Look at this lovely lusciousness. What would you design with these fabrics?
Riley Blake Designs has graciously donated fabrics for this challenge. Contestants will receive eight half-yard cuts from Amanda Herring's Ardently Austen fabrics. All quilts in the contest will be auctioned for this year's HMQS charity of choice, the The Christmas Box International, which provides assistance to prevent child abuse and services to improve the
quality of life for children who have been abused, neglected or
abandoned.
Grab a couple of friends and challenge yourselves! And maybe win a cash prize for the effort! Don't miss out! Kits are now being distributed and are going fast. The contest is open to anyone, with the finished quilts due back by April, 2, 2016. Register and see all the details for this worthwhile challenge at www.hmqs.org.
Did I mention how much I love the Home Machine Quilting Show?? Right now I am at the show helping on the crew so the quilts can get hung for the show. We'll work non-stop for the next three days to put the quilt show together behind the scenes, and oh! I really can't wait to see all of the quilts in the Riley Blake Designs fabric challenge this year. Of course, I had to participate!
It's time for the Home Machine Quilting Show here in Salt Lake City next week!! Woohoo!
This is my 6th year on the HMQS board - what a crazy, fun, great bunch of gals!
I'm a little giddy, getting ready for the show. Here are a few reasons this is my favorite, most exhausting week of the year:
1) Working as a volunteer to scribe for the judges - Not only do I learn so much from being scribe, but it lets me get up close and personal with amazing, inspiring quilts. I have been known to cry over quilts, they're so incredibly beautiful and tell such a story.
"America, Let It Shine" by Sherry Reynolds - Best of Show 2012
2) Hanging quilts, setting up the quilted garment display. This quilted wedding dress is a fabulous example.
Quilted Wedding Dress
by Renae Haddadin
3) This year I'll also be teaching 3 classes! I've been cutting out endless kits and have made several extras since I'll be teaching some of these again this summer. I'll add some of the kits to my Etsy shop after the show, just in case you'd like one but can't make it to Salt Lake!
"Sheep Shape" Quilt Workshop
"In a Bind?Fabulous Finishes & Alternate Endings Lecture/Demo
"Magic Instant Blocks" Workshop
4) In the past, I've entered a few quilts in the show, but I have usually stayed with the Design Challenge category, and mostly with a group consisting of myself, my friend Debbie, and one, two, or six other friends. We called ourselves the "Midnight Quilters", usually getting things done at the last minute, lol! But it has always paid off! The fun part of the challenge is selling the quilts at auction for charity at the end of the show. Over the years these quilts have raised more than $3000 for varying causes.
Counter clockwise from upper left: 2007 Blossoms & Beyond, 2008 Wrapped in a Quilted Past,
2009 Ellie's Scrapbook, 2010 Every Quilt Has a Story, 2011 Isabella's Bonnets, 2012 Smart Quilt,
2014 Hexagarden, 2013 That's Amore'.
This year, I entered the challenge alone, using one of my favorite designs from the previous years. Here's the fabric, can you guess which design I used? The pattern will be available soon!! Stay tuned!
5) And finally, well, this is no reason to be excited, but it does give me the jitters! For the past 4 years, they make me sing the opening theme song. Yep, they know I like to sing. In a crowd, that is. They don't realize that I die of stage fright if I have to do it alone... Maybe I can just hide behind the curtain! Or, maybe everyone will know this old 80's song and sing along: "It's Magic!"
... and hanging out in the vendor mall at a quilt show makes me happy!
Working at the AccuQuilt booth
Meandering through the backroads of the Kentucky countryside with a quilty friend
to see barn quilts makes me happy!!
Is this thing working?? Idunno, we'll see...
Observing quilters' amazing creativity makes me happy.
Taluk, a Tentmaker of Cairo, demonstrates his applique' technique
Taluk's favorite quilt
Sue McCarty, with her 2014 HMQS Best of Show quilt, "After Hadrian"
(Saw several more of her previous "Best of Show" quilts at the National Quilt Museum in Paducah!!)
Learning new quilting techniques from renowned fabulous quilters makes me happy!
Claudia Pfiel with her 2014 HMQS 1st Place Art/Innovative quilt, "Fern Rising"
Teaching quilty stuff, sharing happy little tips that make other quilters happy makes me happy!
Anticipation of teaching this class again (Small Town Quilt Show next week!) makes me happy!!
And as you may have observed in my previous post:
Sharing a quilt makes me happy!
The perfect picnic, scenery, quilt, and company!
Having an excuse to spend time with my girls makes me happy.
(Quilt Shop-Hopping - see our adventures HERE<<)
In essence, yep. Quilting makes me happy.
And finally...
...It made me happy to hang out with the rest of the troupe
of the Home Machine Quilting Show committee last month
even though they made me sing to open the show each morning.
But, you could probably guess that music makes me happy, too.
Last year's theme was "That's Amore!"
This year's theme was "A Quilter's Symphony"
You'll just have to use your imagination...
Starts out with the tune of Beethoven's 5th Symphony and it goes like this...
H.M.Q.S.... H.M.Q. S... (Then cue the music for the >> Happy Song<<)
It might seem crazy, what I'm 'bout to say...
H.M.Q.S. is my favorite place...
Thousands of quilters wait for this day -
Where quilters share, without a care, baby by the way.
It makes us (Happy...)
Clap along, if you're here, amazing quilts to see.
Clap along if you're here to test-drive a new machine.
Clap along if you're here to shop until you wilt;
Clap along if you're here 'cause you just love to quilt!
Come take a class, learn a brand new skill. (Yeah)
Every quilty thing, yeah, you'll get your fill. (Yeah)
And all our teachers are just "sew" fine. (Yeah.)
Much too much to do, now don't you waste your time,
And you'll be (Happy...)
Clap along, if you're here, amazing quilts to see.
Clap along if you're here to check out the latest thing.
Clap along if you're here to shop until you wilt;
Clap along if you're here 'cause you just love to quilt!
(Insert a little Beethoven's 9th for this part of the chorus: "Freude, shoener" etc. keeping with the "Quilter's Symphony" theme...)
Friends from near and far now gather; Marvel at the quilts you see!
Passion, fabric & dreams combine to make this "Quilter's Symphony."
(Happy, happy, happy, etc.)
Can't nothin' bring me down, etc.
Because I'm (Happy)
Clap along, if you're here, amazing quilts to see.
Clap along if you're here to test-drive a new machine.
Clap along if you're here to shop until you wilt;
Clap along if you're here 'cause you just love to quilt!
Clap along, if you're here, amazing quilts to see.
Clap along if you're here to check out the latest thing.
Clap along if you're here to shop until you wilt;
Clap along if you're here 'cause you just love to quilt!
(Repeat chorus while dancing around the sewing room, guild meeting, quilt shop or quilt show).
~~~~~
Whew! Thanks for making it all the way to the bottom of this long post!
What happy quilty things have you been up to lately?
1) Comment here for a chance to win a happy little stack of fat quarters.
2) Let me know how you follow Quiltscapes for a second chance.
3) Sing my version of the Happy Quilters' Song just for the heck of it. Ü (Substitute your favorite quilt show/quilt shop for the HMQS references)
Update: Contest is over and a winner chosen: CONGRATULATIONS, JANET!!
