a quilty Saturday, and I didn't even sew

But the day was devoted to quilting!

I started Saturday morning attending the quarterly meeting of the Carolina Longarm Association, which was held at Sewingly Yours. This was our Machine Quilting Bee meeting for this month and it was so informative.

Next, I traveled to deliver all my mini-quilts. They are going to be on display and offered for sale at Statesville's Downtown Art Crawl, this coming Friday, April 19 as part of Taproot Artisans. I met Janet (from Taproot), at a Barn Quilt workshop. There were 4 people there, painting their own barn quilts! If you want a barn quilt of your own, contact Taproot, they can help you! They also lead barn quilt tours through Iredell County.

Brand-new barn quilts, just born!

Then on my way back home, I stopped by Carolina Quilt Market, where I am teaching on May 4. What an amazing place! Jean sells quilts on consignment, as well as holding classes.
Quilts were everywhere, sorted by size and theme.

There is a great group of Christmas quilts and wall hangings, as well as an amazing group of vintage quilts, at great prices. She also had a large selection of handbags, as well as quilt books and some fabrics she was selling from the estate of a quilter.

There will be sewing tomorrow, but this was a day filled with inspiration.

What a week!

I taught FMQ at Papanana today and had a class full of WONDERFUL students! If you are ever having a bad day, or the news of the world gets you down, I recommend going into a quilt shop.
To quote my mother, my face hurts from smiling! My next FMQ class is April 27 at Sewingly Yours, and I am looking forward to just as much fun, sharing my passion.

Here are the balance of the mini quilts I finished this week:

 Sweet Spring Table Runner 20" by 30"

 Basket Block wall quilt 20" square

Close up to show the straight line FMQ on the setting triangles. I love how this turned out!

Wall quilt featuring Flea Market Fancy and Grand Hotel fabrics

20" by 20"

There is another quilted, but not yet bound. Maybe tomorrow!

These quilts will be for sell by Taproot Artisans in Harmony, NC. The hubs and I were out that way about a month ago and stopped in to see what was in there. The shop is in an old mercantile shop with large grahic barn quilts hanging outside. As we looked around, the proprietress, Janet and I were talking. She asked about my quilts, I showed her the blog, and she invited me to produce some work to sell. Why not? I adore making these little quilts. They go fast and allow me try different things.

Taproot offers classes in painting your own barn quilt (in a variety of sizes) as well as doing barn quilt tours in Iredell County, so it seems a natural fit. I hope they sell!

little projects

2 cute quilts.

Churn Dash 14.5" square

A mix of patterns.

 

An 8-pointed star, 12" square.

Kona Snow and Kaffe prints.

I have been invited to place some small quilts into  craft shop in Iredell County, so I have been working on these and several others. The shop owner gives barn quilt tours and sells barn quilts so she asked for traditional quilt blocks. I am having a lot of fun making these!

new barn quilt sighting!

These little things that make me smile! A new barn quilt on my rural commute!

This is on Hwy 67 between East Bend and Boonville (NC).

This makes 3! The others are here and here.

A new barn quilt

On my commute through rural North Carolina, the spring shows such beauty. Nature is waking up, new green crops, redbud trees, daffodils. And this week, a new barn quilt!

Why quilts, as art, in public spaces

Reasons other than raw beauty!

Dr. Layne McDaniels' quilts in Faculty Office at Appalachian State University

Art in public spaces always seems to generate comment. The very notion of the spaces being intended for general public use means the art needs to appeal to a variety of people and tastes.

Student Union, Appalachian State University

It is also important, in indoor spaces, to take lighting and acoustics into account.

Quilts offer color, texture and perceived comfort. Since they are textiles, they also absorb echos and add to a pleasant environment.

Lately, Barn Quilts have entered our delightful public experience as well. They highlight and celebrate the humble beginnings of traditional quilts, as well as drawing the eye to magnificent barns and landscapes.

Quilts, not just for beds anymore!

too busy to blog

yup, it's one of those weeks. Work has been slamming especially since I was visiting customers last week. Good visits lead to projects and orders so I have been trying to generate a priority list and check items off. Compound that by our being incredibly lean (means we do not have enough bodies!) and the fact 2 of our number have been out (really not enough bodies!). So, I put my ear buds in and bury myself in my CAD from 8 to 5. Then I get home and can you say "Spring" and "DAYLIGHT"? We get outside with the dogs. I then sequester myself in the studio where I am quilting the T-shirt quilt. Which is large. And I want to do a good job.

What does all this blah, blah, blah mean?

Means you have to settle for a Barn Quilt instead of something from me! But it is a new discovery! It is on my route, off of Hwy 67 near the RagAppleLassie vineyard.

Love this! And love how bright it was with the sun shining on it this afternoon. Like a smile and a hug!

Some random thoughts:
Like most, the events in Japan are on my mind. One of my friends (and colleague) is from Kobe. Her mother and brother are still there. This connection makes this tragedy so close. Fortunately, Kobe was not affected directly by the earthquake or the tsunami. But we have yet to understand the extent of the radiation from the damaged nuclear power plant. I offer my thoughts and prayers for the beautiful, kind Japanese people in this time. I know they have the fortitude to rebound stronger from this tragedy. 


More randomness, on a positve note:
my beautiful son is home for a long weekend. The first in 2 months! While we speak almost daily, it is so nice to have him here!


I am teaching my beginning free-motion class Saturday and I am looking forward to a day in my LQS!

Avery County Barn Quilts

Here's a 2fer! My son sent this to me. these 2 barn quilts are somewhere in Avery County NC. Beautiful!

originally uploaded by kheli.

Found my camera cord!

And to celebrate, a barn quilt near my new home:

(on Transou Road, near Reagan High School in Winston-Salem, NC)

Wilkes County Barn Quilt Trail

I commute through the rural foothills between the Blue Ridge and Brushy mountains. I spotted these beauties long ago and am sharing them now:

They are part of the Wilkes County Barn Quilt Trail, a joint project between the Wilkes County Quilters Guild and the Cultural Arts Council of Wilkes. They make a lovely addition to the scenic area.

These works were painted by several local artists including high school students. There are a total of 15 throughout the county. I am on the hunt for the rest of them!