Asheville Quilt Guild Show - Sept 2019

Our annual Asheville Quilt Show was held this weekend at the Ag Center in Asheville, NC. For 3 days, people were able to view and oooh and ahhhhhhh over such wonderful pieces of art. I say in a very unbiased way, this show does get better each year.

The beautiful and meticulously done Best in Show winner was great to see in person. In my excitement and also couldn't get close to her, I neglected to get her name but am working on that. To win such an honor...should have her name here....

Linda Roy never lets us down; her quilts are amazing in design, color and technical ability. I'm also so impressed with her attention to detail...lots of nose appeal.

Celebrate the Harvest by Donna Davis on left and Autumn Blaze by Karen Gilbert on right...both beauties.

Now this might be the quilt I would like to take home with me....It's absolutely beautiful and striking, technically great - Blue Rose by Sherry Durbin.

This one is near and dear to my heart being a North Carolinean...we have our share of bears - all over the place. We always have our cameras out and ready...so this quilt is not too far from the truth.

Well...I haven't seen a quilt by the great Linda Fiedler in a while and this one (top) worth waiting for. It's a stray from her usual style and quilte refreshing...love the colors and design and of course the workmanship is to die for as with all of Linda's quilts.

Top left is Circ Touche by Jackie Perry and right is Paths.....Not Walls by Jane Cole - both beautiful pieces. Kathie Briggs right below has a wonderful piece called A Year in the Forest. Kathie is known for her very intricate and pieced backgrounds and the use of nature themes...I love this piece and apparently someone else did also as it sold at the beginning of the show + it won a ribbon. Way to go Kathie!

Susan Lee did this lovely geometric with great color...above this piece and to the left is Lone Cypress by Kerry Steck. While teaching in California, I remember a student taking me on a drive past this beautiful tree with the crashing ocean. On the right isTrail Through the Woods by Judith Kaplan...kinda looks like our parkway in the fall.

Lake Sunset by Elizabeth Harris on the left - beautiful in person and Poppies by Barbara Swinea on the right - also a great piece. I love the pieced background on Barbaras piece...gives it a lot of charm and visual texture.

Loose Connections by Wendy Bowen uses very subdued colors but they work very well together.

Diana Ramsay created this large and very geometric, interesting piece. Diana has developed a style of quilting which is amazing...each one is better than the one before.
Stay tuned for part 2 of the quilt show...

PTA Sept 2019

PTA (piecers, talkers and applique-ers) met at Dort's new house last week. Besides our wonderful show and tell, we had the added bonus of seeing Dort's new home and studio which was light and roomy and a fun place to be.

 Connie had a lot to share...She brought lots of samples from a friend who was a decorator...and also showed the darling baby quilts she is making using chenille which is so soft as well as having some wonderful texture.

And look what goes with each quilt...how darling is this - hand crocheted Octopus's or is it Octopi...either way, they are adorable.

Connie also had packs of handmade coasters...great gifts.

Dort modeled her dress she made from the folkwear patterns she purchased recently...She looked wonderful in it. It's a very soft, flow-y kind of style and Dort carried it off beautifully. We also were able to see her new studio which is quite large, light and has glass doors which open up to a beautiful backyard..very inspiring space. 

We also got to see some of her new pieces from her series of a trip to France with her sister.

 
Georgia showed us a huge quilt made up of many projects she has done over the years. It was such fun to see how she was able to tie so many different styles and subject matter together so well.

 ....a fun and interesting piece to see...so much nose appeal.

Such a great day...always with this group. I always come home so happy and full of inspiration.

Southern Highland Craft Guild Heritage Day

 The Southern Highland Craft Guild hosted the annual Heritage Day on Saturday and Sunday this past weekend. Events included singing, clogging, sheep shearing, sheep herding, wood crafts, weaving, quilting, soapmaking and many more. It's wonderful for children and adults. First stop was the woodcarver showing his beautiful work as well as demonstrating the craft.

My granddaughter Audrey was intrigued how he started with a block of wood and ended up with a beautiful hand carved and painted bird.

 The weaver was also fascinating to watch...

 Wow...so that's what a loom is......

  I think Audrey's favorite was the quilting or maybe just Connie....or probably both. Connie Brown had a quilt set up for everyone to try their hand at.....She also had a display of some of her own quilts and step by steps for piecing a quilt.

Audrey took some stitches and was then asked to sign her name and where she was from...

 She also has a thimble on her finger...never too young to learn to use one. I learned early on and can't sew without one now.  Below....Martha Owens was showing carding and preparing the rovings to be spun into yarn for weaving...each child was able to take some rovings to feel how soft they were.

A table full of different kinds of apples, many of which are not grown for public use anymore. I can't believe how many varieties there are.

 Audrey loved to pick them up and sniff each one...yum.

  One of the highlights was the herding of sheep...I thought I got a picture of the beautiful Border Collie but the light was too strong. He was amazing and so smart...he also herded some geese and got them to cross the bridge.

The woodcarver who made houses was amazing...so creative and fun to see.

 

Well, it was back to quilting with Connie where Connie suggested that Audrey asked me to teach her to sew?!

Are those the best words to say to a "quilting nana"...I should say so

 What a great, fun and educational day for people of all sizes and ages...