Oct

17

What a whirlwind!

Filed Under Quilt shows | 6 Comments

PIQF has come and gone. Thankfully I managed to remember just about everything I needed to get done and bring along, and the weekend went smashingly. Such a lovely time, and it went by so fast.

My booth was huge. Honestly I felt like the Queen of Everything. Or else I just welcomed visitors to my barn.

I could get used to it :).

I took pictures of of just a few of the many stunning appliqué quilts in the show.

Cassidy, Chase, Mashatu, JasPurr
Nancy S. Brown of Oakland, California
31 x 34
Machine pieced, hand appliquéd, hand quilted, original design.

“The source of my quilting energy and my inspiration are all of the wonderful animals of the world. This quilt depicts the happy family of Cassidy and Chase (Rhodesian Ridgebacks), Mashatu (a Savannah cat) and JasPurr (a grey and white cat.)”

No surprise I was drawn to this one. I always drop my jaw over Nancy’s work, especially since it has animals in it most of the time! Witness my earlier post about Pup Art.

Leaves of Spring
Letitia Chung of San Francisco, California
37.5 x 37.5
Hand appliquéd, hand quilted, original design

“Inspired by an antique quilt, I designed this tree and the borders with the intent of using as many different Japanese fabrics as possible for the leaves. Playing with a large variety of fabrics is always an invigorating source of creativity and Vitamin Q!”

Leaves of Spring won a blue ribbon for Best Hand Workmanship, Wall Quilt Category.

Hula Hoop Poodle
V’Lou Oliviera of Norman, Oklahoma
56.5 x 45
Machine pieced, machine appliquéd, machine quilted, original design

“As a ceramics professor, making quilts has been a change for me. I have a studio at home where I can sew anytime, even in my pajamas. This is so different from my university ceramics studio that is dusty, dirty, and usually full of students working. My work uses whimsical dog imagery that has carried over from my work in ceramics.”

A crowd favorite.

CharlaAntoinette: Let Me Bake Cake
Charlotte Kruk and Carol Traumiller of San Jose, California
“Simplicity patterns 3637 and 3535 with modern interpretations and artistic liberties taken”

“This wearable sculpture was fabricated to slyly wink at the imported French queen, Marie Antoinette, who never said, ‘Let them eat cake!’ to her impoverished subjects, but was beheaded nevertheless for obvious public disapproval in the handling of the affairs of state. It was made using all of the refuse packaging from ingredients essential to bake a cake: flour, sugar, butter, milk, eggs, vanilla, salt, and baking powder. All work was machine specialty stitched.”

Now that’s one sweet dress! It had two ribbons on it. I especially loved the vanilla extract bottle detail.

Flower Power
Jane Zillmer of Mercer, Wisconsin
88 x 88
Machine pieced, machine appliquéd, original design, long-arm quilted by Cheri Trexler

“My quilting energy comes from the world around me and it is an expression of my inner self. Mature, loved ones, fabrics, and things of beauty as I see them are transformed into quilt designs. Traditional pieced basket blocks showcase bold and fun appliqué motifs. Colorful, retro fabrics reminiscent of my flower power years inspired my designs.”

Lollipop Grove
My quilt, in the New Quilts of Northern California section

“Lollipop trees grow from rich patched earth in a quiet river grove. The ground reminds me of growing up in Orange County… no, not the famous one in California, but the one in North Carolina where red clay is found everywhere. this is the cover quilt for my book Scrap-Appliqué Playground.”

Blog reader Ellen Swedberg dropped by the booth to say hello. She mentioned that she and her mother Carol Jarvis had a quilt in the show called Swedish Album. I remember having seen it… it was a beauty of a quilt, with gorgeous appliquéd flower blocks and a blue background. The next day I set off to get a photo of it, and it had fallen off the face of the earth. I searched, I hunted, I asked white glovers, I asked friends, I looked it up in the program, but for the life of me I could not locate it again. I found a picture of it on the internet so please go see Swedish Album.

When I found out I was coming to the show, I thought I would just drive there and back again every day. After all, the venue is less than an hour from my house. Well, if you’re not familiar with the area, I’ll let you know that between Santa Cruz and Santa Clara you have to drive a twisty turny mountain road over a small mountain range. After the fourth day I didn’t care to face Highway 17 again and decided I would stay Saturday night. The Hyatt (adjacent to the convention center) had room for me. I was mighty glad to wheel my stuff over to the hotel and check in.

The upper floors looked different than the last time I stayed there, years ago when it was a Marriott. The hallway was a soothing shade of blue.

The room was very nice but I didn’t have the heart to tell them that they put my sink in sideways.

This was the lobby Sunday morning, just before the doors opened. If you recognize yourself here, you look great.

Until next time,
Kay
By Kay Mackenzie

Jul

19

Nancy Brown slideshow ~ you must see

Filed Under Designers | 6 Comments

Pup Art by Nancy S. Brown A couple years ago I put up a post about Pup Art, one of Nancy Brown’s quilts.

The Quilt Show has posted a whole slideshow of Nancy’s work. OMG you have got to go and see this. It will make you smile.

Until next time,
Kay
By Kay Mackenzie

P.S. I’m headed to Long Beach tomorrow for the summer edition of International Quilt Festival. Hope to see some of you there!