Something Old, Something New... Nothing Borrowed but Something Blue?

Last Light, Finished

 Something Old? That is me. The New is a new quilt I'm working on and it has something Blue in it. It occurred to me that I never showed you the finished quilt from the last time I blogged - well here it is. This is strip applique - it is NOT pieced. (Instant gratification for those of us who don't love the whole piecing part of quilt making!)

Incidentally, this is a project choice for one of my classes - it seems to be the hottest class right now probably because you can play with so much color and get a pretty complicated landscape done in a day. (This is an easier project...)

Last Light project and Paducah Quilt Show I

Last Light

 Last week I was able to travel to Kentucky to see the big quilt show and sign books at the National Quilt Museum. It was the first time hubby didn't come along so I had time to poke around looking at quilts and being 'wowed' by all the beauty and variety of techniques. I met some of my cyber quilty friends for the first time and basically had a blast. I have photographs, lots of them and I'll be posting them here and there for the next few blogs.

In the meantime, I'm teaching my strip applique class a lot over the next 2 years and thought I'd made another project. 

Sun Prairie Quilt Show 2016

Come Walk with Me - Best of Show Wall Quilt, Cathy Geier (me!)

 Hi all. I know it has been a while since I posted anything. How do you spell 'burn out?!'  I took a break from a lot of my online/social media posts and finished up 2 quilts for RJR and wrote up a pattern for each quilt.  They will be creating kits from my quilts - that is the good news! The bad news is that I can't show you the quilts until July.  Soooo, though I've been a busy bee, I have nothing to show for it. (When the quilt kits come out, I'll  write up some pages here with some of my in progress photos in case you buy a kit and need a little extra help).

In the meantime, here are some of my favorite quilts from the Heritage Quilt Show in Sun Prairie last month.

Finishing up Projects and More Insects to Elephants

I won a ribbon! 

 Hi everyone! It has been sooo long since I blogged that I'm not sure how to do it anymore, lol. A couple of months ago RJR contacted me to make them two strip pieced landscape quilts using their batiks. The problem was that I had to have them done by the end of February.... 

From Insects to Elephants at the Wisconsin Quilt Museum, Part 1

Inside the Barn

 Hi everyone, it is a new year and I'm finally posting again. Last week hubby and I drove up to Cedarburg, Wisconsin and saw the "From Insects to Elephants" exhibit at the Wisconsin Museum of Quilts and Fiber Arts.

But first, I had some thrilling news a couple of weeks ago.

Quilts from Elegance in Stitches

Springtime Duet

 I've been saving this batch of quilts for a special blog and today is the DAY. These quilts are part of a special exhibition called Elegance in Stitches by Joanie Zeier Poole. If it comes to your part of the world be sure to see it! 

Quick Project - Strip Applique. (Striplique?!)

Pink Azaleas

 I thought I'd be completely wild and crazy this week and blog on Thursday instead of Friday! Lol, I don't get out much do I!? When I'm done blogging I'm going to put on a CD, turn up the volume and mop the kitchen floor. While dancing. Sometimes cleaning the house feels so good! 

(And once in a great while I give in to the feeling...) 

Death and Dying and a Quick Quilt

Julia's Garden by Cathy Geier

This is a heck of a title for a blog isn't it!?  

You know how sometimes old friends drift back into your life and you can almost pick up where you left off - even though it has been many many years since you've seen them? (Like 30 years!) This week I got a phone call about a mutual friend our ours from way back when, only this friend is very sick. This friend was diagnosed with a terminal disease and is dying. 

Back from Bonaire

Autumn Path?! I don't know what to call this little landscape. How about 'Birch Trees Along a Trail in the Fall - With Rocks", lol. 

 Last week hubby and I took our oldest son and his fiancé to beautiful Bonaire. The waters around this little island which is just off the coast of Venezuela are an International Marine Preserve. The island is governed by the Dutch but they use US currency. You can park your rented car along the road side practically anywhere on the Eastern side of the island and tramp right out into the water and snorkel or scuba dive.  Of course you have to be very careful where you step so you don't destroy the coral.

I have a few pictures, but my son had the underwater camera so all those babies have to wait for him to process them. 

Landscape Quilts from Wisconsin Quilt Expo 2015

Gotta Dance! 

I finished my quilt and shipped it off to Colorado for photography yesterday. (Scary!)  Lori from Quilter's Newsletter Magazine saw a pic of my quilt on facebook and wanted me to ship it to her for possibly putting it in their magazine. Soooo, within a day of finishing the faced binding, I was removing all the cat hair and fashioning a shipping tube.

Then I filled out the entry form for the National Quilt Museum's New Quilts from Old Favorites contest and saw the date I'll get my quilt back if it is accepted into the exhibition. Gasp - the date is the end of 2017.

I miss my baby already, lol. On the other hand, this expresses my feelings as I walk away from it.

Wait for it...

WI Quilt Museum, Busy Summer and More Quilts from Paducah

Night Hunter at the Wisconsin Quilt Museum 

 It has been a long time since I posted hasn't it? If you remember, the last you heard from me was right before we drove to Virginia Beach to help my daughter move back home. We got there and back in 3 days! And then it took me a day to organize her stuff into one big pile in the only place left in the house - the entry way in the foyer. Yes, we can get in and out of the front door now! 

Shipshewana Quilt Festival 2015

Me and my quilt. (Sunset Sentinel)

 This big old long blog is all quilts from Shipshewana's Quilt Festival.  Hubby and I camped and enjoyed the tasty food and the 34 mile Pumpkin Vine bike trail. Yep, we biked the whole thing - and in one day too! Rain came in the next day... 

Progress & My Character and More Quilts from Paducah

Me, lol.

This week I'll show you some progress on my latest landscape and show you more quilts from the big AQS Show in Paducah. Thank you all for your comments last week, you all were right on! Debbie mentioned 'anchoring' the base - that started me on the road to the finish line. And Ellen also wanted more depth... and she was right that one thing always leads to another...

As it turns out, I only had a couple more hours of work on it and I was ready to quilt. 

Ribbon Winners - AQS Paducah 2015 and Life

"Ricky and Lucy" by Nancy Sterett Martin and Karen Sistek

Among the phenomenal quilts at the show, this one really appealed to me. It is gorgeously quilted and the color variations in the feathers are so subtle and pretty, they look so real! 

This week I'm going to show you the rest of the winning quilts in the larger categories.  I also did a bit more work on my quilt Come Walk with Me, as I'm entering it in various quilt shows and want it to be perfect. I'll show you what I added and see if you don't think it is better too.

More Quilts from the AQS show in Paducah, 2015

Georgetown Wedding by Ann L. Peterson

 I'm actually hoping to blog 2 times this week, knock on wood. I thought I'd show you a few more quilts from the wonderful AQS show in Paducah last month and then I'm going to show you what Spring Quilt Market looks like. (Lots of fun; new fabrics, new products and new quilt patterns!) 

So, without further ado, let's get to the quilts.

More Quilts and Fun from the Paducah Quilt Show

Beneath by Wing by David Taylor

 This week was another of those kinds of weeks where I hardly had any time in my sewing room. I'm starting to work on another quilt for RJR and have 2-3 others in my mind that I'm dying to make.

Sometimes I get frustrated and think that everyone in the world - especially family - needs to understand that quilt making is my 'business' and 'job'. Or to put it in other words; leave me alone so I can do what I want. *Insert evil laughter* 

I think we must all feel that way at times.

Swampingly Busy and Pics from Paducah

It's me and Julia Graber in Paducah! 

 Or is is Julia and me!? Lol. Actually it has been 2 weeks since I've posted and I want to keep you at least a little up to date! You may remember that I went off to Quilt Week in Paducah, KY last week and part of my time there was happily spent signing books at the National Quilt Museum. 

New Fun and Crazy Quilter's Quilt Show, Mukwonago

Danscapes - new fabrics from RJR

 A few weeks ago, a representative from RJR Fabrics contacted me and asked me if I'd like to make some landscapes from their Danscapes fabric line - possibly to be made available as Free Downloads to you all.  I said, "Sure!"  The boxes began arriving... one yard or so of Danscapes I and II collections. How exciting!

 There is much to show you and when I get the details I'll share it all. Suffice it to say, I've made one already but I'm not ready to unveil it yet.

Last weekend, a local guild held their anuual quilt show and I took some pictures of interesting and fun quilts for you, that is mostly what this week's blog is about.

More Quilts from the IQF show in Chicago

"Decisions, Decisions" by Serena Vrnak, quilted by Patricia Harrison

 When you walked into the quilt exhibition you walked under and through a fabulous exhibition of red and white quilts. It was well done and very dramatic - I loved it!

"In Full Bloom" and Flower Quilts at the IQF in Chicago 2015

She's a Wildflower by Joanna Wilczynska. Inspired by a graphic drawn by Gracjana Zielinsak and used with her pemission.

 I began going through the photographs I took at the International Quilt Festival in Chicago last weekend and decided I had WAY WAY too many to show you all in one blog. Since spring has sprung - finally! - in the upper Midwest and this weekend is Easter weekend I felt like showing you flowers and more flowers from the quilt show. 

 Easter is meant to be celebrated and I can't imagine a better visual image of 'celebration' than flowers.  When it is their time to bloom, they do it with all their strength and open up their blossoms in joyful celebration of beauty.