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Re-Purposing

June 2, 2013 3 Comments

After last week’s post about Mary’s well organized sewing room, Lorraine Bahr sent me this email message:

“Chris, Just read your blog about how your friend Mary organized the closets in her quilt studio. Thought you would enjoy seeing how I resurrected an outdated cabinet, gave it new life and now use it to organize my studio.

Several years ago the high school in the district where I taught was going “digital” and was sending the old card catalog cabinet to the dump. I asked to have it delivered to my house instead. I gave it a fresh coat of paint, labeled the drawers, and now have it as a conversation (as well as an organizational) piece in my quilt studio. Enjoy the photos below.”

Here’s a detail shot. Lorraine is not only organized, but has an exciting color sense! Thanks for sending the pictures Lorraine!

Mike and I love to go antiquing and have done a bit of repurposing of our own. We came up with my favorite quilt related project prior to my new studio being built. When I wrote my first book our desk top computer sat atop a big, old desk and the keyboarding was so awkward that I ended up with a pinched nerve in my neck and a mid-evil looking traction device for a few weeks (it attached to a door and no – I’m not including pictures :-)). We knew we needed a computer desk, but didn’t like any of the modern ones available. So we decided to go antiquing and see what we could find. At the Columbus Antique Mall we found a pretty 1940’s enamel table in good condition. It had 2 leaves attached to the inside of the table that pulled out and into position with an ingenious use of springs. I asked Mike if he could remove one of the leaves and permanently attach it at the right level to make an ergonomically correct keyboard platform. He figured it out and I’ve been pleased with it ever since.

Have you had any quilt related adventures in re-purposing?

The Saga Continues

It seems Quiltilly’s story hasn’t quite reached it’s end.

A short while after Evelyn and Quiltilly’s reunion, Chris received this message and some pictures from Evelyn:

“Poor Quiltilly was quite traumatized from her kidnapping ordeal, so we invited a new quiltsissy, Quiltimae, to keep her company. They wanted to play with Blue Bunny, but she wasn’t in a playful mood.

So they went out into the sunshine, climbed the lilac bush, and listened to the birds sing.

They sat in the violet garden until Quiltilly felt much better. She needs to stay here to make regular visits to her psychiatrist, so she won’t be going on the cruise to the Baltic.

Instead, Quiltimae will accompany Evelyn on her first traveling adventure.

She is very excited to be going to all the capitols of Scandinavia as well as stops in Germany, Estonia, and St. Petersburg, Russia. She will be keeping a journal and will have lots of pictures to share with Quiltilly when she returns.

Bon Voyage Quiltymae! Since this is a similar cruise to the one Wendy and Chris are leading next May, we will be very interested to learn all about Quiltymae’s first travel adventure.

Ladies of the Lake

May 26, 2013 2 Comments

I met Mary Van Grinsvin at a PTO meeting when our sons were in middle school and we decided to volunteer to be co-presidents. We soon discovered that we both were quilters. We enjoyed some fun times together, but then our sons headed off to different high schools after which Mary and her family moved away. She and her husband recently retired to a beautiful home on a lake in northern Wisconsin and she became connected to a quilt guild in Minocqua. As fate would have it she volunteered to co-chair the program committee with Glennes Youngbauer, another quilter I had known years ago through a guild in the Milwaukee area. I’ve run into both Mary and Glennes at quilt shows over the years and was so pleased when they invited me to teach for the Ladies of the Lake quilt guild last weekend. It is a very talented and friendly guild and both workshops were a lot of fun (at least for me they were :-)). Silly me, I forgot to get my camera out during the classes, but Mary did send me a picture of some of ladies and the Mariner’s Compasses they made in class.

Not only were the classes a blessing, but I had a wonderful time staying with Mary and Greg. Their home is lovely, but what blew me away was her studio.

What wonderful natural light and everything is so neat (she did admit to picking up a little before I arrived). Mary is an organizational genius and after seeing her storage closet, I knew I had a blog topic to share.

She had her shelves built with 8″ between them and she places each of her projects in a bin. She found these bins through a medical supply company and had to order 100 of them. She has used 64 so far and sent one home with me. Doesn’t this inspire you to get organized? It certainly has given me the organizing bug.

After class each night we had a bit of time on the lake. A ride in Greg’s new boat was a joy on Saturday and on Sunday Mary and I chased a loon while kayaking. What fun!

Thanks Mary for a delightful weekend!

The Quiltilly Conclusion

To refresh your memory – last week Quiltilly ran away and got into some mischief. Upon her return she decided to hide because she knew Chris wasn’t too happy about her nose ring!

While Chris looked high and low for that naughty Quiltilly, Quiltanna felt it her responsibility to expose her hiding place (the fishbowl of scraps):

After climbing out everyone talked it through and the Quiltsissies were back to having fun. So much so that they were found hanging from the rafters.

It was at this point Chris realized how much Tilly’s missing hand hindered her and she decided to do something about it – a cup hook fit the bill handily!

All too soon this little adventure was reaching a conclusion. Evelyn was heading to the Baltics for an exciting cruise and she really wanted to take Quiltilly along. Chris invited her to lunch (Wendy wasn’t able to be there) and Evelyn arrived with the ransom in hand. She was a bit reticent to hand it over, but Chris was happy to take it:

Ooooh! Diamonds!

Joy only a Mom can display!

But Evelyn wasn’t too sure about the hook!

The Quiltsissies served a yummy lunch and afterwards Chris sent this note to Wendy:

“Diamonds! And they’re batiks! We’re rich! Evelyn and Quiltilly were happily reunited and excited about their trip to the Baltics next week. Only wish you and Quiltina could’ve been here. All’s well that ends well!”

and they all lived happily ever after.

The End

PS Chris received this note a few hours later:

“We had to drive thru almost blinding rain but Quiltillie and I are safe at home. Quiltillie cried all the way. She has been thru such an ordeal. I was so glad to rescue her from the clutches of her kidnappers. I’ll probably have to take her to a psychiatrist.”

Perhaps not everyone lived happily ever after :-(.

The Strip Stick and Quiltilly Saga part 3

May 19, 2013 5 Comments

I’m always on the lookout for new notions, gizmos or gadgets that work – and I’ve found a new one. Last year while in Paducah I watched a vendor demonstrate a pressing tool called the Strip Stick. It looked intriguing, but I had that ever popular thought: “I bet I can make myself one for less”. So I went home and forgot all about it. This year I watched the same demo, thought the same thought and the next day walked right back to the Strip Stick booth and bought one! I’m so glad I did! First of all – it works. Secondly – it is a great idea and I need to support those who developed it. Thirdly – it is well made, the price is fair and now I don’t need to try to make one :-).

Here’s the scoop: the Strip Stick is a narrow padded pressing stick used to crisply press seams open or to the side without distortion to adjacent seams. This is especially helpful when sewing many strips together into “strata”.

To press seams open they need to be ironed from the back.

When pressing seams to one side, it can be done from either the the front or the back of the block.

What I really like about this tool is that when I press the seams to the side the edge of the seam allowance underneath is “over the hump and out of the way” and therefore I don’t get shiny lines on the right side of the fabric (a problem I have struggled with in the past).

To order your own Strip Stick go to www.thestripstick.com.

and now:

The Saga of Quiltilly, Part 3

In this week’s installment, Tilly is feeling better and settling into life in her temporary home.

Quiltilly and Quiltanna are enjoying this extra bit of time together. They are quite a mischievous team and Annabelle doesn’t seem to be enjoying their antics quite as much as they are:

After teasing the dog they decided to chill in the birdbath and enjoy the beautiful Spring weather:

They even snuck in a slide down the banister:

Later that day Quiltilly went missing. Quiltanna and I looked all over the house to no avail and then I spied her out the window, sitting on the bird feeder:

By the time I got out the door she had disappeared. She didn’t return until morning and what a shock – she had a nose ring (a Swarovski crystal no less)!

I wasn’t sure what to do and sent a message to Evelyn:

“You may want to come up with that ransom soon. QuilTilly snuck out last night and got her nose pierced. I’m afraid she’s a bad influence on my little QuiltAnna! Ps she’s also started wearing makeup!”

to which she responded:

“I’m gathering up the diamonds. Can’t schedule the exchange until next week. She will be grounded forever for the nose piercing. I’m sure it was Quilt Anna who put her up to it.”

Please return next week for the conclusion of this high flying adventure :-)!

A Tribute and the Quiltilly Saga – Part 2

May 12, 2013 2 Comments

The Milwaukee Art Quilters is a very talented group of artists and I am honored to be a member. Recently we had a showing of a group of our quilts that were made as a tribute to a dear member who passed away in 2011.

Nancy Kimpel was not only a skilled quilter, but her many talents also included knitting, and dyeing of fabric and yarn. She was a great inspiration and encouragement to the group. When she died her dear husband John and close friend, Mary Ellen Heus, decided to divide up her hand dyed fabrics/threads into 40 bags, bring them to a meeting, and challenge members to create a piece of fiber art from the contents of the bag for an exhibit to be called “Inspired by Nancy”. We all clamored for a bag.

The fabrics and hand dyed perle cottons in my bag were lovely and I decided that I didn’t want to add anything to them. They were interesting enough to stand alone. I’d always wanted to play with overlapping geometric shapes in a positive/negative fashion and the patterns in one of the pieces of Nancy’s fabrics gave me a great place to start. So I began drafting and drawing until I got a design I liked, used my Repliqué technique to appliqué the top and then had a lot of fun quilting it all.

I was pleased with the effect of extending the designs from the center into the border with the quilting.

The resulting group of quilts were amazing. If you missed the exhibit at UWW, you can still see the quilts on our blog: http://milwaukeeartquilters.wordpress.com/.

The Saga of Quiltilly, Part 2

As you may remember Quiltilly, one of the Quiltsissies, has been kidnapped and is being held for ransom. We will begin with Evelyn’s cryptic response to the ransom note:

“I’m sorry. How high is the ransom? Hummmm. I’ll have to check my stash.”

The kidnappers quickly realized she hadn’t actually read the note and gave her a bit of instruction:

“Click on the first picture above to read the ransom note!”

This was her next unsatisfactory response:

“Sorry I haven’t learned how to download to my computer and could only read about half of the ransom note. I was able to read the tattoo. Sounds like you two are having way too much fun since we left.”

To which the impatient kidnappers replied:

“Can you tap on the picture and then reverse pinch on the screen? Remember we are the kidnappers, do not humor us. Tilly is in good company. No suffering…….yet“

At this point she caught on and sent this message:

“Wow. The kidnappers even have to educate the victims. Okay, will diamonds do? I’ll do anything you say to get my Tilly back.”

To which they messaged back:

“Any unmarked jewels wrapped in a brown paper bag. Just make us happy.”

So the kidnappers and the Quiltsissies had an enjoyable ride back to Wisconsin with time to climb a tree:

And a cultural stop too!

From there began the long portion of the ride back to Wisconsin and the stress and excitement were a bit much for poor, little Quiltilly. This message and photo were sent back to Evelyn:

“Not traveling well. She threw up”

What will happen when Tilly gets to her new home? Will she behave? Be here next week for the continuing adventures of the Quiltsissies!

Big Stitches and an Exciting Saga

May 5, 2013 3 Comments

A few weeks ago at the Sun Prairie Quilt Show I was stopped in my tracks by a pieced, blue ribbon winning quilt called “Conceived in Liberty” and made by Patty Roost of Fort Atkinson, WI. What grabbed me was that the quilt was quilted with “the Big Stitch” and it really worked!

Typically hand quilting stitches are supposed to be even and small, with prize winning stitches smaller than 12 stitches to the inch. With the Big Stitch a larger thread is used (perle cotton) and the stitches are meant to be about a 1/4″ long so that they show (for a blog with instructions for the Big Stitch click here).

I found this quilting method very effective on this quilt and while I was smiling and staring at it, the white glove lady nearby informed me that she was Patty. I complimented her work and asked if I could feature her as a topic of the week. She obviously agreed – thanks Patty!

I’ve mixed the Big Stitch with free motion quilting in one of my smaller art quilts and really enjoyed doing it. Plus I felt it added some pizazz to the design.

Patty’s quilt show’s how effective it can be in a traditional quilt.

Have you used the Big Stitch? Please tell us about it.

On a completely different note – I’d like to share a story in parts over the next few weeks in hopes it will make you smile:

The Saga of Quiltilly

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 friend Quiltanna for Chris. These Quiltsissies joined the quilting cruise in France. They brought along a third friend, Quiltilly. While on the cruise a contest was held and the winner, Evelyn, was awarded Quiltilly as her prize.

Since then the Quiltsissies have been on many delightful adventures and they were reunited this past April in Paducah when Evelyn and her sister Hazel came to stay with Wendy and Chris. Here they are getting reacquainted in the kitchen/studio:

When Evelyn left to fly to Wisconsin she left poor Quiltilly behind. Upon realizing her error she texted this message:

“Look after Quilt Tilly for me. Hazel says you should drag her through the mud because she has been lost and abandoned.”

Wendy and Chris found Quiltilly stuffed in a tote bag and when they pulled her out they noticed that her left hand was missing, her feet were both hanging by threads and she looked a bit neglected and worn out by all her travels (she’s been all over Europe and even to Bali!). They were very concerned and wanted Evelyn to know how valuable she was, so they tied a knot in her stump of a hand and decided to write a ransom note :-)! This picture was texted to Evelyn:

Quiltilly wanted to send a message and picture of her own:

“Mom, how could you? Aunt Wendy (she makes me call her that) tattoo’d my butt! They said you told them to drag me through the mud! But they feed me chocolate, take me to art galleries and doctor my damaged left arm. Maybe this isn’t so bad, but if you love me, you’ll pay the ransom. Love, Tilly

Quiltilly's tattoo — National Quilt Museum logo tattoo

To find out Evelyn’s response please join us next week for the continuing Saga of Quiltilly!

Paducah Glimpses

April 28, 2013 9 Comments

Another year’s pilgrimage to Paducah is but a memory. In spite of a lot of rain and the coldest temps I can remember during quilt week, it was a wonderful trip with many highlights. The dogwoods were at their blooming peak! The quilts were stunning and inspiring! My classes were filled with delightful, enthusiastic and talented students! The vendors were way too tempting. Fun times were spent with good friends! And there were many giggles along the way. I wasn’t as good as I should have been about snapping pics, but here are some special times I did capture:

Wendy’s birthday lunch at Grace Church with a special rendition of Happy Birthday by Quiltman and Bobbin!

Yummy, good times!

Quilting on the back of the Best of Show quilt by Renae Haddadin and Karen Kay Buckley.

Hanging around with dear friends Hazel and Evelyn after a “Bubble Tea” at Etcetera.

Hanging the Milwaukee Art Quilter’s group entry: The Jenning’s Quilt and

Accepting the third place award from Bonnie Browning with fellow Marq member Judy Zoelzer-Levine.

Watching a very enthusiastic employee at Kirchoff Bakery doing the “basket dance” while waiting for our delicious sandwiches.

Dinner with friends at JP’s.

Making good use of car time on the ride home with the Quiltsissies observing (more on them in a future post :-))

It’s Paducah Time!

April 21, 2013 2 Comments

A big hi y’all from sunny Kentucky!

Wendy and I began our adventure this morning

and for the first time we traveled to Paducah via Chicago so we could make a stop at Troy Fabric’s Fabriganza. Troy is a fabric manufacturer and distributor and this weekend they were hosting a big warehouse sale. There were shelves and tables full of beautiful bolts of fabric.

Wendy shopped for the kits for her “Block of the Month” at Frank’s Sewing Center in Waukesha.

Then a nice man helped us load the bolts into an already full van.

As evening neared we knew we were getting close when we crossed over the river from Illinois to Kentucky via the “Flying Geese” bridges. Here we’re approaching them.

And here the geese are flying overhead.

Upon arrival we hoofed all our things up 25 stairs to our B&B above a Mexican Restaurant. We were then able to set up our studio in an area some people refer to as a kitchen 🙂

Tomorrow we’ll help hang the quilts in the 2013 American Quilter’s Society Quilt Show and Contest.

We are very excited to be here and we are also very excited to share that we have some updated information about our May 2014 Baltic Cruise.

We’ve finalized the cruise details: dates, inclusions (daily shore excursions and a pre-trip extra night in Copenhagen!) and prices. You can find all the information at www.chrisquilts.net/trips. We still don’t have pricing for the airfare, but we do want to be sure we get enough cabins reserved. This is your chance to visit the site and reserve your spot now!

Stay tuned! Next week we’ll have pictures from Quilt Week!

Best Part of Spring!

April 14, 2013 1 Comment

To me, the best part of Spring is that it’s quilt show season. Last week was non-stop overcast and rain – perfect weather for being inside at a show. And last weekend was also filled with opportunities in our area.

The Crazy Quilter’s show in Mukwonago, WI is always a treat. The variety and quality of quilts was inspiring and the vendors were chock full of temptations! I had the pleasure of being one of the judges this year and it was a real blessing to be a part of such a well run show. My only regret was that I forgot to take my camera :-(.

This same weekend was also the date for the Sun Prairie Quilt Show. This is a unique show in that it has been run by the same person, Klaudeen Hanson, in the same location for 39 years! Amazing! I’m sure that’s a record! I have been a part of her group, the Prairie Heritage Quilters since I began quilting in 1987. This year we added a special exhibit of quilts by the 3 teachers in the group: Klaudeen, Joanie Zeier Poole and myself. We also each did some free demonstrations for the attendees on Sunday and were blown away by the response – standing room only. What a joy!

I did bring my camera and would like to share a few pictures of the show. This one is of the teacher exhibit. A few of my quilts are on the right, Klaudeen’s bright piecing graces the center and Joanie’s amazing heirloom quilting is to the left.

My dear friend and traveling companion, Wendy Rieves, won a Founder’s award for her latest block of the month quilt which she teaches at Frank’s Sewing Center in Waukesha, WI.

This room contained some of the smaller quilts and quilted items. My dear friend, Ida Porzky, made the flower table runner.

I was very proud of a student in my Open Lab. Louise Sundquist is fairly new to quilting and recently jumped into creating her own art quilts. I had to twist her arm a bit to get her to enter her sunflowers quilt (lower right), but doesn’t it look delightful?

There were great vendors at this show too. What a lot of inspiration for one weekend!

Then there’s just one more “show” I have to mention. It’s actually a Milwaukee Art Quilter’s exhibit taking place at UWW called “Inspired by Nancy”. Nancy Kimpel was a dear friend, talented fiber dyer/artist and marq member who passed away a few years ago. Each member of Marq was given a bag of her fabric and asked to make a small wall quilt for this exhibit. It is a wonderful collection of quilts. Here are just a few photos (but they really don’t do the exhibit justice):

The piece on the left of the kite on Milwaukee's lakefront is one of Nancy's quilts — The piece on the left of the kite on Milwaukee’s lakefront is one of Nancy’s quilts

If you would like to see them in the cloth, here’s the information:

MArQ “INSPIRED BY NANCY” QUILTS • FINE ARTS GALLERY • 1500 N. University Drive, Waukesha • Gallery open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday: 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.; Wednesday: 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.; Friday: 10:00 – 11:00 a.m., 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. Through April 29.

This coming weekend Wendy and I will be packing up the car and heading for Paducah! I can barely wait. So next week I’ll be blogging from Quilt City USA! I’ve already started packing for my classes – I just love Spring!

Does your guild have a Spring show? Are you a part of it? Do you have a photo you’d like to share? Please email them to me at .

PS Registration has begun for Summer classes at WCTC. All of the information can be found at wctc.edu. To find Wendy’s and my classes click on “Course Search” in the bar at the top; type “quilting” in the “Title/Subject” box and click on “submit”; Then click on each class for the details. Here’s a sneak preview:

Beginning Free Motion Quilting 6-14-13 (sorry, no picture)

Quilt In 6-28-13 (sorry, no picture here either) – this class is a one day Open Lab where the students work on whatever project they choose and I’m there to help in whatever way I can and I’ll provide a surprise or two also :-).

Mariners Compass — Compass Capers 7-12-13

logs and chains — Logs and Chains 8-9-13

Wendy's T-Shirt Quilt 6-4-13 — Wendy’s T-Shirt Quilt 6-4-13

Wendy's Dresden Tree Skirt — Wendy’s Dresden Tree Skirt 7-13-13

Wendy's Stars of Fortune 8-10-13 — Wendy’s Stars of Fortune 8-10-13

Re-Purposing

The Saga Continues

Ladies of the Lake

The Quiltilly Conclusion

The End

The Strip Stick and Quiltilly Saga part 3

The Saga of Quiltilly, Part 3

A Tribute and the Quiltilly Saga – Part 2

Big Stitches and an Exciting Saga

The Saga of Quiltilly

Paducah Glimpses

It’s Paducah Time!

Best Part of Spring!

My Guide

Contact Chris!

Blog

The Saga Continues

The Quiltilly Conclusion

The End

The Saga of Quiltilly, Part 3

The Saga of Quiltilly

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My Guide

Contact Chris!