June Flowers

 There's a street near me that has a field growing pretty wild.  In the spring, it's full of wild flowers.  Yesterday I picked 14 flowers, all a different species.  

I can't identify all of the flowers, but there is Horsemint, Basket Flower, Indian Blanket, Coreopsis, Gaura, Prarie Verbena, Trompillo, Sunflower, and Fluttermill.

Guild Birthday Party and Linus Reveal

Our local guild celebrated its 12th birthday this year. The celebration combined socializing, games, food, and a showing of the Linus Challenge wherein members took identical panels and made quilts.

The quilt on the left is mine and shows the full panel in the center.   The next quilt is comprised of the panel which has been sliced vertically and had purple inserted.   The third was the one which won the most votes - some of the leaves from the panel were used whole and more of them make up the birds.

The meeting was very well attended  - probably 50 to 60 members and a few guests.  Sixteen quilts were displayed.

We also played a few games and had a flip-flop contest - our theme was "escape to the beach"

Duckworth bordered panel quilt

 My local guild passed out preprinted panels to anyone willing to make a quilt for the Linus connection out of it.

I took one and pulled fabrics from my stash to make 4.5" Modified log cabin blocks to use as a border.

Because of the panel proportions, I also pieced two coping strips to add to the panel before adding the border.

Because this quilt turned out so well, I arranged with the challenge coordinators to give it to a 90yo friend of mine - a former quilter who has given away all her quilts and and has become bedridden.

As a part of the arrangement, I agreed to take two more panels to finish and donate to Linus.  One is done but the other is still on the design wall.

I've posted this picture in a Facebook group and received over 400 Likes and 60 comments.   

O'Henry Museum Auction

 As a part of the O'Henry pun-off in Austin, a silent auction is held to benefit the O'Henry museum.  

This year I donated my Yellow Rose quilt; it raised $200.

Art Show in Round Rock

I spent most of the day today showing off my Pfaces with a story at Prete Plaza in Round Rock.  

The  City of Round Rock Arts and Culture department.offers local artists a chance to sell their works periodically by providing canopies and tables and publicity for the event.

There were painters there today and potters and weavers and all kinds of artists.
Lots of people stopped to look at my little quilts and read their stories.
I had a good time.

I've been busy

 Since joining a new Facebook group, I've been making scrap quilts a la "Duckworth".  

This quilting techniques has been described by Joanne Merrill-Duckworth and it is just what I need right now.

I made my first one in November.   Green, because my green scraps were overflowing their designated drawer.   It will most likely go to one of my sisters great-grandchildren when they graduate from high school.

I've made several since then but have to hunt through my photos to find them.

Evolution of quilting style

These are my favorite quilting books.  They encouraged me to be freewheeling and creative with my quilting. 

I love ad-libbing with patterns and fabrics and colors.

  When Gwen Marston died, I made this quilt - remembering her and the weeklong  class I took with  Asilomar in California.     I ususally quote her in my workshops - "If it's too long, cut it off.  If it's too small, add a piece on." 

Recently, I joined a Facebook page and found Jo Anne Merrill-Duckworth, who has evolved a style based on wonky log cabins.   She usually uses one basic color, very scrappy, but with a limited tonal range.  She adds lots of small pieces of contrasting color for visual interest.

My current work in progress is my attempt to do this same thing.    I'm using greens, with forays into blue and yellow.   It will be tagged for my great-grandnephew Rowan, for his high school graduation.

Making these blocks is highly addictive and really satisfying.

Can't wait to start another colorway.