Quilting on the Edge

Pioneer Land Quilt Auctioned today at LaPorte County Fair!

The auction was today for this quilt......I made the top and sent it to the Pioneer Land Quilter's to quilt over the winter.  Today it was sold at auction for $2000.....wow, that is just great news and a great donation to Pioneer Land.  Now, what quilt top will I make for next year?

LandSide Journal 9: LaPorte County Fair

Yesterday I visited the LaPorte County Fair, an annual event here as in many places.  I do different things at the fair these days compared to when I was a little kid.  Those days I remember saving my money to spend on rides and games and food.  When I was old enough I'd go with a few girlfriends and we'd spend the afternoon spending our money and laughing and having fun.   The teenage years were different....it seemed  the fair was about being seen and seeing our peers from school whom we may not have seen over the summer months. Picking the right outfit and doing the right hairdo was especially important......at that time the fair was held about a week or so before school started, so it was sort of a first look at the highschool crowd in advance of that first day of school.  Lots of buzz was generated especially in reference to who was dating whom, and we always went in the evening, never in the afternoon like we did in earlier years.  Rides were not as popular at that age, and we kept a lookout for the object of our heart's desire, our latest crush.  I skipped the fair in the early twenties and probably didn't return in earnest until I had children of my own in tow. Then we did the simple games and foods, toured the animal barns, and all went home hot and sweaty and tired, usually cranky.  That continued until the kids got old enough to go "on their own", much to their relief I'm sure.  That was preceded by taking the kids to the fair, and letting them go off by themselves for an hour or so while we waited at some central location.  More often than not we sort of kept track of them at a distance, trying to stay out of their view.  Don't know if we were successful or not.  Now I'm attending as a full fledged adult knocking on the door out of middle age, and it's familiarity is all too...........well, familiar.  I can recognize the smells, almost pinpoint the location of their origin, whatever their nature, food or otherwise.  Remember we have animals here, so by now I know what to avoid if I want to.  Our fair has a well planned Pioneer Village manned by adult volunteers in pioneer dress.......a working village, with a schoolhouse, full garden, quilting bee, blacksmith, living quarters.......the area set up for washing clothes on a washboard and using an old fashioned ringer is a HUGE HIT among the school age crowd.  They have a hugh black iron pot over a open fire pit cooking the meal for the volunteers for that day........it is really a tribute to all the volunteers who built and man this village.  I visit that area, usually have something to eat at one of the church buildings, sometimes take a walk around the ride and game area, and walk through the commercial buildings and the 4-H exhibits.  I can "do the fair" in a couple of hours at most.  It remains a tradition in the summer..........one of those time marking events that signal mid summer in the midwest.  I may not do a lot there, but I usually go back, carrying on the ritual as a part of my existence.  When I don't go to the fair, I have a vague feeling of unrest, like I should have, so why didn't I?  When I go, I return home thinking there wasn't much new, but all the same, it's another life passage that begs to be remembered each summer in Indiana.  Have you been to your County Fair this year?

Quilt Art Postcards

Yesterday I was motivated to create quilt art postcards.  At the beginning of the summer I had more than a dozen cards, but have been sending them out for friends' celebrations, so I decided it was time to replenish my supply.  This first one I call "Shoreside".  These cards have been made from parts of photos I have taken, transferred to fabric, then created into a small scene on my postcard.  All of my cards are available for purchase, just send me an email if interested.   

This quilt art postcard is called  "SeaGrass".  I take a lot of photos of seagrass when I'm in Florida........this photo was sliced into sections, and remade into this card.   Highlights with colored pencils were added.  The third card is called "Dawn".  This is from a photo of an art quilt I previously made.....part of the image of the quilt transferred to fabric was used as the basis for this postcard.  It seems like there could be a lot of potential is using photos of previously made quilts to make quilt art postcards.

Quilt Auction at Pioneer Land La Porte County Fair

 

This quilt will be auctioned at the Pioneer Land of LaPorte County Fair LaPorte Indiana on Saturday July 26th at 1:00 PM.  I made this quilt top for this occasion, it is queen size, and it was quilted over the winter by the quilters at Pioneer Land.  All proceeds go to the Pioneer Land fund, so come on out and support this worthwhile project!

Round Robin Quilt completed

I've been in a Round Robin quilt project since January, and in June we finally had all of our blocks returned.  This is a photo of all the different blocks that comprise my quilt.  Here's how it works.  I drew an image of a quilt in full scale......I cut it into six sections.  I completed one section,then sent the rest of the patterns on to the next person in the Round Robin.  She chose and completed another section, then sent it on to another person in the Round Robin, and so on until all six people completed a different section of my quilt.  This is the third round robin I've been in and it is fun because each month I received an envelope with a block to complete from another person's project.  There were six people in this Round Robin, so I made six different blocks, one a month, each one from another person's image they originally drew.  We are allowed to include requests or "rules" we would like the other people to follow when making our blocks.  In my case, I only asked they they use different values, darks and lights, in their blocks.  How do you think it came out?  I was pleased that even though the different quilters chose different color schemes for their blocks, the original design is intact and there appears to be continuity and unity in the final design.  Oh, yes, one more thing..........the completed blocks are sent along, but in a separate envelope.  We are expected not to peek at the completed blocks already done when we receive the envelope, but when we finish our block, we can then look at them and see how ours fits in with the others.  Maybe if you're a quilter you may like to try this project sometime.......it is fun to get something in the mail that is sort of a mystery!  And also fun to see how your original idea materializes.  Thanks to Raven, Val, Peggy, Wendy, and Marilyn for all your interesting work!

Landside Journal 8: Lightning Bugs

Last eve I was sitting outside on our small patio, just at dusk, and there were lots and lots of lightning bugs flying around the yard.......It made me smile as I wondered where the kids were to be catching them and placing them into jars with grass and a few holes in the jar lid.  A mayonnaise jar or pickle jar is a good size.   I did this very thing, I remember having them on the floor or windowsill next to my bed and watching them blink while I went to sleep.  My own sons did this very thing too..........I'm hopeful that other kids are doing the very same thing today. They are, aren't they?  They aren't all inside at their computers or video games? Or busy with some planned activities.  I know it's a different time, there are more fears, kids can't play around at dusk or after dark like we did, neighborhoods aren't safe anymore.......but I recall that summers after supper were the fun times to play games catch lightning bugs.  I suppose it is normal for people to think their childhood activities were the best, and expect them to be carried on into other generations.  Not always so I've learned as well.  Anyway, this is one fun activity, especially for all the video gamers......it's a real life chase, so take your kids out and show them how to catch lightning bugs!  No batteries needed.  HA!