Bittersweet Too

 

 Some favorite photos of autumn past.  

Back to the present, I won some nice awards at the Marshfield quilt show this past weekend.

Plain Jane won third place in it's category:

 

And Woods and Wildflowers won first place and the show chairman's award:

 

I am working diligently on my book.  Bittersweet is one of the patterns to be included:

 
But, looking at the other quilts to be included in my book, I felt Bittersweet needed to be updated with newer fabrics and design.  So, I used the same log cabin layout, but in a smaller size, went exploring the woods for new leaves to inspire me and came up with the New Bittersweet or maybe I'll title it "Bittersweet Too."  I did add a final border in the brown marble fabric after this photo was taken.  Now it just needs to be quilted.  And the pattern is finished!

Autumn Tradition

Autumn is my favorite season - yes, not summer or spring as you might think.  I love the changing leaves, the cooler weather, the fresh crisp air, and the dark quiet days.


A favorite autumn tradition I have is to enter and attend the Treasures of Tomorrow Quilt Show in Marshfield, WI.  This is a judged show with prize money and an overall viewer's choice award.

My lifelong friend Jan and I always attend together and spend the day.  Jan has never made a quilt though she is learning to hand piece a sampler I got her started on.  She does love to view the show quilts and shop the vendors as much as any seasoned quilter does and she has always been one of my biggest supporters. 

                          This year my entries include "Woods and Wildflowers" 86" x 86"

                                                        
                                                         and "Plain Jane" 28" x 28"

Visit the web site for show dates and details:  www.piecemakers.org.

A Golden Opportunity

I have not blogged for a few weeks, nor have I been quilting, though I've appliqued four of my newest quilt blocks and pieced them together.  I have this piece pinned to my wall and as I usually do, I get ideas by just gazing at it.  I have the rest of the appliques ready to cut, fuse and stitch to the background.  There will be 16 blocks total and a neat appliqued border yet to be designed. Something like this:

Well, then what have I been doing? The American Quilter's Society has accepted  my book proposal and agreed to publish it my book.  If I sound rather calm about this, I'm not.  This is a huge opportunity for me and to say I'm just overwhelmed at the moment would be about right.  


I plan to include 8 of my quilt patterns. I've been working on Woods and Wildflowers, as this is probably the biggest challenge.  I kept notes and drawings when I made this quilt, but I wish they had been more thorough.  In the back of my mind, I've always wanted to write a book, but that thought stayed right there - in the back of my mind.  It has been great having Woods and Wildflowers out again as I am remembering the inspiration for each block and the fun I had making them. 

My motivation for writing a book? I'm not looking for fame or notoriety, some money would be nice, but no, it's that I really do want to share my quilts with others.  What good are all these quilts to me alone?  Isn't that what the world of quilting is all about? After all, I learned everything  I know about quilting from other quilters. 

Having my book published will be a feather in my cap though, not to be too humble.  So, I put a feather in my hair and called it.....