Let's Go Downeast for a Quilt Show, Part 3

 

Here's our final look at the wonderful Maine Quilts 2025. This special display of miniatures by the late Dorothy Bosselman were on loan from the collection of the New England Quilt Museum. Dorothy began making miniature versions of historic Amish quilts in the 1990s, and hand quilting these small treasures. This Lone Star mini measures just 12" x 14", so imagine the size of those pieces and Dorothy's meticulous hand stitch! Her border quilting is called "double rodding" and is a hallmark of traditional Amish quilts.

It was a challenge to photograph these minis because they were mounted on canvas display boards and hard to shoot straight-on. I love the dusty purples in her Sunshine and Shadow, 10" square.

Square-in-a-Square is a traditional Amish design. Clearly it was one of Dorothy's favorites to piece and quilt. It's one of mine, too. Many years ago I took a class with Catherine Anthony on making Amish-style quilts. This was the pattern we used in class, and could fill the center with any number of designs such as squares-on-point or bars. The piecing was simple and left plenty of space to showcase the quilting. We learned to make traditional templates for our own "pumpkin seeds" and "tear drops" which became complex cables, feathers, and wreaths when we duplicated them and marked them on our quilt tops. You can see some of those designs in Dorothy's work, too. Hers are just 15" square.

This is not one of Dorothy's quilts, but I included it with the miniatures because that is pretty tiny piecing! This is Kimberly Minns' entry in her local guild's challenge. The group used wrapping paper designs as the basis for each quilter's inspiration. A novel idea. Next posts coming up are from another quilt exhibit. I'll save you time, gas, and money to "armchair travel" to see this wonderful show at an art museum. Stay tuned...

Let's Go Downeast for a Quilt Show... Part 2

 

As usual, with a quilt show, there was so much eye candy at Maine Quilts 2025 that it cannot be contained in a single post. Hence, part 2 with part 3 yet to come. There's both complexity and simplicity in "MegaStar" by Mary Ann Cugini, quilted by Kevin McMurry. She used a design by Brigitte Heitland for her Modern Quilt design. 

I just want to open the door of Celeste Poulin's "Secluded Garden". Right after I admire the flora and stonework, plus the texture she achieved with her quilting and fabric choices. 

Beatrice Gilbert notes in her artist statement that "Surf's Up" is "a riot of color and graphics". She got that right! And she earned ribbons for her artistry and workmanship.

The colors, and of course the horse print, really caught my eye in this round robin quilt project. It was made by Ruthann Fox and is a celebration of the wild horses that live in the Salt River area of Arizona near her home.

Now for the show's theme quilt display- the Log Cabins. This simple quilt design is where so many quilters got their start. It was among my first quilts. And yet the variations of the design are endless. Maine 2025 included antique Log Cabins as well as modern interpretations. "Les Lanternes du Palais" is the display piece made by Elisabeth Nacenta de la Coix, made in 2015.

Log Cabin, Courthouse Steps Variation is a vintage quilt from the collection of Ardis and Robert James. It's believed to be a Massachusetts quilt, maker unknown, circa 1870-1890. 

Another vintage quilt- Log Cabin, Barn Raising, also from the Ardis and Robert James collection, is possibly a Pennsylvania quilt, maker unknown, circa 1870-1890.

And a third, Log Cabin, Straight Furrow, from the same collection, is also possibly a Pennsylvania quilt, maker unknown, circa 1880-1900.

Lastly, this series of art quilts by Brenda Saller was appealing for its coloration and the detailed hand stitching. The final part of this blog series will have something astonishing for the miniature quilt lovers! Stay tuned.

Let's Go Downeast for a Quilt Show! - Part 1

The Pine Tree Quilters in Maine sure know how to put on a wonderful quilt show! We had the good fortune of being in Maine for several days which coincided with this annual event. One thing I admire about the Maine Quilts 2025 show is how many quilts on display depict regional influences. From pine trees, to lobsters, to moose, to boats and ships. This mosaic “Ocean of Blue” by Heidi Proffetty is one example. She worked from a photo she took while sailing in Rhode Island. Her design is a hand-drawn mosaic traced to create a digital pattern. Pieces were then cut digitally, assembled, and raw-edge quilted with invisible thread.
 

The top honors went to this stunning broderie perse applique quilt. It was made by Barbara Korengold and is all hand done. That tiny clamshell quilting in the background was amazing. The design was inspired by an antique quilt in the collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art and is titled “To Philly with Pricilla.” There were tiny embroidered details in the design elements, including French Knots. Such a masterful effort!

One theme of this year’s show was Log Cabin design quilts, and there were many, from antique to modern. I’ll share more of these Log Cabins in another post, but “Wonky Blox” by Louise Lloyd Prescott caught my eye for both color and design. It was her goal to keep the wonky going right into the sashing. She was certainly successful, but admitted it was harder than it looks to accomplish!

Even though the design and piecing of this quilt is simple, I was taken with how Frances Parker mixed prints so effectively in her “Les Owlets Jolies” quilt. Her artist statement indicates that she thought the quilt was “Cute, and somewhat weird, but fun to make.” I concur. That’s kind of how I saw it, too!

Rusty Babbitt made “Modern Hunter Star” using a pattern by Michelle Renee Hiatt. Cotton Weeds Quilt Shop did the quilting. All those tiny prints with the white stars made this a stand-out quilt.

Katherine Collins used rust-dyed fabric for her art quilt “Eclipse”. The orange color was more subtle in person, but I was unable to get a photo to show that. The  fabric was perfect for showcasing the lovely machine quilting.

First in the Applique category was “Miss D’s Garden”- a detailed wool applique piece by Carole Behan Berry (Quilted by P. Williams). So many charming elements in her quilt from the cat and birdhouse to the owl in the tree.

Florida quilter and friend Lynne Dallmeyer-Hartman had her “Dance of the Sapphire Fairies” entered in the applique category as well. (Quilted by Julia Quiltoff). Meticulous work by both quiltmaker and quilter.

“Hexanity” by Christina White is traditional and very impressive- hand pieced and hand quilted. She noted in her artist statement that she began the quilt 7 years ago with “zero quilting experience”. She’d seen a friend making her own king-size hexie quilt and thought to herself, “how hard can it be?” She found out!

Sometimes simple designs are the most appealing. That was my thought when I saw “Spectacular Flower Garden” by Camille  Rowe. She made it in a Wild & Spectacular Flower workshop with Jennifer Houlden. It’s a simple pieced background with free-motion zig-zag applique flowers in addition to the applique flower with couching. Lots of techniques in her piece. 

Wool lovers and quilt lovers alike will enjoy Carole St. Onge’s "Embroidery Extravaganza”. It’s her take on a Sue Spargo design and illustrates masterful stitching with metallic and other threads. Every “penny” is a delight to study up close.

There's lots more to see and another post is coming soon!

Roses in Bloom...

 

We had some sewing fun recently, making these French Rose blocks in workshop with instructor Merri McKenzie. It's an applique method in which layers of fabric are stitched to a background, leaving the edges "raw" or unfinished. That means they will fray, adding dimension. The beauty is in the easy sewing, freeform design of the blossoms, and the 3-D leaves. And the fun is in seeing the variety of flowers made using all sorts of fabric combinations.

We made four blocks in our session and could either keep going to make a large quilt, or use the ones we made in a smaller wall hanging or table-runner. I decided to use one in a tote bag, pulling other fabrics only from what I had on hand (a goal of sorts!-I know you understand). So here are the remaining three with some possible additions for sashing, also dependent on what is in the stash already.

These other three blocks will most likely become a table-runner. As noted above, the edges of the flowers will fray when washed, leaving them "raggedy" to add texture. I've not taken that step yet, but will try it soon with the tote bag first.

Or, maybe no sashing, just a border. What do you think? Sashing or no? There are lots of tutorials, videos, and patterns for this style of quilt block and some are even quilt-as-you-go. And I've seen some that use heart shapes instead of floral petals. What fun!

Here are some of the class blocks all at play together on the show table. And below is a shot of one of mine with a few of its close pals. Pretty, pretty!

When Conventional Wisdom Goes Awry...

 

"You’ll find your happiness lies right under your eyes, back in your own backyard...." Have you ever heard that century-old song written by Al Jolson and Billy Rose? It turns out, that particular piece of conventional wisdom is true. We found it out the hard way… by moving away from our farm and to the city. After receiving an offer for our farm that fell through, followed by visits from some tire-kickers, we decided that the farm didn’t sell for a reason. And that reason is that we belong here.

With both of us being in our  80s, we had reasoned that once our last horse died at age 21 and the barn was empty, this might be time for us to relocate to the city. We thought it would be more convenient and we’d gain proximity to services, shopping, and medical care. That sounded right … until reality intervened!

We found a nice home in town and made the big move (a huge undertaking to say the least) in early December. But once there, we discovered another piece of conventional wisdom to be absolutely untrue for us. The saying is this, “You can take the boy out of the country…” NO YOU CAN’T! My husband was not only mourning the loss of his horse, but also mourning the loss of his farm lifestyle in the city. He was not thriving. And Iggy the cat wasn’t either. He was nervous and fearful. And I wasn't getting a lot of sewing done with things in disarray.

And another piece of conventional wisdom dictates that ‘you can’t go home again.” Untrue. YES YOU CAN, thankfully! We returned in early May, just in time for mowing season. Now admittedly, we still have a foot in both camps as we have not completed the move. But we are allowing ourselves the luxury of time to get the job done, and that makes the move so much easier this time.

Meanwhile, this cute little fly on the wall was an observer of the whole evolving tale. He’s happy to be back on the farm, as we are. After all, flies and farms have a natural alliance. Fellow quilter and friend Merri McKenzie makes these cute fiber insects and gifted me with one at Christmas. 

As I mentioned, not a lot of sewing or blog posting was going on in the interim. But I decided to sign up for a quilt retreat recently, and it really kick-started me once again. The photo above the fly is me in my workspace at the retreat facility. The time away was truly a treat, and I moved several projects that had been languishing along the path towards the finish line. This scrappy Drunkard’s Path, above, was one project that came together nicely. You can get a lot done when someone else is making the meals and your only task is to sew, sew, sew. And you get to socialize with like-minded quilting friends while you’re at it. My handy pop-up thread catcher got a nice work out, too. It was gifted to me by another quilting friend, Linda Hungerford of Flourishing Palms blog. More posting soon!

Turning Old Into Bold, Part Two

 

The Upcycled 3 exhibit is over at the Brick City Center for the Arts, but here are a few more entries that are just so imaginative. This is recycling at its finest. Kenneth DeMoliner used weathered board, soda cans, license plate pieces in his colorful "Red Snapper" wall art.

Such happy little musical notes. Electrical wire forms the staff, while plastic bits and metal nails are used for the little celebrants and the musical notes in Amy Wright's entry, "Musical Pieces".

This upcycled frame really intrigued me. It invites you to step closer to try and determine what is used to make that textured fiber look in Cody Thomas' "God's Creation, Our Destruction". Any guesses? It's plastic bits chipped up and combined with post-consumer gold beads and gold thumb tacks. Even the print was a discard until Cody combined it all in this striking work of art.

Well there they are- all those bits of lace, buttons, broken jewelry, shells, and other found items. All combined in this mixed media piece titled "Heart of Gold" by Kudra Migliaccio. 

This tree scupture titled "Aftermath E 5" was part of a special exhibit-within-the-exhibit. Artist Gary Williams had his bio on display along with another life-size sculpture made from repurposed electronic parts featured. Gary spent his career as Chief Plumber at the White House from 1976-2008 when he retired.

I think of this is "the tomato chick". She's definitely dressed for success! Theresa Bassing crafted "Crimson Allure" using repurposed glass and crystal along with a vintage accent necklace.  This annual exhibit put on by Marion Cultural Arts Alliance and sponsored by Florida Express Waste Management is just the most fun! Don't trash it.... get your creative juices flowing and turn it into art! 

Turning Old Into Bold, Part One ....

It was headed for the trash bin, but instead it got new life in this eye-catching wall quilt! "Out of the Blue" is a quilt is made using cardboard, packing paper, and bubble mailers. Security envelopes form the "binding". It's "tied" with twist-ties! Tasha Strigle is the creative maker. New life from discarded items is exactly what happened to every bit of second-hand "stuff" seen in Upcycle 3: Turning Waste into Wonder, an exhibit currently at Brick City Center for the Arts in Ocala, FL. At first glance, you might think this traditional-looking Log Cabin quilt is fabric. But no, the maker employed plenty of skill to stitch scrap paper into her piece!
 

The greeter- this guy really stands out in a crowd. Justin Alsedik crafted "The Legend of Cool" from wood scraps and leftover house paint.

High end jewelry? Not at all! Discarded glass bottles, jars and trinkets were used by Adele Lane to make "Expressions by Adele: Sea Glass and More."

This racoon sculpture captures the message of repurposing and the theme of environmental responsibility. In fact, the title of Brittany Craven's entry is "Reflect Responsibility." She incorporated eco bricks (made from plastic waste), zip ties, aluminum foil, plastic utensils, and paper towel rolls. Racoons know what to do!

The imagination alone is impressive in this piece, but the title made me laugh out loud. "Tetanus Guitar" is the entry of Andrew Nichols. There are scrap metals, gears, washers, and wire. A horse shoe (the headstock) and a farrier's rasp (the fretboard) are both appropriate to Ocala- the Horse Capital of the World. Strum at your own risk.

While not an entry in the exhibit, this welcoming sofa at The Brick could certainly fit the Upcycle theme. Got a stain on your white sofa? Cover it up with art and turn it into a statement piece.

In her Easter bonnet... with all the frills upon it! Nicole Upton started with vintage taxidermy and used discarded jewelry, spray paint, and silk flowers to make this statement wall art. Taxidermy sometimes startles and creeps me out, but his one is very viewer-friendly in my opinion.

Me and my gal! This is my entry- "Boot Scootin' Remix". I blogged about it in my last post here. Here we are, together again! She looks like she's floating, doesn't she? I like how the staff added the tulips for display. There's lots more to see at Upcycle 3! If you are in the area, stop by The Brick at 23 SW Broadway St., Ocala, FL, to see the fun local artists had with trash. There's a special display there, too, with the artist's story of life in The White House. It's on through April, and you can check the hours on their site. I'll share more in my next post.