A Look at the Quilt Show

What a whirlwind the last five days have been...but what fun! It was the biennial Forsyth Piecers and Quilters Guild Show, themed this time "The Art of Comfort." There were around 145 gorgeous quilts on display judged by Linda Fiedler and Linda Cantrell. There were lots of great vendors too and the BIGGEST guild boutique I've seen since I've been a member (it was amazing!). The show chairs were my bee-mates Laura Patridge and Lisa Alley and they did the most fabulous job ...the venue was beautiful and well attended. Hats off to them for making it all happen!

I jumped into the vendor arena for the first time with my hand dyed fabrics and handcrafted buttons and was very lucky to have the best booth neighbors. They were so kind and fun to hang around! They were Annie's Keepsakes (wool felt, rovings, patterns, tools etc.), Shakerwood Woolens (hand dyed felted wool, patterns, threads), Empty Pockets Alpaca Farm (yummy yarns and rovings), and Karen Gray Design (fresh modern quilt fabrics, patterns, etc.She has a shop in Reynolda Village, Winston-Salem).  I didn't really have much time to visit the other vendors but my favorite LQS was there - Sew Original of Winston-Salem...they were demo'ing one of the Bernina embroidery machines, making these really cute "Hot Stuff" coffee sleeves (and you know I love coffee!). Next to them were Justi Ard of Witch Hazel Handmades (she makes cool glass pendants encasing all kinds of images), and the newest Bernina dealership, Studio Stitch of Greensboro.

Do visit their websites and see all the wonderful things they offer!

Here is a look at just a few of the quilts and scenes around the show:

The Flower Garden
By Jane Houser, Quilted by Theresa DeWalt
Best Long Arm Quilting, Best Hand Applique, Viewer's Choice, and 1st place in  its category

Southern Comfort
By The Beecassos
Row 1: Linda Worsley, Sara Nutter, Cathy Bogan
Row 2: Wanda Norman, Karen Fridy, Vickie Clontz
Row 3: Joan Lowder, Gail McNeill, Penny Sharp
Row 4: Marlene Land
First Place, Red and White Challenge, Judge's Choice Award

Top: Night With Sunflowers by Anna Reich, 1st place Art Quilts
Bottom: Shimmering Vine by Penny Sharp

The Art Quilts!
I won third place for "How Do You See Me"(winking at you now, bottom left), and Honorables for "Cracks Where the Light Gets In" and "Kay Oss". The portrait piece top left is also mine.

This One's Mine
By Gina Boone
Best of Show!

Butterfly Garden
By Susie Oulette, Quilted by Winnie McCrary

Bali Dancing
By Debra Voigt

Hop To It
By Carmen Cannon, Quilted by Jan Strubble

The Red and White Challenge
(I especially love the upper right with sewing terms made by Ava Lewandowski)

Left: Southern Star by Lisa Alley, quilted by Gina Boone
Right: Tinker Belle's Neighborhood by Rosann Davis, quilted by Rosemary Cushman

(I'm guessing this must be Tinker Belle :)

Christmas Quilt by Anna Reich

Part of my booth - handcrafted buttons

More of my booth - hand dyes and patterns

View from my booth
(Shakerwood Woolens has such a pretty booth!)

In my fortune cookie Saturday night...that pretty much sums it up :)

Now it's time to unpack, clean up, regroup, and get ready for the next adventure!

Winding Down...Winding UP!

I can't believe that the year is almost over! Where did it go??? It seems like this one in particular went by at an unbelievable speed. Perhaps it was the constantly (over?)booked schedule...but that's pretty much the norm in my world. It was a great year for the most part, though it had some sharp spots in it. Normally I would call them 'rough spots' but these were downright sharp. Nevertheless, good things come out of every situation if you are willing to look for them, and having found the good, I press onward to embrace what the new year will bring.

For starters I have to get going on my fiberglass sculpture commissions. One, a 5' tall Hokie bird (ala VA Tech), which will arrive at my house this Saturday - weather permitting. The other, a cat for the Forsyth Humane Society's Art Unleashed fundraiser, due to arrive sometime in January. Both will be artfully painted. Stay tuned for postings as I get them underway. Deadline for both pieces is April. I have done several commissions like this in the past...the trick this time is that, being winter, I will need to fit them into my studio instead of the garage. That means the first thing on the agenda is to clean up and make room! :)

In January I am teaching my first class at Sawtooth School for Visual Art (Winston-Salem, NC)on surface design...Saturdays 1/16 & 23...covering rust dyeing, stamp making and stamping, discharge dyeing, and gelatin plate printing. Click here if you want to join in on the fun!

In March I will be teaching an original Easter table runner pattern at Sew Original (also in Winston-Salem)...more info on that will be posted closer to time.

I also have booked 2 small solo shows, which I am excited about. They are both local and later in the year, giving me time to create new pieces for them. I am a bit undecided on what other shows I will submit for this year. PAQA South has ARTQUILTS:illuminations coming up and I have a couple of pieces started that I want to submit for that one. My guild has a show this spring that I will put some piece into...it's always a great show. Beyond those two I still have to decide. I have committed to a street festival in Virginia in the spring, and there will be venues to arrange for the Beecassos, next year's Deck the Halls, more classes to teach, new galleries to explore, and .....oh yeah, my day job!

The new year is full of possibilities...I guess I'd better get busy!

Happy New Year everyone...make it the best ever!

A "Miss Bee Haven" Christmas

Huh? Christmas? This motley crew?

Yep...that's us...the ladies of Miss Bee Haven at the annual Christmas dinner of Forsyth Piecers and Quilters Guild. What a HOOT! Casting aside the traditional notions of sparkle and elegance, we decided to live up to our name. Donning our do-rags and "Born to Quilt" tattoos (temporary ones!) along with our "Got Fabric?" tshirts created by our fearless leader Leanne, we turned a few heads to be sure! The Bees of the guild were asked to decorate tables...our table was decorated in black fabric and chain link with metallic red spirals, complete with a motorcycle riding animated Santa that played "Get Your Motor Runnin..." (I had a good time playing with that...it was just too funny!) But it was not all just for fun...it is also part of our fundraiser for The Women's Fund of Winston-Salem. The tshirts are for sale! Santa also rode off to a good home in the guild's Toys for Tots drive.

Thanks to my son John for being our photographer and capturing the memory of this fun evening!