Saturday, October 10, 2009

Fall Quilt Festival

Oh the fun - another quilt festival. I loved the spring one and now Park City Girl is hosting another quilt show. You must go over and look at all the listings, and all the fabulous quilts.

My quilt is actually two quilts - as I can't show one without the other. A few years back my cousin Linda, in Oregon, bought a new house and had a nice guest room, and wanted a quilt. She didn't have many guidelines - it must be blue, and it must have "ocean" things on it. The rest was up to me. I decided to make the quilt with things that my cousin and her husband loved, the bridge going into Newport, the lighthouse, their fishing boat from years gone by, shore birds, seagulls, puffins, whales - all those sea themed things. So I started making blocks - first I made a porthole with the lighthouse at Newport in it - it took me months to find the right fabric for the porthole. I wanted it to look like you were on the boat, looking out the porthole at the lighthouse.


Then I made more blocks . . .

Their fishing boat. . .

I had never seen their boat, so Linda's sister, Cat, sketched it for me,
and I made the block from the sketch.


The bridge going in to Newport . . .


Hand embroidered seagull in a Storm at Sea block . . .

Hand embroidered Puffins, nesting in the rain . . . the rain is quilted in . . .


Mariner's Compases for finding your way in the ocean . . .

Crabs - and Free Willie - who lived in the Newport Aquarium for a time . . .

And shorebirds scittering along the beach . . .

Everyone looking at Linda's quilt - Linda, Ray, Aunt Maxene (their mom) and Cat.

I was such fun designing the quilt, and making the blocks. Once I got the blocks made I started putting them together with sashings and borders, and everything fit perfectly.

When we got to their house to deliver the quilt I discovered a photo of their boat, and mine came out almost exactly the same.


Linda's completed quilt - hand pieced and hand quilted . . .
I used blue borders in the quilt on some of the blocks, and when we put the quilt on the bed we saw that Linda had two framed prints at the head of the bed - matching so well the colors and theme of the quilt, and with narrow blue borders in the matting - and neither of us knew what the other was doing.

While making Linda's quilt I decided that Cat must have one too - so I started planning another quilt. Cat and Dave live in the woods, near Newport, and almost at the beach, so those ideas went into the quilt. They have a funky house and it was hard for me to remember the details so I called Linda and asked her to go take a photo of Cat's house - but I told Linda I was going to make a wall hanging for Cat - didn't tell her it was going to be a whole quilt.

So Cat and Dave's funky house is in the center block - with a circle of flying geese surrounding it.

I added blocks and borders . . .

A Moose munching in a river . . .


The same shore birds as in Linda's quilt, as they both love the little shore birds . . .


The Three Sisters mountains, near where their families camp every summer . . .

A few years before, Cat and Linda had been at our house in March, celebrating all of our birthdays together - Cat's is in Feb. and Linda's and mine are in March - she is 360 day OLDER than me. It was during the time of Hale-Bopp comet and one starry night we all stood on the deck of our house and watched the comet in the sky - a terrifically wonderful experience, so I had to stitch the comet over the mountains . . .



A Blue Jay . deer . loon . . .


A bear . . .


Canada Geese . . .


I started putting the quilt together with fill in blocks and sashings and when I got to the outside border of pine trees, each border fit perfectily, within 1/4", and I had not measured the strips for the borders, I had just sewn them until I thought they were long enough.


Cat's finished quilt - hand pieced and hand quilted . . .
I put a Mariner's Compass in Cat's quilt, because you still need to know where you are going in the woods. The four brown blocks in the corner are Bear Paw.
It was fun to surprise Linda with her quilt - as she had no idea what it would look like. After she had examined it and seen all that there was to see, we went to the living room to have some iced tea, and Don snuck back into the guest room and put Cat's quilt on the bed - and then we called her to come to the guest room. Everyone was so surprised -

This is Cat's first reaction. . .

Everyone is looking at Cat's quilt . . .you see that Linda brought her quilt with her . . .
Enjoying their new quilts in the living room. . .

I have to say - I'm not sure who enjoyed this day more, them in receiving the quilts, or me in giving them their surprises. It was a grand day.

Cat is an artist and this is the thank you note she sent, of her and Dave sleeping beneath the new quilt.

46 comments:

Winter Wanderings said...

wonderful quilts! and fabulous quilting too! I should add some detail photos to my post .... hmmm ....

Purple Pam said...

What lucky ladies to have such beautiful quilts. Your designs for these two quilts are wonderful. You are such a generous quilter to make two original designed quilts and gift them to your dear friends.

AnnieO said...

What an enjoyable experience to read your story and get to see the amazing detail and love that went into your two quilts. Your friends' reactions were perfect and I only wish there was a picture of your smiling face as they received their treasures. Thanks for sharing.

Mom said...

The quilts are amazing!
thanks for sharing,
Margaret
www.quiltsoflove.blogspot.com

lesthook said...

What an artist you are!I hope to someday make something half as good!

Karen said...

Two beautiful quilts. The one with the lighthouse would make my friend's heart sing. She is a lighthouse fanatic. You put a lot of thought into the quilt design.

Anonymous said...

Picture quilts take so much time to do. These are beautiful & the quilting is wonderful. I wish I could see them up close!!
Hope you have a great weekend!
Love,
Marilyn

Sunny said...

Really beautiful work! Do you do all the quilting by hand after they are pieced?

Dolly said...

What an experience ! Congratulations on a wonderful surprise, well executed, and two very beautiful, and yes, enchanted, quilts.

Zonnah said...

You have some lucky friends! They are beautiful.

Allie said...

Those quilts just take my breath away - and leave me speechless. What wonderful works of art and love!

Jocelyn said...

Oh my goodness JoAnn, these are so beautiful! You are such a talented quilter and such a special gal to make TWO!

luv2quilt2 said...

Absolutely beautiful! I wish I was half that creative. What wonderful gifts.

*karendianne. said...

Jo,

You've caught me speechless. What beautiful, skillful, magical work. It makes my imagination go wild with all the things a quilter can do.

You are such a beautiful soul.

Pat said...

And you, my dear, are an extremely talented artist, too. Those quilts are absolutely wonderful!!!

Laura said...

¡Dios mío! Your friends are the most lucky in the world, I absolutely adore those quilts. You are a great artist. Congratulations!

The Cozy Quilter said...

You really captured the souls of your friends in these quilts. Thanks for sharing them with us.

Silverthimble said...

Your work is marvelous!

Lili said...

I am totally blown away by that amazing quilt you made for your cousin Linda. Cat's is every bit as amazing, but I'm partial to Linda's. I am just completely in awe. WOW.

Rosalyn Manesse said...

Wow! These are such works of art!

Judy Alexander said...

How generous of you to give away such wonderful quilts. Amazing quilts and you must be an amazing person.

Christine Thresh said...

My goodness gracious -- those quilts are works of art and love. I am so impressed. Such thoughtful creations.
I love the thank you sketch from Cat.
You must be so pleased to have your talent appreciated.

Dotti said...

Awesome job! And thanks for commenting on my quilt!

Unknown said...

Those are awesome quils! Just awe inspiring.

Lindah said...

Terrific quilts!!! And a neat story to go with them.

Marie said...

I am impressed. Wonderfull, wonderfull quilt.!!!!

Molly said...

JoAnne you are so talented! I'm amazed. Good job on the quilts.

JoyceAnn said...

The quilts are beautiful , so much love and beautiful memories put into each one.
Love the card art , it's wonderful too.

~ Autumn Blessings ~

Browndirtcottage said...

Oh Joann...I think you have been hiding what a talented quilter you really are! I so loved this story and seeing each block and detail up close. How amazing you made 2 of them!! I don't know anyone who likes me enough to do such a special thing!! Great treasures you have created for them!!

BALLET NEWS said...

wow - how clever are you !

kathy said...

What lovely workmanship!

Frieda said...

Both of these quilts are simply amazing. Very inspiring also. Thank you for sharing

Judy S. said...

Awesome quilts, Jo! I love them both.

loulee said...

What a wonderful story and two beautiful quilts. You brought a tear to my eye.

Teresa said...

Those are one of a kind treasures - great quiltmanship!

Heike said...

These are beautiful! What a talent. Quilting is something I always aspire to learn, but never have. No one I know quilts, and I have tried to look at books, but it is not the same :). Every time I see a beautiful, handmade quilt, I am enthralled by the workmanship. And what a great story. These types of friendships are priceless, the ones where you give a gift that is so filled with love and your time :). Lovely... ( I dig the moose!).

Dena said...

Jo ~ Both of these are beautiful quilts and I'm sure will become family heirlooms. You did a wonderful job in designing each to personalize them to your cousins. Great job!

The Quintessential Magpie said...

Those are two of the most incredible quilts I've ever seen! You are SOOOOO talented! The design is just the neatest. Who wouldn't be thrilled to receive a gift like this! I adore them both. I would be hard pressed to pick a favorite... love and adore the nautical motif, but those animals are just too cute!

Thanks for sharing this with us. I'm in awe...

XO,

Sheila :-)

Rowan said...

How talented you are! I love both the quilts but especially Cat's as I'm more of a woodland than an ocean person. They are both very lucky ladies to have been given such wonderful gifts.

LINDA BYLSMA said...

You don't mess around when you make a quilt, do you? How awsome and such wonderful gifts for your sisters. I'm familiar with all of the areas and landmarks you quilted, so it was like a trip for me. I just can't say enough!!

the momma said...

oh my ~ these must have taken SO long to make! You have quite a gift!! They are both fabulous!! I'm sure they are treasured.

thanks for sharing

Lynda (Granny K) said...

Wonderful quilts! So special! I especially love the way the fir trees are 'reversible'. Terrific quilting too!

Thank you for your kind message on my blog, it made my day!

Julie said...

These quilts are absolutely fabulous. You are truly an artist. Never let anyone tell you that you are not a real artist because your medium is fabric. You are a very talented woman, and I know that you stitched love into every stitch.

Anonymous said...

WOW!!! WOW!!! WOW!!! ABSOLUTELY amazing. Seriously! Your stories AND quilts are truly a GIFT in every sense! How inspiring!?! These are THE BEST I've seen so...sew far. Thank YOu for sharing! : )

Anne at Film and Thread said...

Oh my goodness! I'm so glad I kept going and looking through the quilt festival entries. Your quilts are absolutely amazing! What lucky recipients! They are so personal and made with so much detail and beauty.

Anonymous said...

What really thoughtful and amazing quilts! I love the thank you card drawing too. Thanks for sharing your beautiful work!