International Quilt Festival

As usual, the quilt festival was wonderful this year. I went on Friday with Marge and we met my sister there. It was very crowded, which was nice to see in light of the economy. The quilts in the shows were awe inspiring and we spent a lot of time looking at some going "how did they do that?". The displays have done a lot to educate my eye and mind over the years. I always learn something new. (Missed it? Click on the ruby slippers here to check it out!)

As usual, we shopped. And as usual, I came home with a load of goodies that had not much to do with quilting at all. This show and market are definitely not just for quilters. (just a sample: beading, kumihimo, felting, sari yarn, crochet, painting, stamping, felt embroidery, ribbon embroidery...it's endless--they even had Cham-Wow!)

I did a bunch of shopping and had a great time, but I'm going to focus now on what I did. The image at the top is two ATCs made in a class I took at the end of the day. The ATC on the left is mine, the one on the right is one I traded for. The class was part of Make-It-U sponsored by Quilting Arts Magazine. The class was Bristle ATCs and was taught by Belinda Spiwak.

I think these classes are the best for inspiration. I've gotten to try all sorts of things I never would have on my own. (Last year I did fabric painting and made a mixed media beaded pin.)

We used a wide variety of materials in our ATCs--paints, distress stamp pads, regular stamp pads and stamps, and a variety of papers, pens, and goodies. I came away with some new experiences, two ATCs, and a little baggie with leftover papers, fibers and a new gel pen. We laughed and had a really fun time as we worked to beat the clock (we had an hour to learn all of these new things and make two ATCs!). Well worth the $10 price tag.

I find that the show is a huge energy and inspiration boost. There are so many creative and wonderful things to see. I got the t-shirt above in the Maeda Importing booth. I also got some lovely Japanese fabrics there. The T had the sashiko design lightly printed and came with a skein of sashiko yarn (a matte cotton about the size of perle 5). After going all day, I came home Friday night and had the shirt about 2/3 done by bedtime. (Years ago I did a lot of sashiko, but it's a no brainer--running stitch. See this tutorial at the Purl Bee.) I finished it up Saturday morning (and wore it to show off to my sister on Sunday!)

Another goody I got was a freebie (love freebies!) at Paper Pieces. It was a little kit to try paper piecing--to make a flower like in a Grandmother's Flower Garden Quilt. It came with paper pieces and fabric. We didn't look at them there (but I did get some really tiny hexagons to try and piece a really tiny quilt). When I got home and began piecing, the fabric I got looked Japanese-ish to me (the blue diamond pattern for the center and the "Japanese coins" for the petals). So I pieced up my flower. (I like paper piecing, it's quick and very portable.) I pressed it and removed the paper then I was going hmmmm and still inspired, so I pulled out my Japanese fabric.

I decided I liked the flower on this piece and so I appliqued it on. Now I'm going hmmmm again, but I'm back into the work week and all that entails. I did bring it by my sister's so we could all consider it. It needs something. I have decided I'm going to quilt it and I think that's the next step. I laid a few different handy laces on it and liked one of them so it will likely get a stripe of lace. But I'm still auditioning the next step.

Saturday night I went "awk!" when I realized the deadline for Pat Winter's Pieces of Friendship exchange is coming up fast. I only have 3-1/2 pieces done. So I set all the goodies from the quilt show aside and worked some on my last piece. I need to get the beads out and add some.