Find me at MQX on Saturday!

Hello blog quilt world!  I just wanted to pop in really quickly and let you know that I'll be at the Machine Quilters Exposition (MQX) tomorrow, Saturday, April 11th, selling raffle tickets (and also volunteering) for the Northern Lights Quilt Guild raffle quilt.  You can read all about our quilt in this prior post.

I'll be back really soon to share some recent finishes and on going projects but for right now I'm all tied up in training new employees at work and final details to get ready for our quilt show next weekend!

If you are going to be at the show please stop into our table in the lobby to support our local quilt guild!  Happy quilting!  Hope to see your shining, smiling faces soon!

finished 2015 NLQG Raffle quilt.  Tickets are 1 for $1 or 6 for $5

Machine Quilters Exposition 2014 - Part 2

I've been slowly plugging away at my triangle quilt this week, averaging about one row per night.  I'm on row 9 of 19 at the moment so I am making good progress.  I'm really hoping I can spend a day sewing this weekend and get the whole top pulled together.

I'm also so excited because Jeni Baker from In Color Order, featured my very own yet to be named triangle quilt in her weekly favorites round up!  Ahh! Pinch me!  See there it is in position #3  (Thanks so much Jeni!).  I feel so validated and honored to be included in with these very talented ladies!

As promised, I'm back with Part 2 of our visit to the Machine Quilters Exposition (MQX) this past weekend.

This year was the first time that MQX organizers included a specifically Modern Quilting category.  There weren't many submissions this year, but I'd be willing to bet money on the fact that it's going to grow pretty quickly.

I didn't happen to catch the name of this quilt but I really loved the design and construction of it.  It looks very complicated, but in reality, they are just wonky string blocks, squared up and stitched together.  I really loved how the careful color placement made the blocks look even wonkier than the really are too, even causing some of them to break through the border.  I think this is a method of "modern improv" I could get behind.

And the close up details were fantastic.  Each block was hand quilted along with some detailed machine quilting in the border as well.

Of course I LOVED this Purple and Gold quilt.  If you're wondering why, those are the colors of Saint Michael's College, where I spent four very happy years of my life!  And you know what?  I DO Like Saint Mikes!

I liked the simple pattern of this quilt (in fact, I think I may have picked it up during Vermont Shop Hop weekend).  I also have a nice pile of these same fabrics at home that I've been waiting to cut into.  Originally I was leaning towards some crazy flying geese but I may change my mind now.

This one was called "Cold Front Meets High Pressure".  I think the maker did a wonderful job of causing the two colors to clash into one another.  Very fun and dynamic.  It's also made with mostly batiks, which I think the modern quilting world tends to shy away from as being too traditional or something, opting instead for bright solids and geometric prints.  But I think this is proof that batiks work just as well for our modern quilts.  What are your thoughts on that subject?

There was some beautiful detailed bead work on this one as well.

I'll leave you with this for now.  There are a few other things from MQX that I wanted to share with you as well.  Stay tuned & Happy Quilting!

Machine Quilters Exposition 2014 - Part 1

As expected, I didn't get much sewing done this weekend, only accomplishing another row of my triangle quilt and some more of my "Waiting Quilt" hexagons that I first posted about way back in January.  I did, however, get to visit the 2014 Machine Quilters Exposition quilt show in Manchester on Saturday with my husband.  I had a great time and he was a good sport about the whole thing.

Since I don't have anything new to share I wanted to share some of my favorites from the show.  For all of the pictures from the quilt show visit my flickr set: MQX 2014.

One of my favorites of the show was this itty-bitty, teeny tiny miniature quilt by Mary Kay Mouton.  I had never heard of her before the show but a quick Google search discovered that Mary Kay teaches a method of paper piecing called "Flip-Flop" piecing.    Her blog describes it as a new paper-piecing system in which a quilter works on not one, but both sides of every foundation.  Hmm... Sounds interesting.  Does anyone have any experience with her technique?

What really blew me away about this quilt was the size of the finished blocks.  They must have been only 1.5" or smaller even still.  Those little rosettes are no bigger than 1/4 inch!

There was also a wonderful display of quilts by Melody Johnson.  Melody's art quilts are one of my first introductions into the world of quilting as a art form.  To this day, I am awed and inspired by her work.  The signage introducing the exhibit had this to say about her:

Melody Johnson is a curious hybrid in the quilt world.  Her quilts look pieced or appliqued but are actually fused.  Viewed from a distance, one of her distinctive quilts might be mistaken for a painting.  Her quilts are full of dazzling colors resulting from her specially hand dyed cottons and silks.  There is a casual feeling to her lines and shapes, sometimes like those found in abstract art (she is also a painter) and sometimes they echo the imagery in nature.  Many have remarked that her quilts 'look happy'.  Ms. Johnson's favored technique is fusing...

Enough words.  Let's get to her amazing quilts.

Distinctive leaf pattern found in Melody's quilts

Loved the giant X this one created

Almost looks like watercolor or pointillism but when views up close....

... they were little tiny match stick strips of fabric

Loved the border on this one.

I'll leave you with this for now.  Be sure to come back for more about the show!  I'm linking up with Stitch by Stich for anything goes mondays.