my own, but with some setting triangles in there and probably a piano keys border to use up strip ends, I think this is going to make some lady very happy.
Once that was done, I moved on to finishing cutting and marking my science geek fabrics (scroll down in the link). Cutting hexagons is not fun, but for this fabric, I can't think of any shape that makes more sense than a hexagon. I thought this was going to be big enough for my bed, but it's not. (I know because it fits on my living room floor - which is slightly smaller than a queen-size quilt needs to be...)
Now I have to learn how to sew those inset seams. But I marked 1/4" from the edges on every single piece (I think there were about 4 million of them) and will tackle that soon. I'm determined, even if I'm still not a hexie fan. They're 6 1/2" hexagons, though, so that will hopefully make things easier. Or harder...
And finally, the weekend before the show, I knew I had to get the next row-by-row done. So here are a few sneak peaks:
Many of these blocks ended up with more pieces in them than the last row, but I guess I'm just an over-achiever? I want these rows to be amazing and I'm putting in a lot of effort and my best work because that's what I hope I get back. And I really, really, really hope the gals I'm sewing for like what I've done. (And it's kinda killing me that I can't share what I've done.)
What I can share is my helper...
While making the pineapple, I'd sew opposite pieces, then get up to press and pin my next pieces. Every single time, this is what I had to deal with. This is my sewing chair. Maybe a foot away is an oversized stuffed chair. Would she sit in that? No. It was my chair or nothing. And with something like 56 pieces (or was it 42?) in that pineapple, I moved her a LOT. She grumbled every time. (She is a bit of a spoiled princess...)
So that's all for now.
Next up is the guild newsletter. Yeah, I do that, too. But that one is fun. Mostly. :)
Happy quilting,
Katie
6 comments:
Wow! You have been busy! I remember the days when helping set up for a guild show, and it certainly is very tiring, but fun at the same time. Looks like you had a great show! Your hexies and the pink/green strips are both going to make really pretty quilts. Have fun with them, but get some rest too somehow! Life is too LONG to work hard all the time!---"Love"
You've been busy! You had quite a variety of quilts at your quilt show. It looks great from here :) I'm looking forward to seeing the row-by-row quilts! Is that a year-long project? If so, I need to practice a bit of patience! And you are more ambitious than me with all those hexies. Too many set-in seams for my blood! It will be a really fun quilt though.
My word you've been busy! I'm exhausted just reading about it. Your quilt show was a triumph (what I'd give to come and see some US quilt shows). Well done to all involved. Love your *Love* blocks. I'm hand stitching my hexies principally to avoid awkward seams. Good luck with yours! I'm sure you are doing a first class job of the row by row.
Lots of great quilts at the quilt show! And I love your science get fabric. Amazing the variety of fabrics available - who knew? Of course your helper wants to sit in a warm chair - not one that hasn't been warmed up for her. After all, she is a princess!!
Wow, you have accomplished much! I like the pinks and greens in the strip quilt, they do look like Love's colors. This will make a very pretty quilt. The science geek fabrics are great, too. It may be challenging with the irregular seams, but it will be a great quilt. The row by row is very colorful and those pineapple blocks look tedious but so pretty. You have lots to keep you busy! Your spoiled princess kitty is so funny! Of course it has to be the chair you are using that she wants, you have warmed it up for her! Have fun, can't wait to see more.
You were crazy busy! Sounds like just your guild duties keep you busy.
I am glad that you enjoyed working on the show. I worked on our quilt show every show year (every other year) for all the years I was a member. It is hard work, but lots of fun.
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