Quilt Show

Here’s my booth from the Indiana Heritage Quilt Show in Bloomington, IN.  I was in the annex and in the bar to boot!  Course, they didn’t serve drinks to us.

A whole 4 people could get in here at one time to shop!

Packing…

I am packing the van today because I have been freaking out that I won’t get everything in it.  Ahhh…..it IS going to work.  I have so many totes and stuff to take to Bloomington that I have been plotting as to how it was all going to fit.  I am not totally finished with everything…still have some fabric to paint and hand dyes to iron, but the biggest part is done.  Now I just have to get my suitcase, a stool and a small cabinet in there, but it’s going to work without having to block the window of the passenger seat in the front! It is packed tightly, but I will sleep better at night now. Just two more days before I leave…

For your viewing pleasure today…a silk scarf that I wrapped around a jar or a tube and dyed, then I stamped it with washers.  The idea was that the washers with the scarf being still wet, would “bloom” as I stamped it and look more soft and “floral-y”…of course by the time I got to the other side I was concentrating so much on design that I didn’t notice the scarf was dry.  Needless to say, I didn’t get the nice “bloom” I wanted, but I still like the scarf.

Friday This ‘N That…

Today I was up early and got some fabric dyed to fill out my inventory. I am preparing for the quilt show next week. I will also have painted dryer sheets for sale. Since all my art that uses painted dryer sheets is either in the arts council show or sold, I decided to make a couple of samples so that quilters at the show can get an idea of what they can do with those painted dryer sheets. That’s what I have been working on…that and getting my brain organized of what all I have to get done before I leave. I’m still waiting on important orders to get here! I also spent a good part of yesterday trying to get a hotel room. Who knew a military graduation, the Rider Cup (?), and a Coca-Cola convention would all converge on the town the same time as the quilt show?

Canvas, ink, coffee stain, painted dryer sheet, home dec sample, dyed scrim, photo transfer, old buttons, perle cotton stitching, dyed cheesecloth, very old ribbon.  The next one isn’t totally finished.  I am going to put some more stuff on it, but here’s where it is now.

It’s got pretty much the same stuff as the other one, except I haven’t done the embellishing yet.  These are not quilted, in the interest of time, so they have raw edges.  The home dec samples are the perfect size to use in a small hanging like this, and I have so many of them…I should really use them more in my work!

I am also watching this hurricane as it comes closer to shore and praying there will be no loss of life.  My sister lives in Dayton, TX and has already evacuated to Louisiana, although they could find no hotel room or campground to park their camper.  This morning they were still in the Walmart parking lot in Alexandria with their two dogs.  The news is saying this one is bigger than Katrina.  And that would be a shame.

Friday This ‘N That…

There are not a lot of exciting things happening this week.  I am starting to think about what I need to have ready for a quilt show in Elizabethtown, KY.  It is the 19th and 20th, but I will leave on the 18th to go get set up.  The dyeing, painting and printing class that I have been doing SO much preparation for is cancelled at the Rend Lake facility.  I was so looking forward to teaching this class, but there will be another time, and I have a bunch of new cool fabrics!

I am working on a new sample.  The pattern is Kimonos by Betty Blais of Embellishment Village.  Most people would probably use oriental fabrics for this pattern, but I am using my hand dyed fabrics.  See…

I will probably make a couple of other blocks using different fabrics.  I am also planning on painting some sky fabrics to sell with patterns from the Accidental Landscapes series.  And there are probably a few other small samples to make.  I sell Angelina fibers and film, paintstiks and accessories, beads and beading supplies, surface design books, as well as patterns, kits and fabrics.  I plan my booth to offer items for the quilter interested in trying something new and, so that it will offer items other vendors might not have. I will be demo-ing paintstiks, Angelina products, and foiling with some new glue and foiling glue pen products.  I am really looking forward to this show.  Last year was the first year I vended and the reception from the quilters was very good.

It is cooling off here some this morning and I am thinking about getting outside and creating some more dye painted cloth.  I have some ideas I want to try.

Keep making art!

Paducah…

I’m back from Paducah…and it was a great trip. ! saw friends from other places, did lots of walking and shopping, and spent too much. I ran into Kathy Arnett again working for Embellishment Village. The last time I posted about meeting her, I didn’t know that she had a fabulous website that tells about the retreat she organizes every year, so here it is…www.fabricationsretreat.com. Be sure to check it out!

I purchased all the fun stuff…ceramic beads, dyes, paints, etc. I did buy some commercial fabrics that I thought I would cut the motifs from and use in something and some stripes. I also got some great cinnamon colored solids that I will put some surface design on. I also found some newsprint fabric and tape measure fabric.

There were new vendors on ParkAvenue across from Bluegrass Honda—good stuff there! A really great hand dyer with wonderful shibori pieces. A wonderful “black/white and one other color” challenge was hung in there as well as two solo quilt exhibits. Of course, the quilts at the show were great as usual. It was interesting listening to people comment about certain ones. One comment was that one person “cheated” by painting ovals on her quilt instead of appliqueing them. (Of course, I loved it.) Others were surprised at the choice of Best of Show. There were several whole cloth quilted pieces that had been painted or inked after the quilting, and I thought they were quite stunning.

I was hoping I would find some Adirondack Dabbers for sale there, but was unable to locate them. I did find some Adirondack paints in these yummy colors…Butterscotch, Raisin, Denim, Terra Cotta, Eggplant and Bottie..and the price was VERY good. I have some little wooden daubers I can use with them.

I probably can’t say enough about our stay at the Drury Inn and Suites. They provided a wonderful dinner and breakfast for us. It was awesome. And of course, to get to spend the time with good friends from back home is totally awesome too. Now that all of my running around is done, I can get back to “normal life”. I have a baby quilt waiting for me to finish quilting, then I have an art festival next weekend. I am looking forward to that and hoping it won’t be hot or rainy. I’m not asking for much, eh?