Today was the opening reception for a fascinating exhibit of fiber art. It’s a biennale event and it was open to all fiber artists in Wisconsin (think about what you’ll enter in 2015 :-))!

But let me back up just a bit:

A few months ago I had the wonderful opportunity to become part of a new fiber art group that is just starting up in Watertown. We currently have 6 members (and one member wanna be) and a name – the FIBERISTAS!

The idea behind our group is mainly just to encourage one another in our art. At our second meeting we were discussing an upcoming juried exhibit. The Wisconsin Museum of Quilts and Fiber Arts in Cedarburg was inviting entries into their: “First Fiber Arts Biennale: Wisconsin State of the Art”. Three of us decided to enter and we each had two quilts accepted! We were thrilled to be a part of this landmark event. So, two weeks ago we took our quilts to the museum and today was the opening reception!

The museum is housed in a refurbished barn on a farm just north of Milwaukee. It is a lovely venue.

The Jenning’s Quilt is one of the first things you see upon entering the Museum (along with a yummy opening reception spread and don’t miss the gift shop!)

There were many unique and interesting pieces of fiber art on display.

Quilts, garments, knitting, rug hooking, beading and more!

The pictures really don’t do the show justice (the lighting worked much better in person), but I wanted to give you a little taste of the show.

And just one more photograph:

If you’re a Wisconsin quilter, you need to read the rest!

In talking to Curator Norma Klimpke, she was very pleased with the fiber art entered in the show and the attendance at this opening event. But she had something she wanted me to share – this was meant to be an all Wisconsin show, yet the majority of artists participating were from South Central and South Eastern Wisconsin. She asked me to get the word out that they’d like fiber artists from all over the State to enter in 2015.  So if you live in Western or Northern Wisconsin (or anywhere in between), go to their site:  http://wiquiltmuseum.com/, sign up for their e-newsletter and start thinking about what you’ll  enter in the second biennale show!

I hope many of you have the opportunity to visit this delightful exhibit between now and October 13th. Cedarburg is a lovely community with a downtown area that just begs to be wandered through. I highly recommend spending a day there!

As you may know, hanging large, painted quilt blocks on barns is all the rage!

According to the website: Heritage Barn Quilts.com “The history of barn decoration dates back to the mid 1800’s. Painting symbols on barns originated from traditional folk art passed along from the German and Swiss immigrants who settled the Pennsylvania Dutch region in southeastern Pennsylvania. Once these groups including Lutherans, Moravians, Mennonites and other Christian reformists, built their family farms and communities, they would paint small patterns on their barns to celebrate their heritage and bring good fortune.  Originally these patterns were simple stars, compass roses, or stylized birds from traditional folk art.  

This all got me to thinking that Mike and I had an ideal shed/barn for hanging a block. So, while at the AQS show in Paducah this year I found a vendor who sold smaller (2′ x 2′) metal barn blocks (http://www.classicmetalcompany.com/) and one of the block choices was the Mariner’s Compass! I went home armed with a flyer and presented the idea to Mike. He said “why don’t you paint a big one yourself?” Well my response was “I don’t want to – I’d rather work with fabric than paint!”. The next thing I know, he’s surfing the web and together we found “Heritage Barn Quilts”. We liked the blocks on the site so I contacted Karen and emailed her a photo of the cover of my Compass Capers book. She was able to match some of the colors to my satisfaction and created a 4′ square painted and framed barn block. It arrived a few weeks ago, is now hanging and I’m thrilled!

Here’s a view from the road (with a candid of Annabelle and a self portrait of me as well):

and one more shot so you can see it from every angle:

Karen work is excellent and she has pictures of my barn block, along with many others, and a few short stories at this address: https://www.facebook.com/HeritageBarnQuilts. It was fun to see how and where others have hung their “quilts”!

Do you have a quilt block in your yard letting others know “a quilter lives here”?

Have you driven the routes of any quilt block trails?

Please comment and let us know or better yet, send pictures to me at .

An Exhibit You Won’t Want to Miss!

First Fiber Arts Biennale:  Wisconsin State of the Art

It was a wonderful 2 weeks! Hanna and Willy were a delight and Grandpa and Grandma enjoyed every moment of their visit. We boated, swam, saw a parade, visited the zoo and they got reacquainted with all their Wisconsin relatives.

One of the highlights was Hanna’s enthusiasm for quilting once again.

The kids were last here 2 1/2 years ago. At that time (Hanna was almost 5) she really wanted to learn to make a quilt and when she finished one for her dolly she asked if she could make another one (to read that post click here!).

We ran out of time that visit, but it was one of her first questions after arriving this time. So I set up my featherweight once again and asked her what she would like to make. We had all just spent a day with her cousin Sommer at my parent’s lake cottage.

So she decided she wanted to make a quilt for Sommer. I pulled out my box of 6″ charm squares and she chose her favorite 24. Hanna pieced them all by herself and her 1/4″ seam allowance was pretty consistant :-).

Once the piecing was done, we layered the top with batting and backing and pinned it all the way around.

Then she sewed around the perimeter, leaving an opening, and turned the quilt right sides out.

We marked the diagonals and she quilted the layers together by machine.

Once again she completed a project with a smile on her face (although this one took a little longer and she didn’t ask to make another right away).

The night before they went back to Washington she gave the quilt to Sommer and this was the thank you picture Uncle Brad sent us from Sommer that night.

The message read: “Goodnight! Thank you for the quilt Hanna and Grandma”.

What a joy! Willy was a bit put out that he didn’t get to quilt. There just wasn’t enough time. But I promised to help him make whatever he desired on their next visit. Should be interesting :-).

The diamond is a fascinating shape when used in a quilt. I’ve enjoyed playing with the lone star pattern:

and the tumbling block (in a little less than traditional way):

But I have a different sort of diamond story to tell in this week’s blog. This story has been passed down by my husband Mike’s Mom, Johanna, who was 10 years old when it happened. I hope you’ll find it interesting, even though it has nothing to do with quilts (pretty clever segue – huh? :-)).

My husband is from Mason City, IA and his Great Grandfather, Furman Stephenson, was a prominent citizen during his career in the brick and tile industry.

One morning, in March of 1934, Grandpa Furman (who was 76 at the time) went into the First National Bank of Mason City to transact some business. He was wearing a 1 carat diamond tie tack that he had received in payment for a car. While he was in the bank Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson and the gang showed up to rob the bank! They took all the cash and then grabbed a bunch of hostages to line up on the running boards of the cars as a human shield and make their getaway.

Grandpa Furman was one of the hostages and as one of the gangsters pushed him up against the car he asked “what do you want with me? I’m an old man and I’ll only slow you down.” The gangster agreed and pushed him in the dirt … with the diamond tie tack in plain view! After the gang departed Grandpa picked himself up, dusted himself off and went about his business. That night during dinner a neighbor called to ask how Furman was doing. When Grandma Sadie asked why, the neighbor told her that he had been in the bank that morning when the Dillinger gang robbed it. The family story goes that facing the gang was nothing compared to facing Grandma’s wrath for not having mentioned it to her :-)!

The diamond was passed down to Mike’s Grandfather who had it made into a ring and Mike inherited the ring when his step-father passed away a few years ago.

Well, I’ve heard this story many times and my Mother-in-law was always a bit disappointed after sharing it because it had never been documented. When she passed away in January, we took her ashes out to Mason City to be buried next to Dad and during her funeral I shared the story of the ring Mike was wearing with an acquaintance. After hearing it he told me that a few years back the Globe Gazette, Mason City’s newspaper, had begun holding a reenactment of the bank robbery every March and he thought they would be interested in the story. We contacted the paper and 2 weeks later the story Mom had shared for so many years was finally documented on the front page of the Globe Gazette with this picture of Furman, Sadie and the ring:

If only we had thought to do this while Mom was still around to see it in print. I hope you enjoyed the story and promise to get back to a more quilt related topic next week!

This past September I taught my Mariner’s Compass technique at the Madison Quilt Expo. I had full classes all 3 days and I enjoyed the show immensely. Two months later I received an email from one of the 2 men who had taken my class at the show. Jim had completed the compass from the kit in class, but he had had some trouble with the outer edge:

I was able to give him an alternative method for appliquéing the compass to a background fabric. Some time went by and then I received another email from Jim with a picture of his compass on the background and with a border. I was so pleased. He asked me about additional borders and suggestions for having it long arm quilted because he had never quilted anything before. At this point I encouraged him to quilt it himself (many of you will not be surprised by this :-)). We exchanged a few more emails and then I didn’t hear anything for a while.

This past week Jim sent me this photograph:

Don’t you just love his smile ……. and the quilt?!? Here’s what he wrote:

“Hi Chris, I have just completed my Mariner Compass Quilt and have it hanging in my Florida Living Room. I wanted to share the image with you as I feel proud of the final quilt. You were quite right I was able to do the quilting myself and the use of the tape was very helpful.”

I was tickled and wrote right back to ask for permission to share his story and his quilt on my blog. His response:

“I would be proud to have you post my story and pictures on your blog. Maybe they will help others like myself to take the leap like I did. I really appreciate the time you took to explain how to do the tape method – it worked beautifully.”

This is what makes teaching so much fun. In case you’re curious about the tape method, it’s a simple way to mark the lines to be quilted by placing the edge of a length of masking tape along the line to be quilted, stitching along the tape and then removing the tape to be used again on the next line.

I’d like to share just one more quote:

“I made a great deal of use of your book “Compass Capers”. The book allowed me to complete the compass as your directions were quite clear and concise.”

Thanks, Jim, for letting me share your story, quilt and picture.  You are certainly an encouragement to me!

PS Thanks for all the kind words and prayers concerning the loss of my Mother-in-law. I’m writing this blog from a motel in Mason City, IA. Mom was from here and the family has brought her back for the funeral on Monday. She was a dear lady and will be missed.

PPS I can’t resist posting just one photo from my trip to Washington. Here’s Grandma with Hanna, Willy and Rainee Lynn:

A white Christmas has certainly arrived here, with over 10″ of fresh, beautiful snow!

Add today’s sunshine and it is breathtaking!

What a blessing! I’ve been counting my blessings a lot lately and this is certainly a season for doing just that. While putting up my Holy Family quilt I realized I wanted to share some Christmas thoughts with you.

Christmas is a time for many things: cherishing our families, exchanging gifts, doing things for others, eating, singing and so much more. For most of my life these were what defined Christmas. But 15 years ago my family went through some very difficult times. During those years Christmas was hard. I wanted to have the perfect “photo greeting card family” and I didn’t and I was so sad. That was when the Lord saved me. He made me realize that this is an imperfect world and that’s why he had to be born as a man. So that he could live a perfect life, pay the price for sin and return to heaven to prepare a place for all who accept His greatest gift – Salvation!

Ever since that time Christmas has new meaning for me. It’s about celebrating the birth of my Savior. He was a servant – which gives the concept of doing things for others so much more meaning. He is the best gift, so even when life isn’t picture perfect, we have the peace and joy that comes from knowing Him.

From my home to yours – I wish you a very Merry Christmas!

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life” John 3:16