Saturday 3 August 2013

don't worry...

i  haven't dropped off the face of the earth! (because i know you haven't been sleeping, worry about me ;) since the fat quarterly retreat (which was AWESOME & needs it's own post) i've been firmly immersed in family life. i sort of came home with fresh eyes and decided our general clutter and mess in the house is at a level that is too high to cope with even for a untidy sod like me & have decided to have a major summer clean up. every room is a target, i've de-cluttered and gone through every drawer and cupboard in both of the boys rooms ready for a proper re-decoration project when i'm home from festival of quilts. i finished my studio yesterday - the relief of actually *wanting* to spend time in here is such a good feeling - i can't wait to get stuck into some sewing projects! the downside is the amount of black bin bags i've filled - a trip to the tip, methinks! i've got a MASSIVE amount of fabric scraps - every time i came across some i threw them into a big box & i also filled two large bags of them too. i'm thinking of going through them and perhaps selling them on, perhaps for people to use in their improv projects.

which brings us to...the book! i sold lots of copies of 'quilt improv' at the retreat and i'm hoping all the UK peeps have received their copies and are happily getting inspired, the feedback i've had so far has been wonderful and makes me feel so humble. thank you to all the lovely fat quarterly retreat peeps who bought a copy, i hope you love it! i've got several copies here that i will put up for sale when i home from festival.

which brings us to...festival of quilts! i'm there the entire time, helping out my friend yvonne who has a demo stand. i'll have tons of free time though because i'm only there to cover yvonne's toilet breaks...let's hope she has a strong bladder, haha.  i'm planning to really go through the festival with a fine tooth comb this year - i usually miss something brilliant & kick myself. i plan on spending a TON of time at committed to cloth stand which is always a total highlight for me. AND...little bit of a drum roll here, i've got two quilts at festival - the first is a HUGE honour because i entered a quilt loosely based on my fences fabric design into the new juried 'fine art quilt masters' category and it got in! i've been sitting on this news for ages, i'm a little bit stunned. apparently (& i might be wrong!) there were 100 or so entries and around 12 were picked from those while others were invited from 'big names'. so to be included in a lineup that includes diana harrison, pauline burbridge and elizabeth brimelow, quilt artists i've admired for years, is an absolute honour. ekk! exciting!

a tiny smidgeon of the front of 'fences'

and the back. yes that quilting took forever. and ever. the stitching
is quarter inch apart. 
the second quilt has been made from 'ice-cream colours' (although it has a lot of blue & both boys asked when i'd eaten blue ice-cream) i've entered it into the two person category because although the piecing and design was done by me, my mum did an awful lot of shit shovelling (cutting, trimming etc etc) as well as the quilting. and oh my god the quilting. OH MY GOD the quilting. she's a flipping genius with a long arm, i tell you. is it not cool to boast about your mum? well, i don't care if it is. here are glimpses, and i'll show the whole thing after festival, but here are a few teaser shots for now. if you're going to festival, look out for it! if not, i'll be back with proper photos and a pretty funny story. about this quilt, not just a random funny story.

scrumpled up.

on the machine. i haven't eaten ice cream that colour green either.
or turquoise. i may have eaten snow that yellow colour tho.

quilting on the back - this doesn't really do the quilting justice
because it doesn't show a big enough area, but trust me,  it's awesome sauce.
good grief, that was a bit epic, sorry. if you managed to reach the end without dying of boredom, congratulations, i'm impressed!

21 comments:

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Anonymous said...

Congratulations on getting into the Fine Art Quilt Masters gallery, that's fantastic! :D I look forward to seeing your quilts at the show :)

Charlotte said...

can't wait to see your quilts, and you too!

Sarah said...

theres always blueberry icecream?! i got my book yesterday and it really is fabby. genuinely in a non-crawling way cos my knees wouldnt take it, the photos, the layout, it's awesome. good job missus x ta!

Shevvy said...

I look forward to seeing the quilts and you at festival.
It's fine to boast about your mum, the quilting I've seen of hers before is amazing.
The book isn't too bad either! I've been improv-ing after being inspire by it this week.

Hannlib said...

I'm going on Saturday, super excited! I'll look out for your quilts

Karen Lewis Textiles said...

awesome! double awesome! and we may even finally meet as am hoping to go on Sunday!

HillyFilly said...

Ooh..... will look forward to seeing those.....
I'm drumming my fingers waiting for my pre-order to arrive but it still says Oct!!!! Will see you sometime at Fest... I'm there all week too......

Leanne said...

I can't wait to see pictures of these quilts after the festival, please post lots and lots. Congratulations and have fun! I am still loving your book.

pennydog said...

I've got a quilt in FoQ too so when I go I will look out for yours- and get you, you're an official master! Fantastic!

Katy Cameron said...

So you're saying you've been on the fence about announcing your fences? ;o) Congrats, and looking forward to hearing the ice cream story (I admit I have actually had blue ice cream *ahem*)

Elisabeth said...

Well, I can honestly say that I love, love, love your book and felt totally inspired by it and your class at FQR.
Congratulations on getting two quilts into FoQ. I'm looking forward to seeing lots of pictures of both on the blog as I'm not going to the Festival.

heart of charnwood said...

Well done Mrs, see i told you you were quite good at this quilt making malarkey! ;o). I'll go and have a look when i'm at FOQ, can't believe it's less than a week away now. :o)

Swedish Scrapper said...

Well I for one think it was epic to meet you and take your class! Love the book! I just can't stop blabbing about how fab it was! And thanks for book 2,it arrived Thursday. But don't i owe You the 5£ now (or more) for the shipping? Congrats on the Fences and the ice cream!

Swedish Scrapper said...

Oh! yes please I'm interested in scrap bags! Lizzie In Hara, Sweden

Rafael's Mum said...

It was lovely to see you again at FQR and might bump into you at the NEC then ! xx

Pennie said...

I can't wait to get the book - I somehow managed to pre-order 2 copies on Amazon! Am particularly looking forward to some time spent on improv that doesn't involve major sewing machine overhaul mid-process ;-). Those two quilts look gorgeous.

memmens said...

You are so funny and so crap at boasting or even saying that you might be even a little bit good at what you do - but maybe that's why we love you so much!
Anyway Emily and I are planning a trip to FoQ on the Sunday would be truly wonderous to see you.

Mrs Flying Blind... said...

Congratulations you old master you!
Looking forward to loads of pics and stories please as I will be sunning my bits and not at FoQs.
PS. You is so fab xxx

Anonymous said...

Dammit Lu why did I go and move to California? It means I can't come see you and your quilts in Birmingham ;). Hope you win everything and have a lovely time.
And you know I love your book. Review coming next week, brownie promise. Christine x

Trudi said...

The old masters are the best! And I just love Elizabeth Brimelow, she's awesome sauce herself! Can't wait to see Thoth quilts and will come find you for a catchup in that amazing quilting your Mum has done!

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