Colorado Quilt Close-ups

Here are some more pictures of Ruth Feild's Colorado quilt that I had taken at the Denver National Quilt Show a couple of years ago.  Her stitching and embroidery is all done free-hand - no digitizing!  She is a very talented
woman :)

I am looking forward to going to the Denver Quilt Show again this year - the first weekend in May!

It's Sew Ruth!

As I mentioned yesterday, my friend Ruth Feild gave a presentation to the CO West Quilt Guild on Wednesday night entitled "It's Sew Ruth!"  She is an amazing quilt artist and it was so much fun to see not only more of her work, but also some of her fun collections of antiques.  She really went the extra mile to share with the group and make this program special.

Here she is standing next to a quilt she made for the GJ Symphony called Monumental Memories.  The quilt celebrates 100 years of the Colorado National Monument.  It features photographs by a well known photographer and stories (in the muslin squares) written by locals about their favorite memories of the Monument.

I love this Yo-Yo quilt that was part of her display.  She did not talk about this one, so I am not sure if she made it, or if it one of her antiques.  It is beautiful.

Ruth collects little antique sewing machines that are so cute!  She said her daughter learned to sew on one of these hand crank little machines.  She said the nice part about that was that the stitching was easy to remove so her daughter could use the same thread over and over!

She also has a Raggedy Ann and Andy doll collection.  I know at least one of these she made herself, for her daughter.

I remember when she made this vest several years ago.  There is a picture of her daughter on the right side as you're looking at it.

Ruth's kids and my kids went to school together and often were in the same classes.  I must say I worked with her many times as "room mothers" for parties etc. and she was amazing - very creative and fun.  The kids were always in a for a real treat!

I love how Ruth puts history in every one of her quilts.  All quilts "tell a story", but Ruth's quilts really, literally tell a story.  There are so many things to see and look at in each one.  She told us she puts a picture of herself in each one too - so that gives you something else to look for!

This is her quilt portraying the Lions Club Parade that happens every year.  She said she took this quilt to the Lions Club to show them and several members recognized themselves in her quilt!

She said she loves to collect Santa mugs and I believe she has over 100!

She showed a couple of the stockings she made for her kids.  Her daughter's has a Raggedy Ann on it.  She is also holding her Snow Angel quilt that portrays her kids making snow angels.  The hair on the kids is really her children's hair!

A couple of pieces shown here also commemorate history of the Grand Valley.  You could take a little field trip around town and see many of Ruth's pieces hanging at the Justice Center, the Marillac Clinic etc.  She has donated countless hours of her time and skills to our community.

Here is a larger picture of the Monument quilt.

I remember when she made this "I Spy" quilt many years ago and I have wanted to make one myself, ever since!  But I haven't yet....   This one is really well done and very personal to her family - quite a treasure.

She is showing off the Lions Club Parade quilt and said she met the person who was driving that little white car.

Ruth's quilts are very three dimensional!  This one portrays her son reading in bed, with a Smokey the Bear stuffed animal next to him.  She actually took a mold of her son's face to get it just right.  She also has a Smokey the Bear collection and told us some funny stories about that.

This is her amazing Colorado quilt.  There is SO much to this quilt that you really have to hear it all from her own lips.  I cannot even begin to remember all the detail.  I think she said this one is going to be auctioned off.  I think it should hang in the Capitol Building on permanent display.  All of the counties are represented, all fifty four 14'ers are depicted, the CO flag.   It's really something
Thank you Ruth for all you do for our community and for the quilting community in particular!  You are amazing!

And Happy Valentine's Day to Everyone!

My hubby gave me flowers and chocolates, even though he already gave me a GO! cutter!  He's a sweetie.  He read somewhere this week that the lamest Valentine's gift to get your wife is a dozen red roses with baby's breath.  He made sure to point out that these roses do NOT have baby's breath :)  He also read that the best gift to give your wife for Valentine's Day is to donate to their favorite charity in their honor.  I told him he does that all the time!  It's called "Fabric Store"!

Hope you have a GREAT day!!

Guild Meeting

We had a great guild meeting last night.  A couple of people, including Phyllis (shown here) came up and showed me their finished Sashiko pieces from the program I did last month.  Phyllis turned hers into a pin cushion.  She also showed a pile of baby blankets and afghans she had made for a great, great grand nephew.  She had knitted the baby a sweater as well.  She is very talented!

This quilt was shown at Show and Tell and I'm afraid I can't remember the name of the lady who showed it.  She said she's been a member of the guild a year and this is the first quilt she's shown.  I just think it's SO pretty, with all the bright, fun colors.
I want to get the Drunkard's Path AccuQuilt die and try to make a quilt similar to this.

Lorraine showed off this amazing quilt that she made.  I just love the colors in this too.  It just makes you happy to look at it.  She said the guild's next raffle quilt will be made from this same pattern.

The program was presented by Ruth Feild and it was fantastic!  She set up a beautiful display and talked about her quilting journey over the years.  Ruth was very instrumental, along with my mother, in getting me started in quilting about 20 years ago.  I remember her trying to teach me, as our less than one year old sons played together!

I will post some pictures of Ruth's program tomorrow :)

Still Winter on Our Side of the Street!

It is always fun to drive down our street this time of year, when the snow starts melting, because on our side of the street, it still looks like winter! We still have almost a foot of snow in our front yard, while across the street, it's already beginning to look like spring.  It's just funny to drive down a street with spring on one side and winter on the other :)  Spring will come to our side too eventually!

 I spent the afternoon today with friends in a "featured feet" class at Hi Fashion with Kari as the instructor.  It was FANTASTIC!  It was for Bernina sewing machines in particular, and I learned so much.  There will be three more classes this year and we are making a "Foot Book" which will showcase what we've learned while giving us practice as we make them.
Shown here is Kari's Foot Book.  I will post pictures of mine when I get it done.  We got pretty far today though - I just have one more page to do, then add the binding etc.

We made four pages total today.  We will add to this book with each class.  Thanks Kari for a fantastic class and learning experience!


Happy Sewing :)

What I Am Working On

I have been working on a few different projects lately.  First of all I started Zentangling on fabric!  Here is my first attempt.  I am enjoying it every bit as much as I enjoyed it on paper :)

I ironed the fabric onto freezer paper which helps stabilize it for the Zentangling.  I pulled out all my Zentangle books for ideas and inspiration and I'm having a blast!

Not quite done with this one, but getting close.  It's very relaxing.

I used a couple of circular shaped designs from this Karen Kay Buckley appliqué pattern to make a basic design on the fabric and I am Zentangling within the design elements.

I have also been working on the TQS block of the month, which I am half sizing.  This little block will measure at three inches finished.  I used Thangles to make the half square triangles, which finish at 3/4 of an inch.  The Thangles helped tremendously with these tiny little pieces.

Several people are half sizing this quilt and are posting helpful hints and instructions on the TQS forum.  I have been following that, and found the math already done for the basket block (mine is not quite done but the rest is appliqué, the piecing part is done :)

This little block will finish at 2 1/2 inches!  It's tiny and was challenging, but fun!

A UFO Put to Good Use

When my Mom and I cleaned her sewing room a few months ago, she decided to get rid of some kits and projects that she no  longer wanted to do.  I took some and gave some to friends and the rest went to the White Elephant sale at the guild.
At the very next guild meeting a member stood up at show and tell and showed a couple of quilts she had made with fabric from my Mom's stash.  The quilt pictured here was made by my friend Pam, from a kit given to her by my Mom! This quilt turned out SO cute!  I'm sure my Mom will be pleased to see it all finished.

The fabric is adorable, with little ants playing all over it, and the little "ant houses" have flaps that open up so you can see what is going on inside.  Pam plans to buy some little toy figures to go with this quilt, so the lucky child who gets it will not only have a "blanket" but a fun play mat as well.

Here are a couple of close ups of the cute fabric.

So the moral of this story is:  When you go through your UFO's, if there are some you know you will never make or finish, pass them along to someone else!  Better to be finished and getting used, than sitting in our closets collecting dust.

Better go clean my sewing room!  And thanks Mom for passing along some of your treasures that others are now enjoying :)

The Quilt Show Daily Blog

Here are some interesting things I have seen on The Quilt Show's Daily Blog recently.  The YouTube video above shows a unique quilt hanging system that this man designed.  It looks nice and seems easy to manage.

The page on the right is from a 1949 Singer Sewing Manual.  I had to laugh when I read this. I actually enjoy my sewing best when I'm in my sweats and totally comfortable :)  If someone comes to my door, I will be covered in thread when I answer, but that's OK!  At least they know I'm having fun!
I hope you have a fun day today :)