Most Recent

November 5, 2011

The "After-Show" Edition:

Here it is…. almost a month and a half after we locked the doors on the 12th annual Quilt Festival. Each and every one of you who participated, attended, volunteered your time and efforts, and to all of you who enjoyed, you are why we keep making this happen. Many, many thanks to you all.

It certainly was a time to meet new friends and say hello to those we don’t get to visit with all that often. And lots of beautiful quilts! Life is good, what more could you want?

 And a big "Yahoo" to Meg Hawkey. What a brilliant display of her work, and such a wonderful personality that added so much to the Festival. Thank you Meg for your spirit and generosity!

Again, thanks to you all. With your continued support, we’re looking forward to LUCKY 13. Actually, that is the Challenge Theme that we have chosen…"Lucky 13". So put your thinking caps on and create, create, create.

 We have chosen the nationally recognized featured quilter already. I’m not going to reveal all just now – want to keep you in suspense for a little while! But I can already tell you to mark your calendars! September 14, 15. And 16, 2012. 

And, we are in the process of updating the website to change all the dates, and put the new information on, and fine tune the forms. So check it out often for the latest news.

 

The Winners:

All the winning quilts have been posted on our website. You can see all the winners by going to: www.wallawallaquiltfestival.org click on the "photo gallery". Then you will see a dropdown that will say "Quilt Festival Winners". Enjoy!

 

A Special Story to Share:  During the pre-registration of the quilts, one of the forms really caught my attention. Tonyel?s story went to the effect: "I have been hiding my husband?s old t-shirts for years in anticipation of making a t-shirt quilt for him. I finally had enough and set about the labor of love. Didn?t take me long to figure out that I didn?t have enough knowledge of quilting to create the product that I wanted him to have. I work with a good friend (Jessica) who is a quilter. After hearing my dilemma, she volunteered to help make my dream a reality. She did a beautiful job and I will always be grateful to her for her contribution!

"Hubby?s birthday was very close to the dates of the Quilt Festival. So, although quilt shows are not on our list of usual fun activities, I planned to get him there by hook or crook! "

I (Cathy) happened to know Jessica, and saw her on Saturday Afternoon at the Festival. She shared that her friend and family (husband too) were coming to help her "level a display" at the Festival.

The appointed time was in just about an hour, so we spread the word and many of us casually gathered in the vicinity of the quilt at the appointed time. Sure enough, here came the family, with hubby

and

a level that was at least 6 feet long.

They all trooped back to where the quilt was hung, and for a few moments everyone just stood there looking at the quilt. The Hubby had a puzzled look on his face, and finally made a comment to the effect that he had a t-shirt exactly like one in the quilt. About 30 seconds later, he realized that they were all like ones he had. The classic comment that he made was "I was looking for that t-shirt this morning!" It was a "Grateful Dead" shirt.

So fun, and such a surprise for his birthday!.

 

Other Stuff:

Hubby and I just got back from a trip to the Carmel, Monterey, CA area. We saw lots of country, and ate lots of wonderful food. A real treat was the Monterey Bay Aquarium – if you ever have the chance to go, you won?t be sorry!

And..surprise! We found lots of really nice quilt shops along the way. From one out in the middle of nowhere to those that were in the big cities, we found quilters and friendship. Ain?t it grand that we belong to such a large group of really great people! Found a new little tool called the "?Lil Twister" that makes a design in a twisting pinwheel type pattern. „Course I had to have one…we?ll see what I can do with it.

So many lovely bright fabrics to choose from. You almost have to have a color in mind to start with to make decisions these days.

And now home again with laundry, cooking and cleaning. But as always, it is good to be here!

 

Tips and Tricks:

One of our members, Jerry, gave us this tip.

"Two nights ago I had to put a binding on a very large quilt. When I sewed the binding sections together after joining it, I did the following: Pinned a plastic bag from the grocery store to the end of my Big Board ironing space. As I pressed the binding in half, I let the folded and pressed binding fall into the plastic bag. When it was completed I pinned the end of the binding to the sack. While at the sewing machine, I set the bag full of binding in an empty wastebasket, unpinned the end of the binding and started sewing it down. I was a very happy camper not having to roll up the binding nor have it get screwed up and all turned around. It came out of the bag perfectly and was a great time saver for me. No rolling the binding up and no tangles."

And here?s another hint that Jerry came up with:

Use Press and Seal plastic film to mark your quilt for quilting. Just place the Press and Seal over the pattern you want to repeat and trace with a washable marker. This way if there is any ink transfer it will wash out. (If you're doing several, just place them on a piece of paper until you're ready for them.) Place the Press and Seal on the quilt, where it will adhere, and you will be able to quilt right through it. It's totally pliable and easy to remove after you're done.

 

Time to Close This Out:

Hope you like the tips and tricks that we?ve been passing along. If you have a favorite and will share, would love to hear about it. Just email it to info@wallawallaquiltfestival.org and I will get it there (New email address everyone!)

That just about wraps this issue up. A big "Welcome" to all of you who may be reading our newsletter for the first time. Hope you enjoy it. And another big "Thank You" to all of you who continue to support the Festival.

So till next time – Happy Thanksgiving! We do all have so very much to be thankful for.

As Ever,

Cathy (Wiese)