Friday, April 18, 2008

Quilty Post

Thank you for the sweater love! I really appreciate your comments! I have a lot more knitting to show you, hopefully I'll get some photos locked and loaded for next week. I also have some questions to answer, so stay tuned.


I hate to use excuses for my lack of posting recently, but really, how often do you get to say "the garbage truck ate my internet." (Meaning--those supersized trucks keep pulling down the cable line that goes from our house to the pole across the street). This has happened 3 times in the past month or so. Seriously, I now brace myself every Monday morning (garbage day) to be without phone, cable tv and internet until Tuesday afternoon or even, heavy sigh, Wednesday. But I think this last cable guy got the line up higher so the problem will be solved for a while. Hopefully.

I went to the Chicago Quilt Festival last weekend. Several people had asked my if I had a quilt in the show this year and I told them no. So imagine my suprise when I walked in and saw a friend who told me that my quilt looked great! I told her, I don't have a quilt in the show. She said "Oh yes, you do!"


This quilt, Trio, won the Master of Contemporary Artisty award in the IQA show in 2001. It won me $5,000 and a trip to Houston. It was my only trip to the Houston show, and I made the trip with my then 5-week-old baby Molly and my sister. That was such a special and exciting trip and I treasure those memories!! The quilt is now in the permanent collection of Quilts, Inc. and they picked it to bring along and decorate their booth. I got to meet Ruth Moya, the show operations manager (above photo, in the middle). She was handing out a questionaire to show-goers.


She is so nice! And it was great of her to take my picture, so I got an unexpected me-with-my-quilt-at-a-show photo. And my clothes matched my quilt, even though I didn't plan* it! So, in case you couldn't tell, from my enthusiasm and liberal use of exclamation points, it was a nice treat to see this quilt again and to have a quilt in the show after all.

Speaking of quilts, I am often asked when I'm going to make a big quilt again. Well, the answer is.....soon. The trouble is, sometimes soon, for me, means a few days and sometimes it means a year. But I'm working on it. This school year has been much busier than I expected with the kids (you experienced moms are shaking your heads and laughing at me, I know) and of course, the yarn takes a lot of time too. I'm feeling a little rusty at the quilting but trying to get the wheels turning again.

In anticipation of starting a big new quilt, I have been spending a lot of time spring cleaning the studio. Clearing out the cobwebs and clutter (literally) has helped clear out the clutter in the brain. You know, the voices that keep telling me that it won't be good.

I spent several days ironing and folding hand-dyed fabric that was messy, disorganized, wrinkled, and scattered around the studio in several piles.
Doesn't that bookshelf look yummy and inviting now? So which stack would you start with? The pinks and oranges?

How about the blues and greens?

I think I hear this stack of periwinkle calling me.....

*Would I normally plan my wardrobe so that I matched my quilt--of course!

12 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Wow- Emily you have been busy!

9:42 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

What a nice post and a truly awesome quilt! Wow, wow, wow!
I smiled when I saw the picture with you 'matching' your quilt...even before I read your comments.

Tell me, did you sell your quilt to the organization? Or, how does it work? When you win a prize at a show, as in your case, $5000.00, do you have to hand over the prize winning quilt to the organizers?
I am just trying to figure out how comes you are no longer the owner of that beautiful quilt....
I have no clue how such things are done....my questions aren't meant to be nosey, just to get a clearer idea of how these things are done.

11:08 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Absolutely lovely!

Periwinkle looks like a good place to start!
:D

11:18 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Years ago I neatly arranged my yarn in color flow order in my antique post office desk.
My son came into the studio and said "And when are you going to knit again Mom?"
My answer "What? and spoil that beautiful arrangement?"
But honestly, I hope you do make a quilt and "spoil that beautiful arrangement"!KS

11:28 AM  
Blogger Katy said...

That quilt is utterly fabulous. Very cool that it was on display again!
And I commiserate on the difficulty of embarking on large creative projects when you are in the midst of parenting. I rarely have more than a half hour at a time to devote to anything (and even that is a gift!), so my projects now tend to be small in scale, with more focussed creative energy. That said--I am guessing that once you start a larger piece, you will fall in love with the process again.

12:24 PM  
Blogger Diane Doran said...

You look wonderful with your quilt! Of course when you go to a show and know your quilt will be in it you dress to match. I had to laugh when I was in Houston last year and folks kept commenting on that, when I'd carefully planned my entire wardrobe around the quilt. That stack of hand dyes sure looks yummy.

1:50 PM  
Blogger rohanknitter said...

What a fun surprise for you to go to the quilt show and see your quilt on display there! Speaking of that quilt, it is AMAZING!

4:49 PM  
Blogger Emily said...

Thank you all for your thoughtful comments!

Dear Anonymous--the selling of the quilt was separate from winning the prize, and happened a few years later. Different shows have different rules with their prizes and sometimes a show has big cash awards that are "purchase prizes" where they give you the money and keep the quilt. Some of the big awards at the AQS show in Paducah are this way. The IQA show in Houston is different. Even the $10,000 Best of Show award is not a purchase prize; you get to keep the quilt.

1:47 PM  
Blogger prairievisiondesign : handmade said...

I have complete stash envy. Do you ever do dyeing workshops?

2:23 PM  
Blogger Judy said...

That is one awesome quilt....and what a thrill for you to walk in and find it hanging there. I love the pic of you with it!

12:40 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Love your butterfly quilt.. what technique did you use in the construction? How exciting to see your quilt once again!

11:20 PM  
Blogger Emily said...

The butterfly quilt is fused, and I did a narrow satin stitch around all the edges. Thanks for asking!!

9:54 PM  

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