Some time back, I posted a tutorial for the Crossroads to Jericho block.

Since then, both my retreat group and our guild used the block in a swap.  As usual, I love to see what people do with a set of blocks.  It’s amazing how every quilt looks different, and some of the look REALLY different!

Here’s the one Pat put together, putting the blocks on point with black sashing and setting triangles.

Nellie chose a straight set and sashed hers with black and use aqua cornerstones and a nine-patch-and-stripe border.

Then it really got interesting.  Lynda wasn’t thrilled with the block as it was, so she laid a double wedding ring ruler over it and cut!

That got me to thinking, so I sliced mine in half twice on the diagonal and put them back together with some black setting squares.

Melinda was inspired and decided to cut hers in half twice also, then add “feet” and rickrack handles to make baskets!

Ann cut her blocks in half once for baskets and added appliqued flowers!

Pretty amazing!

I’m always saying, “Make it your own!”  When you make a quilt from a pattern, do you want it to look just like the pattern or do you want to “make it your own?”

Our quilt guild had a block of the month last year, and the ladies really did a great job of making each quilt individual while still following the pattern.  These quilts were on display at our quilt show earlier this month, and I  just had to share them with you.

I love when quilters do something unique with the border, like this one from Merri.

Carol not only did fun little cabin blocks in the corners, she limited her palette to mostly blacks and grays with touches of red and gold.

Wow!  Check out this picket fence border that Melinda made.

I love Joe Ann’s use of stripes in her quilt, and the little touches of patriotic fabric.

Lynda incorporated a great novelty farm print in her border.

Gloria, who was the designer of the quilt, hit the mark with her homespun border.

Bev’s use of pastels adds an interesting twist.

Nellie really surprised me by using all polka-dot fabrics!  As a lover of polka-dots, I thought it was superb.

Nancey’s cheery, bright colors look great and I love the piano key border.

Audrey’s clear colors make for a crisp looking quilt.

Loretta loves blue and she did a fine job of working some blue into her quilt.

Ann stuck with traditional colors in this version of her quilt…

…but she wasn’t satisfied with just one—she made two!  They couldn’t look more different and both are terrific.

The reds in Marian’s quilt really pop.

What a talented bunch of ladies.  I’m so glad to be a part of this group with them.

Last month the Longview, Washington library had a red and white quilt show.

It meant a snowy, 150 mile round trip drive from here, but I’m so glad we went.

 

 

 

I’ll just be quiet and let you enjoy the show!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My friend, Melinda, was just over in Walla Walla and went to the quilt show at the museum there.  Today she shared slides from the show, and I just had to post them.

This Whig Rose was definitely the star of the show.  Amazingly, they have the provenance of the quilt.  It was made in 1854 by Mary K. Clark.

The quilting is incredible.  There are over 350,000 stitches in it!

This Enhanced Four Patch is a sweet quilt.  It’s not a design you see very often.  From the 1930′s.

This is a really fine example of a Victorian era Crazy Quilt.  It has an amazing variety of stitches!

Here’s a Churn Dash.  I see the label also refers to this pattern as Sherman’s March To The Sea.  I hadn’t heard that reference before, but I love it!  Quilt names say a lot about the what was happening in people’s lives.

Doves at the Window is a very difficult pattern to piece.  Do you see the four doves in each block?  Isn’t it interesting that quilters were doing “abstract” designs over 150 years ago?

I’m not at all familiar with this pattern, called Wisconsin Star.  It’s quite interesting the way it is pieced.

Here’s a very traditional Dresden Plate.  Melinda thinks it may be from a Ruby McKim pattern entitled Friendship Ring–and I agree.  It has 20 petals in the plates and the ice cream cone border.

The Double Wedding Ring pattern is probably one of the most recognizable quilt patterns—even among non-quilters.  The quilting on this one is lovely.

Now this is incredible!  Small silk bands were wrapped around cigars to identify the manufacturer.  Never ones to waste bits of fabric (and undoubtedly attracted by their bright colors), women began to collect and save cigar silks.  They were most often yellow.  The maker of this jacket certainly had a huge collection of silks, and the purple ones are the perfect choice for the collar and cuffs.

Her chevron design is perfectly pieced.  And once the piecing was done, she did a feather stitch—by hand, of course—along the edge of each band!

This cigar silk quilt was found in the same trunk as the jacket.

Again, beautifully sewn and feather stitched.

And don’t you love the “fringed” border?

An Eight Pointed Star.  The label refers to “Japanese” quilting.  Perhaps it’s reminiscent of Sashiko.

This wool quilt was probably made from suiting samples from a tailor’s sample book.  My husband’s grandfather and great-grandfather were both tailors and we have some quilts similar to this.

This is a very old Courthouse Steps quilt.

I suspect it’s foundation pieced.

Even utilitarian quilts are pleasing to the eye.

This last pattern is called Hearts and Gizzards!

Thank you, Melinda, for sharing with us!

 

More quilts from the quilt show in Houston.

Patriot’s Dream by Barbara Shrout,  The name is inspired by a line from America the Beautiful—“O beautiful for patriot dream that sees beyond the years…”  I love the curved edges.

Barn Raising by Lauren Semple.  Isn’t it amazing what can be done with half-square triangles!

Standing Strong by Sharon Dixon.

The Secret Life of Dancing Tulips by Jeanne Brenner.  The title refers to the dancing tulips subtly quilted into the border.

I love the shading achieved by different tones of the same color.

Sunflowers 2 by Charlotte A. Hickman.  I think sunflowers are such happy flowers!

Black-Eyed Susans and Yellow Mexican Hats by Mary Ann Vaca-Lambert.These two flowers grow wild along the roadside in Texas.

Portraits of Flora by Timna Tarr.  What a great use of many, many fabrics!

This next quilts wasn’t at the show in Houston, but there’s a reason I’m showing it here.  It’s called Checkerboard Vortex, maker unknown.  It’s quite famous in the quilting world, appearing in many books and at the recent Red and White quilt exhibit in New York.  This quilt was made around 1920!  In the book Twentieth Century Quilts 1900 – 1950 it’s described as, “Extraordinarily contemporary in its design, this amazing quilt is a triumph of precise design and piecing, and it it an astonishing precursor to the art of Vasarely.”  Like many others, I’m in love with this quilt.

Incredibly, Nora Ronningen has made her own version of the quilt which she calls Vortex in Variation.

I could hardly pull myself away.  It was stunning!

Preserve Nature, Preserve Self by Susie Johnson.  Did you know the gingko tree has been around for 270 million years!?!

Redwork Revisited by Susan Dague.

The maker used old kitchen transfers for the designs on this quilt.

I think the sashings are great, too!  They are just half-square triangles.

One of the exhibits was called Text on Textiles.  In the display area were several old typewriters.  Wow, an orange one!

Ethel’s Diary by Eileen Campbell is a great use of photos and words on a quilt.

I remember pressed tin toy typewriters like this one!

This adorable portable is a lot like the one we have that Bob’s grandfather used in his “Tailoring Parlor” in Libby Montana in the early 1900′s.  The carriage flips forward and the whole thing fits into a case!

Salvaged Words by Jette Clover.  There are pages from vintage books used on this quilt!

I’ve used words and photos on labels, but not as the main focus of the quilt.  This is from my Dearest Brother quilt, which tells the story of Anna Lena’s life.

Hmmm, that might make a good blog post!

One of the best things about going to Market in Houston is the quilt show.  One of the worst things is that there are a lot of the areas that don’t allow photography.  Bummer!  I did, however (legally) take pictures of a lot of quilts.  Half of them are in this post.

Pinned to the Past by Michal Tammy Waschsmann.  This quilt was made to hold pins she collects.  Pretty clever, huh?

Dixie Dingo Dreaming by Susan E. Carlson is based on a photo of her dog Pippin.

La Luz by Betty Busby depicts a hiking trail in Albuquerque.

Outback – Beyond Broken Hill by Eileen R. Campbell.  The birds are called corellas!

One exhibit was about eating heathy!  This is called Delicious Bouquet by Nita Markos.

Galactic Daiquiri by Cherie Gooler.

Fruits + Vegetables = Good for You and Your Heart! by Dea L. Larson.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From the O Canada exhibit comes this quilt, Vancouver Cityscape at Dust by Terry Aske.  I was really taken with it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wheel of Teal by Marilyn J. Farquhar.

Skating by Joyce E. Seagram.  This reminded me of all the skating trips I took with my mom and sister.

This quilt was in the Traditional Pieced display.  It’s called Star Medallion with 96 Baskets b Kathleen McCrady.  It’s hand pieced and hand quilted.  She finished it one week before her 85th birthday!

Weitverzweight by Brigitte Morgenroth is all silk!

My Favorite Things by Meiko Sasano,  She was inspired by flowers painted on porcelain.

Both the appliqué and quilting were exquisite.

Carnival by Monica Troy.

YoYo2: Trip Around the World by Helen Remick.

It’s always fun to have a bit of whimsy, like Answering Nature’s Call by Kathy Augur Smith.

A lovely, traditional quilt.  Sawblades by Myra Hall.

Churn Dash Exchange by Kathleen Poznick.

More to come!

Before I show the rest of the quilts I took pictures of, I should tell you about the ones I didn’t take pictures of.  There were tons of quilts that had beading and bedazzling on them!  The workmanship was superb, but I’m not a glitz-your-quilt kinda gal, so I didn’t take pictures of those!  I did, however, take photos of the more traditional quilts.  These are the ones that float my boat!

First, a little humor.  This is a feedsack quilt!  Yep, made with modern, plastic feedsacks.  How funny!

I recently saw another version of this quilt at the Sisters quilt show.  I’m gonna make this one someday!

When I first looked at this quilt, I saw bow ties–gray bow ties pointing left and cream bow ties pointing right.  On closer examination, though, this quilt is a combination of snowballs (red floral) and four patches.

There’s something to be said for quilts from solid fabrics.

Love the gradation of colors on this quilt.

Love it!  There’s a lot of work in this border.

Isn’t this gorgeous?

This antique quilt was in the Latimer Quilt Museum’s booth.

So was this one.

Don’t miss the border treatment when looking at this quilt.

Great setting.

This was a “quilt rescue,” according to the info.

I’ve always called this block Girl with Nosegay.

Fabulous Drunkard’s Path.

It’s made with bias edges!

Lots of inspiration.  I’ve gotta go sew!

 

Yesterday Connie and I traveled to Tacoma for the Pacific West Quilt Show.  It was a gorgeous day.  This was the view from the street in front of the convention center.

I’ve always been crazy about poppies.

And evidently I’m not alone!

Especially orange poppies!

There were several “poppy” quilts at the show.

And other floral quilts.

As one friend put it, “It’s a very esoteric show!”

I’d have to agree with that!

There were lots of landscape quilts.

Some traditional barns in a not-so-traditional setting.

Barns that are a bit more abstract.

I love this village!  She drew it with Elmer’s glue then used dye to create the design!

There was some amazing quilting to be seen.

The whole cloth quilts were stunning.

Nice use of hand dyed fabric.

How can his quilt be perfectly flat but look like it has a big bubble in the middle?

Can you even imagine drafting the center of this quilt?

It reminded me of this quilt from the 1930′s.

There were some great pictorial quilts.

I loved the draft horses.

Isn’t this beautiful?

I loved these pens!  Perhaps it was made for an author or calligrapher.

I thought the next three quilts were quite unique.  They’re made in the style of Northwest Indian button blankets.

More “traditional” quilts tomorrow!

When I stopped at the Willapa Harbor Quilt Show last week, I was delighted that the first quilt that greeted me was an antique–this beautiful Irish Chain.  The quilt was pieced between 1900 and 1905 in Fairfield County Ohio.

The finished squares were about 1″ and the quilting stitches were amazing.  The border alone is a work of art!

I’m always pleased to see Redwork.  The vintage cats were adorable.

And Becky Coburn had stitched my Redwork Flower Baskets.

And Yvonne Smith had done the Blue Flower Baskets!

Pat Jones had done the Sunbonnet Sue and Scottie, too quilt.

She also did this charming Christmas mini.

This was the gorgeous raffle quit the guild had made.

This is Prairie Paint by Alice Wells.

Here’s a wonderful quilt for the outdoorsman.  I’m sorry I don’t know who made it.  Note: I received this message today from the quilt show chair and wanted to share it with you.  The outdoor fishing quilt was made by a group of women who were sisters.  Our local sister member is Vivian Edersheim.  One of the sisters, Bertha, decided to make each of her brothers a quilt and had barely gotten started when she was hit with cancer.  After her death, her surviving sisters decided to finish the quilts, and over the completion process the quilts traveled over 2000 miles as each sister took her turn at working on blocks.  Bertha continues to share her love of fabric and quilting with our guild because her sister Vivian has shared her fabrics and scraps with our group, and we pay a small donation to Vivian which in turn she gives to a charity.

Pat Jone’s made the Backyard Birds quilt.

This quilt is called Under the Sea by Arlyn Harris.  Perfect underwater colors!

Oldzii is a Never Ending Knot pattern made by Toni Gwinn.

Yvonne Smith made this Kindred Spirits quilt.

Oh!  This is my Christmas fabric made into a table runner by Helga Schiel.

Here’s the same pattern (which was designed by my friend, Karen Montgomery).  This patriotic version was made by Alice Wells.

I love the name of this cat quilt–Eight Lives Left.  It’s by Toni Gwin.

Lovebird Lane is by Dorothy Gruginski.

Life’s a Journey by Vickie Fenstermacher really caught my eye.

Who wouldn’t love an orange quilt?  Windmill by Marge Habersetzer.

The stitchery work on this quilt,Wild  Flowers by Vickie Fenstermacher, was amazing.

This quilt has a wonderful story.  Margaret Payne gave her nephew, Bruce Hill, the aqua fabric seen in this quilt.  Bruce, a quilter, made this quilt using the aqua fabric and gave it back to Margaret!

 

This vintage Flower Garden quilt was started over 70 years ago!  It was pieced by Catherine Lorton.

Charlene Phinney was the featured quilter.  Her quilts, like these African Birds, were works of art.

I believe this flowers are her work, also.

She created Rusted Quilt With No Name when she was playing with triangles.

This plaid quilt is the result of a class she took with Roberta Horton.

Another funky bird quilt!

 

More of Charlene’s work.  She hand dyes many of her fabrics.

 

I love these houses.

Dorothy Gruginski made this beautiful Out of the Darkness quilt.

The quilting was done by Arlyn Harris and is just beautiful.

The variegated thread was a perfect choice for this quilt.

It was a lovely show and I was delighted when I was asked if I would the featured quilter next year!

In the past, the Sisters Quilt Show has always been a one day affair.  This year, they added a few activities on Sunday and called it Save It ’til Sunday.  I attended a lecture given by Jean Wells at Five Pines Lodge.  As usual, Jean had great slides and lots of inspiration.  But, the best part was the setting…

…and the quilts on display around the cabins at Five Pines.

As you can see, the setting was beautiful.  Just look at the wildflowers blooming everywhere.

I’m sure those trees weren’t planted with a quilt show in mind, but how perfect!

The dappled shade made the temperature just lovely.

And the layers and layers of quilts were real eye candy.

As you wandered the property, there were lots of quilts to see.

I think there’s really something special about quilts displayed in this kind of environment.

It just makes me want to put up a clothesline and hang quilts outside everyday!

There was even a stream running through the property.

The path followed the stream.

The middle quilt here is a stack of knitting needles!

This quilt looks like it could have grown right in its setting.

There’s something so fresh about daisies, and the size of these was great.

I’m crazy about this sunflower quilt where the flowers are made from New York Beauty blocks.

Another stunning New York Beauty quilt.

And look at this quilt that captures the colors of a trip to South Africa, as well as the animals.

It was a truly amazing exhibit.