Author Archives: Maggie Ball

March for Our Lives, Seattle

Posted on by
Reply

On Saturday, 24th March, I participated in the March for Our Lives in Seattle. I applaud the young people taking a stand for the implementation of common-sense gun regulations and wanted to show my support for this cause. The march was peaceful and there was a feeling of optimism and hope that this is a beginning for positive change. Several of our St. Barnabas Church parishioners participated along with other members of the Episcopal Diocese of Olympia including the Bishop. Here I am marching with our church banner, one of my rare applique quilts, made in 2000.

The banner was much admired during the march. This is one of the more challenging quilts that I’ve made.. The Island, church, shield and lettering are done using a combination of hand, machine and fusible applique. The ferry boat was pieced and then the whole thing appliqued onto the background. We have a beautiful red brick church and I expressed my idea of our community extending beyond the parish by quilting lines radiating out from the lit up windows. The blue u-shaped piece in the border was cut from a large piece of fabric so that it could be made from just one piece. The quilt was machine quilted on my domestic machine. It has a split hanging sleeve on the back to accommodate the banner poles.

I spent several weeks working every day on this banner just after my father passed away in the spring of 2000, and the experience was very soothing. I donated it to my church in his memory. He was an Anglican priest and a Canon of Newcastle Cathedral, (U.K.), and this seemed a fitting tribute to his ministry and my fond memories.

 

“Home” exhibit at Bainbridge Island Museum of Art (1)

Posted on by
Reply

“Home” is a group exhibition featuring twenty-five artists from the Puget Sound Region. A few weeks ago I posted twice about this exhibit opening at Olympic College in Bremerton, and showed some of the work of the other artists. Now the exhibit has moved to the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art, where it will remain until June this year. The “Home” group exhibit was organized by a partnership between Olympic College, Bainbridge Island Museum of Art (BIMA) and Bainbridge Artisan Resource Network (BARN).

I feel honoured to be a participant. As a previous exhibitor at BIMA, I was invited to submit any works pertaining to the theme of “Home”. Interpretation of the theme could be very loose. Two quilts were selected for BIMA. I offered two bed quilts, one contemporary and one traditional: every home needs at least one bed with a quilt! The contemporary one hung in the Bremerton show and BIMA selected this traditional one, Trip Around the Garden, which I designed and pieced. My good friend Wanda Rains machine quilted it beautifully on her long-arm machine. This quilt is featured in my book, Traditional Quilts with a Twist.

 

As for the Bremerton show, my other piece on exhibit is Toto’s Garden, a decorative wall hanging for a child’s bedroom. Toto’s Garden, was made by me to be featured in a special exhibit, Quilts for the Young at Heart, at the Houston International Quilt Festival several years ago. The exhibit was sponsored by David Textiles Inc., who produced a Wizard of Oz line of fabrics and invited various quilters to use these to make Wizard of Oz themed quilts. I was invited by merit of my work teaching children to quilt and several kids made patchwork pillows and one made a lap quilt under my supervision. These all appeared, along with my offering, in the exhibit. Look closely to see the Cowardly Lion’s tail, the Scarecrow’s hat, Dorothy’s shoe, the Tin-man’s axe and the quilted tornado. This whimsical quilt was fun to make and rather atypical of my quilts which are not usually pictorial or applique. I like the way this quilt is paired with colorful glass fused bird houses in this exhibit.

Kitsap Quilters’ Guild Show (5) – Maggie’s small selection

Posted on by
Reply

At our recent Kitsap Quilters’ Guild show, over 200 quilts were exhibited displaying the wide range of talent in our guild and a large variety of techniques used. In previous blogs, I’ve already shared pictures from our featured artist, some Round Robins and some animal quilts. This collection shows just some of the many quilts that appealed to me for a variety of reasons. I like quilts with strong designs and those in which the use of color and value enhance the patterns. The use of black in first two makes stunning backgrounds to intensify the scrappy colors.

Linda Eakin-Johnson made this striking Curved Log Cabin quilt, quilted by Linda Moran, after taking a class from Ann Trujullo at Quilted Strait. She had a collection of Asian fabrics and used all 1,500 pieces! I love how the black fabric makes curved ribbons between the medley of scrappy logs. Checkerboard Garden, was made by Carol Kunold and quilted by Mirium Gill. The pattern is by Jason Yenter and I like how effective this very simple idea of a strippy quilt with assorted small squares and a fussy-cut large scale print with a black background works.

These two are very intricate with foundation paper-pieced triangles. On the left, Tumble, was pieced and quilted by Pam Knight. The pattern for this stunning quilt is Fire Island Costa by Judy Niemeyer. Pam dug into her stash of French General fabrics to create her own look. Her machine-quilting is exquisite and really enhances the quilt. Something Blue was made by Becky Rico and quilted by Teresa Silva, using a pattern by Jacqueline De Jonge. I have a soft spot for classic blue and white quilts. The next ones have a more modern feel.

Marj Deupree made this Prism quilt which is so bright and dimensional, and the Fruit Slices, a variation on the Courthouse Steps Log Cabin, (pattern by Monique Jacobs). The use of color in these two quilts really makes them pop.

On the left, a-MAZE-ing, was made by Mary Ann Hooker and quilted by Linda Moran. Mary Ann used the Antelope Canyon and Garden Delights pattern by Laurie Shifrin. Her persistence with ripping and re-sewing after discovering mistakes in three out of the four blocks, paid off and the finished quilt is beautiful. Becky Rico made Hexie Hexies, (quilted by Linda Moran), after being inspired by an antique quilt of a similar design. She enjoyed updating this pattern with more contemporary fabrics and the white background makes it look fresh and modern.

 

 

 

Kitsap Quilter’s Guild Show (4) – Animal Quilts

Posted on by
Reply

At our recent Kitsap Quilters’ Guild show, these wonderful animal quilts made me smile and I wanted to share them with you. We’ll begin with the birds. The Rooster, was made by Terry Loy using a fusible applique pattern by Laura Heine. Most of the fabrics are Kaffe Fassett with additional pieces from Terry’s collection to create different textures. I love this vibrant, colorful bird. Anne Trujillo made the Dancing with the stars bird quilt using Sue Spargo’s book, Bird Dance, for inspiration. The vintage lace came from Anne’s mother and vintage buttons were donated by Dorothy Thompson. Each bird has dupini silk beaded collar and a piece of Kaffe Fassett material. Check out the details on the close up pictures.

The detail on this cat quilt, Brownie, by Debi Snyder is amazing. This is Debi’s original design copied from a photo, using raw-edge applique enhanced with heavy thread work in the quilting. Brownie was hiding in the Christmas tree and Debi snapped a photo.

This playful fox quilt, Quilt for Kaci, was made by Sharon Broom from the pattern Kits ‘n’ Caboodle in Animal Parade, and quilted by Wanda Rains. Sharon used her own flowers and humming bird to improvise on the pattern. Jaxine Anderson made Giraffe using the fusible applique pattern Potpourri by Laura Heine. Jaxine loves giraffes and was captivated by this pattern. She collected the fabrics during a road trip to Chicago.

If I was in Charge, this rainbow of zebras, is an original design by Carol Bracher. Carol says “If I was in charge, zebras would be colorful!” She hand appliqued all the zebras’ stripes and made fuzzy yarn tails for them.

 

 

Kitsap Quilters’ Guild Show (3) – Round Robin Quilts

Posted on by
2

At our recent Kitsap Quilters’ Guild show, there were four round robin quilts made by a small group of quilters, The Sew What’s. The quilters, Nancy Mathisrud, Deana Cherry, Marj Deupree, and Cheri Searles, all began with the same central motif, then passed it on to one of the others for the next border. This continued so that all four quilters contributed to each quilt. They were challenged to design different borders and piece patterns that they hadn’t previously made.

Top left – Nancy Mathisrud, top right  –  Marj Deupree, bottom left -Cheri Searles and quilted by Nancy, and bottom right – Deana Cherry. Nancy, Marj and Deana all quilted their own quilts. I love how these quilts have developed with the addition of each border and how differently they turned out with each quilter setting their color palette of choice. This is so much fun and very inspiring.

Kitsap Quilters’ Guild Show (2) – Featured Artist Marybeth O’Halloran

Posted on by
Reply

Our annual Kitsap Quilters’ Guild show was on 16th and 17th of February. Our featured artist was Marybeth O’Halloran, whose beautiful work made a stunning display for us all to enjoy. Marybeth is a well-known, award-winning long-arm quilter from Bainbridge Island. Her work has appeared in books, magazines and other publications. In addition to her talent as a long-arm quilter, she is a precise piecer with a great eye for color and design. Last week I posted pictures of Marybeth’s display area with the promise of detailed pictures of her New Hexagon Millefiore quilt. Here it is.

The pattern for this quilt is by Katja Marek. Marybeth made this as a block of the month project, which took her years to finish. The piecing is all by hand using the English paper-piecing technique. What began as a serious project became more whimsical as Marybeth fussy cut pink poodles, astronaut cats, whales, foxes and more. The details are delightful and add so much to this absolutely gorgeous quilt. Check out the photos.

Kitsap Quilters’ Guild Show (1) – featured artist, Marybeth O’Halloran

Posted on by
Reply

Our annual Kitsap Quilters’ Guild show was on 16th and 17th of February. In the next few blogs I will share some of the highlights. Our featured artist was Marybeth O’Halloran, whose beautiful work made a stunning display for us all to enjoy. Marybeth is a well-known, award-winning long-arm quilter from Bainbridge Island. Her work has appeared in books, magazines and other publications. In addition to her talent as a long-arm quilter, she is a precise piecer with a great eye for color and design.

Here’s Marybeth in her display area. Next week my post will be detailed shots of the lovely millefiore quilt behind her. She rescued the chairs from our Rotary Auction and friends’ throw-aways. They are so whimsical in the bright colors and with the patchwork seats which Marybeth foundation pieced on denim for extra strength. She also made all the table mats, lamp shades and even fabric cup-cakes!

This spectacular Lone Star, Daddy’s Home, was a commissioned quilt and is made from three generations’ worth of ties set into a background of fine Italian shirting. The ties were stabilized with interfacing. The inset corner stars are from a Karen Stone pattern and Marybeth designed the rest of the quilt. Check out the details of her incredible machine quilting.

Rainbow Frankenquilt is sampler which began as a Pacific Fabrics block of the month from 2009 and then evolved to incorporate components from Marybeth’s spare parts bucket. The center was originally a stand-alone wall hanging but it looks wonderful as the focal point in this quilt. This quilt is eye-catching with so much detail and variety in the components which all come together to make an extremely successful design.

Corona, (on the left), is made from a pattern by Tula Pink. Marybeth modified it to be sewn by machine using an invisible zig-zag stitch to join the pieces instead of the hand-pieced English paper-piecing technique.This is a color-wheel within a color wheel, surrounded by coronal arcs to celebrate last summer’s eclipse. The Lion, (pattern by Violet Craft), is a fresh modern take on a paper foundation pieced lion. Marybeth is a Leo and loves lions of all sorts. She used prints instead of solids and changed the palette to incorporate her favorite color, turquoise. Check out the lovely patchwork lamp shades too.

More rainbow colors with these quilts that pop. On the left, Free-pieced Posies. pattern by Atkinson Design, is one of Marybeth’s first experiments in free-piecing on a polychromatic theme. She made sheets of fabric from scraps and then cut the sheets to the petal size. On the right, Modern Diamonds, was Marybeth’s pattern designed to use as a sample for a scrap quilting class. It was made entirely from her scrap pile.

Kitsap Quilters’ Guild Show, February 16th and 17th, 2018

Posted on by
Reply

Please join us for our Kitsap Quilters’ Guild annual show this Friday and Saturday. We will be displaying over 200 quilts, enjoying a fantastic display by our talented featured artist Marybeth O’Halloran, shopping from our quilt store vendors, observing demonstrations of a variety of quilting techniques by our members, bidding on our silent auction baskets and more. We always put on a good show and would love to see you there.

“Home” exhibit at Olympic College, Bremerton (2)

Posted on by
Reply

“Home” is a group exhibition featuring twenty-five artists from the Puget Sound Region. “Home” celebrates the opening of Olympic College’s Instructional Center and is a partnership between Olympic College, Bainbridge Island Museum of Art (BIMA) and Bainbridge Artisan Resource Network (BARN). The exhibit is in their brand new building, in the gallery, and will be there until 2nd March, 2018. I feel honoured to be a participant. As a previous exhibitor at BIMA, I was invited to submit any works pertaining to the theme of “Home”. Interpretation of the theme could be very loose. Two quilts were selected for Olympic College, and there will be more when the exhibit moves to the larger space in BIMA in March. See my blog last week for my bed quilt and additional pictures of some of the other works of art.

This wall hanging would be fun and appropriate to hang on the wall of a child’s bedroom in a home. Toto’s Garden, was made by me to be featured in a special exhibit, Quilts for the Young at Heart, at the Houston International Quilt Festival several years ago. The exhibit was sponsored by David Textiles Inc., who produced a Wizard of Oz line of fabrics and invited various quilters to use these to make Wizard of Oz themed quilts. I was invited by merit of my work teaching children to quilt and several kids made patchwork pillows and one made a lap quilt under my supervision. These all appeared, along with my offering, in the exhibit. Look closely to see the Cowardly Lion’s tail, the Scarecrow’s hat, Dorothy’s shoe, the Tin-man’s axe and the quilted tornado. This whimsical quilt was fun to make and rather atypical of my quilts which are not usually pictorial or applique. Here are some more pieces from the “Home” exhibit which captivated my interest.

On the left, Cedar Mesa Ruin, by Kay Walsh: scanned 4×5 black and white carbon pigment digital print. On the right, Home, Sweet Home, by Bill Walcott: acrylic on canvas.

On the left, On the Street Where You Live, by Max Grover: acrylic and collage on board. On the right, American Pie, by Karen Hackenberg: wood matchsticks, aluminum pan and scale-model figures.

 

“Home” exhibit at Olympic College, Bremerton (1)

Posted on by
Reply

“Home” is a group exhibition featuring twenty-five artists from the Puget Sound Region. “Home” celebrates the opening of Olympic College’s Instructional Center and is a partnership between Olympic College, Bainbridge Island Museum of Art (BIMA) and Bainbridge Artisan Resource Network (BARN). The exhibit is in their brand new building, in the gallery, and will be there until 2nd March, 2018.

I feel honoured to be a participant. As a previous exhibitor at BIMA, I was invited to submit any works pertaining to the theme of “Home”. Interpretation of the theme could be very loose. Two quilts were selected for Olympic College, and there will be more when the exhibit moves to the larger space in BIMA in March. I offered two bed quilts, one contemporary and one traditional: every home needs at least one bed with a quilt! They chose the contemporary one shown above, Retro-Radiation, made from my original Op-Art Kaleidoscope blocks and quilted by Wanda Rains. Here’s a selection of some of the other pieces from a variety of artists. My second quilt and more of these will be posted in my blog next week. Curator, Greg Robinson, has as outstanding eye for placing different media together into a coherent and beautiful exhibit.

These are the nests. On the left, Fledged, by Kris Ekstrand in charcoal and mixed media. On the right, Nests, by Carla Grahn in hand formed and hand sewn nickel coated wire.

Here’s Bird House, by Diane Bonciolini and Gregg Mesmer of Mesolini Glass: cast, slumped and fused glass work. On the right, Out on A Limb, by Karen Hackenberg looks like a home made by bees. Karen constructed this amazing piece from wooden matchsticks, a madrona branch and scale-model figures.