Saturday, April 5th, I went with my friend Kathie to the Guild of Quilters of Contra Costa County (GQCCC) Quilt Show, about 35 minutes away. It showcased about 128 quilts and hosted a handful of vendors. We knew the show would be low-key and not as large an investment of energy and time as would a huge show like PIQF or Houston's International Quilt Festival. We anticipated a Goldilocks adventure - not too little, not too big... just right. As I was leaving the house my husband called after me to have fun, but not to buy any more than three kits!
The venue was the Elk's Lodge in Walnut Creek, CA, complete with free, close-in parking. A regular win-win! The show program featured the guild's opportunity quilt, an intricate work of art titled Cleopatra's Wallpaper.
I enjoyed just meandering and so I was not as diligent in taking photos as I usually am. Fortunately Kathie helped me out by sending me some of hers after the fact to insert in this post. The featured artist of the show, Jackie Seidell, was a GQCCC member. Following are photos of three of her quilts that especially appealed to me. The first, #108 titled Baskets, particularly impressed me due to the 3D nature effect and Jackie's paint and pencil techniques to create it. Also, I have a particular fondness for baskets. My husband jokes that if I die before he does, the first thing he is going to do is toss out all the baskets I've collected.
Baskets
Garden Fiesta
In the voting sheet of my program for the best use of color section, I chose Garden Fiesta #111 by Jackie Seidell. I love blues and red — they often compete as my favorite color — and so this combination really wowed me. Here is an amusing anecdotal story. I was talking to my almost 7 year old grandson during a recent phone conversation (from his iPad) and asked him what his favorite color was. He promptly answered CYAN. I guess he truly is of the computer/printer generation.
In the voting sheet of my program for the best use of color section, I chose Garden Fiesta #111 by Jackie Seidell. I love blues and red — they often compete as my favorite color — and so this combination really wowed me. Here is an amusing anecdotal story. I was talking to my almost 7 year old grandson during a recent phone conversation (from his iPad) and asked him what his favorite color was. He promptly answered CYAN. I guess he truly is of the computer/printer generation.
Circle Fun 2
A third quilt of Jackie's is titled Circle Fun 2. She created it from a thread play class using a circular attachment on her sewing machine. It does look like it would be entertaining and pleasurable to make. Those offset nested circles surely set off the FMQ loops that change in size. I am not an avid fan of modern quilt design, but this one is far from stark and austere. It makes me smile!
A third quilt of Jackie's is titled Circle Fun 2. She created it from a thread play class using a circular attachment on her sewing machine. It does look like it would be entertaining and pleasurable to make. Those offset nested circles surely set off the FMQ loops that change in size. I am not an avid fan of modern quilt design, but this one is far from stark and austere. It makes me smile!
Tahoe Sampler
This woodsy sampler quilt is one of several generated during one of GQCCC's retreats. I really do like quilts where each block is different. They are so engaging to piece together because each block is a new experience. I was surprised to read, however, that at the guild's retreat, each member made several copies of the same block and then they exchanged them. This approach may be efficient, but I am not sure I'd be willing to give up the selfish joy of making each individual block myself. Tahoe Sampler reminds me of a Thimbleberries quilt I made in 2007 from a 2004 set of pattern books. An outdoor photo of it is shown below the story card of Tahoe Sampler. Other images of my Thimbleberries quilt are in my post for 1/7/2015.
This woodsy sampler quilt is one of several generated during one of GQCCC's retreats. I really do like quilts where each block is different. They are so engaging to piece together because each block is a new experience. I was surprised to read, however, that at the guild's retreat, each member made several copies of the same block and then they exchanged them. This approach may be efficient, but I am not sure I'd be willing to give up the selfish joy of making each individual block myself. Tahoe Sampler reminds me of a Thimbleberries quilt I made in 2007 from a 2004 set of pattern books. An outdoor photo of it is shown below the story card of Tahoe Sampler. Other images of my Thimbleberries quilt are in my post for 1/7/2015.
Merry Merry Snowmen
Another sampler quilt displayed was #39 Merry Merry Snowmen by Kathy Tedesco. Although I love the whimsy of this quilt, it has a lot of appliqué, which is "the A word" in my view of quilting. I do not do appliqué. I am lousy at appliqué when I attempt appliqué, and so I avoid appliqué. That opinion does not keep me from thoroughly admiring and enjoying the talents of others.
Another sampler quilt displayed was #39 Merry Merry Snowmen by Kathy Tedesco. Although I love the whimsy of this quilt, it has a lot of appliqué, which is "the A word" in my view of quilting. I do not do appliqué. I am lousy at appliqué when I attempt appliqué, and so I avoid appliqué. That opinion does not keep me from thoroughly admiring and enjoying the talents of others.
Kerry O'Brien's quilt #40 My Christmas with the Kranks impressed me. As I mentioned before I love red. I also love red and white quilts, but I would never have the patience to make one. Doing so would make me very Kranky. I attend craft shows to inspire me for future projects of my own, to learn and discover new techniques, to be submersed in shapes and patterns, and to wallow in the colors that surround me. But I also greatly enjoy quilts that are eye candy and which I can appreciate but never sew for myself. My Christmas with the Kranks falls into that last category. It is helpful to remember that you do not have to consume everything over which you salivate in a candy store.
Some quilts are very effective solely by means of their simplicity and #43 On Safari by Carol Madsen is a striking example of that. The pattern is based on a rail fence variation. The feature fabric squares look like their borders alternate. Looking more closely, clever placement of tri-striped blocks shows off the adorable animal print while preserving the illusion of two borders. I especially wanted to take note of this technique for making a community quilt with my small group called Cut-Ups when my month comes due. I have some lovely print fabrics that would do well with this treatment. The classic dilemma of the varying quarter in seam allowance in a group project could be easily handled with a few quick trims of a rotary cutter. My graphic prints would not need to be chopped up, either. But please save me from the temptation of overzealous fussy cutting!
Preliminary online scouting of the show info indicated that the vendors would not be a particular draw for me. I would not find it at all difficult to adhere to the three-kit guidance my husbandly tossed out teasingly as I left. I did not even bring a large tote bag with me as I usually do. Pleasantly, I still wound up partaking of several of the vendors' wares none-the-less. None of my purchases were fabric and they all fit in my purse! From Featherweight Finery I got a light weight pendant for a dragon-loving granddaughter. The artist is smart enough to take into account that even if the pendant flips over, the rainbow toned scales on the backside are still lovely to flaunt.
At the Sew 2 Cute Embroidery Shop I picked up this one of a kind excavator patch for a grandson who is into construction equipment. The dime is in the photo for scale. I do not yet know what the patch will go on, but he and I will figure it out.
At Fat Stitch I bought a 25 yard roll of black twill tape printed like a tape measure. I will use it to tie up gift quilts or other crafted items. When I buy clothes from the Gudrun Sjödén website they come wrapped in twill tape and it is just a nice classy touch and reminds me of the My Favorites Things song from the musical Sound of Music.
🎶 Brown paper packages tied up in string... these are a few of my favorite things 🎶"
I was going to buy a second roll for my daughter. The price for 25 yards was only $12.75 so about 50¢ a yard. Then my friend pointed out that 25 yards is a lot and I could just give my daughter part of my roll. Good idea!
I have been trying to convince my husband to whittle down his wallet to something smaller and thinner containing only the bare essentials. Now he has his thick leather wallet striped with green masking tape to make it more visible when he sets its down somewhere. To handle both visibility via color choice and bulkiness via light weight construction, I bought him these two options to consider. They each have three slots for credit cards and the leather one has a clear front to display an ID. I've shown both sides of the purple and both the outside and inside of the green print. The purple leather one is from DesignersNeeds. The green cloth one is from Stitches of Joy. Will my husband consider the change? That remains to be seen... fingers crossed.
Then there is an item I did not purchase at all. I won this notebook as a door prize. The winning number is the red ticket at the base. As we were leaving the show, I checked the number board and Voila! I was a winner. I keep an ongoing spiral notebook of projects as I do them. It beats hunting around for some random piece of paper where I wrote down a measurement or calculated a yardage. The notebook I am currently using is nearly full so this one can be waiting in the wings. Timing is everything!
Fun show. Fun company. Fun buys. Like Goldilocks, everything was just right!
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