Friendship Quilters Show 2014

The quilt show is done for another two years.  All the months gearing up for it, setting up, enjoying the quilts up on display and down it comes in an hours time.  We did the check in a bit differently this time, sort of self checking yourself in.   The tables were set up with half the alphabet by last name on two tables.  Donna had stacked up all the paper work by name----the receipts we kept and the cards that were actually to be pinned to the quilts.

Next we were to take them to the category number tables---100 for bed quilts, 200's for small quilts, miniatures were 400.  Lots of wall hangings so those were also separated out by sections.  

Okay, that worked out pretty well.  Jane, Aline and I stayed out of the fray in the other room and concentrated on getting the quilts piled in numerical order.  Jane and I  knew from hanging the Gadsden quilt show enough times that as soon as you have a road map of the layout (and which end of the building they were starting on) you start stacking the quilts by twos or fours.  We were ready when the runners came in with a list of 4 quilts they were to bring back with them.  I was checking them off as we went so I knew which ones had already been called for AND more importantly, picked up.  Once it left the room, not our problem, y'all stuck them somewhere in there!

The only real snafu was when a couple quilts did not show up and of course, they kept asking for them.  Another gal was later arriving but between the quiltmaker/exhibitor and one of the gals helping her, we got them all checked in just in the nick of time.  

I did not actually see the show until yesterday.  Jane had a last minute family event and I was going to drive and just hang out so I could get my quilts picked up.  I filled in for her shift at the admissions table.   Aline and I left in enough time so I could visit the Country Store, see the show and take some pictures to share with you here.  There were over a 100 quilts so this is just some of the ones that caught my eye.  I missed getting one of the top vote getters for Viewers Choice, a lovely Baltimore Album quilt that was hand quilted by our friend Gary.

This is Donna's and won Viewers Choice edging out the other quilt by just one vote!  It was a Block of the Month from the Quilt Show which year I do not know.  If you saw the video links I posted earlier, then this was one of the quilts hanging in the interview.

Brenda's Log Cabin

Miss Sally's John Deere tractor--- adorable!

Jessica's Sunshine on a Cloudy Day.  It started off life with a far less complimentary name..but I can't remember what that one was now.  I think the NEW name fits perfectly

This horrid picture in no way does Brenda's "Dear Jane" justice.  It is a wonderful quilt in person! Also shown in the TV interviews.

Peggy's President quilt--blocks made by the guild members

Jackie's Civil War Quilt

There was a series of row quilts and this is a representative one.  

One of my Facebook friend's Mary Alice made this one!  

Loretta's Halloween quilt which she designed.  She had other very inventive quilts in the show as well.

Beth's Seasons in a Row---mine stalled out with the flower row though I did do the sailboats.  Cute, huh?

I think this was one done by another FB friend Joanna----can't swear to that but I think that is the case.

I think this was Joanna's as well---isn't it striking?

Not entirely sure whose these two Carpenter's Stars belong to.  I believe the Amish appearing one is Jackie's and the yellow background one is Irene's?  (I was checking in and out and basically just saw the backs!! Also missed reading all the labels in walking through the show)

The miniature auction did not go off which was disappointing.  The guild worked hard (not me but them) and really got behind the project.  The proceeds of the auction were to go to the Lakeside Hospice and Susan B. Komen for Breast Cancer.   A guild decision will be made about how to proceed next.

 I made several blocks for the group log cabin piece though.

While not having the auction was disappointing. moving the show from November to March boosted the attendance surpassing what we had over a TWO day period two years ago by about 60 some people.  This was the third time for the quilt show so maybe word is spreading??  Also the Country Store and Opportunity Quilt seemed to be doing well.  The drawing for that won't be till July, I'm told.

Last night for take down, Aline and I headed back in to the set up room.  This time the chairman had it broken down by the quilter number we were assigned  1-35.  As the quilts were taken down, again by the armful from the runners  we checked them off the list and then put them on the sections of tables stacking by owner/exhibitor.  Once the quilter/exhibitor was satisfied that they were all there and we had them all checked off, they could go.  It was just Aline and I at first so it helped when 3rd pair of hands could help out.  Things to know for next time, right?

This is what came home to live with me.  My friend Kay made this for the Country Store and I told her when she posted a picture of it on Facebook that I would like to have the opportunity to get it!  Well, it was still available.  She has little brackets holding the sewing items on so they can actually be used.  I love it just the way it is!  It is going to be the perfect item for my newly re-done sewing room, don't you think?  

I can't get a decent picture of it and still have you see what all is on there.  I love it!

Well, I still have quilts to put away.  Once I got supper last night and got home after 7:30, I had no inclination to want to drag my 11 entries in from the car.  I need to do a little shifting around to put them away anyway as they had been sitting on top of the armoire for months, waiting for the show.  I had entered my PopStix bed quilt but I already know I am not quite ready to put it on the bed, with those summery colors.  Give me a month or two, LOL and I will finally get to actually USE that one.

Hope you enjoyed the mini version of the show!

Spring Sew-In---my 1111th post!

The Friendship Quilters Guild in St. Clair County (AL) had the three day spring sew-in at the Camp Chula Vista Christian Conference and Retreat Center.  We have used this venue before---back in the woods but off I-20 a mile or two,  about 4 miles north of Pell City.

Aline and I were the only ones from the north end of Calhoun County who had signed up to go.  Aline watches her great granddaughter a good bit of the time depending on the child's grandmother's work schedule. Her schedule to have the baby is not often known till a few days in advance.  She offered to drive on Friday since it was entirely possible I would be going by myself on Saturday.  This is also the Talladega NASCAR race weekend which effects a multi-county area but we were trying to avoid any extra time on I-20 and the Lincoln (AL) exits.  You can see the race track from the interstate and that weekend, spring and fall, the track becomes a metropolitan area.

We took a minor cut off road that she knew of and when we hit the other end I knew we only had about 2 or 3 miles to go on 1-20 if we just got on the ramp going west.  Aline thought she know of another possible cut off ---did we want to go for it?  You know where this heading, don't you?  It might have helped if we had one of two things---an Alabama road map or GPS but that unit was at home.  We both kept thinking we would see a road to the right that would cut back to I-20 or US 78.  It didn't happen.  When we were up on a high ridge doing hair pin curves and "Sammy Snake" curves climbing first up and then down, we should have known something was not quite right.  The other clue was we had crossed into first Shelby County and then Jefferson County.  The map below will show you how the three counties come together in that one little area.  (Had we taken the alternate route to Pell City would would have hit a small area of Talladega County on the way over, LOL). 

So what if we were in both Vandiver, AL which I had never heard of and then Leeds which we had---lovely old downtown area, actually that you would never see from the interstate.  At least we knew which direction to turn or head back a bit east.  Of course we were late getting to the hop and said we would have to sit down and get some production done!   "How did you manage to get that turned around?" the girls asked and my pronunciation of "Vandiver" was corrected as we related just where we had been.  Of course when we left they asked us if we planned to go straight home. Okay, we deserved that!

Mostly my project Friday and Saturday both was prepping applique for the flower hop in late May.  I am trying to avoid fusing anything unless I absolutely have to----needle turning is never an option in case you are wondering.    Shelia had led the girls with a green bag for holding used grocery bag on Thursday----she showed Aline and I how to make them and sent kits home with us.  She also did ORT jars---I have two of them so kept working on my prep work.  I missed the pillow case demo that Jackie did so I'll have a couple of the Belles show my how to do this, down the line.  They had some pretty ones made up though.  One other project was making a fat quarter or fat eighth lollipop.  Peggy showed us how to make one after she had gotten one at a quilt shop or quilt show.  I've got the stick and the cellophane wrapper so maybe one of these days, LOL.   I decided Friday evening that the machine was not needed but a light source was so I swapped out a few items for Saturday's return.

Dixye and I both made these Heirloom tomato pincushions with wool kits that Shelia had done up.  I had done one of these before along with a Victorian thumb cushion, 8 of them of both types, but had kind of forgotten just how.     

You should have seen us trying to free form cut those felt deals on the top.  I tend to freeze with the scissors when given THAT type of instruction.  Shelia said  "just cut out triangles"  from the square of felt.  Well, that led to a 2nd attempt mess that looked a little bit like a swastika.  Finally I cut another free form piece like the first ridiculous attempt at free form and we glued them both down.  The polka dot was from a little swap game we did.  I love it though not sure what I will do with it but it goes with some of my existing stash.

It rained a good bit of the day yesterday so I don't know if they got the race in or not.  There were some guests staying in the hotel area so they stopped up to see what we were doing as well as get some coffee and juice.  Two of the woman said they were working one of the souvenir booths.  They had been gone from their Florida homes since Tuesday and they work the Daytona, Talladega races and used to do Martinsville.  I believe that there was a third race as well.  Another guy came in for ice and said they had been coming in for the race for the last nine years.   Two young boys possibly his kids, came in before that and talked the hospitality gals out of some donuts on Friday too.   I am sure that Antoinette told them that it did not come with the hotel but she would let them, this time. The rooms are basic---no TV or phone, really a bed to rest on mainly unless they dramatically changed things when they remodeled them recently.  There is no continental breakfast offered as it is not that kind of facility. 

Sew-ins are good times with good people though a few of the gals that normally would have attended were not able to come.  Good eats too. The hospitality gals take good care of us and lunch is provided.  there is no restaurant right there at that exit so it is good thing.   I had made 6 1/2 dozen cookies and left DJ some but only came home with 1 1/2 cookies on the first day.  I know one girl was taking a couple home for her husband as she said he asks "did that girl that makes the cookies bring some today?"  She told me about Foster's sweet tooth, LOL. 

My sewing room looks like a cyclone blew through as it often does when something creative is going on.  I did attempt to put my things away from the sew-in but some of needs to stay out.  I am to the point of having about a 2 foot section of the desk available and every flat surface has something piled up on it.  I've been doing a bit of re-design on the flower project so I have been playing with graph paper and a compass drawing any number of circles to get the size I want.   I am making some progress but also having to stop and do some "research" too.

Tomorrow I have to go for fasting lab ahead of my 6 month check up and then mid morning I have a followup appointment with the eye doctor.  I'll go get breakfast between the two events, go to the library if I have to kill some time or just drag some knitting and wait at the office.  There goes the morning though!  I did the laundry this afternoon and the marketing is done as well.  I think I will go translate my flower idea to cloth.

I will probably not post again till I put my "It's For the Birds" blog hop post up.  We are required to have it up at 1201 a.m. Eastern the night before our scheduled day meaning a scheduled post will be written up.  I am due up on Tuesday the 7th.  I hope you will stop by so I can share what I made with you!   THX for stopping by----------

Monday check-in

Not much production going on around here the past few days---a little redwork on "Here Comes Santa" cornerstones at guild meeting on Saturday. We made run to the quilt shop In Trussville on Saturday so we were all over the country side in St. Clair/Jefferson county Alabama that day!. Yesterday, I had grocery errands but did a little sewing. Thursday, was just a plain "no motivation" day and I went with that though I felt a little guilty about it.

Friday I made up for the laziness and got some cutting done on my next project. I decided to do the "Welcome" Joined at the Hip Button Up project next. This one hangs between occasions or holidays. Even better it can stay up when you need to get caught up with the monthly quilts, LOL. January HAD to come down! I am set for doing the April block, fabricwise but will have to go back later to do February and March.
I scanned the photo from the pattern insert so you can see it. Mine will be sorta "country" but with fabric, color substitutions. My base is a mix of fabrics from their fabric kit so just about anything goes but 30's. I raided the "Christmas" fabric bin first looking for some reds and greens for another project and found my border fabric for this piece. You know it has been around for awhile when you see "1987" in the selvage edge! I remember purchasing it on a visit to Lincoln, NE to see my maternal grandmother. Grandma had taken me to her nearby Hobby Lobby. It might be an antique but I still like it, even without the cachet of how I came to find it.


Yesterday I DID manage to piece two quilt backs for my last two tops, Hot Mess and Gordian Knot #1. The only other piecing was this little name badge for Friendship Quilters. It measures 4.5 inches at this point but I am not sure what I want to do with it next. Binding would be a little tricky doing the join unless I use single fold. I could "birth it" but batting would make it a little thick for turning. My name has to go on it somewhere, somehow but I want to fix that upper left corner first. Think I will just let this simmer for a bit as the meeting is a month away and I can wear an old one in the meantime.

Off to piece my top. As you can see, there is a bit of applique to do once the piecing is done as do all of the JATH series. Should be fun!

I hope you find something to make your day fun too------