Quilt show!

The Stray Threads Hollywood Encore Quilt Show was this past weekend. Stray Threads is my quilt guild, which means I got to participate in the show! I entered three quilts:

"Forest Canopy":

I had to add a ginormous sleeve (88" long), but it was totally worth it to see this one hanging. Many thanks to my father-in-law who let me borrow the quilt to hang in the show!

"Autumn House":

There's me and Little Bear. Big Bear was there as well, but he wasn't feeling well and was disinclined to pose for the camera.

Lastly, "The Bunny Quilt":

Pardon the weird lighting in the picture-- the quilt was hanging right in front of a window. This one was finished just in the nick of time! I'll be sharing more about this finish soon.

Seeing my quilts hanging in the show was awesome. There were some amazing quilts there, and it was truly a privilege to have my quilts hanging right there with them.

Hoppin' along with Hop to It

After all of the excitement of testing out border options for my Hop to It quilt, I realize that I never actually shared the final picks. Doh! So, here is the top with borders and all:

I ended up going shopping and chose an inner border that actually looks pretty similar to my previous options, but it is cooler-toned and more blue/green than brown. Then I decided to bring the lightness I was craving into the outer border. I'm so happy with how they work together and with how the quilt looks as a whole. Huzzah!

This week, I managed to sit down and plan out my backing and get it pieced together. And then...

Basting! That's me in the picture above, keepin' it real with my crazy hair and surrounded by toys. I have to say, there is nothing like basting a quilt on the floor for making one feel old and decrepit. My back was killing me after this. But, the basting is done. Woo!

I took the plunge and entered this into my quilt guild's April show. Here's hoping they decide to hang it; based on my entry picture (of just 12 blocks hanging on a wall), they might decide I'm a lost cause and say no. LOL! Regardless, I'm motivated to get it quilted. I have a plan. Now I just have to get up the gumption to do it.

I won't mess up my quilt; I won't mess up my quilt...

Dragon's Moon

I mentioned before that I am entering two quilts in my guild's first-ever show this month. The first is "Tyger! Tyger! Burning Bright" (my Star Quilt Along quilt). The second is called "Dragon's Moon."


This quilt was started in a class I took back in 2002. The design is from the Marge Edie book, Bargello Quilts, and is called "Fractured Rhapsody." I finished the quilt top pretty quickly, but then was feeling really uninspired by it. Later that year, I took a beading class from Nancy Eha at the Houston International Quilt Festival. That's when I decided the quilt needed BEADS!


The Asian fabrics prompted me to check out a Dover clip art book titled, Chinese Designs, from which I adapted the dragon design.


Then, thinking the quilt seemed a little unbalanced, I decided that the dragon needed something on which to focus his rapt attention...


And so the moon appeared. It's an appliqued organza circle surrounded with beads.

I completed all of the beadwork and quilting in 2005. (I have no idea how many beads are in that dragon... but there are a LOT and it took a LONG time to do.) I even got most of the binding sewn down. But then I stalled, and the quilt sat in my UFO pile until I decided to enter it into the show. Last month, I finally finished the binding, got the sleeve sewn, and made the label.


It only took me 7 years!


It's funny... looking at this quilt now, there are a lot of things I would have done differently. The moon would be bigger and have a lot more beading (it's just way to subtle compared to the dragon). I would have added a weight to the bottom right corner to balance the weight of all the beading. I would have done a lot more quilting (the quilting is pretty minimal on this... just following the wave pattern of the bargello design, and pretty sparsely at that. The weight of the beading really called for more quilting, I think). But one thing I wouldn't change is the dragon. I just think he's pretty darn cool. And that's why I want to show off this quilt at the quilt show.

The big sleeve

My quilt guild (Stray Threads) is hosting it's first-ever quilt show this month. Woo hoo! It is not only exciting for my guild, but for me too-- I've never entered anything into a show before, and this seemed like an awesome opportunity. As it turns out, the show is taking place the same weekend the baby is due (April 24-25), so I have a feeling that I may not even get to go. But I decided to go ahead and enter a couple of quilts anyway, one of which is my Star Quilt Along quilt from 2008, Tyger! Tyger! Burning Bright:


It's not a judged show-- more of a showcase of members' works. Since I love this quilt and am still so proud of it, it seemed like a natural one to enter. Of course, had I known at the time that entering it would require adding a sleeve to the already completed quilt, I may not have done it. But, because the forms were already in when the committee decided they wanted sleeves on all of the quilts, I bit the bullet and did it...


...all 85" of it. At least it didn't take too long. Less than hour to make it, and then a couple of hours to stitch it on. But, that's what I spent my sewing time on yesterday. Not particularly glamorous, but I'm happy it's done!

Another requirement for the show is to submit entries in a "securely closed and labeled fabric or clear plastic bag." Though I know a fabric bag would be best, I didn't want to have to take the time to make one. So, I headed to Bed, Bath, and Beyond and picked up a couple of those giant comforter storage bags. (I really wish they came in smaller sizes too.) Then I used some vinyl and single-fold bias tape to add a pocket for my contact info:


Simple but effective, I think.

The other quilt I decided to enter was a long lost UFO I was motivated to finish for the show. I think it deserves a post of its own, so I'll share it with you tomorrow.