Major Knitter

Reuse, Recycle, Rejoice!

The final part of the 10th Anniversary Fabrics and Fabrications Quilt Show at the Southport Congregational Church was the special exhibit - Reuse, Recycle, Rejoice!  There were many wonderful contributions on the theme from artists, designers, crafters, and students at the local middle schools and high schools.  Check out some of these amazing items.

This tote bag is made out of recycled sails.  

How gorgeous is this dress?  

That gorgeous glittery dress is made of candy wrappers!  Sweet!

My friend, Lori, crocheted this bag out of recycled plastic grocery bags.  Very resourceful!

Here are two adorable paper dresses - with other recycled clothing items hanging on the wall above.

I loved this flapper style dress made out of shredded paper and pop tops.

There were many other items that I didn't photograph, but just let me tell you that there are so many wonderfully talented people out there.  Thanks for a great show!  Thanks Lori for organizing this special recycling exhibit.  It was truly inspiring!

 

 

Best Childhood Quilt

My favorite quilt at the 10th Anniversary Fabrics and Fabrications Quilt Show at the Southport Congregational Church last week was the dollhouse quilt by Mary Julia Skwar.

Wonderfun - 2010

This bed quilt was machine pieced and quilted, hand embroiderd and appliqued.  It was inspired and adapted from Rosalie Quinlan's pattern "It's a Dollie's Life."  I hope the view can have a little laugh looking at the "The Day the Stuffed Animals Came Alive and Decided to Have Some Whimsical Wonderfun."  It was professionally quilted by Sandy Morawsky of Sew Inspired Quilt Shop and Studio.  - Mary Julia Skwar

I love the whimsy and the mischief the stuffed animals concocted.  Let's take a closer look at each block.  Click on the photo to enlarge it and see the details.

How cute is this quilt?  I think the sock monkey (first picture) is one of myfavorites, followed by the teddy bear and the rabbit making carrot cake in the kitchen; and the bathroom scene is simply too much for words.  When did you ever think you'd see a toilet on a quilt and find it adorable?

I'm not really a quilter... but after going to this quilt show, I know I'm going to give it a try.  I'm drawn to children's/baby's quilts, so that's probably where I'll start.  It also has the added advantage of being smaller.  Do you have any patterns you might suggest for a beginner?  I really like the whimsical.

Christmas Quilts

My friend Betsy is so very talented across many crafts.  If you're her friend on Ravelry (rryan3), you know what a talented knitter she is.  But it doesn't stop there.  She sews like there's no tomorrow.  She also does the most beautiful petit-point Christmas ornaments.  But today I want to share with you her fabulous Christmas quilts that were displayed at the 10th Anniversary Fabrics and Fabrications Quilt Show last week in Southport, CT.  The pictures don't do the quilts justice since they were on the church pews.  I had to lean as best I could to get a decent picture.  

A Sampling of Santas - 2009 - by Piece o' Cake Designs

"I have always loved Santas and thought this would be fun and a challenge.  Each of the blocks were hand appliqued using scrap fabrics.  The quilt was machine pieced and quilted.  It was my first time to try the free motion quilting" - Betsy Ryan.

Once Upon a Star - 2009

"This is a McKenna Ryan pattern.  This pattern was so much fun to make and was also very challenging.  It was my second free motion quilting attempt and challenging to get the effect.  This is one of my most favorite quilts"  Betsy Ryan

These are truly spectacular quilts and I hope you enjoyed seeing them as much as I did.  Kudos to Betsy on a job well done!

 

The Quilt Show

Last week my crafty friends and I went to the 10th Annual Fabrics and Fabrications Quilt Show at the Southport Congregational Church.  It was amazing.  There were so many wonderful quilts exhibited it was hard to pick a favorite.  

There were quilts on every pew in the Church, many showcased on the altar, more in the chapel and even a special Reduce, Reuse, Recycle theme room in the Parish Hall.

I think I'll take you on a tour and let you decide which one you like best.  Please click on the pictures to enlarge them.  You'll notice that while there are many antique and traditional quilts, my eye tends to go to the young student's first quilt, or a child's t-shirt quilt, or other unusual quilts.

  

 

 

 

There you have a sampling of some of the more than 120 quilts that were so beautifully displayed.

And this is my very own quilt made for me by one of the Scout moms - Cyndy Moyer.  It's absolutely beautiful and I love looking at all the wonderful Boy Scout material - some new, some vintage.  It's such a treasure!

I have some more quilts to showcase tomorrow... but I hope you like the tour as much as I did.

Oh, and the frosting on the cake is the wonderful luncheon they serve.  My friends and I had a lovely morning viewing the quilts and topped it off with a delicious lunch with good food and good company.  Could life get any better than that?

 

 

Chickens Here, Chickens There

Chickens, Chickens Everywhere!

I just saw graylagran's Chicken Potholders on Ravelry and instantly fell in love.  I don't even crochet (much) and I just want to gobble these up.  What is it about chickens?  Why have I fallen so hard for this chicken craze?  Will it ever stop?

Unfortunately, when I went to buy the pattern, I discovered that it's out of print and now sells for anywhere between $118-$304 on Amazon.  While I like these chickens, and I'm most likely crazy, I'm not crazy enough to spend several hundred dollars on the pattern.  Thank goodness for ebay.  I found the pattern for a reasonable price and it's on its way to me.

I wonder if Michelle and Joanne will join me in this Chicken Craze Continuation...

Do Over

Thanks for all your input yesterday regarding the zipper.  I took my Ribby Cardi to my knitting group and got some expert advice.  The consensus was "Do Over"

I'm really not happy with the zipper showing.  I know it's only a matter of a few millimeters, but it bothers me.

To clinch the deal, I looked at a favorite commercially made zippered cardigan I have and looked closely at the zipper.  Look!  Not a sign of the zipper showing on this cardigan.  

That really helped me make up my mind.  I'd rather rip out the zipper which I had only basted in place and start over.  It will take me another day of work, but in the long run, I know I'll be much happier for it.

I also weighed everyone's input - both online, on Ravelry, and amongst my knitting group friends and have decided that I will hand sew the zipper in place.  

So that's where I stand.  As you're reading this, please know that I'm up to my elbows in pinning and basting this zipper.  I have faith that it will turn out perfectly!

Z-Z-Z-Zip!

We're at that part of the sweater where I am doing something I have never done before.  I've never sewn in a zipper to my handknits.  This makes me a little anxious.  After all the time spent knitting, I don't want to ruin my new sweater with a zipper that's not sewn in professionally.  

Thanks to my readers, I decided to follow the step-by-step zipper installation instructions from Claudia.

Then I checked to see if the zipper teeth were freely moving.

Finally, I basted the zipper in place using a contrasting colored thread.

Hmmmm.  This is the time to make adjustments.  It took me quite awhile to get this far, but I don't like the way I can see the zipper on the bottom of the sweater.  I guess I'll have to rip that out and adjust it.   Once that's done, I think I'll have to pluck up the courage to sew this.  

What are your thoughts about sewing zippers by hand versus machine?

Monkey Business

I just got back from my Marine Corps drill weekend.  It was fabulous.  I worked hard, learned a lot, enjoyed the camaraderie of other Marines and managed to get in a bit of exercise, too.

The best part was one of the Marines told me that he brought something that his daughter instructed him to "Show Major Knitter."

Isn't it adorable?  It's a very large crocheted monkey with the cutest hands and feet.  Of course, it even comes with its own banana.  I wish I had taken a picture of the monkey in my lap so you could get a sense of how large it is.  It's about the size of a toddler.  Isn't it adorable?  Did I mention that its creator is only 16 years old?

Congratulations Savannah on an exceptionally well done project.  Thanks so much for sending it in for the drill weekend.  I can hardly wait to see what you make next.

Bold and Beautiful

Denyse Shmidt's The Any Way You Slice It exhibit at the University of Bridgeport was so inspiring that I had to stretch out the post to two days.  Here is another snapshot of the show.

The Proverbial Quilt gives us some words of wisdom about quilting and life

WHEN WE ARE
FLAT ON OUR
BACKS THE ONLY
WAY TO LOOK IS
UP AND RELEASE
FROM YOUR CARES
TOMORROW IS
ANOTHER DAY

So you can see that the exhibit was truly inspiring in many ways. I hope you get the chance to see it in the next two weeks.  You'll be glad you did.

Any Way You Slice It

My friends and I went on a little quilting expedition today.  Specifically, we went to the University of Bridgeport's Arnold Bernhard Center Gallery to see the Quilts and Other Works by Denyse Schmidt.  

"In this exhibition, aptly title Any Way You Slice It, Denyse Schmidt shares a sampling of finished works and products made throughout her career.  The works range from one of her earliest signatures quilts Drunk Love in a Log Cabin (on loan from a collectoer) to two examples of new couture quilts from Schmidt's Hope as the Anchor of the Soul, Mount Lebanon Series."

One of her signature quilts - the Single Girl for Pottery Barn

Amazing quilts featuring Schmidt's signature bold lines and bright colors with twists on some traditional quilting themes and originality beyond what most mere mortals can even dream about.

Here's a close-up of Schmidt's What a Dish creation in red.  I think this is my favorite.  I'm drawn to the bold colors and dramatic design.  Plus I like the complexity of the quasi-concentric circles and am perplexed at the execution of such a design pattern.

Of course, this painting of a kitty on a quilt (oh look! It happens to be the aforementioned What a Dish quilt!) is the cat's meow.  

Here is one of the quilts from the Hope as the Anchor of the Soul, Mount Lebanon Series.  I like that it appears to be very simple when in fact, it is anything but...

Upon closer inspection, the multitudinous stitches of this hand-quilted creation give the simple color and lines a dazzling sophistication not first appreciated from afar.

If you can get to Bridgeport, Connecticut before the show closes on December 3rd, you'll be very happy to sit and view all the wonderful energy Denyse brings to the art of quilting.  There is more to see and you'll want to spend some time inspecting the stitches - both hand and machine quilting - and wonder about the assembly of such asymmetric lines and patterns into the rules and norms of quilting as we thought we knew it.  

You can also sit and marvel at the show of finished quilts found online (flickr perhaps?) from Denyse's fabrics and her designs.  I hope you'll make the effort to see her show.  You'll be glad you did.