Art verses tradition?!

WARNING: VENTING ABOUT TO HAPPEN!!

early morning Peony

Maybe the wrong words to title this post but not sure how to explain this is a few words. I attended the CQA(Canadian Quilters Association)show in Toronto last week. I was only there for a day, to see the vendors and the quilt show. It was a large venue at the International Center. There were lots of vendors of every shape, size and variety of quilt shops along with dealers of sewing machines and quilting machines. Even I, a seasoned quilter/shopper was overwhelmed!
BUT as for the "quilt" show.....to coin a phrase from a commercial.."where's the beef", I wanted to ask "where are all the quilts"? Now when I say quilts, I mean the kind you would find on someone's bed. Don't get me wrong there were some not many, that I would call traditional quilts. For the most part the show was a gallery of art pieces. With black curtains as a backdrop I felt like I was in a gallery on opening night. The pieces were beautiful, life-like and even thought provoking BUT were they quilts??? Three layers, quilted or stitched together..yes they meet those requirements but you would never see these on a bed or hanging on the wall in a hallway of someone's home. I could be wrong there. Also the quilting....machine quilting, long arm quilting is becoming common place. We all have busy lives and the "art" of hand quilting is going the way of the dodo bird! I just wonder how a quilter can make a top, send it to a long arm quilter  and upon its return, bind it and then call it their own. Sometimes the quilting makes the quilt, or makes the top go from nice to WOW!!! I think these long arm quilters need to be recognized more in the process. Yes they provide a service but that service is what might have won the award for the quilt.

Cheddar Pinks in full blossom

This is a juried show which should showcase the best from across Canada. As a traditional quilter, I was and am sad to think of our craft becoming more art than something to cuddle under and use everyday.

These are all just my opinions but I have heard others voice the same thoughts. I was going to show some pics from the show but not sure about copyright and permission so I will avoid all that.
 Instead I will show my flower garden starting to come into full blossom!

Rain Delay....

Poppies just a little beat down by the rain

In baseball it means all the fun stops but at this time of year it is a good thing for me. I don't have to be outside planting, I can be at my sewing machine sewing up a different kind of storm!
I have been sewing for a couple of days now. Sort of my own mini retreat as I was not able to be part of a group that is on retreat due to scheduling conflict with my DH. I have seen pictures on facebook and I think I am getting just as much sewing done as they are!!! Enjoy girls!

pieces slowly becoming units

I have been working away on Bonnie Hunter's talking turkey pattern. When I first looked at it, I thought it wouldn't take that long to piece....boy was I wrong! I will have to keep that in mind when I start future projects from her patterns. I love all those pieces but I am on a time crunch with this one
and really need to have this quilt DONE!!!
I have been working mostly in green and off white so yesterday I decided a change was in order. I have a couple of challenges due at different guilds(I belong to 3 of them).I took a few minutes to decide if one finished piece could cover two challenges and oh yes they can. Yesterday I worked on our "gift bag challenge" where you find a gift bag you can replicate into something quilted. It can be a wall hanging, table runner or full size quilt.So mine is done but I can't show it as yet...TOP SECRET!!
Today I am working on a different challenge. You will have to wait to see these also. I developed a bit of a plan last night but was getting too tired to do math. So not wanting to screw it up, I will start fresh this morning. This will be the project that covers two challenges so I have to make sure every requirement is covered.


So today along with the rain and literally watching my garden grow...I will be stitching along with Kathy and slow stitching Sunday. It is the perfect day for it too. Enjoy your day and whatever you decide to do!!

getting a drink and waiting to be planted

Summer planting season

The warm weather has arrived and with it the bugs. Blackflies and mosquitoes have come in hoards and are enough to drive a sane person crazy. Without a bug coat(which are very warm to wear) you wouldn't get anything done outside. Although the warm weather has come during the day, the nights can still be chilly so I have not totally planted my garden. The plants I grew indoors are still waiting to be taken outside and I haven't even bought any flowers as yet.                                                       

Last weekend we had a town wide yard sale. I picked up a few things but this sewing machine and cabinet were by far the best things I brought home. Meet Madelaine! Her owner passed away a few years ago and recently her husband too, so the family was cleaning house. It is not that I needed another machine but I wanted the cabinet for a similar Singer I have. Oh well there is always room for one more in the herd! For now it will hide out I mean become a vanity table for my spare room.I am having a hard time dating her by the serial number...but I think she is 1960-1970 or so.

So in order to not be fighting bugs outside I am inside sewing. I have a quilt to finish...SOON!!! I need to be doing some power piecing today. Just as soon as I get this blog entry finished. I have string blocks, nine patches and I am working on 456 flying geese. Due to a small error in the pattern, I cut twice as many pieces as I need for the flying geese. Oh well more to make for later. If you are tackling Bonnie Hunter's talking turkey....check her errata on Quiltville for corrections of sorts.

I am continuing my hand quilting of this quilt for a friend. Her mom started it years ago and I am finishing it for her in memory of her mom. There definitely are some unusual fabrics in here in the leaves...everything from cotton to knit fabrics and even what I believe to be curtain fabric. Nothing was thrown away. I am sure if the fabrics could talk, they would tell us all what they use to be and how they came to be in this quilt.

This will be my slow stitching with Kathy project for today. I have a deadline so I do a little bit each evening. Although as Kathy said on her blog today, it is getting too warm to have a bundle of quilt on your lap quilting. I may have to bring up my Qsnap frame and use it.

And here's a photo that needs just a wee bit of background. This week we bid a happy and relunctant good bye to one of our friends. She and her hubby are headed to the west coast to live. We wanted her to have a pic of the group of us that was memorable. I think we accomplished that.We have been meeting every Wednesday for knitting although we do lots of other things too!!Happy trails Sandra(2nd from the left-front row) pretty sure you won't find a group quite like this one!!!

UFO day at guild

empty box and 1/2 of blocks needed

Who doesn't need one or many of these kind of days. Well it was perfectly timed for me as I have a quilt I want to make and it was a good day to do some power sewing. I have taken on Bonnie Hunter's pattern "talking turkey" and there is a lot of individual piecing to do before you can put all the units together. So yesterday I tackled the string pieced units, 60 squares need to be covered...no problem. PROBLEM!!! in six hours of sewing I only got 30 blocks finished. Yes sure there was talking and chatting and maybe a little venting too but in between all that I sewed and only got half the blocks done.  Not only that but my box of green scraps has been depleted. I will have to go in search of more this morning before I can go any further. Don't mistake this for complaining...I am simply stating a fact so today I am hoping to get the other 30 done and move onto the next step. I have set out a timeline of one month to get this top finish.

pic from Quiltville - Talking Turkey

DH is away for a couple of days on business and then on the weekend I am heading to a friends house to sew so I should be able to make some good progress on this project. Have a great day with whatever you are working on too!!!

Spring Fever!

Well it seems that Spring has decided to stay and maybe even become Summer in the near future!
It is nice to open windows, rake the lawn and even hear the frogs singing us to sleep at night. Living next to the creek and across the street from a pond,  you can hear them even with the windows closed. Another Spring activity is DH annual mud run, so he will be away this weekend and that leaves me with only time on my hands...hmm wonder what I could possibly do?

"Penelope" new home

I do have a few deadlines looming on the horizon so they will be looked at. But first I want to play on my new addition. A friend is moving and so she is re-homing some of her things. A sewing cabinet and machine were given to another friend of mine but she only wanted the machine...SCORE...I received the cabinet. It is homemade but the father-in-law(of the moving friend)worked for Singer so he made it to the correct specks. My blue Penelope(which I rescued from an auction) fits perfectly! I am so excited to have two machines in my sewing room now. Not that there is a lack of sewing machines in my house!!! :)

not so ugly looking anymore

This is what I am working on today. It is a quilt for my daughter.Don't adjust your settings....those colours are just that ugly!They were from a fat quarter club and we all agreed they are one of the ugly bunches we have gotten but my little girl loves them. Add in the newspaper print and we are set. I am working on the pieced border to finish it off. The pattern is from Sew Kind of Wonderful Curved Piecing.This is a gift for her 25th birthday and she knows already. The quilting will be done from the back using free motion, I am quilting on it the words of one of her favorite songs.

This is just for my southern readers. LOOK....my daffodils are starting to bloom. At this rate I should have them well into  June!!

As a side note, I wrote this post this morning and had good intentions. They however were derailed by a visit to my neighbours to see their litter of Golden Retriever puppies. It was great therapy to brighten my day. Now I have to get my train back on track.....sew,sew,sew!!!!

Happy May 1st

Where is the sunshine and all those spring flowers? I keep wondering but as long as they are MIA, I still have time in my sewing room.
I am now a week post dental removal of 4 wisdom teeth. It has not been a good week. Along with some uncomfortable moments, I also developed dry sockets in two of the empty spaces. A painful side effect of teeth removal that sometimes happens. The bone and nerves are exposed and needless to say it is an annoying discomfort. Lots of naps and advil and I think I am finally on the mend. Actually eating solid foods to some degree!!
But with this "take it easy" time, I have gotten two quilts finished. I completed the hand quilting and binding on this pink and brown one. Notice in the background of this picture those are my daffodils, that are just barely showing. They haven't bloomed as yet. On a good note I should have them well into June!!

 I also just took this baby quilt off the frame this morning. So part of today will be putting the binding on it and stitching it down. That will be my slow stitching today with my friend Kathy.
We have a quilt show in September and I have to start to think of what quilts I am putting in the show but before that I have a couple of weddings and a significant birthday present to get finished. Sometime I feel that there just aren't enough hours in the day. I find myself going in spurts. I will get lots done in one week and then languish for a week or two and then put the push on again. Why can't I just go at an even keel!!??!
Here's wishing you a week full of bright sunny Spingtime, blooming flowers and finished quilting projects!

What was I thinking?

As I write this today, I am the day after having my 4 wisdom teeth removed. I was lucky(if you call it that) to be able to have it done at my dentist office ...no surgery! That however doesn't make it any less uncomfortable. My hygienist better appreciate not having to clean them anymore. BUT with every bad thing something good should happen. I am getting a lot of couch time and hand quilting.

one block wonder with fighter jets

This past week I have also finished machine quilting two smaller quilts. My one block wonder is complete and that is one pattern I won't be repeating...been there done that!!! I also completed this colourful quilt from a curved piecing workshop. After finishing these it was apparent that something was not working correctly on my husquvarna sewing machine.It hasn't been working quite right for awhile but I thought it was just me not holding my mouth right or just the fact that I am not a fan of machine quilting. It just came back from a tune up and cleaning and now the feed dogs seemed to not be working correctly. Back to the sewing doctor to find out I need a "step motor" for my machine that sends messages to the feed dogs. Well I nailed that one...but that doesn't make the part any cheaper! Luckily I am not in need of that machine for a bit as it is going to be at the doctors for awhile.

great backing choice

free hand curves

hand quilting on a frame

On Tuesday I was giving a demo on hand quilting.Something I like to think I could do in my sleep. It was a 20 minute, all I know  about hand quilting. I talked tools of the trade and had this frame and quilt set up, then a fellow guild member finished the talk with showing how the stitching is actually done and some of her methods and techniques. So now I have this little quilt to finish for next month. I was quite surprised how many of the ladies were interested in hand quilting. Of course that didn't mean they were going home to put one on a frame or in a hoop....I don't know why not!!!
I started a list of 12 UFO that I wanted to get completed or at least work on. This week, I was able to take two of the off the list and a third is not far behind. So I am hoping with the return of my newly repaired sewing machine in a couple of weeks that I will be able to eliminate a few more off the list.
I am road tripping this weekend and hoping to hit at least one quilt store. I am with DH so one store would be a good thing!! If not I will at least get to see my baby girl who returned last week from an Australian holiday. Can't wait to see her pics and see all the things she brought home with her.

Also adding to check in with Kathy and see what everyone is slow stitching today. I will be hexie sewing in the car.