Kimball St Studios

I dropped off a number of art quilts and other items at Kimball St Studios in Lewiston today in preparation for the Art Quilts Maine exhibit. The exhibit opens with September's Last Friday Art Walk in Lewiston, Friday, September 30 from 5:00 to 8:00. If you can't get to the opening, the show remains on display at Kimball St Studios through the month of October.

Featuring this year's Art Quilts Maine challenge tour, "The Power of 3", the show also includes a number of embellished masks members made last winter, and several other member items. Bonnie met me at the gallery with an armload of beautiful quilts, masks, even a bag! Most of the pieces on exhibit are available for purchase. 

"The Power of 3" refers to the many ways the number "3" appears in culture and mythology. Challenge participants responded with quilts that delight and inspire. This group of 10 quilts debuted at Maine Quilts in July and will continue for a two-month stay at the Portland Public Library following Kimball St. Note that the gallery is located at 191 Lisbon St in Lewiston.

While in Friendship this summer I refilled my box of pins featuring a botanical theme inspired by morning walks to see the fairy houses in Martin Point Wildlife Preserve. The box is at Kimball St through October.

Fall in Maine

I have been absent, not posting for a while. I wish I could say I was busy finishing quilts, but not so. Although I did deliver over 35 quilts to Kimball St Studios in Lewiston for Art Quilts Maine's second annual show! It is beautifully hung and it is not too late to view it. We have just decided to keep the quilts on display until October 29, so if you are in the area, stop by. Click the link for information on the gallery. Included in the show is this year's Travelling Challenge Quilt Show, the theme of which is fabric manipulation. The Travelling Challenge will be at Portland Public Library next, during December and January. Some truly creative pieces in that group!

We also traveled to Florida and Honu found a home, hanging on a wall at Jerry's Mom and PaPa Joe's home. It really is the perfect spot for this wall hanging, since we went with them to Hawaii, on the trip that inspired Honu.

I teach a full class tomorrow at Sew Portland on Free Motion Quilting. If you didn't get into this session, I'll be scheduling another one--maybe after the holidays. Meanwhile, work is progressing on the wedding quilt commission and a new round robin series.

I recently made up a new batch of Quiltini Pins and will be looking for opportunities to put them out for sale. Once I get started they are addicting to make--each a tiny, embellished quilt with glitz and glitter!

Center for Maine Craft

Alison and I met at the Center for Maine Craft located in the West Gardiner service plaza to hang the Art Quilts Maine exhibit. The Center is a high-traffic location--anyone travelling past Augusta goes right by, and a steady stream of people are in and out of the service plaza. Many take a break from their travels to enjoy (and maybe purchase) Maine crafts. The exhibit runs through July 31. The collection reappears later this year at Kimball St Studios in Lewiston, for the month of November. 

Quiltinis
Rana O'Connor

Six artists contributed to this collection. In addition to a few wall pieces (you can see my two Chairs on the back wall, for instance) I brought along a box full of Quiltini pins,a smaller item I developed and quickly got addicted to making earlier this year. Each pin is crafted from bits of quilted fabric sealed with a satin stitch. Then the fun begins! Embellishments include beads, glitter, stamps, rhinestones, paint and found objects.

Old Fort Johnson

What a lovely day we had at Old Fort Johnson near Amsterdam, NY on Saturday! We started the day with quilt historian Kris Driessen, who brought many antique quilts to illustrate her discussion of dating and appraising quilts. She was very informative, talking about various fabrics a historian looks for to help date a quilt, such as double pink, or turkey red, and sharing some little known facts that we New England quilters take for granted. For example, quilts designed for four poster beds are an east coast phenomenon--western families did not have four poster beds, so that unique shape is unknown to them. Likewise, shirting fabrics were commonly brought home as cut-aways from shirt factories and mills found mostly in New England. The best part? Kris allowed us to pass her quilts and tops around to handle and examine the fabrics, note the stitching, admire the rich colors. After a grand picnic on the lawn (it was a gorgeous day and one of the women brought a to-die-for chocolate cake) we reassembled for my trunk show. I brought a baker's dozen art quilts--including the unfinished Honu. Like Kris, I enjoy letting others handle my quilts and discuss details of technique and style choices. We worked our way from Back Bay Winter, completed in 2006, to the present. I brought some of my Quiltini Pins--you can see my post on them here. Once I got started making them I found it hard to stop--I get more ideas as I work. I think I've made nearly 100 so far. They were a hit at the gift store!