More of the Chicago Quilt Show

Here are some more quilts from the recent International Quilt Festival/Chicago 2009.

This one is a detail of "Three Guinea Fowl" by Pamela Allen:



She used some velvets and satins in this charming quilt:


This one is "Polka Dot Eden" By Luella Morgenthaler. All the fabrics are polkadots. I should have gotten a detail pic of it...


This gorgeous masterpiece is "Hawaii Sunset - 1845" by Linda Wilkey and quilted by Dana Goyer:


"Leaf Motif" by Laura Wasilowski:


"Red Owls" by Karin Pierce


"Winter to Spring" by Kathy York:


We couldn't tell if the fabric was striped or if it was pieced in these tiny stripes. In any case it was beautiful and textural:


This is "Overcrowded World" by Irene MacWilliam


I'm leaving for Paducah tomorrow! We have quite a drive straight south from Chicago. I can't wait to get away! My mom and I travel well together and have fun. I hope the weather is warm and pleasant. We just can't seem to shake off winter here in Chicago.

Quilt Show 2009

Posting has been kinda slow for me lately. I'm not sure why. Maybe because I'm trying to focus more on house projects and cooking rather than crafting lately. I am still crafting, but I'm not really getting anything done..

This week my Mom and I are going to the BIG quilt show in Paducah, KY. We've never been, but I've heard good things!

This past weekend was the International Quilt Festival in Chicago. This is the first year I took my daughter and she was super excited to get to come along. My friend Donna also brought her crafty daughter and we had a great time.

Here the girls are coloring quilt squares with fabric markers at the Project Linus booth:

We went on the last day and were racing around a bit to see everything. I didn't notice until I got home that I had some blurry pictures. A large part of the exhibition doesn't allow photographs so I really recommend that you try to attend and see things with your own eyes!

I don't even know where to begin! I think this quilt was one of the most impressive that I photographed. This is "The Breath of Life" by Harumi Asada:

I love this one called "After the Rains" by Betty Busby. each stone is a gorgeous batik:

Traditional patterns are really wonderful. This one is "Two-Color Pineapple Quilt 2007" by Anita Grossman Solomon and Miriam Janove, Quilting by Janice Petre. Red and white is somehow always seasonal:

I'll keep posting my pictures, but I'll be away from my computer for several days when I'm in Paducah.

Tra-La-La

Lets take a moment to recall one of the shows I watched after school in the 1970s. My parents limited our television, but allowed us to crash in front of the tv for awhile after school. Sometimes, I would also be playing a board game or cards with my brother. I think we pretty much only watched TV after school because I only remember these reruns that aired and I don't recall watching many new shows.

First up, The Banana Splits:

One of the cartoons on the Banana Splits was The Adventures of Gulliver. Flirtacia was the blonde who had a crush on the handsome dark haired giant and hero. One of the Liliputians is a depressed pessimist and he always drones, "We'll never make it..." when the group is in danger.

This is the unforgettable theme to "Danger Island":

"Uh oh, Chongo!"

Another cartoon was The New Adventures of Huck Finn. In this one, live action children actors would walk around in animated environments. I loved the idea of walking around in a parallel universe like this and I would imagine I was Becky. Becky, Huck and Tom are always on the run from Injun Joe.

The Banana Split show was where we kids would see all the Hanna Barbera cartoons like Secret Squirrel and Morocco Mole:

Also on the show were Atom Ant, Magilla Gorilla, Wacky Races and more.

These clips are totally dated and my children are absolutely not interested in the shows I has so much fun watching as a child. Alas...

Happy Easter and Passover Blessings to all!

Gnomes and Birds

This week at Craft Critique, we are doing a vendor spotlight on Meyer Imports.

These are a few of the projects I made with some of the lovely vintage style German craft items from this supplier.

Their items were fun to play with! See what else I made and read about it HERE. Leave a comment at one of the Craft Critique posts and qualify for the giveaway at the end of the week.

Chicago 2016

It would be awesome if the 2016 Olympics comes to Chicago. Last week the IOC was here sizing up our beautiful city as a venue. This video features Chicagoland Olympians including Michael Jordan and my childhood next-door neighbor Paul Moran who has competed in 5 (!) Paralympics in sitting volleyball and tennis.

EDIT: They are here right now! Unfortunately, we are having very chilly weather and a chance of snow.

Embroidery Floss Review

I reviewed DMC Linen Embroidery Floss for Craft Critique. This floss is slightly expensive, but I liked it! Read all about it HERE.

Last month I also reviewed Satin Embroidery Floss. I was decidedly less enthusiastic about this floss. I'm told that it is more cooperative if you use beeswax with it but since DMC did not specifically recommend this, I used the floss as it came out of the package. Read my Satin Floss review HERE.

See how wild it looks in that photo? It was the same to stitch with...