NQA Show - Columbus, Ohio

Just back from wearing many hats at the NQA show. Started the week being a computer scribe of the judging comments in the judging room, then held panels for the judge candidates, then ran the Certified Judge annual meeting before heading home today. Lots of work but tons of fun to catch up with so many of the other NQA Certified Judges and to get to know the new candidates that have joined the program since last year's show.

Particularly exciting news is that three of my customer quilts won ribbons at the show. Tina's Craig's Chris & Jamie's Wedding Quilt" won a ribbon in the Duet category:

Serena Vrnak's "Decisions... Decisions"

And Marilyn Hardy's quilt, "Not your Grandmother's Dresden Plate" received an additional Judge's Recognition for Judge Anita Shackelford.

So... a very busy, very successful week filled with laughs, learning, and fun.

Beginner EQ Group at Knit One Quilt Too in Barrington, RI

Started a new group of EQers on their road to computer quilt design this morning. They hung in there and figured out many of the program's buttons, designed a table runner using a layout and blocks from the libraries, then colored their creations. Later, they designed more quilts practicing what they learned. They did beautifully and had fun to boot!

EQing with Pat - Today at Folk Art Quilts in Wakefield

Going to tackle basic applique designing today. We'll be using many of the PatchDraw Motif worktable tools, learning what nodes and handles can do to shape our work, then learning how to save what we've created in "My Library". Here's a little virtual quilt I designed using what we'll be learning today.

Enjoy this bit of Spring!

EQing with Pat at Ryco in Lincoln today

Going to have fun playing with EQ7's Serendipity features today. This feature takes a block that you've selected the flips it around within itself in a number of way. 

The new effects that the block component rearrangement  creates are amazing and really spark the imagination. Here's a virtual quilt that I just designed that makes me think of spring asparagus coming up in the garden.

Mary's Batik Beauy

Customer Mary's beautiful batik quilt that I finished up yesterday. Enjoy!

 She chose a Superior Rainbow variegated thread for the bubble quilting pattern, super choice.

Northern Star Quilters Guild - Show this Weekend!

Just back late last night from the judging day for this fabulously talented guild. How they create such beauties year after year amazes me! Always fun to work with their committed judging room staff and enjoy the deliciously healthy lunch and hospitality of their chair Carolyn. Here's the show poster with their lovely raffle quilt. Be sure to make it to this show if you're anywhere in the area - so worth the trip!

Ribbons won at Narragansett Bay Quilters Show

Very excited to share the ribbons my quilts have won at the show which continues tomorrow at North Kingstown HS. 

"Raspberry Spin" won a 1st Place Ribbon for Exemplary Machine Quilting - Track Mounted. This is a quilt made from a block I designed that was featured in Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks from Today's Top Designers. Quiltmaker then asked me to make a quilt of the block to which I added extra pieced borders and a focal point created by color gradation from the center. 

I always have fun designing the quilting for a quilt to further its mood or flavor. This quilt I saw as a bit funky so the quilting is more abstract than realistic in style.

 

Spiked Journey, a quilt I started in a workshop at the Mancuso Brothers show in Manchester, NH in 2012 with Barbara Barber (UK) where I learned her easily precise method of paper piecing severe and tiny spikes. Had fun collecting the fabrics for this in my favorite fabric type - batiks.

This quilt won two ribbons: 1st Place - Exemplary Piecing and 2nd Place - Exemplary Machine Quilting - Track Mounted.

I like to switch back and forth between geometric and curvilinear in quilting style for contrast and well as contrast in size of the quilting elements. Keeps the eyes moving around and within the quilt.

 

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Lastly, just heard from good friend and quilting customer Joan Taylor that a quilt I quilted for her received today's Viewer's Choice ribbon. Here are some pix of Joan's beauty. Love the color work throughout, especially the gradations she used. Congratulations Joan!!!  

The show is open again tomorrow from 10-4 with an amazing small quilt auction at 2 pm. See you there!!!