100 Things to See

Billed as The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth, The Calgary Stampede made its annual mark on our city last month. Until this year we'd kept the knowledge of this spectacle under wraps. Thanks to school friends, however, we were bombarded by the begging. So we succumbed and took the girls for a few hours this year.

The rodeo would have been awesome to go to, but we couldn't get tickets. That means the greatest outdoor show is the parade of fake cowboys and nasty, skanky outfits. Oh, and the midway and the food and the agricultural events.

Then there is the Western Oasis. Walk through the trade show to a different sort of place. Air conditioned, softly lit, water features everywhere, and a gathering of Western themed artisans. Think lots of horse paintings. A lot of them. Tucked in the corner is a quilt show, just a small one. And in the center of that show was the Calgary Stampede Centennial Quilt.

Months ago I helped a neighbour make a block to mark her experience with the Stampede. We put together this righteous rodeo clown. Well, of all the submissions it made it into the quilt. Proudly on display, the quilt marked the 100th anniversary of the Calgary Stampede. And I've got a tiny piece of it.

In other Stampede news we took in some food and some rides. And, of course, checked out the barns with the horses, pigs, and show cows.

(That's my Morgan with a Morgan horse.)

Scrappy Sunday - Alternatives

When Amanda and I started on Sunday Morning Quilts we had grand plans of showing two versions of each quilt. Well, aren't those plans grand?! It isn't in the book, but we've since decided to sew our way through the book. In addition to all the great versions other people are making, we wanted to make our own version of each other's quilts. This is the first instalment of us sewing our way through the book.

Skittles

62'' by 88''

On this one I went to the opposite spectrum from Amanda again. I emptied out my string jar, dividing the colours into warms and cools. (And I still had strings left over!). My Monster has already claimed this one because it is striped. 

Scrap Like Dat

72'' by 72''

This is an alternate colour treatment for Scrapper's Delight. Amanda did an amazing job with random, colourful scraps. I didn't want to recreate that look, so I went to one of my favourite quilts from the book. I took the fabric choices from Sunday Morning for this version. And a controlled use of pale grey in each block.

Both of these quilts were long-armed by Janet Madeyski, from Pieces and Threads quilting.

Don't forget about our  Sunday Morning Quilts Flickr group. Share your projects there too.

Quilter-Artist Spectrum

Do you consider yourself a quilter or an artist or both? Or maybe somewhere in between?

The above image was taken from the Fabricate exhibit, held recently at the DaDe Gallery here in Calgary.  It is a quilt by Luke Haynes.

If you aren't familiar with Luke Haynes he a self described architect turned quilter. I adore his work. I don't think I'll ever make a portrait quilt myself, but his works are stunning. STUNNING. I jumped at the chance to see some of his work locally.

While I was pouring over the quilt and its details it got me to thinking about how I see myself as a quilter. Am I just a quilter? Is that a bad thing, to use the word just? Do I even come close to considering myself an artist? And frankly, what's the difference?

What is the difference?

I haven't a clue how to make any distinctions.

... showing quilts versus using quilts?
... heavy versus soft?
... designing for the wall versus the bed?
... making something pretty versus making a statement?
... exploring colour versus exploring themes?

In my opinion, I don't think there is a perfect or right answer. Maybe there is a spectrum and we all fall at different places on it at different times?

I do design my own work, I love to explore colour and inspiration, and sometimes I want my quilts to be seen and not necessarily always cuddled. For the most part though I do want my quilts to be used and used well, but it is a goal to hang in a gallery too. I sometimes design for up close and texture not the view from far away. I love to write and write about quilts. So, unlike my left leaning social and political views I think I maybe am somewhere in the middle of the spectrum.

What about you? Do you think there is a difference? How would you define it? How do you identify yourself?

Many Thanks

In the life of a quilter one gets very used to the reactions of people when you give them a quilt. They are either blase about it and you wonder why you bothered OR they are blown away by your kindness, let alone the awesomeness of the quilt itself. But very rarely does the quilter get to be on the other side of that relationship.

I've been there once before, when my SIL gave The Monster's baby quilt. It's pretty cool (the feeling and the quilt).

At Quilt Market, however, I got that feeling twice. And even though I'm friends with quilters I hardly expected it. To be fair, the quilts weren't for me. They are Nikolai's quilts.

The first one came from Rashida. Amanda and I ran into her on the show floor. We were on our way to the Generation Q booth, to say hi to the folks there. Rashida joined us for the chat. There we were in the booth, chatting away and admiring the ever rotating display of quilts when I was handed a quilt. Made with linen, some solids, and Cloud 9's Monsterz line, it's the sweetest baby quilt. I was admiring it when Rashida told me it was for Nicky. I'll admit it, I lost it and was gushing like a total geek. So, so sweet.

(BTW, more details on the quilt in the premiere print issue of Generation Q.)

We kept trying to get a picture of Rashida with Nicky. It turns out someone was always crying...

Then, on our last night together Amanda and I retreated to the hotel room. We sat chatting as I nursed the baby and we signed bookplates. After the energy and crowds of Market it was nice to finally have some time to reflect and be together. It was, after all, only the second time we'd been together. And she presented Nikolai with an awesome quilt. She knows me so well that the design was perfect, beyond it being a slab quilt. In writing the book we always pushed each other and always responded. Maybe she didn't mean the symbolism, but she put purple in it and it is all solids. That accounts for one push from me and one from her.

And now, my beautiful crazy boy has some gorgeous love to cuddle with that come from dear friends. He's got no choice, that kid, he's the son of a quilter, surrounded by quilters, and buried in quilts.