Pink Quilt

Quilted Cora is assisting me in constructing a Pink Quilt.  Can't show a picture of it just yet because it is headed to a magazine for an October 2012 issue!  I can describe what it looks like though!  It only measures 24" x 30" and has a nice big pink ribbon in the middle.  The white background has inspirational sayings printed directly on it and then pink T-shirts were stabilized, cut up and sewn to the quilt top.

Inspiration for the Pink Quilt comes from my Unfinished Quilt which is currently traveling with the Text on Textiles exhibit for Quilts Inc.  The reason I call it the Unfinished Quilt because I have a few more years of walks and pink T-shirts to add to it before it will be a Finished Quilt!  Then it will be used as a fundraiser with all the proceeds going to the Loudoun Breast Health Network (LBHN)www.lbhn.org.  The Pink Quilt will also be used as a fundraiser to support the LBHN.

Quilting a Bed Runner

Have been pretty busy quilting a bed runner, finally finished quilting and now I have to tie threads and attach the binding.  What is a bed runner?  Glad you asked!  According to my S-I-L Anne, bed runners have been around for many years.  They are the strip of fabric which runs along the bottom part of the bed.  Anne says back in the old days before wheeled suitcases, Colonial travelers had trunks and travel bags which usually got dirty and dusty while travelers were traveling!  The traveler would place the dirty trunk or bag on the bed runner to pack/unpack.  The bed runner would keep the bed clothes and quilts clean, one would only have to shake out and clean the dirty bed runner and not the quilt! Possibly the earliest quilt preservation devise!

Waterford Quilters Guild

Just wanted to let people know that I stopped by the Waterford Quilter's Guild for a presentation and demo yesterday for WQG's January meeting.  It was a lot of fun!

Looks like Rebecca, the WQG's VP, is adjusting my mike!  My peep (short for "people" - for those of you you who don't know who my "peep" is, it is my support staff whose real name is Renelda, but this blog is about me, not her, so..) did a presentation to the Guild members based on an article she wrote for the magazine Quilter's World (Feb 2011 issue).  For the "Just Add Fabric" feature she created a mini-quilted Valentine's Day Card which introduced her technique on how to transfer computer text to fabric.



Not only did my peep talk about

Quilted Valentine's Day Card as it appeared in Quilter's World

why she created her technique to transfer text onto fabric (to make the quilt Sarajevo Rose which appeared in the "Text on Textile: Words as Design on Quilts" special exhibit at the Fall International Quilt Festival 2011) but she also demonstrated the technique to the Guild.



There was a lively discussion about printers:
1. Yes, fabric will go through a printer if you talk to said printer and get the printer's OK! 
2. No - you never tell your husband you are sending fabric through the printer.
3. Never, never, never tell your husband fabric got stuck in the printer (most printers have several pull-down doors, simply open one of these doors and yank the fabric out yourself).
4. Take the time to get to know your printer and your printer will reward you with a beautiful, finished product - text on textile!

There was a brief portion where the peep dazzled her audience with a brilliant display of tech savvy, explaining how to format the text and then an actual display of printing on fabric! 

During the presentation several members did remark upon my cuteness and marveled at my coordinated accessories, I am available for autograph sessions and do appear at the peep's presentations so I can blog about all the new people and places.



Thanks ladies!!

Not only a Quilt Queen!

Quilted Cora here on a very snowy day on the East Coast!!  My peeps were out several times yesterday shoveling the snow and went out again today!  Good snow-man/snow-ball making stuff!  But enough about the weather - on to me!



Trish with me at Joann's

 I went to a Joann Fabric store the other night to assist my Peep teach knitting - yes, I said knitting!!  My talent is not limited to just quilting, I am a world class knitter (OK, I can do the k,p,* repeat)!  Not only did I teach a few women to knit, but Trish Lee - the multi-talented and over-worked education coordinator at the store in Leesburg, VA - stopped by to check things out and have her picture taken with yours truely!  I teach (with my Peep) Knitting 101 and seed stitch block, all you out there in the blog-a-sphere who don't know how to knit don't know what you are missing.

In addition to knitting, I have been doing a royal tour of several local museums, and I'd like to share the following pictures with you.  The pictures were taken at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History at a tempory exhibit called "The Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef".  What is a Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef?  I'm glad you asked - actually, if you want REALLY know the math behind the coral, email Trish (see her above) at learnwithtrish@gmail.com and Trish will fill you in!!  The short version is that to create a 3-D verison of the hyperbolic geometry principal a really smart women figured out that it could be expressed by crocheting a coral-like figure!  The Institute For Figuring created the exhibit and it is really cool!!

  

I appear in several pictures nestled amoung the crocheted coral  - you however, are not allowed to get so close (my Peep knows museum peeps) - and it was really a interesting experience.  My favorite as the white coral - go to the Smithsonian's website and type in Hyperbolic Coral Reef and you will see some more pictures!

That is it for now - stay warm!!  Quilted Cora out!

Exhaustion from the holidays!

Quilted Cora here!!  Refreshed from the hetic holidays!!  The people took me with them on "vacation" and as is their custom - no pictures!!  However, the boys had a great time skiing and my minder and her hubby had fun relaxing and thinking about all the laundry she would have to do upon return!  A fun time was had by all and the Marley-cat even enjoyed Katrina visiting once a day to cater to her every whim!

Quilting Class today!

        Today was pretty exciting for me - I helped teach two fantastic ladies several basic quilting concepts!  Margaret and Carla were at class again today at the Scrappy Apple in Winchester, VA where two weeks ago they cut out fabric and started sewing blocks together for their first quilt.  For homework they had to finish sewing all 80 blocks to bring in today.
        Today they braved rain, wind and tornado warnings to come to class to see what to do next!!  We set up  two design boards in the Scrappy Apple and started putting their blocks up, the ladies soon discovered it was not as easy arranging the 80 blocks as it was sewing the blocks together!!  They got their blocks arranged and they started sewing them together and that was when I insisted they pose with me for a picture!!  Don't I look natural with the ladies and their quilts?

That is Carla in the first picture - I almost blend into her blue and brown fabric!  Margaret is in the second picture with me and her yellow/purple eclectic fabric!  Which quilt brings out my beautiful eyes!?!

Can't wait to see the two quilts done!!  Am looking forward to that!  That is all for today - later.

Black Friday

Quilted Cora here!  Black Friday has come and gone and the mad rush for Christmas is on!  Sorry I have not been blogging lately, have been teaching some classes.  My good friend Kelley Bova who is the owner of "The Scrappy Apple" in Winchester, Virginia has me teaching some classes for beginning quilters! It has been fun.  Carla and Margaret are using pre-cut Timeless Treasure Batiks and a simple pattern by Karen Montgomery called "Pops-A-Lot".  We have our final class this coming Wednesday and depending upon how much the ladies have completed I'll put a picture of their quilt (and ME!)! on the blog - can't wait!