More Quilts from Chicago

I love trees so any quilt that has interesting trees always catches my attention. I love this weepy willow.

This quilt by Betty Busby used hand dyed fabrics in a wonderful way to define the rocks.

They are batiked, bleach discharged, and then overdyed. Still tedious, but not as bad as strip piecing.

I meet Sheri Cooper several years ago when she took my classes in Sarasota FL. She really didn’t need them! I love her work. It is so silly.

Interesting portrait of Jack in the Pulpit, one of my favorite woodland plants.

I’ll start posting some pictures from Paducah soon.

Just a few more quilts I liked at the Chicago Show

I love the vine running on the top of this quilt.

This picture just doesn’t do this quilt justice. The colors are rich and warm.

I was intrigued by the perspective of this quilt.

What a fun quilt!

 

I have a quilt titled “Dancing Trees” and it looks nothing like this. It is so fun to see what people come up for their designs.

I wish there was a better way to get the pictures without the tape in the way. Enjoy

Home at last

I have had a very busy two weeks and I am home at last for the next couple of weeks. I start traveling again mid May and will be busy teaching and lecturing May thru the end of June.

I want to share some of the pictures I have been taking while at the two quilt shows. I just take pictures of quilts that attract my interest. There is no rhythm  or reason, just

attraction. I hope you

enjoy seeing them. This is one of the little quilts I sold in Chicago. “Jack II”. I am very pleased to have sold it, but I just finished it the day before it sold!

Here are some of the quilts from the Chicago show that caught my attention.

 

  

 

I will be busy cleaning my studio today and mailing out orders.

Chicago IQA 2009

By the end of every show Laura and I are pretty loopy. Laura was asked to "judge" the prom night at Quilt University and she needed head gear. So this is what she came up with. We look like Ethel and Lucy, but we had fun. And if you ain't having fun, don't do it!!

Off to Paducah

I'm off to the AQS show in Paducah this morning. I got a good nights sleep in my own bed after a very successful IQA quilt show in Chicago. Go quilters!! I always love the show in Paducha because as you can see from last year everything is blooming down there in KY, while up here in IL we might still get one last snow!!

Miss Laura Loo will not be with me in Paducah this year, she has to go teach the New Englander's how to fuse, Press on Chicago Fuse, and speak correct English without dropping their r's. Boo Hoo for me, ya for Boston.

But Anne Lullie will be in the booth with all her enthusiasm, quilts, patterns and fabric. So stop by and see us in booth 1907 on the main convention floor. See you in Paducah!

Chicago Rosemont show

The International Quilt show at the

Donald E. Stephens Convention Center
5555 N. River Rd.
Rosemont, Illinois 60018

Hours:
April 16 (Preview Night), 5-9 p.m.
April 17 & 18: 10 a.m.-7 p.m.
April 19: 10 a.m.-3 p.m.

was off to a good start. We saw lots of friends and former students at the show. Maggie Weiss is teaching as are Judy Coates Perez and Wendy Butler Berns, all fabulous classes. We saw the Indiana gals, and friends from Minnesota and Madison WI. It is like old home week. It makes it so much fun to do the show and see friends. I even sang. This is not always a good thing, but if I am singing with someone else, they can't hear how off tune I am. Bonnie McCaffrey came by and filmed us singing "I'm proud to be a Fuser". Check it out at the IQA site.

I was especially happy to find new homes for these two quilts. Thank you ladies for supporting the arts!

Chicago IQA show

Laura and I will again be at the IQA show selling our wares. Please stop by the booth and see some new color gradations and geta Chicago School of Fusing Tattoo with your purchase. Booth 1425. See you there.

Laughing Leaves

Laughing Leaves is one of my classes itstarted out as Organic Leaves but I had to change the name to get people interested in it. Funny how that works. I recently received a question from a former student about the project and thought I would share it with you.

Hi, Frieda.

I took a class from you in Nov. 07 at the Schaumburg quilt festival. I made a lovely fused arrangement of leaves, which unfortunately festered in UFO status until this morning. Today I resurrected it and fused it to a piece of batting (was that the next step?) and I'm trying to figure out how I'm supposed to quilt it.

I looked at your website and gallery -- beautiful quilts! Unfortunately, I couldn't see close enough to figure out what you'd done with the unfinished edges of the leaves and stems. Could you remind me? Am I supposed to satin stitch the sides of the stems and various leaves? Or stitch around all these edges with monofiliment?

I'm a longarmer, so once I've got the leaves done, and perhaps the edges of the "divider strips" I can figure out what to do with the background, but I'm most concerned about the leaves. Any suggestions would be very much appreciated.

Regards,

Carla

ANSWER;
Dear Carla,
Congratulations on moving on with your UFO's!!!
I don't stain stitch any of my edges, I think of these pieces as art pieces that will be displayed on a wall and the fusing is stable enough not to need to be satin stitched. I do a straight stitch down the center of the stems, or outlined, stitched in the ditch around the stems. I didn't finish any of the leave edges as they are all made with decorative blades. I did stitch in the ditch in-between all the "blocks" and added in some fun free motion quilting where I thought it would be good. Laura and I will be at the Chicago show in the Art Fabrik booth 1495, I think, please stop by and bring the quilt if you get it finished.
Fondly
Frieda

Gretchen's wedding

The reason I hadn't blogged for awhile is that my sister's daughter Gretchen got married in beautiful sunny Miami. The whole family was together again only this time in the sun and warmth of Miami beach. My niece works for a big hotel company and all the festivities were at that hotel which is right on Miami beach. This is just one of the four pools on the property.

We had the bride's pre-party at a great restaurant in south Miami. My niece, my sister, my mom and me.

The other newly weds, really enjoyed the sun and fun. They had a little mini pre honeymoon!

My sister, my niece and her dad. What a beautiful Princess. We had a great time and even got a tan. It was of course hard to return home to Chicago and the snow.