A Show of Quilts

One of the treats of the Hartland Retreat is Saturday night's show and tell session. The attendees show what they've made during their stay, but are preceded by a trunk show of an individual. This year Persis Blaesing was the one to share her work.

Persis brought a large stack of lovely quilts. She's one of the most prolific quilters in the area. Each one elicited a group intake and gasp as they were as equally beautiful as the one before or even more beautiful. ooh aaah.

Persis is in the blue, talking about this particular quilt. There was a second pieced quilt on the back.

The French Braid pattern has been popular in the Valley. I've seen numerous interpretations, this one is particularly striking. (On the left is Kathleen, our retreat Hostess.)

This quilt is always fun for me to see. Persis made it from my pattern, published in American Quilter magazine years ago. It's "The Color Runs Through It." It is exciting to see that my instructions were such that they could be followed. :) I still have a few back issues, if anyone is interested.

I wish you could see the detail in this last quilt. I believe she called it a Pineapple Star. She also made a medium-sized version and a mini. The three bears would have been happy, with one for each of them. :)

That's all I've got for now. Hope you enjoyed the show. :)

Pop! and other things

I spent the morning in the lovely town of Porterville, visiting with the Porterville Quilters. I didn't just visit, I was their program. I've been there more than once, but this was the first time I've noticed this statue on the corner of Henderson and Main. Has it always been there? Why have I never seen him? He's very impressive.

Salute the Farmer
Porterville, CA

As I said, I was the program. I don't do a lot of programs, simply because I'm not often asked. I usually present a trunk show, but today they asked for something different.

Because I am Chairman of Best of the Valley, they thought I might know what judges think. hmmm. Does anyone really know what judges think? Or do we just know what we get in our comment sheets? ;)

I thought the best way to find out would be to take some of my show quilts, find the judging sheets from various shows, and let the quilters decide for themselves. I actually think they had fun. I know I did. I could send the same quilt to two different shows. One judge would say "tight, secure applique," the next would say, "applique stitches need to be secure."

If you're going to enter a lot of shows (which I've definitely done over the past 20 years), you need to develop both a bit of a shell and a sense of humor. Here's proof of my morning's work. (Thank you, Wanda!)

But I'm guessing what you're really wondering about is the "pop!" I noticed it late this afternoon, as I was washing dishes. It did it!!! The iris that began to bud in the garage survived the trauma and bloomed today.

Welcome little iris, I am SO happy to see you!!!!

Del Quilts

Last night I had the distinct pleasure of spending time with fellow blogger, Del Quilts. She was in Hanford, to give the program for the Common Threads Quilt Guild. Del has a contemporary quilt collection that is unrivaled. Her taste is not limited, and work from quilters all over the world has found its way into her possession.

For an hour or so, our eyes feasted on quilts that are often only seen in books or online. It was absolutely delightful. Is it possible to over-indulge in quilt adoration? I don't think so. I want more. :)

Here is Del, with "Summer Lily" by Ruth McDowell.

If you've read my blog for any length of time, you know I'm a HUGE fan of Ruth's work, and Ruth. I love, love, love this quilt, and it was a treat to see it in person.

The first time I took a class with Ruth, Del was also enrolled. One afternoon we walked into the classroom, and Ruth had her quilts displayed for us to marvel at. I saw one that I was smitten with. I looked up the price and started thinking. How could I explain to my husband that I just HAD to have this quilt? As I walked through the rest of the quilts, I was obsessed. I was going to just have to figure something out. Should I ask him first?

It didn't matter. When I'd just about decided that I could swing this quilt and get away with it, Ruth mentioned that the quilt had been sold. Sold? Who bought it? I had no idea.

Aha! Last night I found out who bought that quilt! Del made a point of telling us that if you see a quilt that you really LOVE, you should buy it. If you don't move quickly enough, someone else might snatch it up from under your finger tips. If you haven't figured it out yet, Del is the loving owner of Ruth's Cineraria quilt. Next time I will move faster. ;)

This table reads like Who's Who of quilting. Off the top I could identify Ruth Powers, Melody Johnson, Nancy Brown and Franki Kohler. (See that gingko quilt? I wanted it last year. Guess Who beat me to it! Not this year. I bought Franki's 2009 gingko quilt. See? I learned that lesson! ;) Although the top row is upside down, if you use your imagination, you'll know they are amazing!
Top row, l-r, Quenching Rain - Melody Johnson, How Could You Leave Us - Ruth Powers,

Haiku - Karen Stiehl Osborn, Gingkoes II - Franki Kohler, A Predictable Attraction - B.J.Adams
Bottom row, l-r, Don't Piss Off The Fairies - Ruth Powers, Yellow-headed Blackbird - Ruth Powers, Laurel Leaves - Terry Grant, Beaded House - Sally Sellers, Henry - Nancy Brown

Finally, I can't resist one more picture of "Fort Morrison Jerseys," another of Ruth McDowell's quilts. I actually saw this one in person the first time I met Del. She was gracious enough to bring it to class, especially for my enjoyment. My husband is a dairy vet. He was FASCINATED by the quilt. "WOW!! She even got the stanchions right!" (Of course he was looking at the structure of the dairy, not the quilt, per se.)

I love Debbie's "pose" here. I'm not sure who's studying whom. Do those cows look real or what?!!!

All I can say is that last night was an incredible experience. I thoroughly enjoyed visiting with Del and hearing her talk about each quilt. If any guild out there is looking for an inspirational "trunk show," I highly recommend giving her a call. You won't be disappointed. :)

What a Weekend!

Ahhh, what a beautiful weekend! What could be better than to be in the mountains when it rains? That would be spending that rainy weekend in the mountains quilting. Lovely.

This photo didn't come out as nicely as it looked in the camera. This branch was covered with raindrops and literally glistened as though covered with jewels. (Actually, it reminded me a bit of "Cascading Crystal Kaweah.")

This photo was taken on Sunday morning, once the rain had stopped. Yes, the colors are true, the sky WAS that blue. I don't know what this tree is, I just call it "the big leaf tree."

This is one of the leaves it dropped. The only leaves I've seen this big are from sycamore trees. Yeah, I know, I don't get around much. Remember, I live in CA, the land of fruits and nuts and palm trees... ;)


On Saturday evening, I was invited to give a trunk show. I'll let you in on a little secret: it's one of my favorite things to do. It's not often that my quilts get out of the corner of my sewing room and I have a chance to look at them. I asked a friend to take some pictures. Apparently I don't hold still much while speaking. Pay no attention to the twitchy woman in the photographs...it's all about the quilts. ;)


This Monkey Wrench is the first pieced quilt I made. I finished it in 1985. It was for my daughter's "big girl bed."


This is my first Lone Star quilt, made in 1985. At that time I swore never to cut another diamond. Never say never.


I can't even concentrate on the quilt in this picture - am I taking off? What is going on here? What could I possibly be saying that required this much arm motion?


The trunk show went well, and I made contacts for two possible future presentations. If they actually happen, I'll be sure to let you know.

By the time I left, I was quite satisfied (I'll show you my projects at another time). I was switching gears on the drive home, knowing that I had two hours to prepare for the arrival of the College/Career Fellowship at our home at 5:30pm. (I always cook dinner for the group on Sunday evenings, before our Bible study.)

Anyway, this is what I was greeted by...more city trucks. Remember last week's garbage truck breakdown in front of our driveway? This time the water main broke, right where the garbage truck had been parked...

This is the view from our driveway. I'm standing where my car should be parked. God is good. They finished the repair and were on their way by 5:15pm, just as our first college student arrived...

And finally, this morning, this was the view from the driveway. We had rain over the weekend, and it looks like it's going to be a foggy year. This is just a mild hint of the days ahead - the more rain, the more fog we will have. We are so desperate for rain, it's almost a prayer request to have Tule Fog from now until March or April...(we only get the fog after a soaking rain...)


And now I'm off to do some quilting for hire. I'll post more retreat pictures in the morning...