European Patchwork Meeting • September 2017

September 19, 2017October 23, 2017 Elizabeth E.14 Comments

When my husband had the chance to work again in Geneva, France and we found out the European Patchwork Meeting was the same weekend, we made plans to drive up to France to attend. I have several posts about this, so it will be a bit comprehensive, as it was an experience that was unique in many ways, but familiar as well. The bits of a quilt show (as we call it in the United States) are a big convention center, filled one-half with the quilt show and one-half with the vendors. We are used to certain fabrics and know the prices of things and pretty much know how the quilt show part is run, too.

The name of this is the 23rd Carrefour European Patchwork Meeting, and as Sally S., an astute reader pointed out, “The word [Carrefour] means crossroads in French and is a reference to the fact that the show is at the centre of Europe, literally where France, Germany and Switzerland meet, and also I suppose where European quilters meet. It’s also the place where the Amish found themselves figuratively at a crossroads, many of them deciding to follow their leader to a new life in America.” Their website has many of the particulars, and I trolled their Instagram feed for weeks before coming.

Roxanne and ESE

How did I find out about this? The lovely Roxanne. Here we are before we headed out one day (I am terrible at selfies). I’d met her last year in the Manor Dept. Store in Geneva, and we’ve corresponded ever since.

The Patchwork Meeting was about 4 hours from Geneva, so my husband and I drove most of the way, breaking our journey in Mulhouse, France, where we stayed overnight. We drove the rest of the way Saturday morning and arrived in St. Marie-aux-Mines about 9:10 a.m. [Roxanne and her husband went separately.] We were so early, we found a great parking place. Above are scenes from the village. It rained off and on that day, which was too bad for the vendors, but we did our part (insofar as my suitcase could accommodate–see next post).

The whole town put out the welcoming carpet, with quilts hanging in shop windows, little pop-up shops in various places, food for sale, and in front of many venues, local & regional shops would bring their items for sale: breads, leather goods, flowers, souvenir items. It’s a very festive feeling!

The Patchwork Meeting is in four separate villages:
Sainte Marie-aux-Mines (main)
Sainte Croix-aux-Mines
Liepvre
Rombach-Le-Franc

These four towns are in the Val d’Argent region (silver mining was the early mainstay industry), which is also where the our American Amish had their beginnings, so there is always an Amish display, apparently, in each show. I’ve been putting up some teasers on Instagram, but wanted to save the quilts for this space, as I can go slower and write more about the exhibit.

My planned posts are (I’m listing them here so I can link them):
European Patchwork Meeting Overview (this post)
Vendors and What I Purchased
European Patchwork Meeting International Contest Winners
Lea Stansal’s Embellishment Embroideries & Mary Koval’s Antique Quilts
Gabriel Paquin: Design and Graphics
Quilt National Contemporary Quilts
Luke Haynes/Ian Berry/Nancy Crow/Mirjam Pet-Jacobs
SAQA Canada: Art Quilt Exhibition
Final Post: Amish Quilts, ValPatch (quilt guild from this area), Beauville, Andree Leblanc’s Log Cabin creations/various, Patchwork Guilde–Germany/various

EuroPatchworkMtg 2017_1 — Woman in traditional Alsace costume

I think that about (un)covers it!

Quilts

Mr. Golden Sun

August 24, 2017August 26, 2017 Elizabeth E.8 Comments

MrGoldenSun_mini

Mr. Golden Sun
Quilt No. 187
13″ by 16″ tall

We had a great time on Monday, watching our partial eclipse. I’d made eclipse cookies, people brought lemonade, and we all cheered when the timer went off telling us that we were at the “most” partial. What an event! What a day! I loved best the idea that all of us were focused together on the celestial happenings, uniting us under the mantle of the Great American Eclipse. Mark your calendars for the next one on April 8, 2024. See you then.

MrGoldenSun_detail2

So in trying to find something else in my sewing room, I ran across this partially finished mini quilt. What you are seeing is the very first free-motion quilting that I ever tried…

MrGoldenSun_detail1 …along with the most recent free motion quilting. You can’t really tell much, but I’m glad this partially-finished quilt is now in the finished category. Check that off. affinity_photo

You are also seeing a “Photoshop-free” image. I’ve been dependent on Photoshop for years and years, having learned it in college when it first came out. But I decided the best way to learn new software is just to try new software. Yes, having some knowledge of what does what in these digital editing programs does help, but a new companion book is coming out in October, and they have help forums, and there is always Professor Google, if you can articulate your problem. Affinity Photo is also cheaper than Photoshop (Affinity Designer is the Illustrator equivalent).

Last Days of Night_Westinghouse

I recently finished listening to Graham Moore’s The Last Days of Night, a book about the feud between George Westinghouse and Thomas Edison. I recommend it highly. There are lots of quotes about failure, and success, and about how, as Leo Buscaglia says:

We seem to gain wisdom more readily through our failures than through our successes. We always think of failure as the antithesis of success, but it isn’t. Success often lies just the other side of failure.

That book taught me that through multiple failures, America gained electricity, that even an early failure can be made into a finished quilt, and even though some might think my eclipse was a bust (because it was not “totality”) even a partial eclipse can be magic.

Quilts

Solar Eclipse Block • 2017

August 16, 2017December 28, 2023 Elizabeth E.11 Comments

Since I am completely ga-ga over the 2017 Solar Eclipse, happening August 21st (and I already have the next on penciled in on my calendar–April 2024, if you must know) when searching for decorations to put around my house, I came across a rendition of the Mosaic #19 block (originally published in 1897 by the Ladies Art Company) that is said to commemorate the 2017 All-American Solar Eclipse (who thinks up these names?).

After I read the above blurb, I searched Google for her and found that not only has she redesigned an old block to celebrate something fun and exciting in our century, but that she’s also done a whole series of blocks to commemorate the National Parks. I first saw them when a nephew’s wife showed me teeny screen grabs on her phone at a family picnic, and was happy to know who to give credit for those cool blocks.

Here are some other posters I discovered while search for eclipse-related images:

I have more eclipse-themed posters and info on my Pinterest Board: Eclipse. If you want to make your own eclipse block, here is a PDF file that you can download, in 12″ finished size: Solar Eclipse Block_12. (Click on the blue print.)

The arrival of the eclipse also seems a fitting ending for our Book Giveaway of Summer 2017. Thanks to all who were interested in these books. I’ve contacted the winners of by email; books will go out as soon as I receive their mailing address.

UPDATE: I’VE SINCE MADE A FULL-FLEDGED PATTERN FOR ECLIPSE QUILTS. IT HAS DIRECTIONS FOR TWO DIFFERENT LAYOUTS, THAT MIGHT GIVE YOU MORE IDEAS. HEAD HERE FOR MORE INFO.

Happy Eclipsing!

SaveSave

Quilts

August Gridster Block • 2017

August 10, 2017 Elizabeth E.19 Comments

August17 Gridster

This month we are doing blocks for Debbie, who requested that we make blocks from the Moda Be My Neighbor quilt, from 2016. I found all the free, downloadable blocks on Sew Let’s Quilt It website, and enjoyed figuring this out. My advice: lay out all the pieces as you cut it out, so you don’t get confused with what goes where.

Gridsters 3 houses

I was the designated mailer for two other Gridster members who are close by, and was able to pose the blocks together. A lot of the blocks are showing up on Debbie’s Instagram feed, so head over there to get some quilty eye candy (and not only the Gridster blocks!).

One fun thing I did in Utah last month was to take a tour of the Hand-Quilter factory. It’s an impromptu tour — you just show up — but it was interesting to see how things are put together. I wanted to take a picture of the table that shows them “testing” out/breaking in the machines, but they asked me to wait to get this one, from above:

Handiquilter Tour

They also had a series of quilts, with lots of interesting texture and of course…free-motion quilting! Click on the circles for a close-up.

Kneaders Seafood Sandwich

Continuing with the “What I Did On My Summer Vacation,” we left Handi-Quilter and had a Kneaders’ Seafood Sandwich, which unfortunately, I can’t get near me.

I arrived home a day or two early from that trip, in time to hit the 7th Annual Good Heart Quilters Retreat, organized and hosted by the amazing Lisa J. who helped found our group nearly twenty years ago. It was a day of fun and very cool cookies (thank you, Simone!).

SLC slogans YouAreHere — Aaron T. Stephan created the “Point of View” art installation in downtown Salt Lake City.

I wish I’d taken a photo of me on that bench, but it’s unfortunately placed, behind the traffic light pole. Still. It could have been cool. nasa_eclipse_map

Even though it is a couple of weeks away, I can’t end this without reminding you to set your alarms on your phones to watch the eclipse, coming up on August 21st. Vox prepared this nifty celestial calculator that shows you what you’ll see in your part of the U.S. and what time it will show up.

Congratulations to Sandy A., who won the latest book giveaway.

Giveaway Winner_Sandy

I’ve sent her an email and will get the book sent off shortly.

Only two books left:

Book Giveaway3

Since summer feels like it’s fast coming to a close, I’m doing both of them this week. At the end of this post, leave a comment to win either Kathy Doughty’s Mixing Quilt Elements, or Kim Diehl’s Simple Christmas Tidings. Both are exemplar books by women at the top of the quilting world. Thank you to all who entered these past few weeks!

Quilts

Not All That Wanders Is Lost • Traveling Threads Bee Quilt is Finished

August 4, 2017August 4, 2017 Elizabeth E.16 Comments

Not All That Wanders Is Lost
47″ high by 56″ wide
Quilt No. 186

In March 2015, Megan asked me to be a part of a Traveling Threads Bee. My initial post about the process is here…

…and shows my package (including little book, above) that was sent off to the person in line next to me, the idea being a circle — from one to another to another, roughly every month.

Monthly was probably too ambitious, and at one point my package skipped a quilter because of time pressures, so in the end I had six lovely quilters make a block (or blocks) for me: Megan Evans, Amber, Emily V., Marci Debetaz, Toni Lovelady and Lisa Johnson. Our group on Instagram was #travelingthreadsbee and we all made such different quilts (click on their names to see their groups of blocks).

I love that it is a meeting of far away and close, new and old, friends.

I put my signature blocks on the front of the quilt, and in the lower right is the signature of the fabric designer, Alison Glass; all are contributors to this quilt. I put the label and a statement about the quilt on the back:I liked the idea that the quilt wandered, and then came home. This was the first project I started quilting this spring, using its beautiful qualities to help propel me back to my groove in free-motion quilting. I posted each block on my Instagram feed as I finished it. I took it on the back patio, in the setting sun, so the slanting rays could amplify the quilting lines.

Luckily I caught the un-quilted section (blue triangle) before finishing it up with a faced binding. I like to put that invisible binding on busy quilts, as it gives a clean finished edge (tutorial is *here*). Okay, it’s the OPQuilt Summer Book Giveaway Time.

Third book is gone, given to Simone according to the guidelines of the Husband Random Number Generator. I’ve already contacted her via email and it will go off tomorrow. So, let me tell you about the next book, the Simple Simon Guide to Patchwork Quilting:

I took this photo from their site, a fun place to go and read and get great ideas for all sorts of homemaking-type projects. Their tagline is “Two girls. Same name. One mission. Teach the world to sew.” and this book is a great example of terrific projects made simply, with a lot of pizazz. To enter the giveaway for this book, please leave a comment below. I’ll let it run for a few days then I’ll notify the winner by email. By the way, this is a signed copy (both authors!).

SaveSave

Four-in-Art · Quilts

Rose Window • Four-in-Art Quilt

August 1, 2017August 1, 2017 Elizabeth E.18 Comments

4-in-art_3

It’s Four-in-Art Challenge Reveal day today, the penultimate challenge in 2017. We began this art mini-quilt group in November of 2012, and we are in our fifth year. Bette, Rachel and I have been with the group since the beginning, with additions and changes here and there. It’s been wonderful to have this to look forward to four times a year, a chance to stretch and try some new things, all contained in a mini-quilt (we are more flexible with the size now, but originally, it had to be contained in a 12″ square).

Rose Window_front

Rose Window
13 1/2″ wide by 18″ long
Quilt Number 185

Since I chose the challenge of Stained Glass Shadows, obviously I’m in love with the highly saturated blocks of color left on the floors of cathedrals and churches when the sun shines through stained glass windows. I originally thought I’d try some figurative work, but the colors are what always catch my eye.

So I began with the warm tones, adding the layers of earth-colors as they moved toward the bottom, and celestial-colors as it moved upward.

I also knew that somewhere on this quilt there had to be a Rose Window, that enormous circular window high above entryway doors.

Then it was quilt the background, and I went with the idea of the rose window as the center, with thread-streams of color coming out from there: navy and deep colors from the top and the warmer yellow-orange-red tones as the sun filters downward through the stained glass. My solid fabrics are Paintbrush Studio Solids, and the thread is Magnifico by Superior Threads (with Bottom Line in the bobbin) with some So Fine here and there, as the color dictated.