Sisters Quilt Show

The Sisters quilt show is a one day event where over 1,000 quilts are hung on buildings around the entire town. For the first time, the main highway was closed and traffic diverted! This was a wonderful change which eliminated the noise and dodging of traffic! As always the quilts were incredible! The day started out cool but by 11am it was HOT! Here are just a few of my favorites...the penguin quilt was an award winner in the youth category. Definitely a future quilter with lots of fabric fun ahead.

As always there were wonderful vendors with lots of temptations. Two of my favorite were Denim and Silk, located in one of the shops in Sisters. They have beautiful denim jackets with silk cuffs, collars and linings. One is now at the top of my wish list for my birthday! Check out their web site at http://www.denimsilk.com/

My other favorite find was Fourth Corner Quilts from Ashland, Oregon.

Delightful old quilts without the normal outrageous prices. Looking forward to visiting the shop next time I'm in Ashland.

http://www.fcfquilts.com/

I've been enjoying a few rainy days here in Oregon. The grassfields are being mowed and the straw baled which has caused my allergies and asthma to go out of control, so I've not sewed much. I've just finished a minky baby quilt. I was using leftovers from another quilt as I hate sewing with minky since it slips all over the place. I end up pinning every seam and it still slips. Next we are off to Texas for a week with friends in the Hill country.

Sunny Summer Tokyo Quilt

HOT, HOT, HOT is what it is in Oregon this week. Warm and sunny, just like this quilt from the Jan. 2007 Tokyo show. Not sure if that is the reason for my lack of energy, or just recovering from our four days in Orange County...so much I could say or rather whine & complain about Southern California but won't... Have just been catching up on blogs and trying to make order of the chaos that occurs while we are away. Mountains of laundry, piles of mail and weeds that appear out of nowhere.

Love the black and white binding on this quilt! Enjoyed sharing with Mary's River Quilt guild all 180 photos last week. Will continue to post a few from time to time. Am looking forward to Sisters in just one week! Such a wonderful outdoor show!

Decided not to do the current Oregon Shop hop...as I am on a fabric diet...I must complete some projects and make a dent in my stash! Even managed to visit Hollyhill quilt shop in West Linn yesterday, without a purchase...of course with the batiks and Orientals under lock and key except on Saturdays, it makes it easier, since they are my weakness.

Am heading back to the tub where I am trying to take pencil marks out of a quilt that I sent out for hand quilting...that is also bleeding! Don't know what happened as all the fabrics were washed before hand1 For some reason, the dear ladies at the senior center used very dark pencil lines this time......what a nightmare...my first and probably only hand applique project!

Tokyo Dog Quilts

Equal time for dog lovers...my last posting featured a cat quilt from the 2007 Tokyo Show...here are my favorite dog quilts. The top two are part of the 80 quilts that were raffled off. Thousands of quilters donated basket blocks for the 80 raffle quilts. The blocks were then sorted and joined into basket quilts of every possible variation. Oh how I wanted to win one of the quilts...but of course I didn't! I just love the paw prints on the bottom quilt. I laugh every time I see them, as they remind me of Jesse, Joanna's new puppy who is all paws and full energy as we walk in the neighborhood.

It has been a busy summer so far, here in Oregon. Typical rain during the weekends and sunny during the week :-( At least the days are long now...still light out at 9:30 and sunrise around 5am. It is actually about 80 degrees this evening and just perfect!

This last week, I've been sorting through 750 photos from the quilt show, preparing for a slide show at Mary's River Quilt Guild on Thursday, June 28, 7pm. If you are in the area, stop by the Benton County Museum in Philomath! Oh it is so hard to whittle them down to a manageable number...

Tokyo Quilt Cats

Here's another great quilt from the 2007 Tokyo show. This one in honor of the cats of my sister Jayne and of Tanya, a new blogger friend, http://tttl1998.blogspot.com/ Both of them love cats and their cats look alike! While I like cats, my allergies keep me away from them! Speaking of allergies they are going nuts today...nothing like having grass allergies and living in the grass seed growing capital of the states! Be sure to click on the photo to see the incredible details of the yo-yo chains that connect the blocks and create the bottom details. The title of the quilt is "Love and Dream", unfortunately I can't read Japanese to tell you the name of the wonderful artist.

Summer Tokyo Quilts

The heat is here in Oregon! Finally a few warm days in the 80's. A quick weekend trip to Seattle ended with a stop at Holly Hill Quilt shop in West Linn, Oregon. This is one of my favorite Portland area shops due to the great selection and wonderful displays. If you are ever in the Portland area, don't miss this shop, just off of I-205. Be sure to ask about the sale room and the batiks upstairs. I just discovered these two rooms, that are normally open only on Saturdays.

Here is a quilt from the Tokyo 2007 show, that brings on the sunshine and smiles every time I see it. It is called "Get Aware",by Ryoko Fujimoto

More Tokyo Basket Quilts

Four more wonderful basket quilts from the Jan 2007 Tokyo show. Along with the basket challenge quilts (see previous post) there was a special show of American basket quilts along with Japanese basket quilts.

This first quilt brings back deep memories from my childhood in Indiana, where Marie Webster patterns began. I don't know exactly where the connection is to my past, perhaps it was at one of our neighbors, Vernice McLary, where I really learned to sew (as compared to Home Ec class where I learned to hate ripping out stitches), or on the bed of a childhood friend, whose mother was quite the seamstress and quilter. Oh but it is one of those wonderful warm fuzzy memories that fills me with joy! Marie's home in Marion, Indiana is now the location of the Quilters Hall of Fame http://www.quiltershalloffame.net/

The third quilt is "Baskets and Bloom" by Linda Bradley. The other two are not identified in the books from the show. Remember to double click on the photos for a better look at the wonderful details!

Tokyo Basket Quilts

Time for May Baskets! Jan's recent posting (Bemused) http://bemused.typepad.com/bemused/ ) reminded me of the 80 basket quilts made of challenge blocks at 2007 Tokyo Show. You purchased raffle tickets and dropped them in the box beside the quilt you wanted to win. Oh, how I wanted to win one! There were all kinds of basket blocks, traditional, pieced flowers, 3-D flowers, embroidery, animals, hexagons and all kinds of great creative interpretations. This is just a sample and I'll post more soon.

Yesterday, in a moment of insanity, I decided to finally redo the front planting beds at my house (8 ft x 18ft). The contractor had placed rhodies in full sun, where they were baked all summer long. So, 4 yards of potting soil and lots of new plants, the transformation has begun. The rhodies are relocated to a shady spot in the back and the front bed is being prepared for all the new plants. It is wonderful to have strong teenage boys hang out at our house. I knew there was a reason I've been feeding them! They are great dirt movers!! All of this to say...no quilting this weekend at our house. However, I am having significant withdrawls and know I need to return quickly to my sewing room!