Quilt Guild Program–Pat Kuhns

Our last quilt guild meeting until fall was last week.  We always finish out the year with a pot luck supper…yum, yum...everyone brings their specialty. 

Our program this meeting was just wonderful!!!  We had Pat Kuhns do a trunk show for us that night.  To refresh your memory Pat’s miniature was awarded the ribbon for 3rd place at the AQS show at Paducah.  It was great to see her little quilt under glass at the show but even better to see it in person and get to touch it and ask Pat questions about her technique, listen to her tell about making it, etc.   Check out the blog post about it here.

Pat did a wonderful program of her first quilts made from kits only about 15 years ago to seeing the miniatures she has made just for herself and those she has made for competitions.   Pat is a very bubbly person and so friendly and allowed members to handle her quilts after the lecture.  We were all in awe of the many beautiful quilts she showed.

I am so happy to have seen her quilts and wish her best of luck in future competitions.

Lynn

Packing For The Trip Home

Lynn (me) Barb (sister) Caroline (niece, Barb's daughter) Jeannine (sister) Diane (friend)

I could go on and on about Paducah, the beautiful quilts, fabulous vendors, great weather, wonderful hostess and fun time with family and friends but I will stop my “coverage” of this year’s AQS Paducah quilt show with this blog entry.  Here we all are ready to start for home.  We all are squinting as we were facing the morning sun…notice our matching shirts.   Each year we buy a matching t-shirt and wear the new shirt home and attract a lot of attention when ever we stop.  We have met people in restrooms along the highways who notice the shirts and have commented that they too were on their way home from Paducah.   We have been asked if it was a good show, how we liked Paducah, etc. by waitresses or gas station clerks.  If we are lucky enough to go again next year we will wear this shirt on our trip to Paducah and purchase a new one for our trip home…..we just have to advertise our joy of the show.

It has been a few weeks now since we have been home but still the memories remain and packing to leave has it’s own memory.  We packed the car for the return trip home on the Saturday morning and I mean PACKED the car.  It is a good thing our friend Diane isn’t a quilter or sewer as she didn’t purchase much but the rest of us did our share and we had to pack creatively to fit it all in.  We know we can’t buy large items and the smaller items are creatively stuffed into every blank space in our luggage and bags.  So far we have not had to travel with items under our feet but that is always an option!
Until Later,
Lynn

I did make a correction notation about the Best of Show Miniature on this blog entry.  I misidentified the winning quilt .  The winning quilt was Tulip Star by Lynne Taylor of Cape Girardeau, Missouri and the one pictured was the first place winner of the miniatures, "Itty, Bitty, Boutis by Jan Hutchison of Sedgwick, KS.  Sorry for any confusion.

Inktense Pencils and Water Brush

I purchased the Inktense pencils by Derwent at Hobby Lobby a while before I went to Paducah and have yet to try them out.  I did run across a vendor selling the water brush and pencils and she demonstrated how she uses the pencils on fabric.  I am more anxious to get them out and try them but just have not had time. 

Check out the whole Derwent website as there are lots of hints and tips plus videos on using these pencils.  This is what the website says about the pencils….
“Pen and ink offers strong, intense colour combined with a translucent effect. Now you can enjoy these distinctive qualities in an easy to use pencil. Inktense has a highly blendable texture and comes in a range of 71 jewel-like colours, plus a non-soluble outliner which allows you to draw outlines that are permanent, even when water is applied. Apply pure, vibrant dry colour then wash the pigment out completely to leave an ink-like effect. Once dry, the colour is permanent and can be worked over with other media. The possibilities are endless, the results stunning.
Inktense pencils can be used on fabric to create interesting silk paintings and unique quilting projects.”

The thing with these pencils is this…you color your fabric (or paper) with the pencil then wet it with water and it turns into a vibrant transparent color.  When it dries it is permanent.   Isn’t that cool?    I have seen some pieces online where these pencils have been used..fantastic.  One such blog is May Your Bobbin Always Be Full by LuAnn Kessi.  Take a look at these blog entries where she has used the pencils.

I only purchased a set of the 12 pencils to try and if I like them I can always invest in a larger set later.  They seem a little pricy but it looks like they go a long ways.

Have any of you used these pencils?  How did you like them?  Any tips?

Until later…
Lynn

Luscious Silk Fabric

Four pieces of silk fabric made their way home with me from the AQS Paducah show a few weeks ago.  I have been wanting to work with silk for sometime and it just isn’t readily available here.  Am thinking of designing a whole cloth miniature design for at least one of these pieces.  Again don’t hold your breath for this project to get done.  I am still in the thinking stage.

The rolled up silk fabric is really interesting as it changes color when viewed from different angles.  

Lynn

Batiks for Bags

Here are a couple of groupings of some batik fabrics I purchased in Paducah with the idea that they might get made into purses or bags of some sort.  They are not high quality batik fabrics but I just loved the vibrancy of the colors and patterns.  For bags they will be just fine.

 

Now I will have to figure out what kind of bag I want to make.  Hmmm…would like to start on one now but there are some other things I need to do first so these will have to wait.

Lynn

Panel Magic

Panel Magic VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

One of the things that I was looking for when in Paducah was a quilt panel or two.  You know the panels that have a printed motif that can either be small motifs, stripe like motifs, block motifs or full sized motifs that go across the width of fabric.  I don’t normally buy panels but have a special reason now.  Last spring a friend and I attended National Quilters Day event at the International Quilt Study Center in Lincoln where we spent the day full of fun interesting lectures and looking at beautiful quilts. 

One of the lectures we attended was given by a lovely woman from Lincoln and was on using panels to make interesting beautiful quilts.  She had lots of ideas on using panels in interesting ways….more, much more than just slapping borders on them. 

My friend and I talked about this for a while and got the idea that this would make a great challenge so we volunteered to be in charge of the challenge for the next year in our local guild.  We will be working up a set of rules for guild members to follow but basically we will have the members choose some sort of pre-printed panel and to come up with some way of using that panel in a quilted piece in an interesting way using piecing, applique or some other way of treating the panel. 

I’m not sure yet what I want to do with these panels but should work on them over the summer so I have something to show as an idea next fall.

Later…Lynn

4-H Quilts of Valor

The 4-H members here in Nebraska are being asked to make Quilts of Valor and state wide the 4-H groups are taking on this project this year.  There are a group of kids in our area that will be working on several and have asked guild members for donations of fabric, batting, thread, money and time to help them in their efforts.  While in Paducah I made it a priority to search out and find some red, white and blue fabric to donate for this project.  Most of the fabrics I have in my stash here at home are only fat quarters and wanted to donate larger cuts.  I purchased these 2 yard cuts at Eleanor Burn’s tent and watched for the “color of the day” sales which made them a little less expensive.  Eleanor has such low cost fabric anyway during the AQS show it was a good time to purchase it. 

I love that the cream colored fabric has words on it like “Liberty, Country, Freedom, Stars, Stripes” so it is very patriotic.  It also has gold stars printed on it too.  The red has small stars and the blue has a swirly design.  The 4-Hers are asking for red, white and blue fabrics and thought these would certainly fit the bill. 

If I can help the days the 4-Hers are working I will but don’t know about that yet.  It kind of depends on my ankle a little too plus if I need to make a trip out to help my granddaughter sew.  They think grandma Lynn supervising is not so bad and both girls are sewing this year.  One is making a pillow case and the other is making a skirt.  I will be helping my grandson in a few weeks make his pillow case too but since the fairs are all in July and they have other projects to do over the summer we want to get the sewing done before they get busy with other things.

Lynn

Paducah Vendor Shopping

Whoa....check out the signs on the building across from the quilt museum in Paducah!

Besides the opportunity to see the fantastic quilts at the AQS show in Paducah, Kentucky the shopping is just as wonderful.  It isn’t that there aren’t great quilt shops here in Nebraska, because there are lots of very nice quilt shops with lots of stuff to buy but going from vendor to vendor and looking for the unusual or new tool or jewelry  and of course the bargain fabric is so much fun.  Looking at all the latest and greatest sewing machines and long arms, mid arms, rulers, cutting systems, thread…..oh my, just makes my heart flutter thinking about it.

I started my “Paducah” list almost as soon as I got home from last year, updating it on my computer or pinning a note to my bulletin board.  If I see or hear about a tool, gadget that might come in handy I put it on the list.  If I wonder what something really looks like or how it works, it goes on the list.  I had a long list when I went to Paducah this year but expected to not buy all the items even if I could find them.  Some things I just want to see in person and see how they work or why they are supposed to be so wonderful.  Other things/fabrics I truly hope to find so it is basically a big scavenger hunt.  The only problem with a long list is that I have to keep looking at it as I forget what was on the list.  I can only remember to look for a few things at a time otherwise.   The 4 sewers among us had different lists and would be on the lookout for each other too – it was so much fun to search each booth for the things on our lists.  Our friend D is not a stitcher of any kind but she loves that we love it all and she loves to look at all the beautiful quilts.   My two sisters and niece and I have been sewing since we were small children and really enjoy the shopping.


One of the things I purchased was this small bag with a beautiful Mola applique on the front.  I like to use a small bag when I when I can but still need to have my phone and some cash and a credit card.  The bag of similar size I have been using is getting worn out so was happy to find this cute one.  Look at all the zippers!  There are 3 zippered pockets on the front, two zippered pockets on the top plus another compartment without a zipper.  Not sure I have that many things to carry but is nice to have the option.    This bag is about 5” x 8 and has a long shoulder strap.   We ran across a couple of booths selling all sorts of bags, wallets and unfinished blocks of this type and they were all so beautiful  I could have purchased one of each but had to confine myself to just one purchase and think I made a pretty choice.

Will be showing more Paducah purchases on another post but it will have to wait a few days as we have two high school graduations to attend this weekend and will be visiting and celebrating with family.

Ankle update…I’m getting along OK and walking now with crutches but have to remember to keep the boot on to protect my ankle from an accidental break when ever I am walking.  I have another week before I see the Dr. again and at that time the staples will come out and that can not come too soon….the row of staples are really irritating and itch.  I will have X-Rays of the ankle I am sure to make sure the bone has grown in the screw holes before I will be allowed to go without the boot.  Keep your fingers crossed I will be without my boot next weekend.

The funny thing is that I will be sitting without the boot on watching TV or sewing and decide I need something and I will stand up and start to walk and it hits me….whoa….I don’t have my boot on, so carefully get back to sitting and put the boot on and grab the crutches.  I don’t have any pain just those annoying staples so forget at times.  The boot is hot, heavy and stiff and I only need to wear it when I am walking or standing so I take it off at other times.  Think by Monday I will not use the crutches anymore as I am not putting much weight on them now anyway.  For the graduation parties I will keep them handy or at least use one of them just to make sure I stay safe.

Be back in a few days…
Lynn

Blogger Problem

Finally was able to log into my blogger account after they "fixed" something last night and this morning.  For some reason the last two posts were removed or not posted to my blog but were still safely in my Edit Posts list so just re-posted them.  Sorry for any trouble you may have had accessing my site but at least everything is back to normal now I think.

Lynn

Paducah Quilts Part 7

		Paducah Quilts Part 7 VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Ok – this is the last of the quilts I am going to show you.  Hope you have enjoyed them.  Next I will show you some of the items and fabric I purchased from the many vendors.

Lynn

Paducah AQS quilts–group 6

		Paducah AQS quilts–group 6 VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Lynn