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Greetings from the middle of Illinois. Wendy and I are returning home from Paducah. I can’t believe how quickly the past week flew by. Our trip to Quilt Week each year is my favorite  part of Spring. This year the dogwoods and azaleas were in bloom, the temperatures were perfect and the quilts were better than ever!

In past years I’ve posted pictures of the “flying geese bridge” that let us know we’d arrived, and the “1857 Guest House”, above a downtown restaurant, where we stay. This year I’ve decided to share some pictures of the impromptu parts of our trip. These began with a stop in Metropolis to don our quilting hero costumes:

And then we arrived in Quilt City USA. We set up our quilting studio in the kitchen and, over the course of the week, spent many hours there stitching – whenever we needed a break from the overwhelming amount of quilted inspiration, tempting vendors and wonderful food.

Our first evening we had the privilege of creating a window display in the front of Tribeca Restaurant. We chose to feature “Garden of Grace”, a quilt Wendy and I made together from a picture taken during the luncheon at Grace Church a few years ago.

On Monday we headed down to the Bill & Merideth Schroeder Convention Center to help hang the quilts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They were amazing! And my quilt: “How Beautiful – Liberty” was hanging among all the phenomenal works of art – Praise the Lord!

During the week we enjoyed “Bubble Tea” at Etcetera Coffee Shop in Lower Town:

And I even participated in the sidewalk art out front:

One day we took a side trip into the countryside around Mayfield, KY to visit Backyard Fabrics – a bright and tempting quilt shop.

The quilts and shopping are all such fun, but I especially enjoy meeting quilters from all around the country. It’s always exciting to attend a church lunch or dinner and get to know your tablemates. Imagine my surprise when we went to dinner at the Methodist church, and I was seated next to Janet – a quilter who had taken my class when I taught in Fremont, NE last month!

We met her friends and had a lovely time of good food and conversation.

Then, on our final night, we met up for dinner with some of my friends from my Fiberista art quilt group.

Kay, Ida and Lori made the trip down from Wisconsin on Friday to see Lori’s beautiful quilt – “Autumn Gold”, and enjoy the show.

It was a great week, and I have more to share …  about crazy quilts, Dairy Queen, and “rolling veterans”, but I’ll save those for future posts. This was my 27th AQS quilt show in Paducah, and I can’t wait for next year!

Greetings from Minot, North Dakota,

where I’m teaching at the Minot Prairie Quilt Festival. The sun is shining and the temps were in the 60’s all weekend. I was very impressed by the way they treat their teachers like queens. The accomodations  at the Minot Grand Hotel were lovely,

and the goodie bag in my room was filled with a yummy variety of products from North Dakota.

I arrived a day early and Susan and Janet were kind enough to show me around town.

We visited the Scandinavian Heritage Center where they had interesting buildings and a huge Dahl horse, similar to the ones we saw in Sweden.

The gift shop was filled with interesting characters!

Back at the show I was given the opportunity to choose a “Teacher’s Favorite” quilt from all the wonderful pieces in the show. There were so many worthy of the ribbon, but the one that really grabbed me was bright, and beautifully quilted. Here is Diane Slickers with her quilt.

And here’s the picture her friend Judy took when she saw the ribbon  😀 !

Congratulations Diane!

I taught three full day classes and the students were great!

And being that Minot is quite a ways north, I can now number Canadian quilters among my friends.

Everyone was friendly and such fun to be with. It was my first visit to North Dakota, and I’m sure it won’t be my last!!!

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And one last thing 🙂 : This past week I entered “How Beautiful – Liberty” (the quilt I shared with you in last week’s post) in the Sun Prairie Quilt Show, and I was thrilled and humbled to have 3 ribbons hanging on it: a blue ribbon in it’s category, Crew’s Choice (the crew who hangs the show gets a chance to pick), and Viewer’s Choice! I’ve never won a Viewer’s Choice ribbon. What a blessing – praise the Lord!

 

This past week was a wonderful adventure! I was invited to lecture and teach for the Lincoln Nebraska Quilters. There were so many reasons this trip was special. First – it was a great group!

Second – my niece and her family recently relocated to Omaha (which is less than an hour’s drive from Lincoln). Kaitlin and Marty have 2 adorable little ones and I was able to stay with them for a couple of days.

Third – Barb and the guild invited me to take a tour of the International Quilt Study Center and Museum, at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln.

I’d heard about it for years, and it was truly a blessing to be able to see it. Especially since I was given the tour by a guild member who is also a docent at the Museum.

The IQSCM was a gift to the University by Robert and Ardis James, who are famous for their quilt collecting and generosity to the quilt world.

Ardis wanted the Center to be called the “Quilt House”, and this is the dedication at the entrance to the building.

The exhibits were fascinating, from a collection of African American quilts:

through a thought provoking exhibit of Michael James quilts made in memory of his wife:

to my personal favorite – “Covering the War”, an exhibit of quilts made during war time in our nation (very fitting since I was there just before Veteran’s Day). These quilts were displayed with their touching stories:

And this was only a small part of the Center’s collection, and all of it’s other attributes. They often have charity sew-ins in the atrium, and the community is invited to be involved in many activities.

I really admired the Center’s logo – a lovely circle of needles:

And Pat was kind enough to give me her pin as a remembrance of my visit. Thank you, Pat.

If you’re ever near Lincoln – I highly recommend this as a “not-to-be-missed” attraction!

 

 

Fourth – I got to share my passion for quilting and two suitcases full of quilts! The night of the IQSCM tour, I presented my “Journey With a Compass” lecture to a large and delightful group of quilters, and the next day I taught my beginning fiber art class entitled “Where Do I Start With Fiber Art”. These mainly traditional quilters had a lot of fun stepping outside of their comfort zones to play with fabric, color and design.

I always learn as much as my students, and it was quite obvious that a good time was had by all  😀 ! What a wonderful guild! Thanks for everything!

I had never been in Nebraska before, but now I’m scheduled to return in March to lecture and teach for a guild in Fremont. I can’t wait!

 

I’m writing to you from Oregon where Wendy Rieves and I are enjoying the company of 31 delightful quilters while participating in every aspect of the 40th Annual Sister’s Quilt Show! We began our trip in Portland and then bussed our way down to Sisters, shop hopping to 4 quilt shops along the way. Each one was unique and we loved them all!

We began at the Cotton Patch in Keizer, OR – a bright and cheery store with a generous owner and a friendly staff. Then it was on to Salem and Greenbaum’s Quilted Forest. A big store in the heart of downtown, with lots of fabrics and sample quilts. We also visited BJ’s Quilts in Bend. Another friendly shop with loads of exciting things to choose from.

The 4th shop we visited was the the Stitching Post in Sisters! This is the store where Jean Wells started it all 40 years ago!

This was on Thursday, because we wanted to beat the crowds to this special store. There were still plenty of people there, but the shopping was good. This store had so many creative patterns and little extras, plus a huge fabric selection.

When Jean Wells started the Sisters Outdoor Quilt show, I’m sure she never imagined it would become the quilter’s “bucket list” destination it is today. The quilts are hung on the second Saturday in July, on the outsides of the buildings, for one day only. I decided I needed to take a picture of the main street two days before the show for comparison purposes  🙂 ! So hear it is on Thursday:

And this was Saturday:

Friday we went to visit the vendors at the Fair Grounds in Redmond – and then it was off to the picnic. 800 quilters were fed a yummy meal of hamburgers, watermelon, and cupcakes!

This was followed with a greeting by Jean Wells herself, and entertainment which included Alex Anderson, Laura Wasilowski and some wonderful singing by 5 of the Gee’s Bend quilters.

The next morning we arrived back in Sisters for the show. Over 1400 quilts were hung that morning (most attached to heavy wire with clothes pins), and it was even better than we’d imagined. This was our first view of the side of the Stitchin Post that morning:

But that was only the beginning of the quilts. They were hung on just about every building on the main street, plus many buildings on many other streets. The shops in the town were varied and wonderful – from art galleries to antique stores. There were also vendor tents set up wherever there was room. Good food, good music, great shopping and…

The weather was amazing! 70’s and partly sunny! We didn’t have to deal with the usual high temperatures and blazing sun. It couldn’t have been a better day for an outdoor quilt show. However, the wind did pick up in the afternoon and we were able to see a Quilt Rescue Team-member in action  😛 .

It was a very full and extremely enjoyable day! I highly recommend a visit to the Sister’s show. I hope to return some day soon.

This was our 9th Sew We Go adventure! We traveled with a great group who loved to laugh and socialize. We really enjoyed getting to know each other and traveling together on this exciting trip which also included Portland and the Columbia River Gorge.

If sharing a Sew We Go adventure with Wendy and me is on your bucket list, please consider saving the date for our upcoming cruise of the Adriatic! Our travel planner Kristi, is putting the final details together for September 24th to October 1, of 2016. We will be visiting Venice, Croatia, Turkey and Greece, seeing all the sites and including many memory making extras – arranged just for quilters. As soon as the details are ready, I’ll share them here on the blog!

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And just a quick update on the quilt I featured in last week’s post. I had a wonderful visit with Hanna, Willy and Rainee this past week. I gave Rainee the quilt for her birthday – and she loved it!

Greetings from Paducah, Kentucky! We had to drive through some pretty heavy downpours in southern Illinois, but we knew we’d arrived when we drove over the “flying geese bridge”:

Wendy couldn’t make the trip this year because of a family wedding, so my friend Linda joined me. The first order of business when we got here was to meet Philip and hang a “2 women show” in the gallery of Tribeca restaurant.

Wendy Rieves and I will have our fiber art on display during AQS Quilt Week in Paducah 2015! (I’m just a little excited!)

You may remember that the past few years we’ve stayed at a B&B on the second floor of a downtown building, just upstairs from a Mexican Restaurant.

Well, last year the owners of Tribeca invited us to display our fiber art during this year’s show. Here’s a sneak preview!

This post is a bit later than usual, because we just finished hanging the quilts and they’re ready for you to see. So, if you’re planning on visiting Paducah this week, here’s how to find us: When heading from the convention center towards the National Quilt Museum, go past the museum, and straight ahead you’ll see the Yeiser Art Center.

Walk down the cobblestone street to the right, and Tribeca is half way down the block.

If you’re at the big, pink Finkel building, doing some shopping, this is what you’ll see when you walk out the main door (it’s the theater on the opposite end of the Market building from the Yeiser).

Between the tree on the left and the Market, you can see Tribeca. Oh, did I mention, the food is great too? So please stop in for lunch or dinner!

If you’re unable to make the AQS show this year – never fear, I’ll share some additional pictures next week!

From all our friends in Quilt City USA – have a wonderful week!

Just a couple of quick notes about last week’s post. Thanks to those who commented and suggested checking with your machine technician before using monofilament thread – good advice. Also, I recently spent some quality time on Diane Gaudynski’s blog and I highly recommend it: http://www.dianegaudynski.blogspot.com/. Her website is:  http://www.dianegaudynski.net/.

Sisters

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you may remember the Saga of the Quiltsissies. It was really quite silly, but the feedback was great. This is how the story began (and this is leading to something):

“Once upon a time there were 2 quilters, named Chris and Wendy, who liked to take others on quilting adventures in Europe. Prior to a trip to France in 2008 they talked about creating a traveling companion named Quiltina. She was based on a cardboard cut out called Flat Stanley who travels with school children and helps them to journal their trips. Wendy made the first Quiltina and then created her sister Quiltanna for Chris. These Quiltsissies joined the quilting cruise in France. They brought along a third sister, Quiltilly.

While on the cruise a contest was held and the winner, Evelyn, was awarded Quiltilly as her prize.”

As the story continues, Evelyn and her sister Hazel (who has Quiltzilla) stayed with us during quilt week in Paducah a few years ago, and she brought Quiltilly along, but Quiltilly was showing signs of neglect. On top of that, Evelyn left her behind. So Wendy and I naturally held her for ransom.

After quite a bit of excitement, Evelyn did pay the ransom in jewels – batik diamonds!

(To read the whole adventure go to: https://chrisquilts.net/?p=3448 and https://chrisquilts.net/?p=3467 and https://chrisquilts.net/?p=3497 and https://chrisquilts.net/?p=3515  )

Years have passed and Wendy and I are currently planning our next Sew We Go Adventure to the Sisters Oregon Quilt Show this July! For our trip project we’ve chosen the Seven Sisters block, and it uses diamonds! The ransom diamonds have been waiting for such a time as this, and we’ve been having a wonderful time putting it all together – in hand and machine piecing options. Here are the three samples we’ve created already (they’re table topper sized and addictive – like eating potato chips):

All of the quilters who join us on the trip (Evelyn and Hazel are already on the list!) will have the opportunity to make their own Seven Sisters quilt during our travels. We’ll also have a pre-trip get together in which travelers can make their very own Quiltsissie!

Here’s the good news:

WE STILL HAVE A FEW SPACES AVAILABLE!

Our adventure begins and ends in Portland, OR – how you get there is up to you (although our travel planner would be happy to help you with those details). Thus, it doesn’t matter where you live – you can be a part of the fun!

So if you’d like to join us there’s still time! You can even bring your sister!

For all the details go to: chrisquilts.net/trip

then call Kristi at: (262)786-6763

And I couldn’t resist this parting picture:

While shopping in a local quilt shop – Tea and Textiles in Jefferson – I found this wonderful “cheater cloth” of the Seven Sisters block. I just had to make a pillowcase for Wendy to take on the trip. I think I’ll make one for myself also. Too much fun!!!

This past week I had the delightful opportunity to teach for the Northeast Iowa Quilt Guild’s retreat, held at a camp in Minnesota. I saw many “quilt blocks” hanging on barns along the way and was so pleased to find a lone star block on the Camp’s barn upon my arrival.

A portion of the quilters at the retreat were already set up and ready for me to begin my first class – Beyond Meandering. The room was big and light and a wonderful place for a sewing class/retreat:

I recognized Sue and she told me she had taken this class previously and was now a long-arm quilter. Praise the Lord! She was loving it and still using some of the designs I share in the class. She then showed me this sweet crib quilt she had quilted using a pre-printed panel:

Here’s a detail shot:

I really liked the way she left the insides of the circles un-quilted. What a great effect!  That night I presented my “Gone to the Dark Side” lecture  to a laughing crowd (I hope they were laughing with me and not at me :-).

The next day I taught my beginning Fiber Art class, called Parallelisms, and discovered a very creative group of quilters. Here are just a few in action (Aurora, Sabrina and Valeria – all the students get new names for their creative muses):

Just look at some of the wonderful designs the class came up with:

And this is only the beginning! We also discussed embellishing and finishing techniques.

I stayed on an extra night and this generous group invited me to make thread catchers and microwave hot pads along with them in a class taught by Sandy. We stitched and sewed into the night and had so much fun.

Saturday morning I began my 3 1/2 hour drive home. Autumn is my favorite season and we’ve had very little color change in the leaves in southeastern Wisconsin so far this year. I was hoping this trip north would give me a peek at the autumn colors I so love, but I was surprised to find that it was a late year for color everywhere I went. I saw a lot of green, but I did spy this tree in Lansing, Iowa, right along the Mississippi River.

That wasn’t all I saw in Lansing. The ladies at the retreat had recommended I make a stop at Horsfall’s Lansing Variety on Main Street, 2 blocks off the river. Horsfall’s actually has 2 stores, the one on the corner and the one under the arrow.

Horsfall’s was every bit as unique as they had described. Here’s the front door:

It is a popular place, and I did quite a bit of squeezing by other shoppers due to the size of the aisles:

They are truly a variety store. From one spot you can pick out yarn for your next knitting project, while getting your grandson a basketball hoop, and stocking up on toilet paper. What a hoot!

They carry embroidery floss (I recognized it as floss right away, but have been traveling so much I still haven’t decided what will become of my box of floss 🙂 )

and quilt batting (if you can reach it).

I’m told they had fabric at one time, but the owner’s wife didn’t like cutting the yardage.

I did find a few treasures I needed and Jesse checked me out. Can you find him among all the stuff?

Horsfall’s is famous for being unique. Jesse handed me a copy of a newspaper clipping that appeared in the Chicago Sun Times. Thanks to the North Iowa Quilters for the site-seeing suggestion!

Next I drove up the hill a ways in order to get a good view of the very narrow bridge that would take me back to Wisconsin.

After driving back down Main Street (and a quick stop at a great Estate Sale), I drove over the bridge and headed south on the Wisconsin side of Old Man River.

Then, a short ways down the road, I came upon an Amish “Country Faire” in the park just south of Ferrysville, WI. The black raspberry pie was delicious!

The weather was great, the sites wonderful, but the time spent with quilters was the best part of the adventure!

How is the autumn color in your neck of the woods?