A Brand New Year, All Ready for Living

Oh I am as excited as a kid in a candy store;  

Today, on the Eve of a brand new year (2017 Oh My Gosh), I have brought out an old friend to play:

Aged Beauty (2014)

She is a lovely girl, isn't she?  This is one of the first wholecloth quilts I made using vintage linen, and I love her very much.  But she is , well, as they say, "distressed".  She has some wrinkled, some love handles, some frayed edges, just like the rest of us.  She doesn't go out much, to shows or other events.  But she is just a lovely lovely lady.  Would you like to see a couple of closeups?  Well, here you go..

 

 

I have had the most marvelous year in quilting that I have ever had, without a doubt.  My two loves, linen quilting and charity quilting, kept me more than busy.  I was so pleased to send over 30 quilts to Quilts Beyond Borders;  and to make a special Christmas quilt for my nice, Kelly.  My quilt 'Annabelle's Wedding Feast" won a big prize at the Pennsylvania National Quilt Extravaganza and is already scheduled to be judged at the Road to California, and the Daytona AQS Show.  And a newbie piece, in shadow trapunto, is , I hope, going to a national show for the first time... 

 

I joined the board of the Northern California Quilt Council, a great group - I look forward to working with them. And I joined SAQA, the Studio Art Quilt Association, or something similar to that title -  a fabulous organization that is going to open new doors. 

 

But most of all, I will create.  I have several very nice linen quilts in progress;  and I have ideas for moving linen into some more contemporary artistic treatments.

 

 

So - a GREAT year -  and 2017 is only going to be more fun...

 

 

I will close with what has become an annual NYE tradition:  a photo of the Empty Spools from the past year:

Empty Spools, 2016



 



Happy New Year to You all.  I'll be ordering more thread tomorrow.

Kate

New Experiences

Hello everyone -  I've had two really fun new experiences lately...

On Saturday last week I went to Featherweight maintenance class.....  fun, fun.  A whole room full of adorable little cuties - mostly black, one white, and one painted red.....

We learned a little bit of history, a little bit of maintenance, learned where to grease and where to oil -  and then I got a NEW foot pedal - no more little button to push with your toe or the side of your foot - a regular, "clamshell" pedal...... hooray.

And I meant to get an LED light, and then forgot - boohoo, another day.

My Featherweight came to me about 6 years ago, and has sat ever since, so it was very happy to have some attention !  


then today - I had some of my quilts appraised... four of my show quilts, that travel so much.  It was time and overdue to get them appraised.

My appraiser was Nancy Bavor, of quiltworth.com.  She was terrific - did a fabulous, professional appraisal, and then gave me a printed form for each quilt.

I was very humbled at the values she put on my quilts - I told DH to drive home very carefully !

Seriously, it reminded me to value the artistry in my quilts - and not to sell myself short...

THAT IS A LESSON FOR US ALL !!!

Go , right now, and look at one of your quilts, and repeat after me:  THIS IS A VALUABLE PIECE OF ART AND QUILTING !   Then do it again.  Then pat yourself on the back !

hooray for us quilters..........

Kate