No use wondering anymore

November 22, 2011February 24, 2012 Elizabeth E.4 Comments

This was in my email box when I got home from New York City. In triplicate.

Dear Elizabeth,

Thank you for submitting your entry, Come A-Round, to be considered by the jury for the 2012 Road to California Quilters’ Showcase. We regret that we are unable to include your entry in this year’s show.

The amount of time available for the judging of quilt entries and the space limitation for display means that not all the entries submitted can be exhibited. A three-member jury’s task is to select a display of quilts in a wide variety of patterns and styles for the Showcase.

The jurors appreciated the time and effort you took to enter our show and hope that you will consider entering again in future years. Thank you for your participation.

Sincerely,
Person Who Sends Out These Letters

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My only snarky comment over all my quilts being rejected is the “sincerely” tag at the bottom: *Yeah, right.*

Okay. I’m over it. I guess for a rejection letter, this one isn’t too bad. I know this show prefers heavily quilted quilts, and I just can’t bring myself to do that. And it is a high quality show, and I have had several quilts in it already, so I guess it just wasn’t my turn.

Sigh. I had a great time in New York, saw a lot of sights including TWO quilt shops. Photos to follow in the next few days. Now to finish unpacking.

Quilt Shows

Pins and Needles

October 28, 2011February 24, 2012 Elizabeth E.2 Comments

I couldn’t stand it anymore. I had to look up my entries on Road’s entry page to see what was going on, and this was AFTER they’d extended the deadline by 10 days because their entry page had a technological malfunction. Or something.

So, no news, but at least my status has been changed to “jurying.” At least it’s not (yet) “forget it,” or “never happen” or “better luck next time.”

Quilt Shows

Red/White Mini Quilt Show

October 2, 2011February 24, 2012 Elizabeth E.8 Comments

After seeing the quilts along the streets of Temecula, I headed to the Temecula Quilt Company, a shop that specializes in reproduction fabrics, which lies about 4 miles inland from Old Town Temecula.

As usual, she had done the displays in such a perfectly arranged fashion. There’s a little excitement when you have a quilt in a show, even a mini one, and I hunted for my two.

Right away I see one of mine: the folded quilt on the lower left.

It’s a deeper red than those around it and I like how she harmonized all the patterns together along with color tones.

Some quilts were tiny, some small, some larger. Sometimes we think we can only make giant-sized quilts, but these little ones carry great visual punch.

Some quilts have more red, some have more white.

What makes this starry quilt intriguing for me, is the tilting of the central stars in the blocks.

Teensy little rooster quilt.

With a fabulous label. Wouldn’t it be very cool to have a “signature label” like this one? I suppose that #184 in the upper left corner is her personal number of quilts? I’ve got to make smaller quilts so I can catch up!

The quilt on the upper right (center-ish) is compelling with all the applique symbols.

In the classroom area, she had this giant red/white quilt top started.

More classroom quilts.

Close-up.

I started chatting with the shop owner as I exlaimed at how much I enjoyed her display. Next year, she said “Blue and White!” I laughed. She asked me if I’d seen my quilts and I told her I hadn’t found my table runner.

“The sampler from around the world?” she asked? “We put it up front where we could display the full length of it.”

Ah, there it is! Thanks again to all my participants. It looks great.

As I sat and ate my lunch — she’d provided All-American Hot Dogs to go with these deeply All-American quilts of her mini-quilt show — I could take in all the quilts around in this area. It was a lovely, satisfying day, spending time with quilts and with other quilters, and I appreciated all the efforts of those who put up displays for all of us to enjoy.

I strolled around the shop once more, trying to see everything.

The show will be up for the month of October — if you are in the area, I’d suggest heading there to enjoy all these quilts!

Quilt Shows

Temecula Quilt Show, 2011

October 1, 2011February 24, 2012 Elizabeth E.2 Comments

I woke up early, excited for my quilty day. I’m dividing this up into two posts. First up is the Temecula Quilt Show, out on the streets of this Western town. Tomorrow will be the red/white mini-show at Temecular Quilt Company.

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A license plate on the way down: QWILTN. Think she’s going the same place as I?

I arrived a bit early in Temecula, and as the main street was already clogged with cars, I detoured to a side street and found a parking place quickly. Camera ready, I walked down to the street with all the quilts.

I have Christmas quilts on my mind. This is a very good example of using traditional patterns — a double nine-patch — in new ways.

This was a beautiful sampler quilt, but points out one of the difficulties of an outdoor show: mottled shadow that obscures the design. You had to be there, I guess.