Oldies but Goodies!

Velvets n Wools, tied with yarn. Lumpy and loved to pieces.

I did my presentation on Quilt Art/Traditional Quilt at quilt guild Wednesday evening. It was fun!
I had put together a slide show to accompany my personal trunk show. I started with my first quilt, built when I was 16 years old. I used a Kleenex box as a template, tracing around it onto the fabric. I wanted to make a copy of a family heirloom quilt my Mom had slept under as a child. She told the story of lying under the old quilt when ill, wearing out the velvet and satins with constant stroking. I wanted a 'sick quilt' of my own to hand down someday. It has covered myself and my family until it is simply frazzled! Doubleknit backed wool from that era did not hold up to washings...

Those of you that quilt have probably run into the problem of generous people that want to give you all their old fabric. "I know you are a quilter and will use these!" When my beloved Grandma Keagle dumped her fabrics from the 1950s and 60s on me, what could I say but ''Thank you''? I had to make a quilt out of it, but gave it back to her suggesting she let her grandkids use it in the yard for suntanning and such. If they got it dirty or oily, it would wash. I had made it sturdy! When I showed the quilt to my sis-in-law she inadvertently named it for me-'Vietnam' (as in war zone of the day) Grandma kept such good care of it, it is still pristine to this day...

But, you see, if you take everything offered to you, good/bad/ugly, you may be given a family treasure.  Grandma K's next offering was all of her late husband's ties. I was just 5 when Grandpa Keagle died, so I didn't really remember him, except for the loving stories my Mom told about him. He was responsible for naming me Melinda. Lindy is my nickname. So, I built a tie quilt in memory of Grandpa K. using tie tacks and lapel pins from fraternal orders, parade mementos, and high school year pins from my Mom and my late husband. I 'decorated' the blocks with the labels off the backs of the ties.

When my present husband returned from his service in Vietnam he was warned not to wear his uniform-for his own safety. I made this quilt to honor him and his love of country. Politics of the times aside, he is an honorable man.

And of course I had to show off my latest play! Thread sketching THE grandbaby!

I do so love to dye!

Saturday a friend came to play...

We tried the 'Sharpie/alcohol' thing (the top piece with the 'sun') But we were experimenting on cotton...which does not flow like the video I watched, which showed wow factor results on silk.

The only Procion Fiber Reactive dye colors I worked with were Turkey Red, Reddish Brown and Deep Navy and mere Lemon Meringue dust left in the empty baggy. Very interesting...surprises are the best part of dyeing!

One more style lily

I tried one more type of lily, a free pattern online that was meant for paper lilies. Mine, of course, is made of fabric, with free motion embroidered stems and stamens.

Never waste a perfectly good panic!

Do you have very favorite pieces of art in your home? Did you make them? Were the fabrics one-of-a-kind hand-dyes? Did they have HOURS of creation and quilting time? Were they irreplaceable, some of your best work? Were they mailed March 12, 2012 to Illinois to then be shipped onward to International Quilt Festival of Ireland 2012? And is it the very first time you have ever entered a big show? Were you ignorant of what a confirmation card means to the Post Office, and therefore to you? A confirmation card is NOT a signature of receipt card that comes back to you so you have piece of mind that your entries arrived, and that I kept checking the mail for... No, a confirmation just shows on the Postal system's delivery info, which is NOT accessible by mere patrons. When mere patrons enter the numbers online they get red letters saying something about never shipping! Do you KNOW what red letters do to a person's pulse rate?
When you email the Festival people "Have you received my entries yet?" And they say, "not yet"... I bet you wouldn't go raging down to the post office and vent, only to be graciously, above and beyond duty, dealt with by the nicest postal person. And when you find out the entry was delivered would you try the warm and friendly approach when you call Illinois? I did, and the VERY, VERY nice ladies there put me on hold a couple of short moments until they had found my name on the list of quilts received. Hallelujah! and AMEN!
So, very nice, helpful people from Malott, WA to Illinois and Caitlin in Ireland have dealt with a nearly hysterical woman in the most gracious of manners. Thank you, Ladies. I can breathe again!