Chattanooga AQS QuiltWeek Opens, September 16-19

It's Opening Day at AQS QuiltWeek in Chattanooga! 

AQS QuiltWeek Chattanooga is open!
Septembre 16-19, 2015

Go see: 

• the show quilts (marvel at the juried entries and the winners), 
• the special exhibits (got your eye on one of the Egyptian appliqué quilts? They are for sale!), 
• drop your dollars at the vendor booths (they're showing lots of cool new stuff), 
• take a workshop or sign up for a lecture,
• visit the other in- town exhibits (the WorkSpace exhibit has 40+ quilts and hand-crafted stitchery items for sale by local artists), and
• munch out at the local eateries in downtown Chattanooga.

Blue Rhino Moon
by Veronica Hofman-Ortega

Here is my quilt, Blue Rhino Moon, that you can see up close if you go to the show. A photo of my entry from last year, Pi E²—Exponentially Embellished is being used in the AQS marketing materials this year and you can see a piece of it on all the name badges.

Make a day or week of it! If you're a quilter, you will appreciate the talent, creativity and exquisite hand and machine workmanship of these pieces.

If you are not a quilter and are not familiar with AQS [the American Quilters Society], these quilts are ART! They are not like the "old time-y quilts" you think of when watching black/white TV movies of settlers crossing the plains in covered wagons, or what someone's granny made from old clothes. 

This is an art exhibit with fabric and thread!  …with several pieces made by local Chattanooga area quilters. And it's here in Chattanooga—AQS QuiltWeek Chattanooga.

QuiltWeek name badge includes a photo of my quilt,
  Pi E²—Exponentially Embellished.

See you there!

Countdown Day 5: Additional quilt exhibits are on tap in Chattanooga during QuiltWeek

5 days until Chattanooga AQS QuiltWeek®. Rapid-fire post #3.

In addition to the AQS quilt show at the Chattanooga Convention Center, here are two other quilt exhibits for your viewing pleasure. My friend and fellow ATC artist, Karen Downer, curated the exhibit that is now hanging at the Bessie Smith Cultural Center. Twelve quilts, representing a variety of quilt styles and techniques, were made by Chattanooga area quilters. "Marketplace," one of my improv quilts, is among the twelve.

"Marketplace"

Chattanooga WorkSpace is also hosting a "Quilts of Chattanooga" Trunk Show September 15 - 18, from 3pm to 8pm. This exhibit, sponsored by one of our wonderful local quilt shops, Chattanooga Quilts, is a delightful collection of quilts made by patrons of the shop.

Chattanooga Quilts Trunk Show, September 15 - 18 from 3pm to 8pm.

WorkSpace is located downtown, across from the downtown YMCA. At last year's trunk show, there was artwork by local artists, hand-crafted ceramic mugs and fabric bundles available for purchase. Need a unique holiday gift? Might wanna check this out!

There is also going to be a display of small format quilts based on the Game of Thrones TV series at Spool Quilt Shop, on Friday evening, September 18. All the quilts use a specified selection of Peppered Cottons designed by Pepper Cory. Tickets for the exhibit, called "Game of Quilts," are on sale at the shop.

Countdown Day 6: Piecing batting, method 2

6 days until Chattanooga AQS QuiltWeek®.
Rapid-fire post #2. Here's another way to join pieces of batting together. This method works well if you have a large batt laid out on a table ready for basting and you find it's not quite big enough.

Batting prep and Cutting:
1) Slide a cutting mat under the batting. Overlap the two pieces of batting.
2) With the rotary cutter, cut a curve through both layers.
3) Remove the trimmings and abutt the pieces together.

1) Overlap the pieces of batting. 2) Cut a gentle curve through both layers.
3) Remove trimmings and abutt edges.

I like to make a curved cut so the join is more random and distributed—not in a straight line. This minimizes the chance that the join coincides with where the quilt might be folded.

Sewing the Seam: Use a thread color that blends with the batting so it won't show through the quilt top. (A darker thread was used here for visual purposes.) Thread a hand sewing needle. Knot one end of the thread or use a few short stitches to secure the thread.

Join the pieces with a hem stitch,

Batting joined with a hem stitch.

… a zigzag stitch or whip stitch.

Batting joined with a zigzag stitch.

End with a couple of small backstitches to secure the thread. I normally don't make a knot on this end. The stitching just needs to hold the batting together until the piece is quilted. Once quilted, the batting stays in place and no one knows it was pieced.

Anyone else use this method to piece batting?

Countdown: 7 days 'till Chattanooga AQS QuiltWeek

The AQS QuiltWeek® Chattanooga is a week away: September 16 - 19. To prime the pump, I thought I'd do a rapid-fire series of short quilting posts on various topics—whatever comes to mind—a tip, a tool, an exhibit, or a photo of something that is currently in the works. (LOL… that's an on-going list that gets ever longer.) So, with 7 days to go, I'll start with a tip.

I recently learned this tip from a fellow guild member, Dawn J., at our guild's annual Cuddle Quilt workshop. Ever have chunks and pieces of batting that are too big to throw away but aren't quite big enough for the project you're working on? Yup, we've all been there. This is a quick seam method for piecing batting:

Use a 3-step zigzag stitch to piece two pieces of batting together.

Dawn abutts the pieces of batting together and uses a 3-step zigzag stitch on her sewing machine to secure the join. The batting lies flat—no lumps. The 3-step zigzag is flexible, is secure and probably easier to sew than a regular zigzag. And, it's fast (compared to one of the methods I've been using, which I'll share tomorrow).

"Pi" entices attendance at AQS show

When I entered "Pi E²" in the Chattanooga AQS QuiltWeek show last year, I received an e-mail saying they were going to use "Pi" in future promotional materials for their shows. Exciting! I came across this e-mail blast last night.

"Pi E² [Exponentially Embellished]" is featured in

this AQS QuiltWeek e-mail promotion.

Reversed out in the turquoise blue bar across the top in white print is the credit with the name of the quilt and my name, "Detail: "Pi E2 [Exponentially Embellished] by Veronica Hofman-Ortega." To see the full ad, here is the web page link.

The original story about appliquéing, piecing and quilting this quilt (including thread stats) is in this 2013 post. It was accepted in the Georgia Sewing and Quilt Expo in 2013. It was juried into and won a 3rd prize at the HMQS—Home Machine Quilting Show in 2014. Last fall, it was accepted into AQS Chattanooga and now it is promoting upcoming AQS shows in 2015.

"Pi" has been a busy little quilt.

Quilt show sidewalk art

Today, the sidewalks outside the Convention Center were decorated with sidewalk art in honor of the AQS QuiltWeek Chattanooga.

QuiltWeek Chattanooga sidewalk art.

QuiltWeek Chattanooga sidewalk art.

QuiltWeek Chattanooga sidewalk art.

Large tables were set up outside for visitors to enjoy lunch from the inside caterers or the myriad outside food trucks. It's been a fun first day at the festival.

Quilters and visitors enjoyed lunch and
lively conversation outside the Convention Center.

Volunteering: behind the scenes at QuiltWeek Chattanooga

Several guild friends and I had the opportunity to help hang the quilts for the AQS show in Chattanooga. Here is a photo chronicle of the two days prior to the show.

Terry Guill, with Michelle Duffy, AQS,
explains the quilt unpacking and hanging processes.

The AQS staff were great to work with and the process was so well executed. Chattanooga quilters were pleased to hear the compliments about the Chattanooga Convention Center facility—especially the natural light that this venue affords an exhibit comprised of stunning quilt artistry such as this.

Volunteers waiting to enter the showroom.

The hanging system is engineered for easy installation. All the equipment, tools and props are in a wooden crate with wheels. This storage crate is wheeled where needed from exhibit space to exhibit space.

Hanging system.

Entering the convention show room, the boxes, signage and displays are laid out on the floor. Vendors are bringing in their displays, racks, shelves and products to set up their booths.

Moving in and setting up.

We used the "pot passers" to hang the corded hooks on the curtained walls.

Quilt hanging system.

Setting up the various quilt exhibits.

Sliding rods into the quilt sleeves.

Sliding the rod into the quilt sleeve.

All the volunteers and AQS staff wore white gloves to handle the quilts.

Sliding the rod into the quilt sleeve.

Raising the quilts.

Raising the quilts.

Raising the quilts.

The "Welcome to Chattanooga QuiltWeek" sign lets you know you're in the right place!

QuiltWeek sign in the Chattanooga Convention Center main hall.

ATCs: ___-ing up a storm

"Sewing up a Storm" by Cathy Dillon

As AQS QuiltWeek Chattanooga is a mere week away, area quilters, quilt shops and quilt guilds are frantically stitching labels and sleeves on the backs of quilts... cutting, folding and kitting quilting lovelies to showcase in their booths at the vendor mall... and double-checking rosters and disseminating information to volunteers who will be assisting at this upcoming city-wide quilting extravaganza.

I am among this vast group of [ahem… slightly crazy and frazzled] people.

The Artist Trading Card (ATC) artists in the FiberAntics ATC swap are also voraciously consuming their time with sewing, quilting, cooking and various indoor and outdoor activities as the summer begins to wane. These ATCs depict this month's theme, "___-ing up a Storm." 

Preparing for AQS QuiltWeek Chattanooga
"Stitching up a Storm" by Veronica Hofman-Ortega

"Stitching up a flower garden [during] a [summer] storm."
by Linda Smith

"Gardening up a Storm!"
by Marilyn League

"Mowing... up a storm!"
by Karen Downer

"Creating Up A Storm"
by Lisa Howard

With no required Book Club books to plow through, this ATC artist says she's free to read the pile of books she really wants to read.

"(summer) Reading… up a storm"
by Bonnie Stevens

"I'm Cooking up a Storm"
by Liz Armstrong

This ATC artist says you'll find her wearing an apron canning and baking. I thinks she's got a great idea to accompany this task with a tasty libation.

"Wearing and apron canning and baking up a storm."
by Sharon Griffith

"Dancing up a Storm"
by Carlene Jacobsen

My personal invitation to you:
Come visit Chattanooga next week for QuiltWeek, September 10-13! Dance, run and skip on over to see us and be in awe of what all the talented quilters and fabric artists will have on display all over the city as well as at the American Quilters Society (AQS) Show at the Chattanooga Convention Center [1150 Carter St., Chattanooga]. There are activities happening early in the week before the AQS quilt show officially opens, as well as exhibits and performances the following weeks and months through the end of the year.

The River Journey exhibit and "Dewdle" quilt blocks during QuiltWeek Chattanooga

Since January of this year, I've been involved with the Chattanooga Modern Quilt Guild (CMQG) committee that is working with the Tennessee Aquarium and IMAX Theatre on quilt exhibits for AQS QuiltWeek Chattanooga, September 10-13, 2014. About 15 quilts will hang throughout the River Journey exhibit at the Aquarium. Here is a snippet of one of them, made by my friend, Vista.

"Glimpses of Fish" by Vista A. Mahan

There has been so much interest in the TN River Collaborative project that I wrote about here and here… that I thought I'd share a few more detail shots.

Detail: "TN River Project: a Collaborative"

Detail: "TN River Project: a Collaborative"

Detail: "TN River Project: a Collaborative"

Many members from various Chattanooga area quilt guilds are working with local businesses and attractions on exhibits and activities that would appeal to visitors—quilters and non-quilters alike—during QuiltWeek Chattanooga. I blogged about some of them. Here is a partial list:

QuiltWeek activities in Chattanooga.

Zuri Quilters exhibit and presentation at the Bessie Smith Cultural Center
Gee's Bend play at the Chattanooga Theatre Center
Quilts by children at the Creative Discovery Museum
TN River Collaborative project and quilt exhibit at the Tennessee Aquarium
"Quilts of Chattanooga" trunk show at Chattanooga WorkSpace
"Needle and Thread" art exhibit at Association for the Visual Arts Gallery
Quilt exhibit at Hamilton Place Mall

Pick up one of these brochures for a road map of activities and exhibits you won't want to miss during QuiltWeek Chattanooga. After you've spent the day admiring the AQS juried show and special exhibits, and supporting the vendors by shopping the vendor mall at the Trade and Convention Center, spend your evening at one of the downtown quilting exhibits.

If you are an early riser, experience artist Hollie Berry's "Dewdle" quilt blocks before the show opens (see video here).

Dewdle quilt block at Coolidge Park, Chattanooga, TN.

Hollie creates quilt block-inspired doodles using the morning dew as her medium.

Gee's Bend performances during QuiltWeek Chattanooga

"Gee's Bend, A Story of the Alabama Quilters"
performance at the Chattanooga Theatre Center.

Another special quilting event during QuiltWeek Chattanooga is the performance of the play, "Gee's Bend, A Story of the Alabama Quilters," by Elyzabeth Gregory Wilder at the Chattanooga Theatre Center. Nine performances will be given from September 10 through 21, including weekend matinees.

The play was originally performed at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival. The story is about the women of a remote rural community in southern Alabama—their growing up and taking care of their families, their remarkable experiences during the Civil Rights era, and their time in the spotlight as their quilts were shown in art museums across the country.

My friend, Janet, and twice fellow guild member (we both belong to the Choo Choo Quilters and the Chattanooga Modern Quilt Guild), is curating an exhibit for the Theater Center in conjunction with the Gee's Bend performances. This exhibit will feature quilts inspired by the Gee's Bend style of quilts—bold, graphic compositions with a free-form, improvisational piecing style.

Janet brought a quilt she is working on to a recent guild meeting. Here is a detail of her quilt… that she is quilting by hand! Notice the piece of denim from an old pair of blue jeans in the patchwork.

Detail of a quilt in the style of the Gee's Bend quilters.

I am honored that Janet has chosen my piece from a past Choo Choo Quilters Guild Challenge to include in the Theater Center's quilt exhibit. The name of the Challenge was "A Novel Idea," and my inspiration reference was the book, "Steve Jobs," by Walter Isaacson. You can read about the Challenge in this post.

"They had grown up among movie stars,
but to them Jobs was a true celebrity."

A group of my friends have our tickets for the play and we can't wait. I hope you will consider seeing one of the performances as well as the quilt exhibit at the Center. At one of the matinee performances, the playwright, Elyzabeth Gregory Wilder, will be on hand for a Q&A session. What a treat!

Elyzabeth Gregory Wilder and a few of the Gee's Bend actresses.

If you would like to volunteer as an usher for a performance, your admission is complimentary. Leave me a comment and I can put you in touch with Janet.

Info about other Chattanooga area activities during QuiltWeek can be found here.

Celebration Slices Tree: appliqué the finishing touches

"Celebration Slices—Christmas"
by Tammy Silvers
Pattern available at your local quilt shop.

There are 128 days until Christmas.

Have you made your list? Are you checking it twice (and hopefully checking OFF completed projects)?

I mentioned this cute holiday tree door hanger in this blog post. Here it is, complete with the appliquéd star and ball ornaments. As instructed by the pattern, these bits were added after the quilting was completed—partly so they look like they are hanging "on" the tree and partly because the pattern designer used non-woven felt for the decorations. I used quilting cotton (a fat quarter of Crushed in daffodil by Blank Quilting Corporation did the trick).

Remember, I reduced the pattern for this project? Print it at 85% so it's a perfect size for a door. And, Blank Quilting Corp's new Color Story pre-cut strips (20 per package) is a perfect fabric solution: an assortment of pretty, festive greens for the tree… pre-cut and ready to go… and just the right amount of strips for this little project!

Here is a close-up of the free-motion quilting. Swirls in the background and cascading feather-like tree boughs on the tree.

Celebration Tree: detail of free-motion quilting.

The border is a meandering vine with feathers, curvy fronds and spiral motifs.

Celebration Tree (back): free-motion quilting on border.

And the faux-piped binding added that little extra finishing touch that ties in the blue background and the backing fabric [Fusion Illusion navy by Blank Quilting Corp.].

Faux piped binding.

This fun pattern also has instructions for 2 other special occasions--fall/Halloween and birthdays. How about a 20-strip Color Story package in orange and purple for the pumpkin? Color Stories red and ivory for the birthday cake? There's a Color Story for every season and occasion!

"Celebration Slices" offers a variety of designs for different occasions.
Compliment the pattern with a Color Story package of strips.

If you're coming to AQS QuiltWeek in Chattanooga, September 10-13, visit all the fabulous vendors at the vendor mall. Ask for the 20 and 40 strip packages of pre-cut Fabrications strips by Blank Quilting Corp. They will make all your quilting projects go quicker. Gotta keep checking off that list...

Celebration Tree
16.5" x 38"

Oh, and if you have any strips left over... use them for the binding! After all, they're already cut 2.5 inches wide… and ready to sew.