Antique Quilts

A quick peruse of my blog will tell you that I have eclectic tastes - I love a wide variety of styles, fabrics and techniques.
And it will come as no surprise that I enjoyed the old quilts on display at the Houston Quilt Festival.
There was a wonderful display of Antique Quilts from the Poos collection. Understandably there was no photography allowed in that display but there were plenty of cheddars, reds and greens, gorgeous rich colours - a fabulous combination. There was one called Mexican Pots of Roses that I absolutely adored.

Our little threesome spent a lot of time having meaningful conversations in some of the Antique Dealers stalls. 

One quilt/block that I really liked (and we had permission to photograph) was this one which reminded me of a Scotch Thistle. The Scotch Thistle is an emblem/symbol that I've long admired (although I have grubbed a few of them in my time; in my days of real farm labouring!).

 

Do you ever wonder what will happen to [all] your unfinished quilts? You might like to imagine a trio of friends standing around them at a Quilt Show in 50 years time. They'll be looking to find the blocks they like the best...finding three that are all from the same fabrics. Looking at how they're sewn and if they're square or not. Is there almost a quarter inch seam so that the points don't get cut off?  They might spend nearly an hour there, going though baskets of your ufos looking for the perfect set of three. Don't fear, they're not rejecting your other blocks because they're bad.... but  they need to find three that are just right.
Enter Sharon, Doniene and Raewyn at Houston 2019. Here is my block of the three 'just right ones' we found. 

Approx 9½". All hand sewn.

We have a little challenge on to do something with these blocks in a few months time.
I'm not sure what mine will be become but I've put it up on my design all so that ideas can start forming. 

How big will I make it? I'm not sure, maybe a small wall hanging...I feel it possibly only needs some sort of framing so the basket part is the main focus.

What fabrics will I use? Possibly some Quilters Muslin and a navy?

Will I handsew the rest? Probably not.....

And while we were at it, we couldn't resist another one (again we found a set of three so we could have one each)...not to be used in the same challenge but maybe another challenge too...!!! 

Just over 6 inches, hand sewn again.

'til next time,

happy stitches,

Gifting in the USA

When we met at Houston, Sharon, Doniene and I had an informal gift swap.
Doniene had joined in with a Kim Diehl mini sampler sewalong on Instagram. She made three minis. All slightly different, and quite lovely.
Here is the one she gifted to me —

Some close ups, delightfully scrappy —

Sharon made some gorgeous reuseable shopping bags - a very cool design, with a bit of a gusset. I know mine will come in very handy —

The bags roll up very tidily and small.

Inspired by the pouch Fiona of bubzrugz gifted me earlier this year, I made some pouches to gift. Handy for projects, storing gear or whatever :-)

They have clear vinyl on the front which, naturally, doesn't show up
in the photo!

I used a variety of kiwiana fabrics for these.

A tutorial for these by Marilyn of mardimeanderings is *here*. Thank you Marilyn.

And thank you Doniene and Sharon!
So here ends Day 2 of my 31 day blogging challenge :-)

'til next time,

happy stitches,

USA Part One

In my last post I hinted that I was off on an adventure! Well I'm home sweet home now - I had a great time away.
First stop was the International Quilt Festival at Houston —

I was so lucky to be able to leave the farm jobs to the MOML and go....it wasn't the main reason for my visit to the USA but I'm pleased my sister-in-law Sandie twisted my arm and made me fit this in too :-)
Many of you would have already seen plenty of photos from the show on other blogs and websites. (Especially as it was held nearly three weeks ago.)  The highlight of the quilt exhibits was the Sapphire Celebration, marking the 45th edition of the Quilt Festival. All shades of blue and white were hung in an amazing display - every time I approached the area there were more blue and white quilts to discover or rediscover.

The quilts at the base of the huge display were stunning miniature blue and whites by just two artists, Andrea Blackhurst and Ellen Carter.

So tiny!!

There were over 1700 quilts (and works of fabric art) on display. I liked the way they were displayed - they weren't in rows but sort of arranged within their various categories. That did make it hard to determine if you had seen them all or not. I also wished I had another day to devote to looking at them.

I took lots of photos but they all still need a good sorting. If I stop to do that, this post will never get written and I won't be able to move on with my blogging (!). Plenty have been shared online already so I think a quick google search will find you some if you're wanting to see more.

I didn't have one favourite - I had plenty that I really liked, for varying reasons  - the design, the skill mastery, the subject, the colours, and so on. 

Shopping was also huge - there were more than 1000 vendor booths. Again another day would have been good. I told myself beforehand that I wouldn't go overboard with shopping as I already have plenty of 'stuff' at home - but I did' get tempted by the odd ruler and pattern. Even without buying, it was great fun to explore all the booths and see what was there. Again, another day would have been nice!

We stayed in an Air BandB and were delighted with how close it was to the Convention Centre - it was just big enough to fit in Sharon and Doniene as well - they joined my SIL and I for part of the time. I met both of these lovely ladies when I started up my 365-day photo (a day) blog. We bonded over our daily visits to each others blogs and I have stayed with both of them at their homes. It was the first time Sandie, Sharon and Doniene had all met but it was as if we'd all been buddies for years! There was a fair amount of talking and we enjoyed each other's company a lot.

Myself, Sharon and Doniene

Sharon, Myself and Sandie

Thanks for your company, ladies!

All too soon, the 3 ½ days of Quilt Festival were over, and it was time for the next leg of my adventures. Next blogpost.

I was there :-)

'til next time,

happy stitches,

(And yes, I do see a blue and white quilt in my future!)