Bohemian Friendship - Accepted for IQF Chicago!

I'm excited to announce that my Bohemian Friendship quilt has been accepted to the Modern Friendship Star Challenge for the International Quilt Festival - Chicago show! 

I'm really excited about this because this quilt is an important part of my quilting journey. While this quilt was finished nearly three years ago,, it holds a special place in my heart. First of all, this quilt has been kept - for some reason I think it should be a baby quilt for the baby that I haven't yet been able to have. That alone makes it emotionally important. But even more, this quilt came to be because of the extreme generosity of the modern quilting community. You can read more about that here and here. In short, the fabrics were sent to me from around the world - scraps - tiny, (almost) unusable scraps, but they were sent to me from friends who knew of my love for Anna Maria Horner fabrics. These were scraps from her very first fabric line (very very out of print/very hard to find). More so, I backed this quilt in silky smooth sari fabric that Shruti sent me. It's like one sweet hug from around the world!

Also - I'm demo-ing again in the Open Studios at IQF-Chicago! Come see me at the Quilt Studio Thursday, March 26th, 10am-12 for, and Friday, March 27th, 12-2pm for Foundation Paper Piecing. I'm really excited to be doing this for the third year in a row! It's always such a rush to teach and share with so many at this show! 

I need to teach.

Today I demo'd at the Open Studios at the International Quilt Festival, Chicago. I demo'd foundation paper piecing for the second time this year. Having already done the demoing thing at this show last year, I wasn't particularly nervous or stressed while prepping for my demo. I was looking forward to it - it's fun to teach people new skills. 

Each demo is given a two hour time slot - and that's enough time for people to come and go - several sets of people stop to see what you're doing and ask questions. I managed to do my complete explanation of paper piecing about eight times today. It went so smoothly and everyone had such great questions. I really think I taught some people a new skill today. They can go and paper piece without fear. 

Today's demo affirms my desire to teach. I want to get out there. I want to share my passion for quilting. I still don't know how to go about doing that -- but I need to continue to work on it. I love the feeling of sharing my love of precision, color, pattern, design. I love connecting with a student - I love when you see that moment of clarity in their face. They get it. 

So bear with me as I figure out how to get to that next step. I need to teach. 

Chicago MQG "Modern in the City" Challenge

My guild (and the other local MQG, Naperville Modern Quilt Guild) is having a challenge. The theme chosen is "Modern in the City," and some of the quilts will be chosen to hang in the show at the International Quilt Fest in Schaumberg this summer.

Clearly I would love to have my quilt included... but I'm running out of time! Last week my family was taken unexpectedly by illness (double ear infections on a five year old who wears hearing aids - ouch!!). We also had the unexpected trip back home for a funeral. Funerals are always fairly unexpected, but we had some heads up, Grandpa had been sick for a while.... At least Allie was well enough to travel, and she was so well behaved. I really can't believe how well she handled it all. She was so supportive of Grandma too!

Given the situation, I don't know if I'll be able to finish my challenge quilt. It only has to be 36" square - that's pretty small for a quilt. I have a solid idea though, and I'm going to give it a try. I might not get it completely done, but it's worth a shot.

My quilt will be an abstraction of the Chicago map. It's main focus will be a dense area of free piecing which will be surrounded by more free piecing. The city is dense and unexpected, it's harsh angles and smooth curves. My color palate is cool and blue, a nod to Lake Michigan, with bits of Chicago's aqua blue. The addition of the grey variations are a subliminal mention of the parts of the city we'd rather not think of, the shadows. The poor, the dirt, the smog. It's something I don't immediately associate with Chicago, but that is definitely there. The ultimate feel I am going for with this quilt is one of hope. Hope in the good, hope for the bad, creative growth, and community sharing. 

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Well now I know what to write when I'm asked to "describe your quilt." If only I get it done in time!

I have approximately two days off before this quilt is due. That's a mere 6 hours of piecing. If I can get the quilt top pieced by then then I'll push through to get it quilted too! Here's hoping!!