Quilts for Philanthropy 02-15-25

 One activity that is quite common to quilt guilds across the country is making quilts to give away to people in need anywhere in the world.  Surfside Quilters Guild's about 100 members create four or five hundred quilts each year that are distributed to various organizations.  Colorful cotton pillowcases are also produced and given to children's hospitals, Meals-on-Wheels, veterans organizations, and others.  Here is a selection from those many donations showing the variety of designs selected. Some are made from orphan blocks, some are incompleted projects donated to the Philanthropic groups, some are purposely made by one maker and others by friendship groups or just friends.  I am constantly amazed by the variety of pattern and the generosity of the makers.

A special "I Spy" quilt with a different motif in every block.

This is a quilt displayed at Road to California that I think would be a good pattern to  make for a Philanthropy  quilt  -  very scrappy.

I am feeling much better tonight.   KoKo walked me around the loop this morning, about 2000 steps, a bit less  than a mile.  I was tired, but not exhausted as I feared.   Tomorrow we may try for the park. The sunshine feels so good and with the rain we had this last  week everything is greening up, flowers are blooming.

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Philanthropy Quilts 05-14-24

The largest continuing project of Surfside Quilters Guild is philanthropy quilts for various non-profit entities  in Orange County.  At our meetings we have a parade with members holding up donated quilts and walking around the room. I am always amazed at the number and quality of the quilts.  Some are made at home by  members and some are created in the monthly Philanthropy meetings. Some are elaborate, some are very basic.  Some are donated as a stack of blocks, some are "flimsies" (finished tops that need backing, batting, quilting, and binding).  All are examples of the giving  natures of quilters  everywhere.  These are the donations presented at today's Guild meeting. 

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Teacher/Student Quilts at Empty Spools 2024 05-02-24

 One evening after class there is an opportunity to "go walk about" and visit all of the class rooms.  A way to see what others have created and possibly find a teacher/class to take in the future.  I only managed to visit three classes. 

Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg

A textile portrait by Sandra Bruce

Yayoi Kusama

A textile portrait by Sandra Bruce

                                                           www.sandrabruce.com

Pieced quilt in room of Priscilla Bianchi.

I believe this  is by Priscilla. 

Student work in Priscilla Bianchi classroom.

https://priscillabiancni.net

Student work in Kathy Doughty classroom.

https://www.materialobsession.com.au

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Raindrops and Red & White Quilt 01-04-22

Our first rain storms have moved on after giving us about 6", but more than that in snow on our local San Gabriel/San Bernardino Mountains.   The average rain fall in Orange County over the last 100+ years is about 14".  So, we continue to do our rain dances and conserve what water we can.  

Succulents grow well with little water, but they seem to really perk up in a good rain. 

Raindrops on grey/green.

This is a full image of the red/white quilt I purchased at the Surfside Quilt Guild live auction in November.  I just showed a corner here the other day.  It was pieced by Sue Butsko and quilted by Cathie Opila and is 42"W X 48"L.  I have it hanging in the family room as my sole Christmas decoration.  Except for the wreath on the door that I think I put up just for the mail guy.   I know that Sue went into her fabric library to find all the red/white fabrics and I recognize most of them from what is in my own fabric library, some from several decades ago.  

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More rain? 01-25-21

The weather guys predicted 100% chance of rain, but we didn't have any today.  Lots of clouds, brisk wind, and only 54F.  Not many days since it was 92F!!   

Looking west from our front porch just after sunset tonight.   Those are clouds just above the houses and trees.  And twenty miles from here to the Pacific Ocean.

 

A couple days ago I posted about a virtual quilt show that includes a couple of my quilts.  Today I was notified that my quilt "Cactus Flower" won 2nd place and I will receive a $200 gift card.  I was surprised because I hadn't paid attention to the fact that there were prizes!   This is one of my favorite quilts I have made, so it is nice to know that others like it.  You can check out the exhibit and see the other two winners at https://galleryq.org/featured-art-works/

The first prize winner is Meg Monahan's "Queen's Cross".  "Convolutions" by Carol Nilsen is the third place winner.   

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New quilts for TCQC 04-23-20

Several years ago my friend Andrea Bacal of San Diego asked me to send her some pictures taken from above of a few of my hats.  She needed some inspiration for a Challenge called "From Above".  She chose three of the pictures and made three 12X12 quilts and submitted the one on the right for the Challenge.  I bought it and told her I would buy the other two also.  She got busy and they disappeared into her WIP and she just couldn't find them.  Then came the great clearing out of her sewing space and VOILA there were the other two quilts.  She gifted them to me and I have them up on my "feature" wall to admire every day.  I am so impressed with her work and the amazingly expressive quilting designs she used.  

This is a straw hat with silk flowers on the band.

This is one of my oldest hats made of fabric and constructed in a coil and a black & white band.  

Another straw - a Sunday Go To Meeting hat. 

And here are the original pictures she used for inspiration. I think she did an amazing job - the quilts are beautiful.  

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In an April long ago 04-18-20

Looking back in my picture files again.  Just typed in "April" and found a few quilt images. 

This is from April 2005 in a class at Empty Spools with Sylvia Einstein.  Sylvia did wonderful wedding ring pattern quilts and had us use the same templates with original settings.   I think I called mine "Green Trails".  It has yet to be quilted.

This picture is from April 2003 when this quilt hung in a big show in Pennsylvania.  It is a group quilt with blocks made by friends of Judy House who subsequently died of cancer.  It started out as just a few blocks from Empty Spools friends and spread to her friends all over the country.  Unfortunately we didn't put any dimensions on the request for blocks so there was no uniformity.  It took me forever to put it together and I had to make some small blocks as fillers.  I still get a kick out of the chicken in the lower right with a block of three eggs right below it.  Looks startled!  After her death the family donated the quilt to a children's hospital or clinic in the Washington DC area.  Might have been Walter Reed.  As difficult as it was to put together I think it is the most fun quilt I have ever worked on.  

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Home from San Juan Bautista 02-01-20

Since I need to stop every two hours and the traffic on the 210 Fwy east from Pasadena was horrendous, it was about a six and half hour drive.  Some years ago it was less than five.  Where did all these people come from and why are they clogging the highways on a Saturday afternoon?  It is a puzzlement, eh? 

But most of the drive was very pleasant with little truck traffic and not a lot of those drivers who have to always be in FRONT of everyone else.  The rolling hills were lush green, the sky was mostly blue, and it was in the 70s wherever I stopped.  No blooming trees, no wild flowers yet. 

But in two weeks and four days when I do this drive again Spring may have arrived.  I will be taking quilts up to Back Porch Fabrics in Pacific Grove to fill the classroom walls during this year's weeks of Empty Spools at Asilomar.  I will talk more about this toward the end of February and post some pictures.  I hope you can plan a visit to Back Porch during March and April.  I will be up there in March for a class with Sue Benner in Session III.

Going over Pacheco Pass on CA152 near Casa de Fruita.

Perfect back view of a tree!

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Interesting quilt story 12-16-19

You may have seen this item somewhere on the web.  It is a touching story about a UFO that has become a very large group project.  Lovely. 

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/surprising-complexity-unfinished-american-quilt

https://abc7chicago.com/hobbies/chicago-activist-organizes-global-quilting-project-through-ritasquilt/5744327/

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More discoveries 11-23-19

You know when you have something to do that doesn't excite you very much so you find a zillion other things to do instead?  I do a lot of that in my life and blame it on old age.  Today I was looking for something in the garage and noticed a box sitting on a shelf, sort of behind other things. 

When I thought about it I remembered that it was part of a donation from a lady who was moving and had to downsize her fabric library.   The yardage and a bunch of other stuff went to philanthropy projects, but I saved the triangles so I could "whip up" a quilt to donate.  And I never did.  The fabrics come from the 90s when I was still trying to get my life in some sort of order after my husband died in 1990.

Today I laid out the triangles to see what I have, some piles are just one of a fabric and some are 18 -20.  Only a half dozen reds which are badly needed to cheer things up.  I went through my scraps, but all the reds are bright cherry or tomato.  So, I got out my oldest box of reds to find something from the 1990s, sort of cranberry, I guess. 

If you have been quilting for 30 years or so, you will recognize some of these fabrics.  Quite a few from Jenny Beyer and, from the feel, some from JoAnn.  No green or brown!

I'll cut some triangles from these to mix in with what I have and sit down to sew them together two by two.  Since I didn't pick any colors except the reds I wonder what it will look like sewn together.  Might have to do some sashing or something. Another WIP.  

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Still practicing my sewing skills 09-25-19

I'm not sure where these blocks came from, although I think I may have sewed them together.  I do recognize many of the fabrics.  But I had a group of ladies that met at my house once a month for quite a few years.  We called it QFO or Quilts for Others and we made quilts to donate to Ronald McDonald House and other places that could put them in the hands of those who needed them.  I did almost all the cutting and "kitting" so maybe some of the other ladies sewed these blocks.  

They have to be twenty years old and have been hiding in a drawer, waiting for me to do something with them.  Now that they have come up for air, I am cutting 2" red sashing strips which go with the red square in the middle of each block.  I haven't figured out how many I need, but a LOT.  Eventually I will sit down and do a diagram and figure it all out.  But at least I am doing SOMETHING. 

25 patch blocks with red centers.

A stack of 2" red strips for sashing. 

Thank you to Sharon, Cheryl, Beth, Anne, Loretta, Heidi, and Mary Ann for posting a comment.  It really helps me keep going.  Del

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Looking at quilts 08-19-19

Brenda Gael Smith of Australia posted this album of winners at the Australian Modern Quilt Show:

https://www.modernquilters.com.au/show-winners-2019/?fbclid=IwAR2AMCbpsiRt8pR8JS0bHejY32ZTi_lCrsV_RzYqwdzK4FI1oCo84_qiLKs

Luana Rubin has posted a commentary on what is new and upcoming in quilts.  If you have an hour the quilts are interesting and the dialog is in both English and French:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIeVaTY1bSM&list=PLZgAQ0EdcSXinq8actFasXR7HAN3t6Tsn

Luana Rubin has also posted pictures from several 2019 international quilt shows.  Check out her Flicker pages at:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/luanarubin/albums0
She hasn't finished the pictures from Birmingham 2019 - soon!

I have pictures that I took at the Quilt Museum in La Conner, WA, but I haven't edited them. 

This was Mabel's favorite, a very striking image.  

And this was mine.  I'm bothered that the zippers were not mentioned in the materials used, they are such a major part of the design.

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