Trunk Show and Space quilt exhibit at Birdsong Quilting

"Mother Earth: Her Face Evolving"
by Christine Schramm Cetrulo. Celebrating the art of
quilting at Birdsong Quilting, Embroidery and Crafts.

There is a wonderful art quilt exhibit at Birdsong Quilting, Embroidery and Crafts, featuring the work of members of the Quilt Artists of Kentucky (QAK), an auxiliary group of the Kentucky Heritage Quilt Society. The exhibit has several pieces from "Space: The Final Frontier Challenge" and other art quilts by members of the group.

While at the exhibit, I met Christine Schramm Cetrulo, a member of QAK. Christine was teaching a fabric painting class at Birdsong—introducing quilters and sewers to fun and exciting techniques for embellishing fabric. Here is one of Christine's quilts, "Mother Earth: Her Face Evolving" that is on display at the shop. Amazing work!

A Trunk Show: quilts and wearables

As part of the month-long celebration of quilting and quilt artistry at Birdsong Quilting, Shannon, the owner, asked if I would come and do a trunk show of my work. 

It was a pleasure to be included in the celebration and fun to share my quilts and wearables with the Kentucky quilters that came out to see my show and tell. It's been a while since I've shown "finished" pieces, so it was good to be able to show how the quilting adds to the design and composition of a piece. (We did a lot of looking at the quilt backs.)

Examples of the diversity of fabrics available at Birdsong:
ikats and yarn-dyed textured cottons from Diamond Textiles, knits from Art Gallery,
batiks from Majestic Batiks, and art panels from Frond Design Studios.

I had a sampling of quilts, guild Challenges, art quilts, free-motion quilting and apparel (jackets, blouses, knit tops and pants). A few of the attendees said that this was their first trunk show so I hope they got a good dose of inspiration and a broad range of possibilities and ideas for new projects.

My trunk show included examples of quilts and wearables.

The dialog with the attendees at my trunk show was lively. Their questions were thoughtful and inquisitive. Questions spanned a range of topics including: free-motion quilting, the whats and whys of bobbin thread, quilt facings, sewing machine needles, yarn-dyed vs. printed cotton fabrics, patterns for garment sewing, and the different fabrics—knits, canvas, rayon, etc.—that are now available to quilt shops from fabric manufacturers of quilting cottons. Birdsong Quilting has a great selection of fabrics for quilting as well as sewing. The store also offers classes and events to support these endeavors.

Quilting cottons, ikat, textured wovens, batiks, hand-dyed, shibori
can be used for wearables and garments

Thank you to Shannon for the kind invitation and to the staff at Birdsong that helped with the set-up and logistics of the trunk show.

If you are in Georgetown, KY (Lexington, KY area) in August, stop in to see the art quilt exhibit at Birdsong Quilting. Shop Birdsong's wonderful selection of fabrics, notions, books and supplies and take your next quilting or sewing project to another level... or out of this world!

I'm a Guest Artist at Murray Arts Council quilt exhibit, October 14-15, 21-22

Exciting news! I've been invited to be the Guest Artist at a quilt exhibit to launch the opening of the new facility of the Murray Arts Council [MAC] in Chatsworth, Georgia.

Blue Rhino Moon (detail) will be on display in the special exhibit
at the Murray Arts Council Chatsworth, GA. October 14-15 and 21-22.

I'll have nine quilted pieces in the exhibit that will be held on two weekends in October: 14 - 15 and 21 - 22, with an opening reception on Saturday, October 14 from 1 - 3 pm. The address to the gallery is 120 N. 3rd Avenue, Chatsworth, GA (about an hour from Chattanooga).

Blue Rhino Moon, 2004, 33.5" x 43"

This quilt, Blue Rhino Moon (read this quilt's back story in this blog post), is one of the nine quilted pieces that will be on display. It's an honor to be asked to be the guest artist and exciting to have a subset of my work hanging all together!

When I was first asked to be the guest artist, I made a mental list of pieces I thought people might like to see. "This one has great color..." "that one shows cool quilting techniques..." "that other one incorporates interesting fabrics..." was my initial thought process.

As the time approached to make the final selection, I laid out a big bunch of my quilts side by side...

Hmmm... these really need to be curated.

So, what I thought might be "fun to see" was a wee bit different from choosing pieces that would tell my story and make a cohesive showing. After a few auditions and edits, I feel the ultimate group of quilts is a good representation of the work I'm doing these days... (and still offers great color combos, improv patchwork, and cool free-motion quilting).

So, You're Invited to the Quilt Show! And I hope you can come to this special exhibit. I'm planning to attend the opening reception to help celebrate MAC's new facility and would love to chat about quilts and quilting with you. In addition to my pieces, there will be other quilts at the exhibit made by local quiltmakers.

October is a beautiful time of year to be looking at quilts, showing quilts, making quilts, thinking about making quilts....

100+ quilts displayed at first-time quilt show in Ringgold, Georgia

2017 Ringgold Quilt Expo at The Depot, Ringgold, GA.

Two guild friends and I were able to attend a local quilt show last weekend in Ringgold, Georgia, a town just south of Chattanooga, Tennessee. The end-of-August weather was pleasantly cooperative and the event was well attended by quilters and visitors who were treated to over 100 lovely quilts made by area quiltmakers.

The show offered a menu of concurrent events— vendors, Quilts of Valor presentations, a bed turning, demos and my friend, Holly Anderson, a certified quilt appraiser, was available on Thursday for quilt appraisals and consultations.

With the quilt show's theme of Civil War and Underground Railroad (the exhibit was held at the Historic Ringgold Depot), many of the quilts were traditional in design, pattern and fabric choice. But the show was open to other categories and styles and a few modern style quilts, quilts made from fabric panels and vintage quilts were sprinkled throughout the exhibit. An exquisite Baltimore album quilt made by a local quilter and long-arm machine quilted by my friend and fellow CMQG member, Carolyn Rippee, was awarded Best of Show.

Baltimore album quilt awarded Best of Show.

Many of our area quilt shops had tables at the vendor mall. These wonderful local quilt shop owners are fabulous supporters of the quilting community!

Lana Masengill (left) of Lana's Quilts and Sew Much More, Cleveland, TN.

Anna Quarles (right) of Sew 'n So Quilt Shop, Rocky Face, GA
with  helpers Peggy (left) and Katie.

Jacki Cory teaches classes at Old Woolen Mill studio in Cleveland, TN.

Susan Hyder (left) of Hyderhangour Quilt Fabric and More, Cleveland, TN
and BJ Wright, the quilt show's Volunteer Coordinator.

Here are a few of the quilts of which I was able to get a picture. (If anyone knows their makers, please leave a comment and I'll fill in the captions.) The fabric colors and values in this scrappy one were wonderful.

Scrappy Star string quilt.

This one spoke to me. I love the juxtaposition of the classic hatchet block patchwork with a fusible applique border. Contemporary Broderie perse!

Patchwork with an applique border.

House quilt and a holiday quilt.

This contemporary quilt incorporates a panel. 

Underground Railroad (left) and a row quilt.

Variation on a Bethlehem or Lone Star pattern.

This one reminded me of Mary Kerr and her vintage-with-a-twist method of patchwork.

Vintage quilt.

Another Baltimore Album quilt.

Applique map of the United States by Anna McDonald (age 12) or Ringgold, GA.

Redwork quilt.

There was also the opportunity for anyone to take a seat at the frame and hand quilt this quilt-in-progress. These vintage blocks were found and pieced into a top specifically for this hands-on experience.

Hand quilting a vintage quilt top at a quilting frame.

Whomever participated in this hand quilting activity had their name submitted into a jar for a chance to win the quilt. What a wonderful prize that would be.

For a first-time quilting event, the hard work of the volunteers, participants and sponsors paid off and it was a lovely showing of work by area quiltmakers. Any suggestions or ideas for making this show bigger/better/bolder for next year, let me know and I'll pass along the feedback.

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.

Quilts grace church; support hunger relief

With the quiet backdrop of stained glass church windows, over 120 antique, contemporary and art quilts were gathered together and exhibited this past Saturday in a local Quilt Show at the Trinity Lutheran Church in Hixson, TN. Donations collected at the show will benefit hunger relief efforts for Hamilton County and surrounding communities.

In the midst of the serene reverence of the sanctuary, antique quilts from early- to mid-20th century draped the pews and railings.

Sun Bonnet Sue, Log Cabin, and Grandmother's Flower Garden were among the patterns of pieced and appliquéd quilts lying contently beside the hymnals and prayer books tucked in church pew cubbies.

Left: many modern day quilts were on display.
Right: King size bed quilt showcase a collection of T-shirts.

Modern quilts from the 1980s and 90s hung in entryways and were displayed in other rooms along with art quilts and other quilts made in the first decade of the 21st century.

Left: hand quilted appliqué quilt.
Right: contemporary log cabin quilt.

Examples of stunning hand quilting and machine quilting hung side by side.

Left: A mix of vintage quilts blocks and contemporary pieced blocks, machine quilted.
Right: hand quilted chains and feathers.

Contemporary and art quilts.

Each quilt in the show had a typed label with the name of the quilt, the name of the quiltmaker, and a descriptive story about the quilt. Here (right), a contemporary, quilted wall hanging is seen beside a collection of framed miniature machine pieced quilts. The miniatures have pieces as small as 1/4 and 1/8 of an inch.

Three fundraiser "Opportunity Quilts" were also on display. These quilts were comprised of a donated collection of unfinished quilt blocks and fabrics from the estate of a local woman. These bits and pieces were combined with fabrics from personal fabric stashes, then pieced and quilted by members of Trinity Lutheran— a creative and collaborative community effort resulting in three beautiful bed-sized quilts.

I am especially proud to say that several of my Beginning Quilting students submitted their first Churn Dash quilt that they completed in my class! I know they are as proud of their accomplishments as I am of them, and I'm glad they had the opportunity to share their beautiful work with the community.

The team of organizers accomplished no small feat in planning, coordinating and putting on this show! For a first time event, I can say that the entry process was easy and thoroughly documented and the show was very professionally exhibited. Well done, Ginny, Penny, Kathy, Sandy and your team!