Busy Week

It was a busy and fun week last week. We had two guests at our guild this past week and as the Guild Program Chairman that means I was hopping. At our regular meeting on Tuesday Caryl Schuetz who is a certified quilt appraiser came and gave a lecture/trunk show about antique quilts. Talk about beautiful quilts!
This is one of the gorgeous quilts that she showed. I believe this is a variation of a Wigg Rose. I was one of the gals holding up the quilts that day (Thanks Phyllis for taking pictures for me!) and I have admit I was a little distracted at times. She showed many other quilts, but this one was my favorite. Another quilt that I thought you might enjoy seeing is actually a quilt top that was turned into a shower curtain at one time. Caryl found it at an antique store and has hopes of turning it into a "real" quilt in the future.
In the afternoon we had a workshop with Caryl concerning making new quilts today look like the antiques of the past. This is one of the quilts that we saw in the workshop. The basket blocks are of the Civil War era, the setting blocks or the blue blocks are newer in age. I loved looking at the fabrics in the baskets and the color combinations.

This past weekend Sue Nickels came to teach a class for my guild. Talk about fun! She drove into town Friday so a couple of fellow guild members and I were able to take her out for dinner and have an enjoyable meal chatting away. Saturday she taught a class about how to machine quilt an applique quilt. She gave us tips about what to do in the background area and how to embellish the applique motifs.
Sue uses a camera in front of her machine and then projects it so that the whole class can see exactly what she is talking about. You can watch each stitch as she makes it instead of everyone in the class crowding around her machine trying to see what she is doing. I truly enjoyed my day with her and my mind was filled with ideas and possibilities after class. If you enjoy machine quilting and have a chance to take a class with Sue don't pass it up!

Today I have been working on the two color challenge quilt I have talked about before. It is so hard not to snap a photo of it to show it to you...but shhhhhhhh it's a secret! The quilt top is pieced, the paper foundations torn away from the back and now it is time for the quilting decisions. So many decisions! I am machine quilting it. Do I want a free motion type of design in the borders or something more traditional? How about the quilting in the blocks themselves? What type of batting and thread do I want to use? I have made some little samples of different threads, quilting patterns and batting to help that decision along. I have spent a lot of time piecing this quilt and will spend a lot more time quilting it so I want it to be just right. Some quilts are made for the pure joy of it, and are utilitarian in nature. This one I have challenged myself and I want to be truly happy with my choices. Stay tuned for the revealing in June!