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Maine Quilts, Blue Ribbons

Friday, July 31st, 2009

Last weekend was Maine Quilts, the annual show put on by the Pine Tree Quilt Guild (PTQG).  The judging this year was quite tough, with only five blue ribbons out of nearly 100 judged quilts.  Although I didn’t get much time to savor the show (the first day I took hubby, his first time ever going to a show with me…hoooray!…so I promised him we wouldn’t have to stay long—since it was torrential rain, it also ended up being crazy crowded, and the second day I got there late), I did have time to take pictures of the five blue ribbon quilts plus a couple of others.  (In theory, the photos should be clickable for a larger view.)

Here is the Best in Show quilt, a hand and machine appliqued quilt with a ton of quilting (Machine):

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And the other blue ribbon winners, one of which also won a judges’ choice:

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And of course, (blush, smile) mine:

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I’ll have a couple more posts about the show… some of my favorites that I just snapped while breezing through, art quilts, and Jo Diggs’ special exhibit.  More soon!

Be Inspired, Part 8–A Ribbon!

Monday, July 27th, 2009

Hallelujah, the quilt was done in time to deliver to Maine Quilts last Wednesday.  When hubby and I went up on Friday to see the show (hooray!  first time ever he has gone with me…of course, given the downpour torrential rain and the crowds inside, I may never get him to another!), I got worried as we worked our way back through the judged section:  lots of third place ribbons and honorable mentions, but FEW reds and blues…. meaning tough judging.  When I saw my quilt, though, boy did I smile:

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Yep, that’s a blue ribbon (one of five in the entire show, and the other four were traditional quilts!) AND a Judges’ Choice from Kathy Kansier (website here).  When I went to her classroom to thank her, I learned she is also this year’s Jewel Pearce Patterson scholarship winner for quilt teachers…way to go!  Plus, she’s going to have a special exhibit at the Quilt Festival in Houston of her doorways and archways quilts… I’ve been taking pictures of doors and gates and windows for 30 years! Can’t wait to see it…anyway, Thank you, Kathy!

Here’s a picture of me (and yes, I have lost 18 pounds!  about 12 more to go….) looking quite happy (thanks to Paul for taking the picture):

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And a “neighborhood” shot of the row:

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I’ll blog about the show later in the week, and also give some close-up shots of the insane quilting…..

Be Inspired, Part 7…Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain

Sunday, July 26th, 2009

The final figure is one that means a lot to me, as our oldest son is named after him:  Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain.  He also means a lot to Mainers (only we didn’t know when we selected the name that we would end up living in Chamberlain’s beloved state!).  Chamberlain was a professor at Bowdoin College here in Maine at the outbreak of the Civil War.  He asked for leave to fight, and was denied.  So he asked for leave for a sabbatical, it was granted, and he promptly enlisted.

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At the Battle of Gettysburg, he was in charge of the 20th Maine.  That small group of men held the outermost position (the left flank) on one end of the union line on Little Round Top, a hill at the end of Seminary Ridge.  On July 2nd, they took a wicked battering from Confederate forces; by the end of the day, they were out of ammunition and engaged in hand to hand combat, but they held the line until darkness fell and fighting stopped for the night.  Because the 20th Maine held their position, the other Union forces were able to hold their positions.  Because the Union held the line on July 2nd, the tide of the battle changed in favor of the Union, and by nightfall July 3rd the Union had won the battle.   The Union victory changed the tide of the war, and the nation remained one.

SO…. when it came time to pick historical figures, and one for Maine, the choice was clear (at least to me!).

Here’s a drawing based on this photo:

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And the rendition in cloth (before I colored the eyes):

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And on the quilt top:

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Be Inspired, Part 6…Barack Obama

Friday, July 24th, 2009

I also worked on Barack Obama…. Initially, we had stipulated that only people from 20+ years ago would be allowed, because they would have stood the test of time for importance.  Then the 2008 elections happened.  SO…, the principal and I decided that Obama will clearly go down in history as the first non-white-male President of the US, plus his inclusion places this quilt in 2009.  I used a picture of him giving his inaugural address.  Because he is contemporary, however, I decided to make his figure a bit smaller…..Here’s the sketch (sorry the tracing paper is kinda transparent, making it harder to see the sketch):

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And the close up of the fused figure (down to the red tie!):

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I am not entirely happy (even now that the quilting is done) with his face…something is a tad off, but so be it… it is done!  I’ll share the quilted pictures next week or so….

And here is the panel so far:

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Be Inspired, Part 5…Jackie Robinson

Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009

Next came Jackie Robinson who is widely regarded as the African American baseball player who first really made it in the major leagues.  Using a black and white photograph, reference information about the colors of the Brooklyn Dodgers uniforms and such, I created an image of him sliding into a base…. I decided not to try to simulate the cloud of dust!  Here is the tracing/sketch from the photo, with shadow lines:

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And the fused figure:

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Then the panel with Robinson pinned to it, sliding into base from the upper left corner….

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Next post:  Obama!