Quilt Time in Preston

Louise and Cheryl came to visit yesterday - This quilt of Cheryl's was the most exciting quilt we shared.  Family visits occur less often as the years go by, but we appreciate all of the family get-togethers that we can manage.

Memories of a Very Good Family Day

I am doing the mammoth job of sorting through boxes of pictures that have never been put into an album (old way), or scanned and put on a disk or hard drive.  I came across the batch of pictures that I printed off from some prints that Dwight sent to me - I think that Jim took them.  Of course, they are only on regular paper, and the quality is terrible.  (Don't even try to enlarge these.  I couldn't alter them enough to make them acceptable.)  However, I am showing these two, because they are representative of the wonderful pictures that were taken on this day to honor Dwight.  (By the way, who was standing up on the table to help hold the memory quilt up high?)  Anyway, just for the record, my files are vey absent as far as good pictures from this day.  Louise has already offered me a copy of some of hers - anyone else?  I think that I took some, but my old camera didn't allow light in the right places, and they were pretty much duds.  What a good day this was for our family.   We were missing Steve, but for those who came to Orem and were a part of this, we won't forget about Dwight's retirement and our honoring him.  (The quilt was special to Louise, Cheryl, and myself.  Louise planned it, I found the pattern and altered it, we all sewed, and then quilted it at my house in Preston.  What a fun summer.)

Venetian Tiles - A Quilt for Bethany

I finished Bethany's quilt top (graduation gift) - just have the back to make, and get it quilted, labeled, and bound, and I'm through. I am sure I can finish this one by June. This pattern looks very complicated, but is really easy, using a technique and ruler called the X Block. It is made by cutting three strips of the light batik, and sewing them together, and three strips of the bright colors (Kafe Fassett fabrics, in case you wondered), and sewing them together. Then, using the special rulers, you cut and sew everything back together. I truly marvel at the creativity of quilters as they create new patterns, techniques, and tools for the rest of us to putter around with. This quilt will probably remain one of my favorites. The graphic aspects just reach out and grab you when you stand in front of it!

The Utah Quilt Guild Show in Layton

A rose by Louise's front door
I cheerfully went to the Utah Guild Quilt Show with my sisters in Layton, which was a better proposition from Ann than a 4 sq. ft. garden, for which Liz was the only one who "bit", but I did draw the line when the words "fabric store" were uttered. Quilts were amazing. Most of them are on Facebook, so you need to go there to see them. If you're not on Facebook, let Ann, Louise, Judy, or me know, and you will be invited to be a "friend." Sorry I did not get photos of Liz's quilts. Just far, far, far easier to post 58 photos on Facebook than piddle around all day waiting for Blogspot photos to dither and then finally post.
P.S. Judy announced several months ago she was consolidating the labels for Penrose Mornings so we would not have 2,000 of them?

My Jackson Hole Quilt

Judy suggested that I put a picture of my newest quilt on our family blog, too, so that it can be enlarged. I hestitate to do this, because you will see the flaws - maybe? If you do, I don't want to hear about it. This quilt was great fun to make. It is a combination of the diamond background, with raw-edge applique applied on top. I had to manufacture the fence from the wrong side of a gray fabric, and used pen and ink to do the shading. There is some pastel crayon work on the mountains and a few other places. I marvel at the fabrics that one has to choose from when making a quilt like this.