2015 WHQG Show

As you can tell, I am a little behind in my blog posts.  I was so busy getting my four quilts ready for the West Houston Quilters Guild Show in March and time just got away from me.  Besides finishing the quilts, there were labels and covers for the labels, sewing on hanging sleeves, making drawstring pillowcases with clear windows to hold the quilt picture and information and filling out the paperwork for each quilt.  It had been six years since I had entered a show.  It is kind of like getting pregnant again, you forget how bad it feels to have the judges nitpick your hard work to pieces.  However, I love my quilts and I am the only one that has to be pleased.

 

"Diva Keys"

This was a strip exchange by the Monday Night Divas Bee.  Key to My Heart Pattern.  Quilted in sewing & quilting notions.

 

 

"Eclectic Mail"

Pattern that I saw at the Missouri Star Quilt Shop site. Made with the Tim Holtz line called Eclectic Elements.

 

"Sea Turtles"

Take Five Pattern.  Quilted in Sea Turtles.

"Texas Wildflowers Behind Barbed Wire"

Texas Wildflower fabric quilted with Barbed Wire Pattern.

 

Texas Wildflower Quilt

The Texas Wildflower Quilt top is finished. The last two borders were sewn on at my weekend retreat, at the Red Barn, in February.  It was the beginning of my" I am in love with ORANGE" phase.

 Finished Quilt 66" x 86"

6" Blocks, 2" orange border and 4" Wildflower border.

While visiting the "Needle Nest Quilt Shop" owned by Joyce Godfrey, I expressed my interest in several quilts being displayed.  Joyce gave me the sheet of drawings that the ladies had used for the pattern.  Joyce passed away in 2011, so I am dedicating this quilt to her memory.

Back from Quilt Retreat

I spent three wonderful days at the Red Barn Retreat in Coldsprings, TX.  Good food, good friends and lots of quilting.  I took a lot of pictures, so I am going to spread them out throughout the week.

As you can see, the weather was beautiful and hot.  There are four hummingbird feeders on the front porch.  I do not have a lot of pictures of birds, because they fly really fast and they were very busy fighting with each other.  The Hummingbirds and Red Birds are always a delightful site.  The owners of the Red Barn feed them well, too.

Below are just a few of the quilts that hang on the walls inside.  There are many more and one on all twenty-four beds.  So, when we leave, they still look pretty.

That is all for today, I just wanted to give you a little eye-candy.

Texas Wildflower Quilt Project Ready For Retreat

Saturday was our 34th Wedding Anniversary, so I spent the day with Sweetie.  Sunday afternoon, I wandered into the sewing room to work on a project for retreat in two weeks.  I am trying not to wait until the day before to get everything ready.  After working all day, it is a pain, even when I am excited about going. 
In July, My BQF and I hit three QS in one day.  Two were in The Woodlands and one was in Old Town Spring.  One had a display of quilts made with Texas Wildflower fabric.  It was a simple pattern and I ask some questions (and purchased all the fabrics and more).  They were kind enough to give me a drawing they had made up to help me.  This is the second quilt I plan on sewing at Retreat.

The Texas Highway Department plants these Wildflowers all along our Highways.

Here are the directions using a finished 4" block for the Texas Wildflower Quilt (with my notations).  The layout was 9 blocks by 12 blocks with a 1' border of orange and a 3" border of wildflowers.  The finished quilt would be around 44 1/2" x 56 1/2".

I decided to make mine in 6" finished blocks,  9 blocks wide and 12 blocks long.  My 1st border will be a 2" orange and then a 4" wildflower border.  It should finish at about 66" x 84".

Here are all the pieces, ready to go to retreat.  This is a better picture of the colors.  I have been wanting to use orange in a quilt for a while now.  I'll share the finished top in a later post.