The Quilt Show Shuffle & the "Keystone" Cops

You challenge yourself... plan it out... hoard your supplies... and then you take a deep breathe.

Eventually the procrastination is over.

It's the first slice through that special scrap of fabric you have been saving just for this quilt that always seems the hardest.

I am no perfectionist...  I just do the best I can. Adjusting as I go- making it mine.

Trying to stay focused- start to finish.

To match my seams and keep my piecing straight.

Cutting edge- without looking clumsy.

No patterns to stress over- A true original when I want artsy.

Wonky- but not clumsy.

Seams pressed open... and staying open when the next seams cross them. (OK- I still have a lot more work towards that one!)

All blocks displayed out on my design wall & repeatedly manipulated...

eventually fully pieced with pride!

Hopefully- kept out of the ever-growing  UFO pile.

And then- you Quilt & Quilt & Quilt...

You flourish artistically while you stress out spasmodically.

Tying off and burying the knots between the layers.

Fighting the "birds nests" and avoiding frequent use of a seam ripper.  

Then finally... creating & attaching the binding by hand. the label. the sleeve.

And then you finish up just under the wire with a knot of thread hanging like a noose around your neck.

We are the quilters.

We all go through it. 

We promise ourselves- "next year I will stay on top of things"...

"next year I will get all my quilts done in a timely and meticulous fashion"...

"next year- next year..."

Trying to remember... quilting is just a hobby... and while it feels like the most important thing in your world this month... it really isn't. (at least, not to anyone else who hasn't reserved a seat at the table!)

Wandering around the quilt show this morning, I could not help but laugh at my tension the past several weeks. I stitched until my arthritis was so inflamed- even dipping my hands in to hot wax paraffin gave no relief. I was absolutely obsessed & going nuts!

But there my quilts are... hanging for all who wish to view. 

My selvage quilt is the very first one you see when you enter the show!!!

It's placement makes me feel like a rock star- And I am beaming with pride!

I am not sure many people know I made my stars from joined selvage slivers... or how many even know what a selvage is for that matter. They just see a large modern quilt.

It's our first year with a modern category & I love watching the modern arts continue to evolve.

Blue ribbons--- I don't need the quilt police to tell me they like my quilt. 

Frequently, their actions are more like the keystone cops anyways! And our show was not spared the dramedy.

The overachievers in demand of acknowledgement always make their presence known. Too bad... they are so busy picking at threads, I think they miss out on the art.

It's the members of the guild who really support each other- encourage us along... that matter to me.

We share kudos... ideas... inspiration.

They make me feel like an artist. 

It is the friends I make in my guild that will be there to share the scraps long after the quilt police go back to the jail.

I am grateful to share the show with them.

My quilt is the very first quilt you see when you enter through the doors at the 

35th ANNUAL TYLER, TEXAS QUILT SHOW

The Selvage is in Our Stars

Assorted stars of varied size and style created through color blocked and pieced fabric selvage strips

an original design

Ziggity Zag

A zig zag off the beaten path- on the modern route to somewhere "to be decided"

An original design- reinterpretation of a chevron

Mason's Cello

A portrait quilt of my son & his cello

an original design

The Quilters' Guild of East Texas produces a quilt show every spring during the Azalea Trail.

This years show features a display of 251 QUILTS, 66 CHALLENGE BLOCK 

& ASSORTED SPECIAL EXHIBITS plus vendors, charity quilt silent auction, numerous demonstrations, an old-fashioned bed-turning, door prizes, scissor sharpening, and a RAFFLE QUILT. 

THREE of those 251 quilts are MINE!

A few of my favorite modern quilts

Until next year (when I absolutely will get it all done in timely fashion without stress... hopefully)