Quilt Art Star

Antique Makeover PA Style, Part 2

2012-02-10T03:46:00.000-10:00

Block 2 of my current challenge quilt. See prior post for the 1st block, challenge fabrics and inspirations. http://starleyquilts.blogspot.com/2012/01/antique-makeover-revisited-pa-style.html

This block is an adaptation of 2 different basket blocks. My main inspiration was a circa 1860, 9 block whig rose, rose of sharon or democrat rose quilt with a great floral basket border part of my antique quilt collection.

I wasn't super fond of the center flower so I substituted the center of an elaborate 4 block Pot of Flowers quilt, circa 1875, also part of my collection.

Here's a close-up from the Whig Rose, Rose of Sharon, enjoy! Check out the amazing intense quilting. Triple line, triple rod quilting, very close.

antique makeover revisited PA style

2012-01-31T08:43:00.000-10:00

Here is the first needle turn applique block in my latest challenge quilt. I'm making a four block quilt with 4 different floral basket/vase blocks. The designs are adaptions from 4 antique quilts in my collection.
This block is the 2nd time I have borrowed the basket border design from my antique princess feather quilt. See my prior post for my first quilt using this basket design.

Here are the 6 challenge fabrics plus my 2 optional fabrics. I picked the double pink and the yellow/ gold (close to a cheddar).

I think I've been influenced by 19th century Pennsylvania German quilts. I'd venture to say, I was a bit directed by the quilt that I've been studying recently. It is a dated 1842, signature presentation quilt from Easton, PA.

While most 19th c. applique quilts had white or off-white backgrounds, PA German quilts often had colored grounds in yellow/cheddar or blue or pink. PA pieced quilts also seem to have a freer use of pink as a neutral ground. Here's a Rocky Road from Lancaster Co., PA.

Hope you enjoyed seeing what I'm working on now and my antique influences.

1870 Princes Feather Makeover

2011-12-07T03:32:00.001-10:00

I adapted the tulip basket border from an antique 1870's red and green princess feather applique quilt, kept the four block design but gave it a color makeover and scaled it down from full size to small wall quilt. I think the woman who made it would be glad her design still works but would be a bit surprised with the black, white and hot pink color scheme. Made for a Time Challenge- I focused on giving the original a "makeover" by using an updated, modern color scheme.

Hand appliqued and hand quilted.

This 4 blocks prince's or princess feather quilt when made was a very Christmas'y red and green and would have been a stunning quilt. But as you can see it is the victim of the unstable or 'fugitive' green synthetic dyes of the 1870's to early 1900's. The 'turkey red' was a very stable dye and is as bright as when the quilt was made.

Viewers Choice Winner- Bloggers Quilt Fest

2011-10-28T00:04:00.000-10:00

With the exciting news yesterday that my miniature reproduction quilt "Virginia is For Lovers" won the Web Viewers Choice in the Alliance for American Quilts, Alliances contest, I knew I had to share it on Amy's Bloggers Quilt Fest. It also won 3rd prize in the membership contest this spring.

And it is probably my favorite quilt ever! Despite all the teeeny hand applique (little baskets that are only 1.5 inches) and lots and lots of hand quilting, it was wonderful to honor the earlier quilters who made the original crib quilt for a very loved child.

Virginia is for Lovers, 2011
16" x 16"

And here is the antique inspiration quilt, made in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia in 1845. Yes, this quilt actually survived the Civil War and is more than 160 years old.

Antique quilt
Circa 1845 crib quilt from Virginia

And here's the link to see my antique quilt entry for the show:
http://utahquiltappraiser.blogspot.com/

Thanks again, Amy for hosting this virtual quilt show. I love seeing what makes other quilters hearts SING!!!!! Click on the logo to see the show.

Antique reproduction and Alliance for American Quilts Contest

2011-10-22T05:30:00.001-10:00

Virginia is for Lovers, miniature reproduction 2011, 16 x 16

Thought I'd share my all time favorite quilt one more time and let people know that there is still time to vote for it in the Alliance for American Quilts: AlliancesViewers Choice contest (voting closes 9 p.m. eastern time on Monday Oct. 24th). It is hand appliqued (the 4 little baskets are only 1.5" tall) and hand quilted and I poured my heart and soul into this quilt. Quilt number 117 in the contest. Go to http://survey.constantcontact.com/survey/a07e3samo2ogn3k75iz/a01ztgu2x75ev/questions **If that link does not work or shows survey already taken then please go to
http://www.allianceforamericanquilts.org/, click on link "View, vote, bid! Viewer's Choice Voting" and on next page click on "View, Vote, Bid" to get to the survey. Again it is number 117. This contest is separate from the springtime voting (I am thrilled to say that I won 3rd prize in that voting). Thank you for the support.

It was a delight to recreate four of the blocks from the original quilt, which survived the Civil War in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.

Antique, circa 1845 crib quilt from Virginia

1830's Eagle

2011-08-23T07:34:00.002-10:00

"Birds of a Feather Fly Together"
24" x 24" 2011

This is my first commissioned piece. It was made for Susan's Wildemuth's Eagle Quilts by the Decades project. I am very honored to be part of this project. Sue commissioned a varied group of quilters including a number of quilt historians and appraisers to choose a decade between 1700 and 2010 and then create a quilt that featured an eagle and read as being from that era. I choose the 1830's -one of my favorite quilt eras and I was inspired by my antique c. 1830 flying geese w/bird pheasant toile (seen below with my reproduction). Btw, the bird toile print in the original was printed between 1775-85 and is from an English company, Talwin and Foster and is documented in Montgomery's Printed Textiles.

Old and New

I didn't try to exactly follow the antique quilt as I wanted to use a bit of my reproduction print collection, but I think I captured the 'feel' of the original. I especially enjoyed following her lead of combining birds themes: flying geese pattern and eagle fabric. Hence the title, "Birds of a Feather Fly Together". I also liked how she joined the geese in pairs so I used that idea too.

I think she had a great sense of humor and enjoyed word play, as seen in this shot of the mallard drake and hen set between the flying geese, okay wait for it ..... duck-duck-goose!

And finally here is a close up of my hand quilting on the eagle print (machine on the geese).

Little Birdies

2011-07-06T17:48:00.003-10:00

2011 Riley Blake detail, click on pics to see more details

This little birdie is part of my entry for the 2011 Riley Blake Challenge, he flew in from an 1850 Rose of Sharon Quilt. I fussy cut the bird from a large scale floral fabric (he is one fabric including the perfect eye and beak, I did add a wing piece) . Don't you love when things work out! I used vintage teeny rick rack for his legs and couched thread for berry stems. And here is the original little fellow:

Here is the full 2011 Riley Blake Challenge quilt made for the Home Machine Quilting Show. It is a "modern" fabric version of the reproduction I made for the Alliance for American Quilt Challenge (below) plus the little bird. We had to use selected fabrics from the fun and funky Isabella fabric line from Riley Blake. It is hand appliqued and 'minimally' machine quilted (required) -- not my forte. So my next project is to hand quilt the heck out of it like I did on the Alliance entry.

2011 Alliance for American Quilts CHallenge Entry- 3rd prize winner

Wow, what a huge difference the fabric choices make! And here is the original 1845 antique crib quilt which started the whole journey.

Bloggers Quilt Fest -- Cheddar Stars over Moab

2011-05-13T17:26:00.001-10:00

Cheddar Stars Over Moab, 2010
20" x 24"

This antique reproduction is one of my all time favorite quilts, I love the little 3 inch stars and the wonderful texture of the quilting. I hand quilted the heck out of it! Click on the photo to see a close up of the quilting. Cheddar refers to the strong orange fabric which looks like cheddar cheese.
It was made for the 2010 American Quilt Study Group (AQSG) antique quilt study of 19th century star quilts. The original antique quilt had to be star quilt made between 1800 and 1899. One of 10 quilts patterned and highlighted in the new Kansas City Star Book which shows the 39 antique quilts and their reproductions that were part of the quilt study.
If you click on the above link, you'll see my sister Donna's pink and cheddar star, which is also one of the patterns, quite an honor -- only 10 were patterned and 2 were ours. Needless to say this is our favorite quilting book ever!!!!

New Stars Book available NOW

Here's the 1890 antique quilt from my collection which was my inspiration- and my matching process. See I'm working hard to find the perfect reproduction fabrics to exactly reproduce the original. And if you need another cheddar fix, click here to see my first reproduction of my antique cheddar star but done in modern fabrics for the 2010 Riley Blake challenge. I posted it for last year's spring Bloggers Quilt Fest and it includes a full shot of the antique quilt.

Antique 1890 Cheddar Star with reproduction blocks and fabrics

Click here to see my 2nd Bloggers Festival entry, my antique 1850 Rose of Sharon Applique - Quilted Joy quilt.
Now back to visiting all the other wonderful quilts in Amy's Bloggers Quilt Festival (click on words not button). Thanks AMY!

Award winner - Alliance for American Quilts contest

2011-05-02T06:47:00.000-10:00

My 4 block applique antique reproduction quilt, Virginia is for Lovers, is the 3rd prize winner in the Alliances Quilt Contest with the Alliance for American Quilts. What an incredible honor as there were more than a 100 quilts in the contest. Thank you to everyone who voted for my quilt. Click here to see all the award winning quilts.

What did I win, you ask? A gift basket including items from The Quilt Show.com, Quilters Club of America, Fons & Porter, Dharma Trading Company, Darlene Zimmerman, Riversilks, and C&T Publishing. I'll post a pic when the basket arrives.
And if you aren't tried of voting, the Alliance is now holding a viewer's choice voting. You can vote as a web viewer or in conjunction with a live exhibit like last week's show in Paducah. My friend Bonnie from Georgia posted great pics of my quilt and the 4 award winners hanging together in Paducah. Thank you.

Quilt 117 is my entry. Click here for the link to vote. Or go directly to the ballot
Votes will be tallied and a Viewer's Choice award will be given for each exhibition venue and one additional award will be determined by web viewers.
The voting will close on Monday, October 24 at 9 pm Eastern.

Thanks again for the votes and all the support and especially the wonderful comments. And if you haven't seen the full quilt or the story of its making, scroll down to prior posts about it or click on Alliance in the label list below. And see my antique quilt blog for even more about this quilt.

I'm in the Final Four - Alliance for American Quilts Contest

2011-04-22T22:01:00.000-10:00

I'm positively over the moon excited to announce that my quilt "Virginia is for Lovers" has made it to the final four in the Alliance contest. Thank you to everyone who voted for it in the first round, there were over a 100 quilts and I cannot believe my quilt is one of the last quilts standing. It will either win grand prize or 1st, 2nd or 3rd -- Wooo HOO.
So please vote for my quilt in the final round. Ballots went out to Alliance members Friday a.m. and voting closes Monday night. (Alliance membership is required for voting). The winners will be announced Wednesday. So stay tuned.
It would be a huge honor to win the contest and the grand prize of a Handi Quilter quilting machine would be absolutely amazing.
Thanks again.

Alliances: People, Patterns, Passion Contest Voting

2011-04-15T03:06:00.002-10:00

The voting for the 2011 Alliance for American Quilts is now open -- through April 20th. My entry is quilt #117, Virginia is for Lovers. It is hand appliqued and hand quilted and based on an antique quilt in my collection.
I would love to win the Handi Quilter quilting machine and hope that you will consider voting for me. You must be a member to vote but it is not too late to join the Alliance; an excellent organization that does so much to preserve the history of American Quilts. I especially enjoy the Quilt Index. If you join by April 19th, Amy will email you a ballot. You can join on the Alliance website and pay by credit card or paypal, it is only $25.00 (tax deductible) and again it goes to a great group.

Here is my challenge quilt along with the antique inspiration, a circa 1845 crib quilt from the Shenandoah valley of Virginia. Thanks for visiting and for considering my quilt.

1845 Antique Crib Quilt- Alliance for American Quilts

2011-03-12T04:14:00.001-10:00

I am very pleased to share the 3rd quilt I have made for the Alliance for American Quilts Challenge Contest. It is a reproduction of a very romantic antique crib quilt circa 1845 from Virginia with lots of hearts and cupid's arrows -hence the title "Virginia is for Lovers". Don't forget to look at my prior posts to see lots of photos of the quilt's progress. You can click on 2011 on the blog archive to read more about it. And you can see even more about both quilts on my antique blog. It was quite hard to part with it and I think my Mom even thought about hiding it so she could keep it.

Virginia is for Lovers 2011 16 x 16"
Hand Appliqued, Hand Quilted

In April, Alliance members will vote to determine contest winners - so join now to vote for my quilt (subtle hint). And on April 27-30 the 2011 contest quilts will debut at the American Quilter's Society's 27th annual show in Paducah, Kentucky. So please stop by and see my quilt if you are lucky enough to be in KY.

Old and New, 1845 and 2011

But seriously, I hope all of you already know about and have joined the Alliance. It is such a great organization "whose mission is to document, preserve, and share our American quilt heritage by collecting the rich stories that historic and contemporary quilts, and their makers, tell about our nation's diverse peoples and their communities." What an inspiring mission and it is such a great resource.

Antique Valentine Hearts

2011-02-14T04:38:00.001-10:00

Here is valentine to my readers: the 4th block in my reproduction of the 1845 crib quilt along with the original antique block. I'm reproducing it for the Alliance for American Quilts 2011 Challenge. Scroll down to see my first block and go to my antique blog to see the other 3 blocks and the original blocks and also the full quilt. Now onto the hand quilting.

And here is a special Valentine's Day preview of my new quilt- with 2 very valentiney blocks. Don't you love the hand throwing the arrow at the heart? There are several blocks with hearts and other wonderful little drawings. It is a dated 1850 Quaker friendship album quilt from Chester County Pennsylvania. From the Worrall, Hoopes, Davis, Windle, Umstead, Hicklen, families.

Here is one of the blocks that has numerous names. What a historical treasure trove. Enjoy.

1845 Virginia Crib Quilt- Revisited

2011-01-27T05:54:00.001-10:00

Reproduction of crib quilt block 7" 2011

This is the first block in my quilt for the 2011 Alliance for American Quilts Contest. I am reproducing, in reduced size and fewer blocks, the utterly charming c. 1845 quilt from the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia shown below.

c. 1845 Crib Quilt Virginia 37" x 49"

Another block from the original quilt.

To read more about this quilt, stop by my antique quilt blog, and hope you will keep me in mind when the voting begins for the Alliance contest (subtle, tasteful plea). Again, the Alliance is such an important organization and I hope that you will visit their website and consider becoming a member.

Awesome Alliance Quilt - 1930's Scrappy Mix and Match

2010-12-17T01:27:00.000-10:00

Two of a Kind, 16 x 16", Donna Starley 2010

This is my sister Donna's paper pieced quilt made for the 2010 'New From Old' Alliance for American Quilts Challenge. She used her original scrappy mix and match sampler pattern She used 1930's reproduction fabrics to create eight different foundation pieced 2 1/2" traditional blocks. Each block was used twice in the quilt but looks different based upon color placement within the block. She's mixed up all the blocks--can you identify all the matches? Donated to the Alliance fundraising and auctioned on eBay last month (luckily we were able to buy it back).

This is the same pattern that I used in my black, white and pink puzzle quilt, see previous entry. It is amazing to see how different the two quilts turned out, it is a very cool pattern.

Speaking of the Alliance Challenge, the 2011 contest was just announced, click on the logo to see the details, and please note the deadline is much earlier this time, March 7, 2011. Hope you will consider joining the Alliance and also donating a 16 x 16" quilt for the challenge.

B&W&Pink Mini Blog Fest - Fall 2010

2010-10-29T01:27:00.012-10:00

Scrappy Color Play 8.5" x 11"

This is one of my all time favorite quilts, made for the Journal Quilt Project and shown at the International Quilt Festival in Houston. I love the graphic nature of the pink, fuchsia and black and white. It was a lot of fun to do such small piecing (the blocks are are about 2.75"-yes less than 3"). The paper pieced pattern was designed by my sister Donna and this is a sample for her class. It is a mix and match sampler: there are 6 pairs of blocks with the same pieces but each twin looks different based on color placement. See if you can find the match for each block.
There is a pattern available.

Don't forget to visit my other favorite -- part of my antique quilt collection (a cool blue and white schoolhouse quilt).
http://utahquiltappraiser.blogspot.com/2010/10/bloggers-quilt-festival-fall-2010.html

And click on the icon to visit even more of the quilt festival

Flower Talk - Hoffman Quilt

2010-08-25T23:48:00.007-10:00

Flower Talk (Pick Me I'm Cute) 25" x 25" 2010

My 2010 Hoffman Challenge quilt--flower talk. It was picked to be part of the Hoffman Challenge traveling collection (my sister Donna's feathered star is also part of the collection). The challenge fabric is the blue floral used in the 4 blocks without letters.

It is an original design, inspired by a field of purple coneflowers all asking to be picked ... flower humor. Part of my serious of "word play" quilts--quilts that have something to say. A whimsical approach to quilting. Started for the 2009 challenge (brown paisley-see middle line of last E) --I kept the pink and brown centers and then reworked the next row adding blues and keeping the greens. I finished off with more pink and a funky dragonfly border. It was a design I really liked and it felt good to make it work.

Letters were paperpieced from my patterns. Machine pieced and then embroider/quilted in one step with Sulky thread. 2 batts- 80/20 cotton/polyester and 50/50 cotton/bamboo.

New From Old - Reproduction from my Antique Collection

2010-06-14T08:02:00.007-10:00

"I've Got the Blues...But Things Are Looking Up"
May 2010 16 X 16"

My donation quilt for the Alliance for American Quilts 2010 New From Old Challenge. Voting is open from June 14 -June 20 for Alliance members, click here to see the quilts (my sister Donna also has a wonderful 1930's inspired quilt). I appreciate any and all votes and if you are reading this before June 20th, you can still join online and vote. I was honored last year to win an honorable mention award. All the quilts will be auctioned off on eBay this fall. This weekend they will be on display at the NQA show in Columbus, Ohio.

I was inspired by my antique c. 1890 blue/white 9 patch arrow/blue cross quilt that demands to be displayed with the arrows pointing due north. The title plays on the juxtaposition of the positive direction with the blue (aka sad) fabrics.

c. 1890 antique Blue & White Arrows, 9 Patch Quilt 72" X 92"

NEW and OLD TOGETHER
I used c. 1890 antique indigo and cadet blues in the 5 large arrows and then reproductions for the rest of the quilt. I'm impressed with how closely the reproductions match the antique fabrics as can be seen with this photo. My arrows were paperpieced from my pattern and the small white arrows centers are 1" finished. I machine quilted in the ditch and added 9 patches and arrows to the plain blocks. It was fun working small but hard to cut into the 120 year old fabric.

Bloggers Quilt Festival

2010-05-21T05:06:00.010-10:00

I made this quilt this spring for the Riley Blake challenge-charity fundraiser for the 2010 Home Machine Quilting Show. It was quite a challenge to use all of the required fabrics since the fabrics initially didn't want to play well together especially the pinks and reds. But when I pulled out a reproduction antique cheddar solid, it really brought all the colors together. It still looks a bit wild but wait until you see it with my inspiration- an antique quilt in my collection. Here is a bit of the challenge quilt and the inspiration quilt together:

And finally here is the inspiration quilt-a circa 1890 variable star with double pink centers and cheddar orange sashing. Don't forget to click on the picture to see the sawtooth borders (only on 1 side and the bottom). Don't know if she ran out of steam or if it was made for a bed that went against a wall. I love being an Certified Quilt Appraiser and having a reason to collect antique quilts. I just did a couple of trunk shows and had an antique quilt exhibit at the Home Machine Quilting Show. In fact both of these quilts were part of my lecture Rising to the Challenge.

Go to my antique quilt blog to see another 1890 antique star quilt- double pink blazing star quilt.

Please click on the festival icon to see a lot of great quilts and meet many fun quilters.

New from Old 2010 Alliance Contest

2010-03-11T04:36:00.003-10:00

Calling all creative quilters especially lovers of antique quilts and collectors of bits of old quilts. The Alliance for American Quilts has announced its 2010 contest New from Old "a broad theme that celebrates the past in the frame of the present". Very simple rules: a new 16" X 16" quilt inspired by something 'old' and sent by May 31, 2010. Old and New are up to you--put a new twist on a traditional pattern, recycle antique blocks or find some old ones in your UFO box. Contest quilts become a donation to AAQ. All entries will be auctioned on eBay with all proceeds supporting the AAQ and its projects.

There are great prizes involved due to generous sponsors and the quilts will be exhibited on The Alliance's website as well as national venues including the National Quilting Association's annual show in Columbus, Ohio, June 17-19, 2010 and the American Quilter's Society Show in Knoxville, Tennessee, July 14-17. The quilts will become part of quilt history as part of the Quilt Index. The quilts also get a lot of exposure on during the eBay auction.

Come join in the fun. Scroll down or click on the link to see my 2009 entry.

Alliance Crazy Quilts Auction on eBay

2009-10-25T23:59:00.006-10:00

It is time for the first round of the Alliance auction. My Crazy quilt pictured above will be auctioned off this week. Click on the logo above for more details and to see all the quilts.

All contest quilts will be auctioned via eBay
Click on an auction week below to view or download an auction guide for that week.
Week One: Monday, Oct. 26 - Monday, Nov. 2
Week Two: Monday, Nov. 2 - Monday, Nov. 9
Week Three: Monday, Nov. 9 - Monday, Nov. 16
The bidding for each quilt will start at $50 and each 7-day auction week starts and ends at 9:00 pm Eastern.
All proceeds will support the AAQ and its projects.

Even more good news

2009-09-08T08:32:00.005-10:00

My Mom Georgia Starley's patriotic log cabin quilt has won the Viewer's Choice award at the Springville Museum of Art Quilt show. This award is in addition to the flawless workmanship award. It's been a great show.

More great news

2009-07-18T22:13:00.002-10:00

My mother Georgia was just awarded the "Flawless Workmanship" award at the 36th annual Springville Museum of Art Quilt Show. Her beautiful patriotic red, white and blue quilt is a log cabin star variation and machine pieced, hand appliqued and hand quilted with miles of rwb variegated thread. It is very large -- 100" square so I'm not kidding about the miles of thread. It has a piano key border with 1 inch strips and she quilted around each key. Sorry-- no photo yet, but it won't be hard to spot if you make it to the show.

I will update as soon as I get to see it in the show and snap a picture. If you are in the Salt Lake/Provo area this summer, make a point to go to the Springville Museum (just south of Provo) and see all the beautiful quilts on display there, the show runs until September 2nd, 2009. I have 2 small quilts in the show (a black and white and pink 4 block applique and a twins photo transfer log cabin). There are almost a 100 quilts on display.

My Quilt in the News and back story

2009-07-13T20:47:00.006-10:00

9-8-9 Update -my quilt was one of the honorable mention winners in the challenge.

Exciting news: my quilt for the Alliance for American Quilts Crazy quilt Challenge is one of 4 quilts highlighted in their June newsletter. Here is the direct link. My sister called with the news the day before my birthday- what a fun surprise present. It is pictured above (from the back) I wanted to show off all the threadwork and I think it is interesting to see quilt backs which are often forgotten. To see the rest of the quilt, see the previous entries below and the link above. More than 70 quilts were made and donated to the Alliance for this challenge and they will be auctioned off on eBay in late October and early November to benefit this valuable quilt resource.

Still Crazy

2009-06-02T14:51:00.003-10:00

Here is the crazy quilt, now with stitched swag border. I can't believe how much the swag has changed the quilt. It completes the quilt, pulls all the elements together and adds a funky sophistication.

I really like the black and pink polka dots binding. So much better than the fuchsia binding. Guess that means I have to tell my sister that she was right about the dark binding.

There is a lot of stitching on this quilt. I went through a whole spool of pink bobbin thread. Thanks for looking.

Crazy update

2009-05-31T22:07:00.006-10:00

I've made quite a bit of progress in a week--on the home stretch and the deadline is looming. I've got to finish up tomorrow or really this afternoon. Now to figure out the border and binding and buttons-- oh my! By the way, the bottom border is a test strip of my proposed quilting design: a scallop swag border inspired by many antique quilts though those are done with applique instead of decorative stitching.

My sister could visualize on the phone that the quilt needed a black or almost black binding but I was sticking with the fuchsia until I did the above mock up. On camera the fuchsia disappears and is really blah. I think I'll use the black polka dots, it is more fun than either of the batiks. She's also thinking that the border would be better with just buttons and no decorative stitching but I think that I'll do the quilting. Of course, I'll do it a bit more evenly and with two lines of stitching to give it a 'real' swag look. Got to get quilting before I'm really in a bind-ugh. Hope this quilt doesn't make me completely crazy.

Crazy Quilt part 2

2009-05-24T18:03:00.003-10:00

I'm made quite a bit of progress on my quilt for the Alliance for American Quilts Crazy quilt challenge (read more about it in my previous post). I've already used a 100 fabrics. I trust you can 'read' the quilt - it spells out crazy quilt. I'm taking the challenge literally.

Now to figure out the center 2 blocks and decide what fabric(s) to use for the small 2" border. Any suggestions are welcome.

C is for Crazy Quilt

2009-05-15T19:50:00.007-10:00

What I'm working on --a crazy quilt for this year's Alliance for American Quilts challenge. They are currently accepting entries/donations of 'crazy quilts' which will be auctioned this fall on EBay to help with their mission of preserving American Quilts and quilt history. In honor of their 16th year, the quilts are 16 inches square and must be postmarked by June 1, 2009. If you are a quick worker, there is still time to join in, and anyone can buy a quilt on EBay to help support the Alliance. I'll post when it is time to vote for your favorite and again when it is time to starting bidding.

I'm taking the theme literally and spelling it out, as you can see in the sneak peek block. Drafting paper pieced letters in a log cabin, cq format with strong graphic appeal of black and white and hot pink/fuchsia. What a lot of fun for a great cause.
----
Update on the last Fiberart For A Cause (FFAC), my donated raven postcard raised $50.00 for the American Cancer Society, thank you Donna. Virginia Spiegel with a lot of help from her friends has now raised almost $200,000.00 for ACS. What an amazing woman.

Favorite Quilt - Bloggers Quilt Festival

2009-04-17T18:40:00.008-10:00

I live in the southwest (Utah) and love petroglyphs (ancient native american rock art). The quilt started with the shaman block (middle row, left). It sat around for awhile until an entry call for my Colorado art quilt group AQuA and their TEXT challenge. Perfect -petroglyphs are early text messages. Luckily, I was under a severe time crunch and so instead of obsessing over fabric choices (my usual m.o), I quickly choose fabrics using the shaman as a starting point. I barely made a dent in my petroglyph fabric collection and had a lot of fun, especially picking out another 5 designs. I had to use my favorite petro -the mountain lion (cat) from Petrified Forest N.P. (photo 3) and of course, Moab Man, the local icon (bottom row, left).

I used a mix of topstitch running stitch applique and traditional needleturn applique. I just taught the lion and sheep at Elaine's Quilt Block in Salt Lake and will be teaching them again at the Utah Quilt Guild fest in September (maybe Park City Girl will join me there).

This quilt, has traveled quite a bit and even been in a national magazine (Quilter's Newsletter Magazine) and in a booth at Quilt Market. But it is still a work in progress as I keep adding more hand quilting and keep finding more places to put more quilting. Guess I like it so much I want to keep on visiting with it.

I hope you have enjoyed my entry in the virtual Quilt Show, please leave a comment. To see more of the show click HERE Thanks for visiting. To see more of my favorite antique quilts (I'm a quilt collector and an AQS certified quilt appraiser) go to my antique quilt blog

Guest Blogger

2009-03-13T00:11:00.002-10:00

I'm a guest blogger on quilting gallery and I've written about my quilt appraising and collecting and quilt history along with photos. I also discuss my own quilt history, my new quilts and classes plus a bit about me and my family. Click on guest blogger above or on the guest blogger logo block to the right.

There is also a give away on the gallery; two people who leave comments there will win one of my patterns so please go read and comment and then come right back. To see some of my designs click on PATTERNS. And don't forget to see my antique quilt/quilt history blog

Folk Art Applique

2009-03-12T20:50:00.004-10:00

16 x 16 Hand Appliqued, Hand Quilted

Folk art -art made by us folks- doesn't have to follow stuffy rules like size or scale. It is okay to make a giant sunflower and a cat as big as a purple house. Sewn with a running/gather top stitch that adds a decorative detail to the appliques. It is relaxing to not worry about hiding stitches. I will be teaching this class on April 3rd at Elaine's Quilt Block in Salt Lake City, Utah. Click here to see another quilt using this technique--I'll be teaching both designs at Elaine's along with an antique quilt study class on the 4th. I'll also be doing quilt appraisals. Come join me.

1860's Quilt Extreme Makeover

2009-03-12T19:45:00.003-10:00

I adapted the basket border from an 1860's red and green princess feather applique quilt, turned it into a four block design and gave it a color makeover. I think the woman who made it would be glad her design still works but would be a bit surprised with the black, white and hot pink color scheme.
Hand appliqued and hand quilted.

Quilt Art Raven Postcard Challenge

2009-02-20T03:46:00.005-10:00

"Happy Bird-day, Mr. Poe" -- 4" x 6" 2009
Donated to the ACS fundraiser FFAC collage mania

This party bird card was made for the QuiltArt list challenge commemorating the 200th birthday of Edgar Allan Poe and also as a fundraiser for Fiberart for a Cause (FFAC) collage mania raising money for the fight against cancer. Click here to see all the great postcards and then buy one or two at FFAC collage mania or at Alzheimers Quilt Art Initiative. My card will be available to purchase through the collage mania sale May 5-7, 2009, I hope it finds its way to a good home.

I decided to try a new technique: painting with caran d'ache neocolor II wax pastel watercolor crayons directly onto the fusible fast2fuse postcard material. After the painting/coloring I then used a wet paintbrush to spread the color. Then I outlined with marking pen and machine stitching. Click here to see my journal quilt of my godtwins also painted with caran d'ache crayons.

Cyber Fyber exchange

2009-01-13T21:42:00.006-10:00

The postcard I made for the Cyber Fyber art exchange and exhibition. The 3rd in my Moab Landscape series (click on landscape quilt on right to see the other two). It was interesting to develop a new technique (machine applique, no raw edges) to make this mini quilt. I attached the pieces with yarn and decorative trims, sewing over the folded seam allowances: piecing, quilting and embellishing all in one step. #1 in the series was all hand appliqued and hand quilted so this was quite a departure but definitely a technique I will use again.

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This is the ATC -artist trading card also made for Cyber Fyber, a couching/embellishing practice piece. Can you tell I like yarn embellishing? Click on art exchange to see the ATC and postcard I received from Susan Lenz who organized this huge international art exchange or scroll down.

Click here to view all the ATC and postcards (the online exhibition) and learn about the live exhibit currently showing in Columbia, South Carolina through January 20, 2009.

Peacock Incognito

2008-11-02T23:06:00.006-10:00

Peacock Incognito 28 x 25 2008 Donna Starley

My sister Donna's 2008 Hoffman Challenge quilt which won 3rd place award in the pieced category- woo hoo. She paired small pieces of the giant peacock challenge fabric with metallic orientals in a flying geese drunkard's path variation (paper pieced). The hidden peacock parts inspired the title. This is her 2nd Hoffman entry. Congratulations from her very proud sister.

I have also entered the Hoffman Challenge twice (all four of our entries have been part of the traveling collections). And speaking of sisters click here to see my Quilting Sisters challenge quilt.

Wasilowski Plum Basket

2008-10-30T00:30:00.005-10:00

This is the newest addition to my art quilt collection: Plum Basket by Laura Wasilowski 2008.

The back is also a work of art so I decided to show them side by side. I scanned them in rather than taking a photo so they are a bit cropped. (click on either for a larger pic) Laura taught at the Utah Quilt Guild annual quilt fest last month. Her classes were very inspirational, educational and a lot of fun. My sister and I each took a class from her and made wonderful quilts. Thank you Laura.

Update: Laura recently shared this quilt on her blog in an ode remembering summer.

Moab Summer Quilt

2008-08-02T18:29:00.004-10:00

Want to feel the heat of a Moab summer, here it is in quilt form. This is my corner of the world. Hand appliqued, hand quilted. Made for Houston quilt show 2006 Journal Quilt Project and shown there and in Chicago and Mass. Currently on exhibit at the Springville Museum of Art annual quilt show.

It is Official: I'm a Certified Quilt Appraiser

2008-05-18T21:34:00.003-10:00

I haven't posted for two months as I've been quite busy. In April, I traveled to Paducah, Kentucky for the American Quilter's Society Appraiser certification classes and testing. It was quite a stressful and exhausting and wonderful experience and I am now the first AQS certified quilt appraiser in Central/southern Utah (one of the first two in Utah) . There are about 92 in the entire United States. I am very honored to join this highly esteemed group and very excited about where this will take me in my quilt appraising trek.

I want to publicly thank my family for all their support, especially my sister who traveled with me and made sure things went smoothly in Paducah. Thanks for the power lunch of deep fried Snickers bar.

Antique Quilt Blog

2008-03-18T19:12:00.007-10:00

Recently I started a new blog to showcase my antique quilt collection and my quilt appraising activities. Please check it out to see a variety of quilts from early 1800's to vintage 1930's and 40's and everything in between. Below is a sneak preview of quilts that are already on the new blog or will be soon. From left to right: c. 1830 strippy flying geese with c. 1800 copperplate toile, c. 1830 9 patch, and c. 1850 strippy star quilt.

Here is another preview: c. 1840 Hickory leaf or reel, c. 1885 blazing star, early 1900's redwork

Cyber Fyber Exchange

2008-02-24T00:21:00.006-10:00

Here's the beautiful fabric postcard # 78 and Artist Trading Card #111 (ATC) I received from artist Susan Lenz in her Cyber Fyber art exchange. She made more than 150 postcards and 130 ATC's to exchange with artists and she will show our art in an exhibit in January 2009. "The focus of this exhibition is to highlight the influences of Internet access for today's fiber artists." There are still a few postcards and ATCs available to trade so hurry if you want to join in on the fun.

Both of the cards I received were made by cutting up previously made artwork. Don't know if I could cut up completed work but I definitely think it would be a good way to use UFO's (unfinished objects). Susan was able to make many pieces out of her old work and they are being seen around the world. Now I need to make my small artworks to send to Susan.

Scrappy Color Play Miniature

2008-02-02T01:59:00.001-10:00

September 2005 Journal Quilt 8.5 X 11 inches

Journal Quilt Project - Special Exhibit Houston International Quilt Show 2005
Made as a sample for my sister Donna’s class, her paper pieced pattern called for 3 inch squares but I reduced them to 2.75 (eek) to fit this project. It is a mix and match sampler; there are 6 pairs of blocks with the same pieces but each twin looks different based on color placement. See if you can find the match for each block. Quilt awarded 2nd place in Miniature category at 2007 Utah Quilt Guild Annual Meeting (QuiltFest). The ribbon was much larger than the quilt. I gave this quilt to my sister for Christmas 07 so I guess I need to hand it over to her now that I have it scanned and posted. There is a pattern available.

Rocky Road

2008-01-12T22:47:00.000-10:00

Collections have been discussed this week on QuiltArt, prompting people to post photos of their stuff so I'll play too. I collect quilts and this 1930's Rocky Road to Kansas quilt was made by my great grandma Isabella Rogers. I love purple and scrappy quilts and this is one of my favorites. The back is purple home dyed flour sacks. The quilt is being held by AQS appraisers/instructors Bobbie Aug and Gerald Roy at our appraisal classes in Idaho Falls in May 2005. I'll be posting more photos of my collection but you can see a few more on my June 07 posting
http://starleyquilts.blogspot.com/2007/06/st-george-quilt-appraisals.html

Moab Rock Talk Quilt in Quilters Newsletter

2007-11-05T19:12:00.000-10:00

Woo Hoo. I'm so proud to announce that my petroglyph/rock art quilt: Moab Rock Talk is in the current issue (December 2007) of Quilters Newsletter magazine on page 34. My art quilt guild AQuA of Grand Junction, Colorado is featured in the Readers' Quilt Show on pages 34-36. Please checkout the issue of QNM and our website. I'm also listed at the back of the magazine on page 97, Extra Credit section, letting people know I teach hand applique, do trunk shows and quilt appraisals. I have to admit it was quite a rush to open up the magazine and see my quilt. A big thank you to Quilters Newsletter and AQuA members Marla Ferguson and Marge Fox for publicizing our work.

For more information about the quilt, see my Rock Art post of January 10, 2007. You can simply scroll down to the bottom of this blog or click on the January Archive tab at the right and it will take you to the quilt.

slice quilt

2007-10-31T23:12:00.000-10:00

I got a surprise when I visited the Springville Museum Quilt show in Sept. and found a quilt I had worked on but hadn't entered. It was the ocean scene quilt by my friend Bev Hart (click on link at right for her blog). We slice-n-dicers, a group of 6 Utah women, each found an inspiration photo, divided it into 6 sections and then made a slice from each photo. We each worked separately making our slices so they are all unique and we all used different techniques. Bev chose the ocean scene shown here. I chose a Utah redrock scene, Rainbow Bridge (what a shock). Other scenes: an old gas station, a European fence with a grapevine, a still life w/books and clocks, and a winter street scene from a danish cookie tin. Working on each quilt and figuring what techniques to use to make the pictures come to life in fabric was quite a challenge and a learning experience.

I think Bev is the only one so far to have completed her quilt from the 6 sections. She did a great job. You can read more about her quilt on her blog.

On Bev's quilt I did the bottom left triangular section with the bright fish, seaweed and manatee parts shown in detail photo. I pieced, hand appliqued, and couched on my section.

07 Journal Quilt

2007-10-31T21:52:00.000-10:00

Wow, things have been busy in the last 6 weeks. In addition to the great AQS news, I also learned that my petroglyph quilt Moab Rock Talk will be shown in the December issue of Quilters Newsletter Magazine due out November 15.
I made a quilt for the last journal quilt project now showing at the Houston Quilt Festival show. I used a photo taken while hiking in Arches National Park with my godtwins and their grandma. Here is the quilt and the inspiration photo. I scanned the enlarged black & white photo and then used caran d'ache watercolor crayons to paint in the photo.
I also took classes, did an antique quilt trunk show/lecture and lots of appraisals at the Utah Quilt Guild annual meeting. Then onto the American Quilt Study Group seminar in the historic textile town of Lowell, Mass. My brain is overflowing from all the beautiful antique quilts I saw there and just the wonderful history everywhere, what a treat for us westerners. We don't have any cobblestone streets in Moab or anywhere in Utah. I'll soon post photos from Mass.

Clowns and Quilt Show and Appraisal Testing

2007-09-13T19:08:00.001-10:00

Another one of my favorite quilts. Clowns Trapped in Tulle from a workshop with Lynda Faires. About 12" square. Shown in Chicago at the Friends of Keiko show.

We just had another very successful Delicate Stitchers Quilt Guild show here in Moab. I'll have to locate some photos. I was too busy to take my own as I was doing quilt appraisals, taking a class with Virginia Robertson from Colorado and doing demos on hand applique and a mini trunk show on antique quilts. And speaking of appraisals, I got the official notification on Monday that I'm now a candidate for certification by the American Quilter's Society as an appraiser of quilts and quilted textiles. I take the written and verbal tests at the AQS show in Paducah KY in April 2008.

Crossword Quilt

2007-07-31T21:50:00.000-10:00

What's Black and White and Red Allover 20x 28

Made for 2nd Proverbial Riddle Challenge, see all the quilts at http://www.proverbialchallenge.org/

Also made for a black and white and one color challenge. I took the limited palette as a dare and managed to use 100 different fabrics. I hand appliqued the letters, hand quilted and did a bit of beading. I used red netting/tulle to take the red allover pun to a higher or it is a lower level?

I love word play and puzzles and combining those with my love of fabrics was a delight.

It is on display at the Springville Museum of Art Quilt Show in Springville, Utah from July 21 to Sept. 2, 2007.

St George Quilt Appraisals

2007-06-08T23:21:00.000-10:00

It's about time I share an action shot (sort of) of me doing quilt appraisals. This is my booth at the Dixie Quilt Guild Show in St. George Utah in April 2007. You can see a bit of my quilt collection: Bethlehem star (Pa.) c.1900, small scale log cabin w/strippy back (Pa.) c. 1890, pink Goose in the Pond (Ohio) c. 1900 and red/white/blue quilt which will be discussed later. I had a great time and saw some nice quilts and visited with good friends--who could want more?

Quilting Sisters

2007-06-08T22:50:00.001-10:00

Quilting Sisters Stitched Together with Love. Made for Hoffman Challenge 2003 and toured for year. Shown as special exhibit in Houston. Awarded 2006 Honorable mention at National Quilting Association NQA show. My sister (blonde) and I doing our favorite things: visiting and sewing. Hand applique and hand quilted. I had great fun picking out buttons, charms, scrap booking items, to embellish it. I used doll hair for our hair and my sister is wearing a necklace that she'd made mom about 35 years earlier- a perfect match.

Eat Your Veggies

2007-04-24T20:34:00.000-10:00

Quilt I made for local quilt guild trading bags challenge Spring 2005 (see entry below for more info. on trading bags). That is me on the left in the green and the quilt owner Monica on the right. She gave me a lot of vegetable fabrics to work with and I rose to the challenge. I tried a new technique: I used small real vegetables & fabric paints to stamp the words. The O is a cucumber slice, V is a snap pea, I is baby carrots, etc. Scanned in vintage seed packets and printed on treated fabric. I hand appliqued the bunny and used piecing & applique for the garden angel. I added green rickrack with the binding for extra pizzazz. What fun but hard to give it up.

Well - Hello Dolly

2007-03-16T20:21:00.000-10:00

Well - Hello Dolly. Made for the first Quilt Art bag o' stuff challenge led by Tomme Fent. Owned by quilt artist/author Jane Davila. Jane sent me a bag that contained calm light fabrics (pinks, blues, and greens), beads, buttons and some unusual (to me) items (copper mesh, aluminum flashing, etc.). The fabrics were a challenge (not my usual palette) and I had no clue what to do with the unusual "stuff". Then Jane’s fabrics met the Russian nesting doll fabric I bought for my sister and they wanted to play together. The dolls thought Jane’s fabrics brought out their beauty and Jane’s fabrics thought the dolls were perfect complements and I had to agree. I used each of Jane’s fabrics and I added darker fabrics to balance out the design.
I used freeform crazy log cabin piecing, machine quilting with metallic thread, hand quilting with cotton thread, couched eyelash yarn accents, and beading. It was fun to experiment with the different methods and materials. But I couldn’t figure out how to use the unusual items except for the scrapbook tag which I used as my quilt label/finishing touch.

cards and quilts

2007-03-09T23:11:00.001-10:00

Here are 2 more postcards, valentines for my sister and my parents. I've had such fun making these cards. Last week was spent in continuing education for quilt appraising. Any day that you get to study quilts is a good day (even though I had to drive in snow). Today, I went to the Museum of Moab and helped with their quilt collection. I will be curating our guild quilt show there in May and June called A Quilted Feast (food themed quilts). Life is good.

heart2heart3

2007-02-07T22:18:00.001-10:00

Here is the 3rd set of postcards I sent for the H2H project. Btw, sorry about the text on the previous posting. I love the crazy cats and thought they were perfect for Valentine's Day. The orange flowers and the heart are scrapbooking brads. I also used them on the heart card below. I've never tried them before but I think they are great and I'll probably use them on quilts in the future.

My friend A.M. who is a also a fiber artist (paper) generously made and donated 12 cards for H2H, thank you. I'll see if I can get scans and post those also.

If you want to donate cards, Karey is now gathering Mother's Day cards for wounded soldiers to send to their moms. What a great idea- making these cards is addictive.

heart2heart2

2007-02-07T18:05:00.001-10:00

Here is the second set of postcards for wounded soldiers spearheaded by Ms. Karey B. from Houston. I found 2 heart blocks around the house; the 1st was almost done and the 2nd just needed to be trimmed to size--perfect for Valentines. The second pic shows the backs since sometimes people wonder what they look like. Yes, those are stickers-that's what happens when you hang around 23 month old girls-stickers everywhere.

heart2heart

2007-01-29T17:09:00.001-10:00

Here are the 2 postcards I've made (so far) for Karey Bresenhan's Heart2Heart project which will be delivering fabric Valentines to wounded soldiers in military hospitals. I worried that they were too cute and not artsy enough but finally decided to get them done as the point is to brighten the day of those who need the cheer. So now to get busy and make several more.

Home of the Brave

2007-01-20T00:48:00.000-10:00

Patriotic quilt I made using ufo's (unfinished objects) from several classes. Made for local guild challenge requiring use of the tan Debbie Mumm crow w/flag fabric. I created the random flying geese border using freezer paper for my foundation piecing. The 4 corner stars are paper pieced. I have taught this class a couple of times at the Annual meeting of the Utah Quilt Guild. I have patterns available for purchase.

Rock Art

2007-01-10T15:24:00.000-10:00

Moab Rock Talk 24 in. wide by 39 in. long $1,100.00

Quilt was made last year for the AQuA (art quilt guild in Grand Junction, Colorado) http://www.theartquiltassociation.com/
TXT challenge.

Inspiration/theme: Ancient rock art (petroglyphs) found on the red rocks of Moab, Utah and the southwest region. The designs range from representational to whimsical from laughing sheep to eerie shaman. The bottom left figure is the Moab Man. They speak to my soul although I'm still trying to break the code of these early text messages. I used very busy fabrics to convey the loud messages we are faced with today. I used low contrast as many of the petroglyphs are now very faded and hard to see.

Figures were created with hand applique including reverse applique. Hand and machine quilting. Beaded embellishment.

I was honored when the challenge juror Faye Anderson selected my quilt as one of the quilts to be featured on the TXT page of the AQuA website. To see the other 6 quilts http://www.theartquiltassociation.com/exhibitions/txt.htm

The TXT quilts were displayed as a special exhibit in the Mancuso's Denver show in May 2006 and their Chicago show in November 2006.

landscape quilt

2006-12-07T21:43:00.001-10:00

This is one of my all time favorite quilts: Miniature Moab Landscape (9" w X 6.5" h). It shows the beauty of my hometown of Moab, Utah. It won best miniature (hand quilted) at the 2004 Springville Quilt Show at the Springville Art Museum (Utah) and also best miniature at the 2003 Utah Quilt Guild. Also shown at the NQA show. I like working small.

first

2006-12-07T21:32:00.000-10:00

I'm finally joining the blogging craze. It's almost 2007, so it's about time.