Author Archives: Norma Hanson

Abbotsford Quilt Guild’s Quilts in the Valley Show

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This weekend, the Abbotsford Quilters’ Guild is hold their show, Quilts in the Valley.  I headed to the show yesterday.  The following are some of the quilts that caught my attention.

This quilt is Hanging Garden by Cozy Quilt Design.  I have seen this quilt done before but never in a scrappy version.  Of course the quilting on this one was fabulous too!

DSC_0679-Optimized This was an original design.  This one caught my eye–likely because of the recent triangle workshop I attended.DSC_0681-Optimized This quilt is from the pattern Mesmerize by Natalia Bonner.

DSC_0682-Optimized This quilt was from Glorious Patchwork by Kaffe Fassett.DSC_0685-Optimized I could make this one today as I recognized many of the floral fabrics in this one as being in my stash as well!  I think someone has been collecting floral fabrics for as long as I have!DSC_0687-Optimized This quilt made me smile.  It depicts so many typical fall, winter, and spring days here on the coast.  I love the brightly coloured umbrellas that brighten the otherwise grey day.  The quilting on this one was perfect.  You really get the feeling that it is raining.DSC_0695-Optimized This quilt was in the Quilts of Valor booth.  The bluework blocks were definitely Canadian and really caught my eye.  DSC_0697-Optimized These quilts were completed as part of the guild’s Scrappy Stars Mystery.  The pattern source is Save The Scraps by Gayle Bong.DSC_0711-Optimized DSC_0712-OptimizedThis quilt was getting a lot of attention.  The maker raw edge appliqued the circles.  But before she did that, she pinked the edges.  The quilting on this one definitely made the quilt.  The pattern source was Quilts and More, Bubble Up by Sachiko Aldous.
DSC_0714-OptimizedScrappy quilts always get my attention.  The source given for this quilt was just Quilters Newsletter Magazine.  Too bad the designer was not credited as this was a fabulous quilt.
DSC_0719-Optimized DSC_0720-Optimized While at the show, I sat through a demonstration on the Split Nine Patch quilt.  This block is so effective in lights and darks.  The gal demonstrating said that she was inspired by a picture of a similar quilt on Pinterest.  Who of us has not been inspired by Pinterest!  🙂DSC_0723-Optimized My favorite quilt of the whole show was actually this one.  The quilt maker worked together with her father who upholstered furniture for a living.  The two of them worked together on this quilt…even as her father was diagnosed with cancer and went through treatments.  The chair was finished and one week later her father passed away with cancer.  What a fabulous memory of her father!DSC_0724-Optimized DSC_0726-OptimizedThere were a lot of vendors at this show and I found a couple of things to purchase.  I can’t show any photos of my purchases as they are part of the two challenges I am working on.  There were a lot of other things that tempted me, but all I had to do was think about the many projects on the go at home already and I was able to walk away without buying anything new.

 

Scrap Quilts Workshop With Dianne Jansson

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On Thursday, May 22, 2014, I attended a workshop led by Dianne Jansson of Pritchard, BC.  The class was a scrap quilt workshop where we learned to work with value rather than colour.  Dianne led us through a series of exercises using a combination of light, medium, and dark value fabrics to design projects.

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This is a picture of Dianne showing our Guild one of her many quilts during her trunk show the night before our class.

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To give our triangle stash some variety, we brought five bags containing 20 triangles to swap with other class participants.  This was a good thing, as I soon discovered that my stash is predominately mediums.  I don’t have many fabrics of dark value in my stash.
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Dianne led us through a series of exercises where we worked with our triangles on our flannel boards.  This class was not about sewing, but about developing the skill of value placement in our quilts.

In the first exercise, we made Pinwheel blocks–one that was dark and light, one that was dark and medium and one that was medium and light.  We learned that using your camera on its black and white setting would help us see value easier.Block 2 (1)-Optimized Block 2 (2)-Optimized

Lesson 2 was to make a Nine Patch from four sets of half triangles arranged in a Square in a Square setting.  If you look closely, you will see the star that is formed in the center of the piece.  If you put dark value fabrics as the star points, the star is a little easier to see.  Block 3 (1)-Optimized Block 3 (2)-OptimizedIn lesson 3, we arranged our blocks so that a dark value square on point was visible.

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Lesson 4 was an Attic Window arrangement.  Dianne told us that this would be the ugliest arrangement she would have us do.  She was right.  I guess mine was so ugly that I forgot to take a picture in colour!Block 5 (1)-Optimized Block 5 (2)-Optimized

Lessn 5 reminded me of a Birds in Flight arrangement.  This arrangement was my favorite.

After working through the exercises with Dianne, I learned that value refers to how light or dark a color is in relation to surrounding colors. By using value rather than the colour of a fabric, I can decide how to arrange fabrics in my quilts to either make them blend or contrast with each other.  It is this varying degree of contrast which will allow the design to emerge, not the colour.

Dianne Jansson's Quilt - Class Sample (1)-Optimized Dianne Jansson's Quilt - Class Sample (2)-Optimized Dianne Jansson's Quilt - Class Sample (3)-OptimizedThese three quilts were Dianne’s class samples.

This was a great class.  I am anxious to put my new skills to use in my future projects!

 

Joe Cunningham – Presentation at Tucson Quilters Guild Show – January 18, 2014

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While I was at the Tucson Quilters Guild Quilt Show in January, I listened to a presentation from the art quilter, Joe Cunningham.  Prior to this presentation I had never heard of Joe Cunningham.  Although I am not likely to make a Joe Cunningham-style quilt in the near future, Joe’s words and Joe’s style of quilting has struck a cord in me.  And, I will never look at bias tape the same again!  Joe’s presentation was titled, “Men and the Art of Quiltmaking.”  Joe stated that, while quilting has been practiced almost exclusively by women, a few men have crept into the realm from time to time.  Joe told his own story and showed his own quilts while providing some historical insight into men and quilting.  My only regret was not taking in Joe’s second presentation later that day, “My Life in Quilts.”  In Joe’s second presentation, he was not only going to discuss how and why he got started making quilts and why he is still making them today, but he was going to be bringing his guitar and playing some quilt-related songs.  I am sure that the second presentation would have been much like this YouTube clip.

Other YouTube clips:

Five Questions With Joe Cunningham

My Own Fault

Lines

The Quilt

Hand Quilting

 

These are some of the quilts that Joe shared during his presentation.

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The following has been taken from the quilt show brochure.

Joe Cunningham began making quilts professionally in 1979, after a ten-year career as a musician in Michigan.  His early mentors were steeped in the history and traditions of quilts, leading Cunningham to a life of study in quilt history and a love of traditional technique.  Over the years his quilts have evolved into a unique, personal style.  His quilts are in the permanent collections of museums, as well as in numerous private collections.  Cunningham’s 12 books on quilts include the first biography of a living quiltmaker, the first book on men in quilts and essays for museum shows.  His column for the national magazine The Quilt Life is called “Biased and Edgy.”  He has been seen on the HGTV series Simply Quilts with Alex Anderson, the PBS series Sewing with Nancy and on The Quilt Show with Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims.  He lectures on quilts nationwide and teaches regularly at conferences across the country.  

If you ever hear that Joe Cunningham is going to be delivering a presentation near where you live, don’t miss out on it!

Renovation Update

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There are no pictures for this post.  The renovations aren’t yet complete and the house is still turned upside down so there is nothing to take a picture of that is photo-worthy.

The dining room, living room, hallway, spare bedroom (aka The Closet Room), stairwell, and entrance are officially complete.  This means they are freshly painted, laminate flooring is installed, and baseboards and trim have been replaced.

Last weekend, we moved furniture and other items, including pictures on the walls out of the bedroom and started removing wallpaper.  After a few days of trying to convince the wallpaper to let go of its hold from the gypsum board, DH decided that we would move to plan B and put a new layer of gypsum board over top of the old stuff.  The repair that he would have to do to the old wall was likely more than putting up new boards.

So now we are living once again with furniture in the living room that does not belong there.  I live for the day that the only things in the living room are the furniture that belongs in the living room–no dressers, stacks of boxes of items from other rooms, and miscellaneous tools required for renovations.

And so I continue to sort through 33 years of accumulated “stuff”, hoping to live up to the “Less is More” mantra.  There is nothing like removing everything from a room and putting it into a pile to get you motivated to reduce the amount of “stuff”.  And yes, we celebrated our 33rd anniversary in the middle of this renovation on May 16.

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And for my information only, the paint we used was from General Paint.

Closet Room and Master Bedroom:  Excalibur (ID CL 3173M)

Entrance and Living Room (one wall):  Ardmore Green (ID 8185D)

Balance of Living Room walls, Hallway, Stairwell:  Moselle (ID8184M)

Langely Quilters’ Guild Quilt Show – The Threads That Bind Us

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Today I went to the Langley Quilters’ Guild Quilt show.  These are some of my favorite quilts.

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This quilt was amazing!  Each panel was made by a different person.  (See write up below.)

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Hexagons are popular now.  I loved how this hexagon quilt was so different than the traditional settings that you see.

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This quilt was like a painting.

DSC_0597-OptimizedThis quilt was completed as part of a yellow and blue challenge.  I really loved the butterfly quilted into the upper left hand corner.