Meeting Barbara Brackman

At the American Quilt Study Group seminar in Cherry Hill, NJ this September, I met a quilt historian I admire--Barbara Brackman!!!  Actually, she came up to me during the presentation of the papers and took a picture of my portfolio......and then......she blogged about it!!  Check out her blog, Barbara Brackman's Material Culture--it's cued up to the page where she has the picture of my portfolio.  (It's the second picture.)

Kind of funny--I wouldn't know a contemporary actress if I tripped on her, but became a giggly school girl in the presence of a famous quilt historian. 

Here is a picture of the portfolios I've made--the larger red one is the one Barbara noticed.

Portfolio samples for a Love Apple Quilters workshop

 The AQSG was wonderful--was so glad I was able to attend the events I did and look forward to the chance to do it again!

Secret Revealed--Almost!!

Remember in July I told you I had a special project with Quiltmaker magazine?  (If you're new to my blog, here's the link: I've Got a Secret!)  The waiting is coming to an end and all will be revealed during Quiltmaker's Back to School Party!

Seems like a perfect project for an elementary school teacher, doesn't it? 

You don't want to miss this event!  Every day there's going to be plenty of quilty fun--give-a-ways, tips, free patterns and more! 

If you win something, could you please post in the comment section?  Would love to bask in the glow of your good fortune!

I've Got A Secret!

Can't say anything more about it now, but I've been chosen to work on a special project for Quiltmaker magazine!!  I'm so excited and can't wait to share it with you!! 

So watch this space for more information and pictures in September!

Latest Quilting Endeavor

Latest quilt I quilted for a friend.....

Amazing use of color!

Each basket has different quilting.

Rick-rack adds texture and a punch of color....

She asked that I get creative--brave soul!  Quilted ferns and tendrils in the borders.

This is the kind of quilt that makes a dent in a scrap basket.

Thankfully, she seemed pleased with the end result!

Love Apples Quilt Show--March 26-27, 2011

Love Apple Quilters put on their biannual quilt show this past weekend, welcoming over a thousand visitors to view nearly 300 quilts on display made by its members!  The hard work of the Quilt Show committee, led by Mary Cahilly, produced a show far exceeding everyone's imagination.  Not only am I very proud to be a Love Apple, but am humbled to be the president of an organization filled with talented quilters.

We were thrilled to see an eager crowd fill the lobby and spill into the parking lot Saturday morning!  Some came to see the quilts, some to cheer on family members displaying quilts and some to visit one of the many vendors--regardless of the reason, everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and passed along positive comments to anyone who would listen.

One of the many vendors

Some even found a comfortable seat for a quick rest--looking at 300 quilts can be exhausting!

Junior Quilts were exhibited by new quilters aged 8 to 15 to encourage the next generation of Love Apples....

Made by a quilter age 11

Made by a quilter age 10

Here are a few of the quilts I entered:

"Acorns and Oak Leaves" made from fabrics purchased in Ireland

A mystery quilt quilted by Leanna Spanner of Anilee Creations

"Sedona Sunset"

Worked very hard on "Sedona Sunset."  My DH purchased this kit for me while we were in Sedona at Quilter's Store Sedona & Gallery in 2008.  Took me two years to get up enough courage to cut into all those gorgeous batiks.  Jill Boyd and Patty Krause are exceptional designers and the directions were very clear (with all the pieces in each block and fabric variations, it could have been a disaster!).  Not only was there built-in fabric "insurance"  in case of a cutting error, but each fabric was marked to correspond with the pattern--with all the slight color variations, those cute little stickers were a huge stress reducer! 

Some detail of the quilting

Close up of the sunburst in the center of the quilt

Spent several days quilting and finished just in time for the show!  Am thrilled all the effort paid off in the form of a "Vendor's Choice" ribbon from the Village Quilter in Mount Holly, NJ!

To date, my "Sedona Sunset" quilt is the most complicated quilt I've ever attempted and now it's time to seek out a new challenge.  As I keep looking, think I'll quilt all those tops I've accumulated and reduce my UFO pile.  (Starting to run out of walls to hang quilts and am pretty sure my DH isn't going to build another addition to the house!)

Thank you for reading to the end of my brief summary of our quilt show!  Hope you can join us next time!  If you're interested in becoming a Love Apple and share in the fun of putting on a big quilt show, check out our website, Love Apple Quilters .

October's Star

If you're ever in the mood for a Block of the Month, would like to invite you to my website, www.EwesQuilting.com !  This BOM is the third I've run for BlockBuddies, but the first I've offered on my website.  The blocks from January to October are up now and November is ready and waiting for next month.

Appreciate your feedback!

A New Place For My Patterns

My dear, sweet, long-suffering, patient and all around wonderful husband has spent the better part of this week checking website names and setting up a new place for my original patterns to live.  It still needs a bit of "finishing" (imagine sheep frolicking around a quilting frame), but for now, my first mystery quilt and Block of the Month are free at www.EwesQuilting.com .
Please go visit and sign my guestbook!  Would love to hear your feedback!

My Sewing Room--The Cleaned Up Version

Here's my little corner of the house dedicated to all my creative endeavors. About nine years ago, my sweet husband realized that my unfinished basement space was not going to allow me to do all the things I wanted to do, so he hired a handyman to put up walls, the cabinets and a custom cutting table. It was so white and bright back then, it looked like you were caught in a snowstorm. (Years later, he build me an addition to the family room to house my longarm machine, but that's a tale for another time!)

Over the years, the whiteness has been toned down by the millions of things now living in the space. Here is a photo looking into my 12 foot by 10 foot room from the girls' play/tv/computer area.

You can sort of see my design wall on the left side of the picture. My ironing board is set up underneath it so I have to get up and down frequently to keep myself moving, lest I solidify in one position. The cabinets hold mostly kits, assorted UFO's and other crafting supplies.

Looking in from the outside

This picture is taken from the other side, showing my Horn sewing table and Brother Quilt Club machine. Love the large space behind my machine!

More Elfa storage for the notions--great little bins!

Facing south, you can see that I have a modest collection of books. My stash is contained in the bins from the Container Store. Keep explaining to my DH how I really don't have that much fabric compared to most quilters I know. He has yet to believe me.

Not every color or type of fabric has its own bin....some day!

Underneath the cutting table is more storage of batting, ribbons, quilt tops and scrapbooking supplies. Don't know what I would do without my Container Store storage units! Besides, this offers a wonderful place to hide when everyone is looking for me!

Best hiding spot in the house!

Thank you for taking the five cent tour of my sewing space! If you have any suggestions on how I could improve the storage or organization, please don't hesitate to comment!

Love Apples Workshop and Contest

As the chair of LAQ's workshops, it's my responsibility to not only provide a quality "educational" experience for the membership, but a time of escape from every day routines and opportunities to build relationships.

Yesterday, I took a class with Karen Zeplin making a small table topper (Kay Woods, Fons and Porter, January 2006). Most of the project was completed before lunch, except for the little bit of handwork required to finish the edges. (Karen is such a sweetheart--she did half of my binding while I was running around!)

Here's mine:

Since we finished early, she had a surprise for us! She had made up another little block kit for us to do!

Isn't it cute?

How fortunate we are to have such dedicated teachers that go the extra mile to make their classes exceptional! Melissa Boos taught the other class, a mystery, which turned out to be an Amish Puzzle ball. She kept her class in suspense for four hours!


At lunch time, it has become a bit of a tradition for me to create a new quilt related game. Some are better than others, but yesterday's game was the most successful so far.


Here it is:

There are twenty-seven quilt patterns hidden in this picture. Can you find them? The ladies were given ten minutes and were able to find 18. Would like to have a contest for anyone who reads my blog--the first one who e-mails me at contest@njquilter.com by November 29, 2009 with the most correct block names, will win a prize! (Only the ladies that attended yesterday's workshop would not be eligible, since I gave them the answers.) So, print out the picture, search for names of quilt blocks and send your list to me no later than November 29, 2009. Enjoy!!

Working My Way Through the Rainbow, Part II

Finally the schedule allowed me to finish dyeing my rainbow! Seems a dead-line tends to inspire me the most. Tomorrow, I'll meet with the art teacher to show her what fabrics have been collected from Love Apple Quilters and dyed.

Tried for the first time dying so many fabrics at once. Thinking seven vats is pushing it a bit, so will stick to five in the future.

So, here are the colors marinating....

And here is the final result.

PFD vs. Muslin

Comparing how the different fabrics take the dye.

Even purchasing brand new gloves did not prevent me from having one blue finger....

Dare I say, I'm "dyeing" to do this again?

Working My Way Through the Rainbow--Dyeing Fabric Part I

Aside from quilting, I have another guilty pleasure--I love to dye fabric! Although I have had the girls involved in past dyeing sessions, opted to indulge myself while they were at camp. (That way meals/activities would not interfere with the process. My sweet DH could bring dinner home if he was hungry! LOL!)


Had taken a class on Quilt University with Marjie McWilliams and loved her excellent instructions and bonus lessons. With my fifth grade art project on the horizon, decided to incorporate her techniques to dye the donated muslin. While I had the dye out, seemed like a good time to add to my fat quarter collection, too.

Only have five vats, so I decided to breakdown the rainbow. Here are the first five colors in the vats resting:

The colors were so vivid!

Of course, I didn't have enough gloves to protect my hands--youngest DD operates or practices dentistry on her stuffed toys and "needs" them. My left hand was affected the most by the dyes and my sweet DH commented on "catching my red-handed"--groan!

Here are the final products:

Yardage for the fifth grade art festival project.

Fat quarters for my collection.

Very pleased with how the fabrics took the color and look forward to my next session! Will go shopping for more gloves before then so that my hands aren't "bluetiful."

New Endeavor

Seems that quilting takes a back seat to all the holiday preparations that happen between Halloween and New Year's Day. (Eight family birthdays from September to November don't help, either!) Getting in the last bit of quilting before my frame has to come down for the snow village that only fits in that space.

Was asked by one of our fellow church members to quilt a quilt for our former pastor. Since all that was required was a simple meander, didn't think it would be too difficult to quilt, then found out it was 104 inches by 94 inches! Measured my frame, and in theory, it should fit just fine. Turned out that it was more a challenge than I originally thought, getting the tension clamps in the right place and the carriage all the way to the end to quilt the borders. With a little patience, I was able to get the whole quilt done, even with the machine acting up the last 18 inches. Guess "Jaws" (my Brother 1500s) is just as tempermental as I am after quilting for five or so hours.

Now I should be finishing up a few more of my own projects before the season gets too busy, but I don't have any deadlines looming. Just enjoy the process too much to rush it.