Cheyenne Heritage Quilt Guild Show

I spent a good portion of this past Thursday, Friday and Saturday with Blakeman Vacuum & Sewing at the annual quilt show for our local quilt guild.  Although I was tired by the end of each day, it was such a joy to interact with all the ladies (and gentlemen) who came to view the quilts and/or were involved in hosting the show.  People are wonderful and it was a blast!

So we brought a few Bernina machines, including the 350, 710 & I think the 830:

And of course, you have to have a longarm at a quilt show:

Finally, we couldn't leave out my favorite, the Tiara, which I demonstrated most of each day in between visiting with everyone.  It's such a joy to talk about what you love to do and what you use to do it.  

The show was awesome; there were many quilts and an incredible amount of talent!  Though it was hard to be away from my family, I enjoyed every moment and am so thankful my husband encourages me to pursue my gift.

So what did I quilt on for three days and what is that purple wild thing underneath the Tiara?  Well, that was actually the last sandwich I quilted and I was getting somewhat tired so I decided to sit back and relax.  These are what I call "hook" or "lace" feather plumes with designs in the "hook back" portion.  I'm still not done but decided to have more fun by stepping away from the feathers and adding some dense quilting around the perimeter to set off the main feather design.  Hopefully I will have time soon to complete this.  Kind of wild but very freeing.

I also quilted the new sample for my revised free motion quilting class.  I have changed from an 8 hour class completed over four weeks, to a full day class filled with five hours of free motion quilting.  This sample shows the progression of the class:

I always share preliminary information relative to free motion quilting, then once we check tension and make corrections, we start with simple loops, add in some designs and then  progress to flowers and leaves without loops.  After lunch we take a look at some all over designs and then try our hand at feathers.  It's a full day as I also share lots of information about actually quilting a quilt, threads, and needles.  

I also spent time quilting my favorite:  feathers.  I'm a romantic at heart and love the flowing feel of classic feathers.  That was a little vignette I put together with feathers, a rose and rosebuds.

Finally, I just started quilting and as a design came to mind, it was put on the sandwich.  Normally I will change to scrap muslin when someone wants to try their hand at quilting on the Tiara but while quilting this piece I stepped away for a quick moment and turned around to find a new artist adding their special touch right in the middle of my masterpiece.  I am proud to share with a budding artist!

So that was my weekend with Ed and Eli from Blakeman Vacuum & Sewing at the Cheyenne Heritage Quilt Guild quilt show.  I had a wonderful time and truly enjoyed the quilts, the people and the quilting!

Have a wonderful quilty week and enjoy every moment of life!