Kitsap Quilters’ Guild Show – a small selection

Posted on February 29, 2016 by Maggie Ball

My local quilt guild, Kitsap Quilters’ Guild, recently held their annual show at the Kitsap Fairgrounds in Silverdale. Last week I posted about our featured artist and this week I’m giving you a small sampling of quilt show entries that particularly appealed to me. Our annual quilt show always has a great variety of quilts, ranging from traditional to contemporary and encompassing many techniques. This year there were over 200 entries.

On the left is Desert Knock Off pieced by Honora Dunkak and machine quilted by Marybeth O’Halloran. The quilt pattern is by Valori Wells. This quilt won first place in the Large Pieced Group category. Chromatic Hex Flowers, pieced by Marybeth O’Halloran and Jenn Rhoads and machine quilted by Marybeth was inspired by the Hexie Garden pattern by Atkinson Designs. Both of these quilts have a fresh, modern look and the colors really pop against the white backgrounds.

Here’s another stunning quilt on a light background. Metro Scope in Kaffes, was pieced and machine quilted by Marybeth O’Halloran. The pattern is Metro Scope by Sew Kind of Wonderful. Check out the beautiful quilting especially in those oval white pieces. Marybeth works magic with her long-arm machine.

Birds on Steroids was hand appliqued using wool and a variety of embellishments, embroidered, machine pieced and quilted by Carol Olsen. It took her over a year to complete while she was recovering from back surgery. These are such whimsical delightful birds and the attention to detail makes this a magnificent quilt.The pattern is Bird Dance by Sue Spargo. Carol is teaching a class on this at the quilt shop in Port Gamble, Quilted Strait.

Gladys Schulz and friends made the Log Cabin blocks and Gladys assembled them and machine quilted this Log Cabin Sampler. I love the creative way that Gladys has set these Log Cabin blocks and the wonderful sampling of quilting patterns really enhances the piece.

These last two are the quilts that I entered into the show. My Original Octangles won first place in the Innovative Art category. Heather and Jeff’s Star, made as a wedding gift, took second place in the Large Pieced Group category. Both quilts were machine quilted by Wanda Rains. More on these two in upcoming blogs.

Kitsap Quilters’ Guild show – featured artist Jaxine Anderson

Posted on February 22, 2016 by Maggie Ball

My local quilt guild, Kitsap Quilters’ Guild, held their annual show this Friday and Saturday at the Kitsap Fairgrounds in Silverdale. The show featured over 200 entries from our members, and a special exhibit show casing the work of guild member Jaxine Anderson. Here’s a tour of Jaxine’s lovely display.

Jaxine is a traditional quilter. Her work is predominantly pieced, but you’ll spy a small amount of applique too. She began quilting in 1989, after spending many prior years doing a variety of handwork. A co-worker introduced her to quilting and her first project was a wall hanging using a Debbie Mumm pattern. Then she began taking classes at a local fabric store and became hooked. After retiring from teaching elementary school, Jaxine owned a quilt shop for 10 years in Juneau, Alaska. In 2007, she sold the store and moved to Poulsbo when she became active in our guild.

The quilt with the bars, a more contemporary design, was quilted by Marybeth O’Halloran with a different quilting design in each block. You get the gist of this wonderful quilting sampler from the detailed shot. Thank you Jaxine, for sharing your beautiful quilts.

Kitsap Quilters’ Guild 30th annual quilt show

Posted on January 29, 2016 by Maggie Ball

Our 30th annual Kitsap Quilters’ Guild show will be held on February 19th and 20th at the Kitsap County Fairgrounds in East Bremerton. Typically we display 200+ quilts and it’s well worth coming to view them. Our guild members are talented and the quilts range all the way from traditional through to modern. We always show case the work of one guild member in a special exhibit and this year it will be Jaxine Anderson. Here’s our beautiful raffle quilt, pieced by guild members and machine quilted by Marybeth O’Halloran. The pattern is by Judy Niemeyer.

The quilt will be displayed at the show where you will have the opportunity to purchase tickets for the raffle. Here’s a detailed shot showing the exquisite quilting. The drawing for the raffle will be at our quilt guild meeting on February 23rd.

5th Grade quilt project, Chestnut Hill Academy

Posted on November 27, 2015 by Maggie Ball

I spent last week quilting with 5th Graders at Chestnut Hill Academy in Bellevue, WA. It’s been six or seven years since I worked with kids and I was excited to be enlisted. My daughter teaches 5th grade math and science at the school and secured a grant from the PTO to fund this project. We wanted to involve the kids with as much of the quilt making process as possible which required careful planning and thorough preparation of the materials. It was an intense week, but great fun and the kids enthusiastically embraced designing their quilts and using the sewing machine. There were two classes, 26 kids in all and we made two quilts. The quilts will be auctioned at a school fundraiser in the spring. I was assigned a large light room for the week and the kids came for presentations and sewing. Privacy regulations do not allow me to share pictures of the kids, but here’s the classroom and me doing a presentation.

We began with a talk to all the kids about quilting in general with a little bit of history to tie in with their studies of the colonial era. Then each class came in turn for details on their project. I had chosen the Bowtie block for them to sew and each quilt was to have 16 blocks. I showed them a PowerPoint presentation of EQ generated patterns depicting a variety of ways to arrange 16 Bowtie blocks. There were choices to be made – should all the Bowties be colored on a light background, should all the Bowties be light on a colored background, or should we make half in half? Here are some examples.

The top two show all blue Bowties and all white Bowties and the lower two show half blue and half white. There are many more options for rotating the blocks and designing different patterns. The kids were intrigued by this. Both classes chose independently to make half colored and half light Bowties for their quilts. After making this decision they chose their fabrics. One class did a green quilt and the other did a blue one. I had prepared packages of pre-cut pieces for the blocks. There were at least 20 of each color, so that the last child to pick still had several from which to choose.

The next task was to sew the blocks. The children came to me in groups of three or four and it took about 45 minutes to complete the blocks. Over half of them had used a sewing machine before, but I had all of them practice sewing on a piece of graph paper to sew along a line and get the feel of how hard to press the pedal to determine the speed. I had two sewing machines and one iron. We always all went to the iron together so that I could supervise. If I do this again, I would probably work with just two at a time and I think we could do the blocks in 20 minutes. I had a free-standing work wall with 16 of my Bargello blocks so that kids who were waiting for their turn to sew could arrange the blocks into different patterns and they loved this. By Tuesday afternoon (day two), all but four blocks were finished. I colored in paper blocks, so that the two groups could design their quilt layouts.

Here are some of the variations they made. I took digital photos of each variation and then the kids voted (eyes closed so there was no peer pressure). This process took an hour for each class which was longer than anticipated but the kids were mesmerized by the design possibilities and really enjoyed arranging the blocks. Once the pattern was determined we made some minor changes in the positioning of certain fabrics. I trimmed all the blocks to 9″ to remove irregularities around the edges and for ease of assembling. The children were fascinated when I demonstrated the use of the rotary cutter (which was put away during their sewing sessions). On day three we completed the remaining blocks, and the kids came in pairs to do 10 minutes of sewing of the pieced borders – piano keys for one quilt and stepping stones for the other. Everyone had a turn.

Here are the two quilt tops. They turned out beautifully and I’m so proud of the kids. I sewed in the evening of the third day and all day on the fourth day to complete them. On the evening of the fourth day, we basted both quilts ready for the kids to tie on the final day. The backs are flannel and quilts are both around 52″ x 52″. It was a marathon, but we did it! Perhaps if I do this again, we would arrange three days at school, then a weekend to complete the tops and baste, and then another day or two at school instead of five days in a row at school. The Bowtie was an excellent choice with just enough sewing and such a variety of options for patterns.

The children came in their class groups to see me demo machine quilting and tying. I machine quilted in the ditch between each block on the green quilt. On the blue one, I outlined the blue shapes. The kids came in pairs for 10 minute sessions to tie four ties in their blocks. We used variegated pearl cotton. I was concerned that they would have trouble stitching through all the layers to make the ties, but they did really well and all but one did all four ties in the 10 minutes. We had to limit the time, so that everyone got a turn and it worked out fine. This week I’ve added some more machine quilting to the borders and machine stitched the binding. All that is needed to complete the quilts is to hand stitch the bindings to the back and make a label with all the names, date etc. We will also include a picture panel of a scene from Washington DC. In April, the kids fly there for a four day field trip. It’s a highlight of being in 5th grade (the top grade in the school) and this will serve as a reminder of this special trip to those lucky enough to take a quilt home after the auction.

American Hero Quilts

Posted on November 6, 2015 by Maggie Ball

With Veterans Day coming up next week, I thought it appropriate to write a post about the American Hero Quilts project and to share four beautiful quilts that were displayed at our Bainbridge Island quilt show in September. These quilts were made by a small group of dedicated volunteers who meet on the third Thursday of every month at Esther’s Fabrics from 7:00-9:00 p.m. Each year, this group creates 12-18 quilts, all of which are donated to wounded veterans at Madigan Army Medical Hospital and other military hospitals.

The American Hero Quilts Organization was founded in 2004 by Sue Nebeker from Vashon Island, WA, to give recognition and appreciation to our wounded service men and women who have served in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Each quilt is a metaphoric hug sending a message of gratitude for their service. 11 years on, over 800 volunteers have contributed quilting hours and made donations. As of the beginning of 2015, over 17,500 quilts had been distributed to deserving men and women and their families. This is a tremendous project. Click on the link above to visit their website and see how you can help.

Thought Patterns exhibit at Bainbridge Island Museum of Art

Posted on October 30, 2015 by Maggie Ball

I’m excited to be one of the 15 artists featured in the current group exhibition, “Thought Patterns”, at the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art (BIMA). “Thought Patterns” is a group exhibition featuring artists working in diverse media. The common thread is how these regional artists construct their ideas in patterned and repetitive ways. The show includes more traditional forms of fiber art (textiles, quilts and baskets) and expands on the notion of “woven constructions” – combining diverse ideas and materials through drawing, painting, artist’s books, metalsmithing, woodworking, construction, digital prints, and video. Whether tightly loomed or more loosely arranged, each artist weaves their own personal narrative.

The show opened in mid-October with a patrons preview party attended by 390 people and the next day an afternoon for meeting the artists and an evening party for guests of the artists. About 35 of my friends came to the evening party and we had a wonderful celebration. I’m thrilled to have four of my quilts in this exhibit and to see them hung in a museum setting in combination with the amazing work of the other artists. I really enjoyed meeting some of the other artists and was surprised how similar we are in drawing inspiration from naturally occurring and man-made patterns. Here is a sampling of their artistic works.

I loved these colorful quilt-like pieces by Julie Haack made from latex paint on salvaged wood. The box is open at the far end and is actually entitled, Quilt Cave. Julie writes, “This is what happens: the geometric patterns distort and invade neighboring planes, the tidy constraints of static rectangles become convex curving forms suggestive of movement. The academic rules that dictate which materials are acceptable in conventional art-making practices are disregarded, instead of canvas, small pieces of wood are assembled in a mosaic and presented formally as a highly crafted object balancing between painting and sculpture.”

Artist Aaron Levine, makes incredible tessellated patterns from hundreds of tiny sixteenth of an inch thick tiles of wood. These are displayed as table tops. The one on the left is entitled I AM the Center. My picture doesn’t do this beautiful table justice. The I is in the center and is then tessellated into gradually changing patterns that are different on each of the four sides of the table. The right picture shows the detail from another table. These are mind blowing.

These exquisite, delicate works are made by Aaron McKnight using tiny pieces of birch bark, papyrus, and acrylic paint and sealant. Aaron uses scissors to cut the patterns of dots from the bark. Without any magnification, (he’s young and has good eye-sight), he creates these beautiful sculptures with wonderful radiant symmetry and detail.

Waterfall, by June Sekiguchi is made from enameled scroll cut engineered wood. This piece is about eight feet tall. The elements are layered and placed on a rod at the top. The order may be reconfigured each time the piece is installed. June is inspired by natural and anthropological sources. She explores by processing, deconstructing, and re-structuring a form and focusing on metaphorical rather than literal interpretation of the source material. The woven piece, from wool and linen, looks very quilt-like to me and I love the bands of gradually changing colors. Suzanne Hubbard wove this and named it Transcendence.

I was delighted how the work of all these artists and others not shown here were displayed in a coherent and attractive exhibit based on repeating elements and patterns. I feel honored to have my work as a part of this. The exhibit runs until mid-February. Do visit if you can!

Fantastic Fibers 2015 – Paducah, KY

Posted on August 21, 2015 by Maggie Ball

During AQS QuiltWeek in Paducah, there are all kinds of exhibits to see in addition to the AQS quilt show. The whole town embraces the expansion of its population by 30,000 as the quilters descend, and many of the downtown shops are decorated with quilts. I’ve already written about the Rotary exhibit of antique quilts, and then there is the National Quilt Museum. The latter is exceptional and worth a visit if you anywhere near Paducah at any time of the year.

In the heart of this small town there is an old market building which houses a historical museum and the Yeiser Art Center. Here, there was a wonderful international juried exhibit, Fantastic Fibers 2015, sponsored by Fiber Art Now Magazine and two former mayors of Paducah. This display included some quilts and a variety of other fiber media such as 3-d fiber sculptures, felted wool, woven materials and more. As quilters, we take our inspiration from many sources and it can be illuminating to look at other art forms. Here’s a sampling of the works that particularly appealed to me.

This extraordinary piece occupying a large section of wall, Come Fly With Me, by Paula Bowers of Grand Rapids, MI, was made from hand felted fiber. It made a stunning impact from the other side of the room. Close up, it was a beautiful blend of lush colors.

Snow Bound, by Betty Busby, Albuquerque, NM was a magnificent fiber vase, hand painted and stitched. It stood about five feet tall.

This art quilt, Fancy Shawl Dancer, by Linda Anderson, Le Mesa CA, was a beautiful piece really capturing the motion of the dancer and the shadow. The piecing, painting and quilting were so intricate and added great depth.

Three Caged Birds, by Robin Haller, Greenville, NC, is a handwoven triptych. The quilt-like quality of the pattern appealed to me as well as the color combinations.

On the left is Fiesta, made by Cuauhtemoc Kish, San Diego, CA. I love the composition of this quilt and the use of silks made it very rich. The pair of quilts, From Here to There, by Shea Wilkinson, Omaha, NE depicts the human and robotic brains. The picture does not do justice to the amazingly intricate quilting.

This exhibit ran for two months, so it is now over. It’s possible that it may travel to other areas of the country. If so, I hope you can take a look at the real thing.

AQS QuiltWeek in Paducah VII – Stitch Like an Egyptian special exhibit

Posted on August 7, 2015 by Maggie Ball

The Stitch Like an Egyptian exhibit showcased several wonderful appliqué pieces made by tentmakers in Cairo. For thousands of years, complex canvas appliqué art decorated the interiors of tents and homes in the Middle East. There are only a small group of Egyptian artists (about 55, all men) continuing this tradition, working in their small shops along a covered street. Inspiration for the elaborate designs comes from architecture, Islamic carvings, calligraphy and nature. Some have circular mandala patterns, some have square and rectangular designs and others are pictorial. Here are examples of all of these. The color choices and sophisticated patterns are stunning.

This circular pattern above, entitled 573 Ekramy, is from the Al Farouk Shop and has Romy and lotus patterns. The one below, 353 Hosam, is from the Mohamed Hashem Shop. It is a complex Romy design with a star center. Romy applique incorporates a distinctive little curlicue that comes from the era of the Fatimids when the calligraphy permitted in mosques was embellished with small curls and tips that looked like growing plants of leaflets. It often winds under and over like Celtic applique, but is allowed two “overs” or two “unders”.

The next two utilize square and rectangular designs. 469 Hosam, 49″ x 58″, was made at the Al Farouk Shop. It has stylized lotus borders with Romy designs.

Here is another, the only one I saw done in a monochromatic pallet. I love the blue and white in 477 Mahmoud. 61″ x 68″, made at the Fattoh Shop. It has a vase with lotus and Romy, two side columns and an intricate lotus border.

The designs are made by folding paper and punching holes in one-eighth through all the layers. The paper is unfolded and laid over the background. Talcum powder, charcoal or cinnamon is rubbed over the surface making tiny dots on the fabric. Then the dots on the fabric are joined with a lead or white pencil to complete the transfer of the pattern. This technique has been used for the last 4,000 years.

Last, but not least, is the pictorial. This wonderful tree full of colorful birds, 703 Aly, 57″ x 57″, was made at the Mohamed Ibrahim Shop.

AQS QuiltWeek in Paducah VI – The WICKED challenge

Posted on July 31, 2015 by Maggie Ball

The WICKED – Are You Wicked? quilt challenge was sponsored by Cherrywood Hand Dyed Fabrics. The challenge was to use Cherrywood “Wicked Greens” and black to make a 20″ square quilt using the theme WICKED. Most were influenced by the Broadway musical hit, but some expressed other interpretations of the word wicked. A total of 114 quilts were submitted. Of these, judges selected 27 to hang on Broadway for two months. All the quilts were displayed in a special exhibit at the Paducah show on a long wall and they looked spectacular.

The quilt on the right, It’s All About the Tornado, by Pat DuBois of Woodbury, MN, was the Viewers Choice. It was my favorite too. Pat knew immediately that she wanted a tornado for her challenge. “Whether you call it a tornado, a cyclone, or a twister…. it’s the most powerful and WICKED”. Techniques include paper-piecing, curved piecing, needle turn applique, fusing, embroidery and embellishment with crystals.

Wicked Sorcery, on the left, was made by Judy O’Connor Chaffee of Naperville, IL. Judy witnessed the devastating I-5 tornado in 1957 in Kansas City and still has a fear of tornadoes. In reading Wicked she was fascinated by Elphaba’s use of sorcery. “My quilt is a kind of dream world and answers the question: Could Elphaba and her flying monkeys also create tornadoes.” The monkeys are machine quilted in the green sky around the funnel of the tornado. On the right, Shelli Ricci of Apple Valley, MN takes a whimsical look inside the closet and under the dress of one “not-so-nice” girl in her quilt, Witches Britches. “I think it would be fun to wear a pretty purple corset and stockings. Maybe good girls have WICKED secrets hiding in their closets too!” Shelli embellished this gem of a quilt with Angelina fiber, crayons, rubber stamps, beads and bling.

Madame Morrible’s Garden of Hexes, by Robin Gausebeck from Rockford, IL won second place in the contest. This is a WICKED perversion of the traditional Grandmother’s Flower Garden, populated by hex-agonal flowers. Who knows what lies hidden in the garden guarded by a flying monkey beside the yellow brick road. The final tornado, Wicked Twist, is the creation of Linda Syverson-Guild from Bethesda, MD. The twister has gathered from classic tales involving WICKED attitudes. As well as Dorothy’s house, drawn into the funnel are Snow White’s apple, the Queen of Hears’crown, a spindle from Sleeping Beautry, cherries taken from Rapunzel and Rumpelstiltskin, and a gingerbread man from Hantzel and Gretel.

I’m sure this wonderful exhibit will travel extensively around the US in the next couple of years. If you have a chance to see it, I’m sure you will enjoy the creativity around this WICKED theme and be inspired.

Northwest Quilters challenge

Posted on June 19, 2015 by Maggie Ball

When I lectured at Northwest Quilters in Portland at their June meeting, there were at least 20 challenge quilts on display and members voted on their favorite. I encourage you to participate in challenges if you have the chance – it stretches your imagination and is a great opportunity for trying out techniques that you haven’t previously explored. The challenge topic provides the initial inspiration and is open for any kind of interpretation. For this challenge, each participant received a piece of fabric that had either fruits or vegetables on it. They had to use that fabric in at least five places in their quilt and the quilt had to be no larger than 24″ x 24″. Here are four examples.

Shauna Sonoda made Nature is my Teacher (pictured on the left), this beautiful scene. She writes, “The beauty, color and serenity of Breitenbush Hot Springs has inspired me to grow both personally and professionally for over a decade. It is a place that taught me to open my heart and my mind and accept the many blessings that have flowed into my heart. I’m forever grateful!” Her fabric had beets on it. Denna Bandeen was inspired by trees swaying in the wind in December and made Dancing in the wind including the turnip fabric which she was given.

Barbara Neill’s, A Stellar Harvest, was the winning quilt. She used many surface design methods to create this very Northwestern scene with delicious blueberries (her fabric) and a gorgeous thread-painted Stellar Jay. Design, Cut, Stitch, Create was made by Nikki Schoeffel who used her grape fabric in the Log Cabin blocks by the machine. Nikki writes, “Growing up, no one would have called me creative. Sure, I would follow a sewing or needlework pattern and I always colored neatly inside the line. But through quilting and age, I’ve found the freedom to step outside the box and experiment with color, design and new technologies.” I hope these sentiments ring true for many of you and that quilting is a freeing and inspiring activity.

Maggie Ball | Dragonfly Quilts

Tag Archives: quilts

Kitsap Quilters’ Guild Show – a small selection

Kitsap Quilters’ Guild show – featured artist Jaxine Anderson

Kitsap Quilters’ Guild 30th annual quilt show

5th Grade quilt project, Chestnut Hill Academy

American Hero Quilts

Thought Patterns exhibit at Bainbridge Island Museum of Art

Fantastic Fibers 2015 – Paducah, KY

AQS QuiltWeek in Paducah VII – Stitch Like an Egyptian special exhibit

AQS QuiltWeek in Paducah VI – The WICKED challenge

Northwest Quilters challenge

Maggie Ball | Dragonfly Quilts

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: