Views from both sides

I have been doing a lot of quilting on the longarm recently.  My guild has a big show in March and I am catching up.  Here is what I see all day while working.

from the cutting table

from the back - you can see the quilting design

from the front - you can see the quilt

Happy Creative New Year 2014 -

I have found I had little interest in posting until now.  A dear friend was diagnosed with a fatal brain tumor and passed away three weeks after her diagnosis and my mind was there and not so much on creativity.  Now the holidays are over and the new year is upon me.  I have signed up to be part of Creative Every Day and will be trying to post about that on a frequent basis.  My word for the year is Present - as in being present and taking care to see what is all around me, enjoy each moment and special gift and pass them on. 
The theme for January is Past, Present and Future.  In that light I am starting some prayer flags using some old linens, stamps and words.  More on that later.  I thought I would show what I have been working on with quilting. This is an applique quilt done by a customer (Madeline K).  I just do the quilting.  So my creative word for this is Freehand. 

Shaw Art Sale

You will see that I have been busy getting ready for the Art Show and Sale this past weekend at the Shaw Nature Reserve overnight center. It is a wonderful setting with restored log cabins and the weather was perfect.  Here are a few of the pieces I had at the sale and some pictures of the cabins.

Rusted nails on a farm

Birds on the rail at the cabin

Birch trees

Birch

Wedding Quilt

I have one sister and two brothers.  When my baby sister was married some 22+ years ago I made her a hand pieced and hand quilted quilt. In pinks and blues.  Now my friends know I'm not a pink person but I did it for her.  She told me this last week that she is retiring the quilt.  It has been used well and continuously.  Pretty good life span.  2 kids, 2 dogs, 1 husband.  She cleaned it and packed it away and maybe someday we will use part of it for a grandbaby quilt.

Quintessential Quilt Award

The Quintessential Quilt show at the University City library is a juried/judged show done on a biennial basis.  I am happy to report I won a First Place for Small Quilts this year.  My "Peaceful Valley" piece is shown in the picture above me.  Excited!!

Peaceful Valley - First Place Small Quilts

My best buddy Judy won two ribbons.  Here she is with her pieces.

For Sale BR549 - Honorable Mention Pictorial

Towering Bridge - Judges Choice

Quilt National

We are so lucky here in St. Louis to have Quilt National exhibit all of it's collection.  It has been done to benefit Safe Connections, a women's self help center.  This year it is at the St. Louis University Art Gallery.  It is a beautiful gallery in an old building in the downtown area near campus.  Parking is street parking.
I always find QN interesting and fascinating.  How did they pick the quilts they did?  Why these this year?  There are always controversial ones - I think this year went too digital.  By this I mean, digital images manipulated and printed on fabric via large format printers.  Quilt?  Not so sure.  I did have some real favorites though.  I didn't attach a name to each piece to give credit and I am going to try to amend that.

Elizabeth Barton

Deidre Adams - great texture

Patty Hawkins

October - Postcard Challenge and Family

I have made a committment to post something at least every other day in october to try to focus on my blog.
I just finished the first part of my postcard challenge.  Each of us are doing a national park - mine is Mt. Rainier.  Interesting that today the parks are all closed because of the government shut down - a topic for another day.  Anyway I am happy with my first part.  I need to add highlights - either in paint or in thread.
The back will be my mom's writing since she sent the original postcard in 1998 from Rainier.

Tom and I took a drive to Illinois Sunday to have lunch.  We thought pavilion behind us in Alton was really a striking park.  The bridge there is pretty neat too.