Houston Quilt Festival 2013

This is a personal post about a woman who has meant so very much to so many, especially the Quilting community.  

I grew up in a very small community in upstate NY, it was a community were everyone knew everyone.  Parents were called Mr. & Mrs. and you knew if you misbehaved your parents would know before you all gathered around the dinning room table for dinner.  Mrs. Alderman was part of our community and my sisters and I grew up with her daughter Betsy.

After school we often ended up at a friends house and once in a while I was lucky enough to tag along with my sister Jane who was in the same grade as Betsy.  I can still remember going into Mrs. Alderman's home with her daughter Betsy and my sister Jane and knowing immediately that Mrs. Alderman was a very special and talented person.  The walls of the Alderman home were often decorated with Mrs. Alderman's talent and I loved to look at her work!  Last summer Mrs. Alderman lost her fight to Breast Cancer and when she did her family lost a truly wonderful mother and the quilting world lost an extremely talented person!  Quilt Festival this year is honoring Mrs. Betty Alderman and I was lucky enough to get a chance to once again see some Mrs. Alderman's work.  

This is a sampling from one of Mrs. Alderman's sketch book, a photo of her, a snap shots of her working on one of her many quilts and a picture of her in her booth at Quilt Market.

Each quilt has been documented by her daughter Betsy Alderman Lewis.

This Santa quilt was always one of my favorites!

I always wanted to make this quilt, this is a definite on my bucket list!

I love the simplicity of her red work!  Her needle work was incredible!

Mrs. Alderman was known for her Sun Bonnet Sue designs.

 

Betty made this quilt in beautiful blues.  I had attended a retreat held by O'Susannah's Quilts & Gifts in Watkins Glen NY and Mrs. Alderman was teaching Blue Mood at the retreat!!  I made mine in Black & White and it hangs in the stair/entryway of our home, every time I go down the  stairs I see it and think of Mrs. Alderman.

This is another of my favorites!

I wish I had written down the names of all the quilts.  Having the opportunity to see Mrs. Alderman's work pulled so at my heart strings that I had a hard enough time keeping the camera in focus so I'm thankful for the pictures and thrilled to be able to share them with you!

A few months back Betsy gave me one of her mother's bags that she had embroidered a mother sitting on a tree branch holding a baby in her arms.  I have been playing around with an embroidery design and Betsy and I have talked about incorporating it into my piece. 

Happy Quilting!

Quilt Market - Fall 2013

We have made it home from Quilt Market in Houston Texas!  What a time we had!  Quilt Festival is going on right now and I wish time would have allowed me to see all of the quilts but I did bring home some pictures to share with you!  My first set of pictures is of some beautiful Quilting!

The Quilt is called "Bouquets For A New Day My Way"

By Barbara Baxter and Quilted by Karen Shively

I absolutely LOVE the borders on this quilt!

Isn't this quilting spectacular?!

Check back tomorrow for a preview of a special exhibit of Betty Alderman's work!

Don't forget to 'Follow" me!

Happy Quilting!

Quilt Market

We made it to Texas!  Today is filled with classes!  Can't wait to see what new techniques they have to show us!!

Happy Quilting!

Houston Here I Come!

My bags are packed and I am on my way to Houston Texas!  International Quilt Market here I come!  I can't wait to see all the new designs and meet the designers!  I'm especially excited to see how Eleanor Burns is dressed this year!  Stay tuned for pictures!

Happy Quilting!

Gardner's Alphabet - A is for Autumn

Well now that the Snowman A - Zzzzz is done I just had to pick up another hand work project!  I probably should have picked up a smaller one but I couldn't resist Crabapple Hill's Gardener's Alphabet!  I've got A for Autumn completely done!

I've traced and colored B is for Bees and will be taking that one on the plane with me to Houston!  What are you working on?

Happy Quilting!

Margaret

Lots of Little 1/2 Square Triangles

Remember last week when I showed how to make 8 little half square triangles at once?  Well I had a reason for giving it a try and here is the reason:

I was really happy with how it turned out!  

It's all quilted, bound (thanks to my mom) and it hangs on the wall in my hallway!  This one of the quilts I'm making in a class I'm taking at O'Susannah's Quilts & Gifts in Watkins Glen NY.  I think I'm enjoying working with the tiny little pieces, I haven't completely decided yet!  I'll let you know after my next 7 quilts are done!!

I've got a busy weekend on my schedule!  I'm finishing up a stack of quilts for customers and getting laundry done so I can start packing for Quilt Market in Houston Texas!

Happy Quilting!

Margaret

A - Zzzzz Snowman

I finished the A - Zzzz Snowman designed by Crabapple Hill Studio!  I've had some questions on how I did it so here's a picture of the entire quilt and some close ups to explain!

The Stars - I filled in the stars with French Knots!  I did a 3 wrap French Knot and made as many as I could possibly fit into the stars.  I really liked the way they turned out!

Carrot noses, I did do some of them with the Stem Stitch but most of them were done with the Backstitch.

The Christmas Lights were done with the Padded Satin Stitch.  I like the way the Padded Satin Stitch looks, it (in my opinion) gives the Christmas Lights some dimension.

With the exception of where special stitches were called for the piece was worked in the Stem Stitch.  I like working with the Stem Stitch more than I do the Backstitch.  I feel like it goes faster and looks nicer.

Let me know if you have any other questions!

Enjoy!

Happy Quilting!

8 Half Square Triangles At Once

Yes, that wasn't a typo!  I'm making a mini quilt and the directions while good left absolutely no room to trim/square up the half square triangles which when working with little pieces can be disastrous!  My half square triangles are 1 1/2" unfinished with the total block being 2 1/2" inches so I am working with really tiny pieces that have to be squared up!  Here's what I did:

I started with 2 - 4" squares

Placed right sides together

Drew a line from the upper left corner to the lower right corner

Then drew a line from the upper right corner to the lower left corner

Sorry that the thread doesn't show up better!  I sewed a scant quarter seam on each side of my drawn line

Another shot of the same block trying to get a better picture of the sewn lines...

Next comes the fun part!  Time to start cutting up the block!

First cut is right down the center of the block

Next cut is straight across the center of the block

Now cut on the drawn line

You now have 8 half square triangles!!!

Here they are all pressed open ready to be squared up

See how tiny they are?  I'm not certain how much I really like working with these tiny little pieces!

I just had to show you all the trimmings I got off those 8 square!

My next step was to sew them together in groups of two.  Make certain you nuzzle those seams together!

Notice anything wrong with this picture?

Had to get the seam ripper out for this one!  Learn from my mistakes, make certain they are all sewn together the same way!

All Fixed!

Here come the Pinwheels!

Sew together and remember to set your seams!

Press open

Square up for the last time!

A close up of the back.  Does everyone know how to open the centers of your block?

Finished size 2 1/2"

There you have it!  8 Half Square Triangles at once!!  

Happy Quilting!