And It's Over

Best of the Valley 2019 has come and gone.  All of the preparations, all the paperwork, everything.  Over and done with.  In retrospect?  I'd say it was a mighty fine show.  But I always say that.  I am biased.

When trying to think of what to enter, I went through my list of quilts finished in 2018.  I had two baby quilts, which are exactly that:  quilts designed to be used and spit up on by babies.  Are they show quilts?  No, they are not.  But my husband said, "Of course, enter them!"  And so I did.  After all, they did have a story to them.

Are they cute, or what?  My daughter-in-law wanted me to be prepared to participate in their gender reveal.  When push came to shove (no not THAT kind of pushing), she couldn't wait for a package to be shipped cross country.  A girl is due in late August.  I mailed the quilt on the left after the show.  It should arrive tomorrow.

I also had a number of my little seascape quilts to enter.  Three of them were in the same class, which all hung together, with the exception of one that was hung back with the quilts by quilters 80 and older.

They did okay, all wearing ribbons.

 I still don't know if I prefer California Dreamin' or O, Foggy Day.

Last, but not least, was Sunset Stroll.  It came in third, in a tough category, Wall Quilts, Pictorial Landscapes.

I spent some time both yesterday and today, making Easter eggs for the grands and our faraway son and DIL.

 Each one was cuter than the last.  I made them like postcards, with fusible peltex.  They go into the mail tomorrow.

And I guess that's going to do it for now.  We've got some plans for the remainder of April.  Part of it includes some hand quilting.  Goals are good!

Quilt Show Weekend!

 Yes, this weekend is Best of the Valley Quilt Show, in Lindsay, CA.  All of our hard work has paid off, and attendance has been fabulous.  It's a wonderful place to spend a weekend, meeting up with long-time quiltie friends and getting to see amazing quilts up close and personal.  Front and center is BOS, "Moonflower," by Molly Hamilton-McNally of Tehachapi.  Gorgeous!

And there are vendors, offering the makings of our own future prizewinners.

I'd write more, but I haven't the time.  The show is calling, and the last day?  Is always VERY busy!

Come and see!

Tick Tock

March has been a whirlwind.  Not a stitch has been sewn, not a fabric fondled, not a needle threaded.

oh wait.  There was Block of the Month made for guild, but other than that?  nada.

I am in the throes of quilt show organization.  If you live anywhere near Central CA, I do hope that you have marked your calendar for April 5-7.  Best of the Valley Quilt Show is next weekend, and it's going to be AMAZING.

The BOTV team has been working, working, working, putting together a show worthy of the title Best of the Valley.  The quilts come in on Monday, the judges work all day Tuesday, we begin hanging the show on Wednesday, the vendors arrive on Thursday, and on Friday?  We open the doors and welcome you in.  Please come.  You will be glad you did.

And tell your friends, and bring them, and tell them to bring their friends, too!  :D

As to the Block of the Month, these are the blocks that were turned in for March:

 Turns out I REALLY like those blocks!  I had envisioned them set on point, with empty blocks for quilting, but seeing them like this?  On the wall?  I REALLY like them.  Do not be surprised if I make some more in the next year or two (or three).

The block for next month is the BowTie.  With the quilt show, I didn't have time to do anything intricate.  We have shirting fabric for the background, and then something bold for the bow tie.  I think the results will be really fun.  I hope so!

 For the most part, other than quilt show paperwork, I've spent a lot of time babysitting this little sweetie pie.  She has decided that she's all grown up, and prefers to use a plate and a fork.

 I took these pictures on the first day I gave her the plate and fork to feed herself.  She's getting really good at using them.  Like I said, all grown up.

 Her cousin, our youngest (for now) grandchild, has been a busy boy.  He's growing quickly, and is almost big enough to wear his dress hat.  I believe his other grandma made it for him.  He's not quite sure what he thinks about it.  At three months (today), he's probably not all that concerned about his attire.  He's more concerned with whether or not his next meal is ready for delivery.  I spend 1 or 2 evenings a week watching him, too.

And that's it around here.  Perhaps I will post more than once in April, but in looking at my calendar?  I might be surprised if I post anything at all.  I'll try to make a point of checking in once the show is over.  There.  Goals are good!

And with that, I hope to see you at the show next weekend!

Quilt Faster! Quilt Faster!

With the Best of the Valley entry deadline LOOMING on the horizon, I'm quilting as fast as I can.  By hand.

Quilt faster!  Quilt faster!

My quilt isn't all that large, it's just that I'm quilting it with close to matchstick quilting.  okay, so not really, but it seems like it.  For handquilting?  It's about as close as I ever want to get.  I don't have a recent picture of the quilt, but here's where I blogged about it.  I added a few more details and some embroidery before beginning the quilting.  And now I am quilting, as fast as I can.

Quilt faster!
Quilt faster!

All that remains to be quilted is the sky.  And the sky is the bulk of the piece.  oh well.  Goals are good!

Our Art Group (Sew Eclectic) shell challenge pieces have all been turned in.

Now the challenge is to decide how to link them together into a single piece.  Because they are not all the size of the section we were supposed to replicate, there are some gaps.  In other places, the pieces fit right together.  A friend suggested that I mount them on a fishing net.  What a great idea!  I've ordered one from Etsy, and am awaiting delivery, hopefully this week.  Until then, I will keep quilting on the Lifeguard Tower quilt.

I have a couple of other quilts I wanted to finish for the show, but that doesn't look like they'll be happening any time soon.  oh well.  If I don't set goals, I don't know what I'm striving for, and without a target or a deadline?  I end up finally getting around to quilting a quilt that deserved to have been finished two and one half years ago!!

And I guess that's it.  Thanks for stopping by!

So Busy!

On Monday, we had our annual BOTV mailing party.  Several of the Best of the Valley gals got together to put together the mass mailing of entry forms, etc. for the upcoming show.

 If you're not on the mailing list, you can download the entry form and guidelines here.

Last week, I finished some heart ornaments.  The stocking ornaments are still under construction.

 I finally finished marking Penny's Pinwheel.  Here it is, waiting to be basted.  oh wait!  You can't see it!  I covered it with a sheet, just in case the cat needed to check it.  And he did.  Of course he did.

 And here it is, all basted and ready for hand quilting.  I've already got 4-1/2 years invested into this quilt.  What's another 4-1/2 to get it quilted, right?  :D

Once the mailing party was over and the quilt basted, I took the tables out to the garage and commenced decorating for Christmas.  Here's what I've got so far:

 Actually, the above is what I want you to see.  Here below is what it actually looks like:

Goals are good, and the current one is to be able to take a picture of this same view, without all of the piles of decorations-in-waiting.

I'll leave you with visions of a fully decorated room, and wish you the most blessed of Christmas seasons.

Miss Me?

Sorry I haven't been blogging lately.  I've been laboring, for months.  And last weekend?  The committee and I gave birth to a quilt show.  And what a show it was!  I think we outdid ourselves this year, as everything ran smoothly, and there were few, if any, neutral or negative responses to the experience.

 The above picture was taken during the first hour of the first day.  I love the sound of happy voices, reverberating around the building.

Remember the 6x6" challenge that my art group did last year?  We had it on display.  Deciding how to display it was a challenge in itself, but when I discovered these leftover slats from my Studio blinds, I thought we had a winner.

 Here is my final selection of six pieces.  I called them "Remnants," as they were made from remnants of various projects.

I had several pieces in the show, though nothing truly remarkable.  One of my favorites, "Tartan Highlands," which is my header for the blog, was chosen for the Celebrate Ag award.  I was quite tickled with that, and need to write my thank you note to Kausen Farms, the award's sponsor.

 My granddaughter made the trip to the quilt show, and had a great time.  She schmoozed all the ladies, and quickly won them over.

 I entered my Charlie quilt in the BOTV Challenge.  I should know better than to make a quilt of one of my cats.  He began failing, and passed away during the quilt show.  I can't think about it much, or my eyes begin leaking.

 And finally, now that the quilt show is over, I have chance to enjoy my garden.  The irises are in full bloom, and the roses are happier than I've seen them in years.

All in all, the show was wonderful.  There are still follow-ups and a pile of paperwork to go through but soon, very soon, I am hopeful that I will once again be making quilts, not just talking about them.

Goals are good!

Time Flies!

whoosh!  The visible-to-the-public part of Best of the Valley Quilt Show has come and gone.  Now the behind-the-scenes-wrap up will consume my days in the coming week.  Yesterday quilts were shipped back to their owners.  Today's schedule should include a trip (or two) to our storage unit, to drop off the PVC pipe, sign boards, and other large, bulky quilt show paraphernalia.  The rest?  Hangs out in my garage year-round.

So, while I attend to this detail and that, I'll leave you with pictures of the quilts that I entered in BOTV 2017.  Enjoy!

 "Another Sunset" - Suzanne Kistler, 2017

"By The Sea" - Suzanne Kistler, 2015

 "Hanging By a Thread" - Suzanne Kistler, 2016

 "Wheel of Color" - Suzanne Kistler, 2016

"Kelp" - Suzanne Kistler, 2016

Those are the quilts I entered this year.  I was pleased to be mentioned, since I knew the competition would be competitive.  :)  Finally, I'll leave you with this shot of the surprise my husband sent to me on opening day:

Hope you're inspired to quilt.  I know I am!!

This n That

A few months ago, I brought home some exciting hand-embroidered pillowcases from an estate sale.  In the sale house, they had no odor.  But once I brought them into my house?  A musty smell was pretty apparent.  I spent a lot of time online, trying to find the "cure" for mustiness.  I tried several things, and in the end, it seemed to require a combination of treatments, the most important of which was boiling water, "to kill the mold spores."  Baking soda worked better than vinegar to remove odor.  And then I set the pillowcases flapping in the windy sunshine for a couple of days, to be sure it was gone.  So far, so good.  The mustiness seems to be gone.  Good to know that there is a cure, right?   Apparently they already knew that in "the olden days."  In modern times, with modern machinery, it never occurred to me that boiling water served a vital purpose.  Kind of a "duh" moment for this history major.

 

 

With the quilt show fast approaching, I've spent a LOT of time at my computer.  I've been organizing and typing and ordering and sorting, and with Quilt Week arriving on Monday?  I've needed to add some variety to my life.

Last week, my housekeeper - yes, I have one now, for 6 hours/week - helped me deep clean the china hutch and several kitchen cabinets.  When she left, I had dishes EVERYWHERE.  It took another 45 minutes or so, to put them all away.  (I shifted things from here to there and everywhere else.  It was a huge undertaking.)  But, wow.  I think this is Spring Cleaning, at its finest.  At least for me.  Look at all those nice orderly plates, bowls and glassware.  woohoo!

 See all of the hand-thrown pottery?  The blue/white, and brown bowls and casseroles were all made by my mom.  She passed away in 2000, so they're becoming vintage.  Some are chipped, some are cracked, but unless they end up in two pieces, I always return them to the cabinet.

Yesterday, I needed a sewing break.  I put together a card for a friend whose birthday isn't for another month.  But I had the little found treble clef, and didn't want to misplace it yet again.  I think I got it in a baggie of jewelry odds and ends from yet another estate sale.  It has a little rhinestone in the tail, which I think is adorable.

And, hmm.  yep.  Nothing to see here, folks.  It's just a typing extravaganza extraordinaire. 

Best of the Valley Quilt Show opens to the public at 10am on Friday, April 7.  Please come, and bring your friends.  Guaranteed to be a highlight of your quilt show attendance for 2017, especially if you love to see exceptional quilts, up close and personal.

A Few Birthday Wishes

I don't even know how long it's been since I posted.  Time is FLYING.  The quilt show is right around the corner (April 7-9).  If you want details, you can find them on our website, as well as the link to "like" us on Facebook.  The most recent updates come through on Facebook.  There's even a working list of 2017 vendors there, in the "notes" section.

But enough of that.  You thought there would be birthday wishes, didn't you?

My granddaughter turned 6 last week.  We went up to visit, and I made her a card.

 I was particularly pleased with my "wrapping" job, of this box full of Barbies.  (The bunnies are in honor of her being born in the year of the rabbit.

The very next day, one of my Itty Bitty quiltie friends had a birthday.  She, too, needed a card.  So I made this one:

 It was so much fun, the next day I made a card for a friend whose birthday was in February.

 And then one, for a friend whose birthday was earliest in March.

You may think that I am on a roll, but I'm not.  I'm just procrastinating from the typing that has been filling the past couple of days. 

And on that note, I really should get back to it. 
Hope to see you at Best of the Valley Quilt Show!

WOW

I hadn't realized I hadn't posted in weeks.  Sorry about that.  I've been busy.  Best of the Valley Quilt Show 2016 has come and gone, and I'm now in the week of wrap up.  It is possible that I will get back to regular posting in the near future.  Goals are good!

Penny and her Mama came to the quilt show.  Here is Penny with Grandpa.  They had a nice visit, albeit a short one.

I entered six quilts, and came away with three ribbons:  2HM and a blue.  Blackeyed Beauty did well, and was happy to preside over the MiniQuilts, Illustrated category.

And now I am home again, catching the last of the blooming iris.  They seem to peak when I'm at the show, but there are enough of them this year, that I'm getting my fill.

 I felt like Georgia O'Keefe, as I zoomed in for a close-up.

Next week, I'm aiming for needle and thread.  Goals are good!  :)

COUNTDOWN

 One week from yesterday, the quilts come in.  One week from today, we will be in the judging room.  One week from tomorrow, we will be hanging quilts.  Well, you get the idea.  The quilt show is looming large, and I hope you all make an effort to come and see.  It will be worth it.

I gaze out the window at the flowers, then go back to my binders and typing.

 My problem is printing.  My old printer decided to refuse to communicate, so I said, "Back atcha," and bought a new one.  It worked for a bit, then didn't.  Then did, then didn't.  Then did, then...well, again, you get the idea.

I have a stack of things that still need to be printed, but I guess they're going to have to wait for my son to swing by after work and fix it all for me once again.  I should have just stayed up typing/printing last night, instead of thinking everything was rosy and going to bed.

In other news, I received a "sorry, not this time" letter from SAQA, regarding my submission, "Hanging by a Thread."  I'm not surprised, as there were 220 entries, and they only took 24.  I'm kind of excited, because I've wanted to go back to it to add more, and more, and more.  And now I will.  I've been given permission.

okay, just thought I'd check in and say, "hey."  As we get closer to April, we get closer to quilt show.  I will be busy.  No doubt about it.