Blue Ribbon Winner

My sister, Sharie Bergquist, made this christening gown for her niece's baptism this spring.  In order to enter it in the fair she had to "borrow" it back, but it was worth it since she won a blue ribbon for her work.  Isn't it beautiful?  Sharie learned to do heirloom sewing when she lived in Virginia a few years ago.  She has recently formed a partnership with another heirloom enthusiast, Mary Jane Sprague, & formed a business.  They are teaching and have classes scheduled in the Des Moines area.  They are currently scheduling classes for the fall.  If you're interested you can contact them at mjsclasses@gmail.com

State Fair Report

I attended the reception for entrants in the Fabrics & Threads division at the Iowa State Fair last Wednesday & was a little disappointed that I didn't win any ribbons. Maybe I shouldn't have been surprised since the two items I entered were my first attempt at both techniques. What I was surprised about was that in the category that I entered the portrait quilt (you can barely see it in the upper right corner of this photo), the judge only awarded two ribbons, second & fourth places. Second place (red ribbon) was given to the quilt on the left side, the maple leaf. Fourth place (pink ribbon) is immediately to the right, the abstract circles & squares.



The director of the Fabrics & Threads department explained that a judge is not obligated to award all ribbons. Okay, if I were a judge I imagine there would be times when I didn't feel as though any of the entries deserved a blue ribbon, but I don't think I would skip a place. Seems a little unusual to me.



Anyway, no sour grapes here. I've had positive feedback from many friends & will just need to try, try again. There's always next year!



Keep on stitchin'



BTW, there were 2800 items entered in the Fabrics & Thread division this year, over 800 quilted items! Only 600 quilts last year so I'd say it's growing in popularity.

Circle of Life Continues

A friend of mine recently had a new granddaughter & this is the quilt I made for her. If it looks familiar, it's because it is a variation of the pattern I designed that was published in Fons & Porter's Love of Quilting Magazine in 2006. My sewing & quilting were much more accurate on this quilt than the first, you know, practice makes perfect... I may have to make another one sometime just to prove the pattern deserves better than 4th place at the fair.

Speaking of the fair, I'll find out tomorrow evening if I earned any ribbons at this year's fair. I'll let you know.

Keep on stitchin'

Deb

State Fair Time

The dog days of summer have officially arrived here in Iowa. After the coolest July on record, the temps have climbed into the upper 80's today & are forecast to stay there or go higher the rest of the week. The grass is a little crispy as you walk across the lawn & the weeds seem to have overtaken everything.

Of course, with the onset of August & the beginning of school just around the corner, it also means it must be time for the Iowa State Fair. I suspect many think their state fair is the best, but I'm pretty sure Iowa's is at least in the top 10 across the country. Actually, I think I heard one time that only Texas has a bigger (& possibly better) state fair.

Although I don't remember attending the state fair more than a few times as a child, it has been a 'can't-miss' event for me for many years. I even worked at the fair for a couple of years taking tickets at grandstand events. It was a great way to see all the musical acts for free, plus I got free parking in the infield of the track. As I get older, the walking & heat tend to take its toll after a while, but I still go, usually at least a couple of times.

For years I admired the many quilts, sewing & needlework projects that were exhibited at the fair & dreamed that maybe someday I would create something worthy of entering the competition. In 2006, shortly after one of my quilts was published in Fons & Porter's Love of Quilting Magazine, I decided the time had come. Alas, I was a day late & a dollar short. The deadline for entries had already passed. I did get it entered the next year & got a 4th place ribbon. At the time, I'm sure I thought it deserved a better ribbon, but when I look at the quilt now, I can see that the workmanship just isn't that impressive. Not to be deterred, I have entered something every year since. Last year I won a second place ribbon...I'm improving!

Above, left, is a photo of one of my entries this year. For those of you who wouldn't know, it is a fabric portrait of my husband, Randy. I made it based on instructions from a class I took online at Quilt University. Marilyn Brelsford was the instructor. I think it is a very good likeness, although, some of the gals who were checking entries in at the fair on Saturday thought it bore a strong resemblance to Bill Clinton. This was my first attempt at a fabric portrait & I learned a lot. There are definitely some things I will do differently next time.

My second entry at the fair this year is the quilt on the right called Wild Rose. It's also a product of a class I took. Barbara Riggs from Des Moines was the teacher. I was satisfied with the way it turned out, but she deserves most of the credit since she drew the pattern & we were provided a kit with the fabric. I do especially like the leaves. It required some extreme positioning on the fabric to get the shading in the proper places.

Now, it's a waiting game. I'll find out on Wednesday, August 12, if either of my quilts were awarded a ribbon. I'll let you know.

Keep on stitchin'

Deb

Row, Row, Row

Procrastination is my middle name. Instead of working outside in the gorgeous spring weather on that endless list of chores, I'm choosing to fiddle around on the computer. Where's my willpower?

I created this original design two years ago for the local quilt shop. I then taught a class whereby the students learned how to cut & piece one row a month & in so doing, the object was to learn 6 new techniques. I was actually able to incorporate more than 6, so they got a little bonus.

My favorite row was the diamond-shaped log cabins. They are all paper-pieced. It was very time consuming & I certainly wouldn't want to do an entire quilt in this block. But it was still enjoyable & oh-so-accurate!

The quilt shop owner suggested I use their just-in Civil War prints, so that was a real challenge. I tend to use brighter colors in my quilts & my absolute favorite fabrics are the 30's prints.

Time to get busy outside!

PS. I think I need a class in photography!

More Japanese Puzzle

On the left is phase two of my Japanese Puzzle quilt. This photo was taken after I had trimmed each of the four-patches using the diamond template, but before I began sewing everything together. Notice how much more square it looks as compared to the previous picture. This is one quilt that I absolutely had to keep on my design wall while I worked on it. It would have been really easy to mix things up & sew them in the wrong order.

The picture on the right is of the completed quilt top. I'm reasonably happy with the way it turned out & might make another one sometime in some higher-contrast colors.

A New WIP

This is my latest project, although really more of a diversion. I signed up to take this class through the Learning Fiber Arts Yahoo group. It's called Japanese Puzzle & involves sewing four-patches together, centering an off-kilter diamond template on each four-patch, trimming & sewing them back together. The biggest key to success for this pattern as far as I can tell is to use fairly high-contrast fabrics. I'm not sure mine will work (too many mediums, a problem many quilters encounter), but I thought it would do for an experiment.

I found this fabric at Walmart, go figure! Yes, I do buy fabric at Walmart sometimes, especially for something like this that is just an experiment. All the blue & green prints were prepackaged as 8 fat quarters for less than $10. I bought the light blue & light green to use as borders, but decided today to incorporate it into the quilt as well.

Let me know what you think. It's still on the design wall so it would be easy to change. But once I start sewing, forget it! Un-sewing is NOT my passion!