Asheville Quilt Guild May 2019

Our meeting of the Asheville Quilt Guild met last week where we hosted national quilting personality Susan Cleveland. Susan presented a fabulous lecture followed by a workshop the following day before heading over to our next door neighbor - the Western N. Carolina Quilt Guild in Hendersonville.

Our heads were spinning as Susan presented her many quilts. Using a camera on a stand, she was able to show us closeups of her techniques displayed on a very large screen. She shared so many wonderful details with us that I want to share with you. The "red arrow" and "circles" will lead you to what I'm referring to. Her daisy on top has detail lines using 12 weight cotton double gassed thread. The red circle above is showcased little "lazy daisy" embroidery stitches.

Susan makes it very clear that she doesn't like or feels comfortable doing free motion quilting. She prefers to stitch by hand (below) or use a large machine stitch and a heavier thread to machine quilt.

She is known for her very tiny piping and has a tool to make it happen (I bought it at the meeting and can't wait to use it). The red arrow points to the yellow and red piping.

 I think what I loved the most is her attention to detail...as in above with the small blue felt circle also embroidered. The quilt below on the right has piping with embroidery on it....so clever.

The flowers below have a piece of cheese cloth as an insert with tiny little sequins sewn here and there (red circle) and rick rack!!!....Do you love it! I have always been a lover of rick rack...have used it for almost as long as I've been on this earth...first on my own doll clothes, then my clothes, then my daughter's clothes and now quilts. It's so retro and wonderful and great to see on this quilt. Also take notice of the red arrow to see what Susan calls her Morse Code stitching....with the dots (french knots) and dashes...love it. Also notice the beautiful buttonhole stitching around the edges of the petals done in a contrasting color and heavier thread.

Some beautiful details all together.

I loved this small piece, the Prairie Points and little felt balls hanging on the point along with the beautiful little squares pieced into the strip...yes, they are sewn in.

Her Prairie Points are not just your run of the mill, ordinary Prairie Points....they have been embroidered first before folding them into the shape.

I love the machine quilting (above left) and the little beads (red circle) sewn here and there. On the right, love everything but the unusual shape of the outer edge is wonderful.

 And in this piece, the extra little xxxxs in the yellow area...such a nice touch.

Susan shared her latest love with us, the Dresdan Plate done in such a unique manner....hmmmmm....wonder if we can look forward to a book on this wonderful technique.?

And last but not even close to the least, her use of beads....here on the binding. Her threads - Spagetti is a 12 weight, 100% cotton Egyptian cotton doubled gassed which apparently gives the thread a very clean finish...of course I had to buy some. The Piping Hot Binding tool makes that very teeny, tiny binding you saw throughout her pieces....anxious to try it.

So Susan had a free afternoon and Barbara and I had the fun of giving her a small tour of Asheville - below the Grove Arcade....and then onto...

the Battery Park Champagne Bar for some sipping and sharing...a Great day, great fun with a great and very talented gal....See more of Susan's work on her website
On another note, my friend Marene and I ...after seeing the lecture decided to challenge each other to make a small piece using Prairie Points and Susan's binding technique...to be revealed at our next PTA meeting...so stay tuned for some progress on my piece...but no reveals just in case Marene is reading this....( - :

A Quilt for Habitat for Humanity

    When a president of a quilt guild's term of office is over, members usually do something as a thank-you; often it's a quilt block in the presidents favorite color, theme or block itself.  Sara Hill, most recent president,  has been president of our guild before, received blocks before and decided this time to request house blocks - her reason - to make them into a house quilt to donate the to Habitat for Humanity local headquarters in Asheville, NC.  

     Many blocks came in and Sara wasted no time in putting together this wonderful quilt.  

 Each block is unique, colorful and wonderful to see up close and personal.

 The variety of fabrics, shapes and configurations of houses are fun.

 I think Sara asked that they be colorful, and yes they are!

 What a great tribute to such a wonderful organization.

I think there will be a plaque next to the quilt stating that blocks were made by members for Sara and Sara put it together for Habitat for Humanity.

Cotton Patch Quilters

I had great fun visiting and presenting a lecture to the Cotton Patch Quilters the other night.  This guild is located in Athens, Georgia.  The Cotton Patch Quilters meet at the Lyndon House which in and of itself is beautiful and the meeting room perfect.  Athens is the home of the University of Georgia where my daughter earned her degree. My daughter also stayed in Athens to teach for 3 years, so for close to 8 years, it became our family's second home.  It was such fun to be back again and another surprise - I was taken to dinner at The Last Resort Grill - a favorite of ours while Jill was in Athens.  It was every bit as lovely and delicious as I remember it to be - below, they are redoing the side of the building.

 Show and Tell is always a highlight of every guild and this was no exception. Theonly problem is there's not enough time to see each quilt as long as you might want and I missed everyone's name. I was still given a thumbs up to show everyone's work. The gal on the right was affectionately known as the "prolific" quilter. She did have many quilts to share and each one wonderful.

 This quilt was spectacular and I could have poured over it for hours.

 Here's another from our "prolific quilter".

 Being a cat lover, I really bonded with this adorable Kitty Cat quilt.

I had a wonderful time with a great bunch of gals and I thank all the Cotton Patch Quilts for their warm and welcoming hospitality and Anita - I missed you!

Bears, Great Students and a Beautiful Sunrise

This week has literally slipped away, we're painting the living room so everything is in an upheaval, I'm leaving for John Campbell this weekend and have company coming when I get back - whew! so I forgot about my blog....Booooo on me and I've been wanting to share more on my wonderful stay in New Bern, NC.  New Bern, NC is the sister city of Bern, Switzerland and their trademark is the bear. There are bears everywhere and I mean EVERYWHERE. They're wonderful, colorful, artistic and add so much to the city of New Bern.  Each bear has a sponsor and costs around $3,000. They are painted by local artists and a plaque sits besides each bear telling all pertinent information. They are such fun to see. 

There was even one in the hotel lobby.
And speaking of hotels, I had the best room with great views, got up early one morning to see this outside my balcony. Does it get any prettier than this?
And onto my workshops, first day we did a half day of Bobbin Magic and a half day of dimensional work (flowers, petals, leaves and off the edge). The students were wonderful.
And lucky for me, I had so many repeat students, making it more fun and personal.
The classroom space in the upstairs of a church was absolutely great, plenty of room to spread out, and even a "whiteboard".
So amongst all these lovely ladies, we also had a lovely man - Ed! Ed was great, the hubby of the program chairman and a great help to me.  Ed is also active with community theater and was involved in the production of Guys and Dolls which he gave me a ticket for and I used on friday night! What fun!
This is some of the samples that came out of our first half day workshop; we did dimensional work with wire, with interfacing and with machine lace and also off the edge applique pieces. All my gals (and guy) did great and wish I could show all of them.
Our other half day workshop was Bobbin Magic which included bobbin stippling, bobbin beading, bobbin stumpwork and bobbin curls. I was amazed that everyone was able to complete every exercise in our very short 3 hours.

It was a wonderful experience and I thank the Twin Rivers Quilters for their wonderful hospitality.

On another note, today I went to the Asheville Quilt Guild's quilt show and have lots to report so please visit me again real soon and enjoy this wonderful fall weather - I'm in Heaven!

New Bern, NC and the Twin Rivers Quilters

I just returned from teaching at the Twin Rivers Quilters Guild in New Bern, NC - the opposite side of the state from me, on the water. It's a wonderful guild and I'll be remembering this trip for a long time. I was treated royally. For starters, I was put up in this wonderful hotel with my own balcony  that had this amazing view!

This was another view from my balcony.
And I just love this post in the water, think it might make an interesting print.
The skies were glorious, both morning and night.

I loved this picture of a dock, so simple and a peaceful place to be.
Critters everywhere just knowing someone was going to feed them.
And interesting roots and trees.
And amazing buildings.

Some amazing big old homes.
There's a very old hardware store downtown that's been there forever. Their windows are amazing with every kind of old artifact you can imagine. Unfortunately I was there when it was closed, but heard it has everything!

There's more to come, some very clever and arty bears, great ladies/students and projects and some more beautiful skies, so please join me again.

Lake Oconee Quilt Guild

This past week I had the great pleasure of visiting the Lake Oconee Quilt Guild in Greensboro, Georgia. It's a small guild - has only been around for a short time; but has grown in leaps and bounds since its first meeting. The ladies are delightful. When lecturing, I'm always aware of "faces" - smiling? enthused? receptive? - they were all of the above.  The "Show and Tell", always my favorite part so here's a peak at some of their beautiful work "up close and personal". Enjoy!

I loved the piecing on this quilt. I have a great appreciation for anyone who can do it so well.

The bright colors in this next piece were great. The quilter who made it said it was for her granddaughter who had all 4 bedroom walls painted a different color. This will work well, I think!

This next "little person's quilt" has a wonderful border.

I love the big blocks of color and smaller blocks made into the sashing - clean, simple, lovely!

I love the antique feel to this next quilt.

This quilt was made in a Kaffe Fassett workshop. It's all about color.

A student in my workshop had created this lovely small wall hanging but felt it needed some highlights. In class we talked about using couching thread in the bobbin and sewing on the reverse side - which she did..and..

with great results!

A great trip!  Thank you ladies of Lake Oconee Quilt Guild. You are terrific!