Special Exhibit

We (the Valley Peacemakers Quilt Guild) have filled the DMI Gallery @ the library with quilts for the month of November!

A few of the quilts in our Boreal Forest exhibit
FreshofftheFrame.com

This year we are featuring a special exhibit of "Boreal Forest" themed quilts made especially for the children's area of the library. All thirteen will move to their new home at the end of the month.

Cheeky is hanging with his new crew (the Boreal Forest gang), so it's time for me to let him go.
Bye, Cheeky! I know you will be in good hands.

Cheeky, on display
FreshofftheFrame.com


My Festival of Trees donation is also hanging in the show - until it is time to hand it over to Festival organizers next week.

It's been placed where it won't leave an obvious "hole" in the show when it comes down. We generally want things to stay for the whole show, but my guild-mates made an exception in this case. (It wouldn't be so great to have a disappearing show if everything were temporary, would it!) I'm very glad to have been allowed to hang it.

Festival donation on temporary display
FreshofftheFrame.com

This is just a peek - the gallery is FULL of quilty goodness!
Admission is free, and the show is open during regular library hours for the whole month of November!

Fresh off the Frame

Flowers in the quilting complement the graphic nature of the quilt, below. Slate grey thread subtly ties the look together.

Petal Pushers Panto
FreshofftheFrame.com

Mickey seemed to call for something fun - like bubbles! White thread pops on the black areas, yet allows Mickey to remain the star of the show.


Bubbles Panto
FreshofftheFrame.com

Mickey has minky on the back - thus the "fluff" on the front! No point in cleaning it off until the quilt is bound, even for a photo. (Ask me how I know. Ha!)

Minky + Mickey = cozy fun!
FreshofftheFrame.com


In case you are wondering . . . 

This discussion comes up regularly when clients visit my studio for the first time. It is only natural to assume that a machine as advanced as my APQS is automated.

In fact, a computerized component is available, but in my case:
  • My quilting is all hand guided
  • My machine is a tool that doesn't work without me.
  • Though I strive for consistency, there will always be slight variations in my (hand guided) work. 

I don't mind.
In fact, I love the look of my "perfectly imperfect" quilting!

So now you know!

(There is nothing wrong with computerized stitching, you understand . . . it's just not my preferred way of working at the moment. If you are a computerized quilting master, please know that I respect the skill-set needed for that whole ball of wax, too!)


House Update

It still takes a fair bit of imagination to see the finish line, but I thought I'd share a couple of pictures of my future studio space anyway!

First, the door that will greet clients is facing the driveway (currently a mud bog) to make it easy for people to find me.

Future client door
FreshofftheFrame.com

A private door at the back of the studio will make it easy for me to get outside with supplies for painting, printing, and dyeing.

Future studio space, under construction
FreshofftheFrame.com


In addition to the longarm, there will be a zone for my personal sewing, and storage cabinets for the "messy stuff" mentioned above. There's also a walk-in closet at the back of the room - a great place to organize client quilts.

I'm looking forward to the efficiency of merging my sewing room and longarm studio. Much as I love my current set up, it will save many steps to have everything under the same roof!


Try, Learn, & Grow!
Carole

Comments

  1. Oh, Carole - I love how l-o-n-g your room is! Perfect for your quilting machine. And the quilts you've shared today are great. Your new home is such an exciting work in progress :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. The new space looks great, and I love reading about how other Quilters and long armers work. My APQS work is all hand guided as well.

    ReplyDelete
  3. That looks like a wonderful exhibit! Looks like a great sewing space is coming together. Have fun fixing it up!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Fabulous!!! I love that the exhibit is in a library. Who knows who might become a quilter from being introduced to it in this way :-) (so - how many of the quilts in the show are ones that you quilted? If memory serves me, you did both that can be seen in the picture w your festival quilt)
    I think the flowers panto was perfect for that quilt (although I would have picked it to continue on the flowers in the floral fabrics, and not necessarily to complement the graphicness - either way, it does the trick. But it gives me more to think about when choosing quilting...) Did she use a pattern for that, or just make it up? That quilt is a great reminder that one doesn't always have to use ALL THE FABRICS ;-)
    The quilting on the Micky quilt is perfect too! (and the backing!!) I rather like it when one can tell a human touch was used - but it'd probably be cool to watch a machine do the quilting all by itself.

    The house! squeal!! What are the dimensions of your studio? That will be soo nice. I'm intrigued by the loops of wiring at the boxes - what is the reason for that? Another difference I see is that here, all openings in a wall have a header (which admittedly seems a little overkill for a non-weight bearing wall) (not that I know how to ascertain which walls are weight bearing, and which are not, mind you ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  5. The exhibit looks great. Thanks for sharing. As always, I enjoy seeing your client's quilts and your new studio is going to be amazing!!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Wish I was closer to visit that great display, lucky library to have these hanging on their walls. Beautiful work on the quilts,I like the fact you hand guide the quilting .

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Comments make my day! Thanks so much for taking time to leave me a message.