Old Man River Quilt Show 2016

Yesterday, a few of my quilt guild ladies and I went on a day trip to see the Old Man River Quilt Fest.

 The drive from Columbus to Vicksburg is about a 3.5 hour drive. Despite the downpour we encountered on our way home, I am really pleased how the day went.

There was a special showing of "The Supper" quilt. We met quilt maker Don Locke, DDS of Waxahachie, TX. His quilt was inspired by Leonardo DaVinci's "The Last Supper."

I believe I heard he pieced all 51,816 half-inch squares on a Featherweight. And took about two years. It measures 183" x 67".

"The Supper" was machine quilted by Linda Taylor of Melissa, TX on a long arm. The quilting cleverly adds the finer details-- eyes, hair, fingers,,, even fingernails!!! You can go to Mr. Don Locke's website to see more closeup pictures of "The Supper".

Then we looked at the entries. It took 2 hours to walk through. We tried to look at every one. It was incredible, so much talent!! Here are SOME of the quilts that caught my attention.

"O'My Feathers" by Diane Holden of Vicksburg MS

Hand appliquéd and hand quilted. Ruching on the flowers and rhinestones in the circle were beautiful embellishments.

"Scarlet's Daughter" by Polly Thomasson of Summit, MS.

"Hand quilt/machine piece" by Jimmie Carol Pete of Slides, MS.

"Home Sweet Home" by Isabel Adams of Vicksburg, MS.
Lyrics from a favorite song sewn into the border!

"Squiggles and Spirals" by Diane S. Hire of North Port, ME.

Touched my whimsical heart.

"Mad Men" by Teresa Pino
Of Herndon, MS

"Orange- Sherbet by Isabel Adams of Vicksburg, MS.
It reminds me a bit of the top I'm working on right now "Audaciously Scrappy"

"Pennsylvania Stars" by Barbara Deeper of Shreveport, MS
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Some of the quilts I shared won ribbons. I didn't keep track of that info. They all deserve recognition imo :). You can see a Winner's list on the Old Man River Quiltfest 2016 website.

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Quilt of one of the vendors - By the Inch.

Quilt of one of the vendors  - By the Inch. I purchased the acrylic templates for this block.

Perfect Timing... Productive Summer...

I did get a few projects done this summer. All were UFO's (UnFinished Objects).

The first was an crocheted baby afghan in lavenders, pinks, and light green. It was hand carried by my Heart and Sweetling all the way to England to his cousin that's expecting her second child. Why I don't have a picture of this project, I don't know. It was crocheted in granny square style, one square that kept growing and growing. I didn't use a pattern, but added texture and color as I pleased. 

I had actually started that afghan when she was expecting the first baby. Found out it was going to be a boy, so I tried adding blue embellishing stitches over the top. Lol, but to my dismay, it wasn't looking more boy than girl. (And before anyone tells me anything, I am aware that it's no longer PC to assign specific colors to either gender. But I do, sometimes *shrug*. And, lucky for me, she decided to have a baby girl two years later 😋.)

Anyway, I was saved when the expecting mom requested a specific baby quilt quilt for her first child...

Best picture I have of the quilt, but adorable baby easily outshines it ❤. I hope momma doesn't mind me posting this pic!)

She had seen it on Pinterest and I knew exactly the one she was talking about. Heres a screen shot of my pin 😃. Pinterest pin link. It's a simple idea and I was quite pleased with the results...

Not my quilt. Pinterest Pin

So, the Lavender Afghan was first UFO finished this summer. And then this multi-color knit baby afghan was finished with a flannel backing and given to my nephew and his girlfriend. They were also expecting a girl. The story about this blanket is that it was originally intended for charity years ago. I was using up leftover yarns and testing out a new stitch. But as it grew, I fell in love with it and just couldn't bear giving it away to an unknown person. Even when I found out an aquaintance was expecting, but I still find Icouldn't part with it. 

Fast forward to this summer, when I got the invitation to the baby shower, this magically surfaced from the piles in my sewing room and I knew with out any reservation it belonged to my soon-to-arrive grand-niece. 

Sewing the backing on with threads and needles given to me from my aunt in TX.

During my visit to Colorado my sister put me to work making lacy hairbows. She was in charge of making the centerpieces for each table at the baby shower. She accessorized Teddy Bears with the bows to make them "girls". I thought it was very cute idea. 

The next UFO was the first quilt I stitched using a friend's long arm machine. What a rush that was to have a top all quilted up in just ONE day when it would otherwise take months to hand-quilt!

I trimmed the edges and laid it out on my bed... And I knew I would never use it. It was too busy. So, it was folded up without a binding and put into storage for a couple of years.

I came across it again looking for something else. I figured "it just needs binding, it'll be another finished item." And put it in the back of my car where it stayed without another thought... And went with me on my summer trip...

The first stop was visiting my Aunt in TX. She had made up her room for me. and had two beautiful vintage quilts on the bed. As I was packing my car to head to CO, I spotted my quilt and thought to show it to her.

I tell you!! The moment she saw it, it became beautiful. Lol, I'd swear it began to sparkle and dance in front of my eyes. And so i spontaneously gifted it to her. I think she cried.

I took it home and attached the binding. As fate would have it, my third trip this summer was back to her house for the funeral of her husband. I was grateful for my attachment to this quilt because i felt like I was able to leave a tangible piece of my heart with her for whenever she needed comfort. (Rest in peace, Kenny. Love you Aunty)

I love binding mitered corners 😊

And lastly, even though it's not a UFO, I'm going to mention that I entered my magnolia quilt into the quilt show in Hattiesburg next month! I don't expect any ribbons but I had to see it displayed at least one more time.

Pieced and parts..

Yesterday I emerged from my sewing room. My Heart asks me, "so what have you been up to?"

I say, "I just made 48 half square triangles for my quilt top."

He looks impressed.

I'm thinking 48 HSTs (half square triangle) does sound more impressive than the 8 pieced blocks they will make. And 8 pieced blocks is definitely not that impressive when the top requires 90 to be made! Lol. It's really just a fun little numbers game I play in my head :)...

Actually, almost half of the blocks are pieced now and on the design board. My sewing room has a warm light and I can't seem to get a good representation using my phone camera. But I am so pleased with the way the scrappy is coming together. I am still considering replacing the light green squares..

So as I'm looking at it last night. I am tickled at my niece's comment in FB that she likes it because it's "messy" looking. LOL, tickled because that's exactly what I wanted! The addition of scrappies is Audacious! (Definition #3: recklessly bold in defiance to convention..) It reminds me of the free-spirit gypsy dancers with all their colors and pride and unapologetic love for life. And I think, "I'll title it The Audacious Gypsy". (Also, keeping in mind who might receive this when it's finished IF I can part with it. I really should keep some of my quilts for myself! 😋)

But did you know, where most of us think gypsy = happy free-spirit, it's a term that has been tainted by use as a racial slur or used as indication that an individual uses shifty business practices? Wikipedia's definition of gypsy.

A few years ago, I read a fashion article written by a Romani gypsy. I remember the flavor of the article was filled with indignation that Americans have trivialized "Gypsies" to a costume of tambourines, peasant shirts, big colorful skirts, and more often than not, barefoot.
(Edit: lol, my Heart said, " ya, it was a big thing when I was little. When us kids misbehaved, it was either "we must have bought you from the gypsies" or it was "I'm gonna sell you to the gypsies." !!! )
Aww.. I was heart-broken! I love my definition of gypsy = free-spirt, happy, rhythmic, lively, and untethered... Part of my soul is all of these things! What other single word can capture all these attributes of MY beloved carefree-inner-wild-child-self so well? But, alas, I haven't been able to find such a word...

I must have pushed all these thoughts to the back of my brain. Today, when I mentioned my idea for naming the quilt, my daughter timidly tells me, "but mom. Gypsy is a slur. It's kind of an insult." She and I discussed it for a few minutes. OhMyWord, how did this 14 year old child become so aware of so many things?!?

And so, the part of me that is PC conscience and the mom part that wants her to learn that her voice can make a difference no matter what her age... These parts are renaming my quilt...
And you know what??... "Audaciously Scrappy" seems even more appropriate for this piecework 😊.