UPCOMING EVENTS

If you have a 2012 quilt related activity that you would like listed on this blog, please e-mail me the information and I would be happy to put it up.  Happy New Year to everyone.  May all your projects be finished!?

By the way, that is Sue Buckingham's award winning quilt.  Nice job Sue.

QUILTING INSPIRATIONS

Inspirations for quilt projects can  be found everywhere.  We can see them in our homes, our gardens, in the sky, in the animals and wildlife around us.  We don't have to venture far from home but when we do, inspiration still surrounds us.

I took a 25 day trip to London and Europe in September of this year. The inspiration for new projects is still buzzing in my head.  These pictures are only some of the amazing things I experienced.

Wisconsin Quilt and Fiber Arts Grand Opening

Here are a couple of pictures I took of the new Wisconsin Quilt and Fiber Arts Museum at Cedarburg.  I went to the Grand Opening Celebration on August 12th.  I didn't post any pictures of the exhibits as I am hoping you will all take the time to visit this facility.  All the people who were involved in making this happen should be congratulated on their accomplishment.

SAVE THE DATE

I have scheduled another sew day for the fall.  It will be Saturday, October 29th at People's Bank Community Room in Elkhorn, Wisconsin.  We'll start at 9:00 a.m. and end around 3:30 p.m.  The room should hold 20 sewers with machines easily.  We'll wait to see how many of you plan on coming and then we'll decide on how to handle lunch.  If you would like to come that day, please e-mail Linda quilter.

AND THE WINNER IS!

The Wisconsin Quilt and Fiber Arts Museum has named this year's challenge winner and it is SUSAN BUCKINGHAM from Sharon, WI.  For those of you who attended the spring retreat you may remember Sue. That's her in the picture above working on another great landscape quilt.  Please join me in congratulating Susan on this wonderful award.  The e-mail I received said the vote this year was really close so it's truly a honor for Sue to have won.

BARN QUILTS IN WISCONSIN

For those of you who attended the retreat, you received a brochure which listed the barn quilts in Walworth County.  Maribeth Schmit found a blog that has quite an extensive list of barn quilts in several counties around the state.  If you are interested, the link is http://cre8tivequilter.blogspot.com/p/wi-barn-quilt-trail.html.

I know many of you, myself included, are enjoying outdoor activities this summer but when it really gets hot it might be a good day to take a ride in your air conditioned vehicle and check out some of these barn quilts.  Take a quilting friend and your camera.  Have lunch and make a day of it.   

2011 Retreat

Here we are!  Everybody down in front of the lake, smiling because they have had a great time sewing, visiting and eating.  Now what could be better than that!???

This was our fourth retreat at Covenant Harbor in Lake Geneva, WI.  Since our formal organization disbanded last December 31st we planned this retreat to give old friends an opportunity to see each other and to acquaint ourselves with some new ones.  And I have to say---I think it was a SUCCESS.

I am adding some additional pictures and a link for the registration form for next year.

You'll notice that in addition to having a great time, we also made some headway on our projects.





Here's the link for next year's registration https://docs.google.com/document/d/1UUOIQ4WoHXJWCs6xtdjsSDThKRUXo53x6lIZsdm93S8/edit?hl=en_US

Photos from the Covenant Harbor Retreat 2011

I thought I would post some pictures from the retreat last weekend.  A good time was had by all!!!

Sew Day

I thought I would post pictures from the sew day on March 19th.  There were only three of us who made it that day but we had a wonderful time.  We got some sewing done and since it was such a small group we really got to catch up on what each of us had been doing.

This sew day was held at Peoples Bank in Elkhorn.  They have a wonderful community room that can be used by non-profit groups.  You just need to give them some info about your group and schedule it for an open date. 

This bank is more like the ones we remember from the past.  It's a smaller, more "home town" type of facility.  The room has nice windows and double glass doors so there is some good light.  It has a full kitchen.  There are cupboards and counter space in the room so it would be a lovely place to have a potluck lunch if we had enough participants. They have fresh baked cookies at this bank and they even came back to the room to share some with us.

I am planning on scheduling another day in October so watch for more info at a later date.

Quilting is Art Contest

Okay Karen--Here it is.

This is a small wholecloth quilt that I submitted to the MPTV "Quilting is Art" contest.  It measured 17" x 17" and was named "Hearts and Feathers" because of the quilting designs.  I am happy to report that it won a ribbon.  When Karen commented that she would like to see a picture of this quilt, I contacted Linda Schubert.  Linda S. submitted a small quilt for which she also won a ribbon.  But unfortunately, Linda did not photograph her work. 

These quilts will be on display at the Greater Milwaukee Area Realtors Home and Garden Show at State Fair Park for a few more days.  All of them are little treasures and will be auctioned off at the MPTV Auction in May.

Wisconsin Quilt Study Group Retreat

I was asked to post this information for you.

Two WQI members, Maribeth Schmit and Nancy Kunst Smith, were among those who responded to the Request For Proposals (RFP) issued by WQI in the last quarter of 2010.   Their proposal, on behalf of the Wisconsin Quilt Study Group, requested funding:
·         To develop the knowledge of quilts in Wisconsin,
·         To provide hands-on learning opportunities about quilts to area communities,
·         To increase the base of qualified quilt historians through a variety of
          educational programs

The WQI Board approved the request and plans have been made for a quilt study retreat to be held September 16-18, 2011.  Guest speakers include well-known quilt historian and author Merikay Waldvogel and Sylvia Adair of the Wisconsin Museum of Quilts and Fiber Arts.  For more information, details and reservation forms, please visit: http://www.wqsg.org/RetreatInformation.htm

Please share this information with your friends and reserve this date now.   You do NOT have to be a WQSG member to attend.   Send your registration in ASAP to secure your reservation.
 

SEVEN SISTERS QUILT BY KAREN CAPPS OF MADISON, WISCONSIN

Some of you may be aware of this, but I was not.  As most of you know, I retired in early January.  The last three months I worked were pretty hectic.  My "American Quilter" magazine came and I put it away as I did not have time to look at it.  A couple of weeks ago, I pulled it out and found that this beautiful Seven Sisters quilt constructed and hand quilted by Karen Capps of Madison, Wisconsin, won the Best Hand Workmanship award at the AQS show in Des Moines, IA last fall.

I contacted Karen and she sent me a picture of her quilt and gave me permission to post it on the blog.

Many of you may know Karen as she was a long time member of WQI and came to our first retreat in Lake Geneva two years ago.

Please join me in congratulating Karen on this awesome award winning quilt.

GOOD NEWS AND BAD NEWS

The good news is that we now have a full registration for our first annual Retreat/Reunion.

This however may be bad news for you if you were thinking about participating.

This event will hopefully be repeated again in 2012 so you will have a chance to partipate in the future.

Please watch for pictures of the 2011 event after May 22nd.

Wisconsin Quilters at International Quilt Show Houston Nov 2010

New Element

There is a new element being added to this blog.  It is entitled "Upcoming Events" and can been  seen when you scroll all the way down under all the posts.  If you have something you would like added to this list, please e-mail Linda quilter.

INVITATION

This is an invitation by the former WQI Board for lunch on February 2, 2011 at 11:30 A.M.  Luncheon will be served at the Waterstreet Brewery located at 3191 Golf Road, Delafield, WI  53018, phone 262-646-7878.


It's nice to have something to look forward to during these winter months.  So, weather permitting, please join us.  We are looking forward to seeing our old friends and making some new ones.

Please e-mail Linda quilter if you are planning on attending so we can let the restaurant know how large our party will be.

Also, if you have a quilting event or news you would like posted on the blog, please feel free to send it to me.  I would like to see a list of events from different parts of the state posted on this blog.

Newest Work

This is a picture of my newest quilt.  It was a gift to my boss upon my retirement last Friday, January 7, 2011.  We had worked together for 17 1/2 years.  She cried when I gave it to her.   She had seen several of the quilts I made over the years and never thought I would go to all the work of making one for her.  But, as you can see, she was a wonderful boss and really deserved this gift.  And as many of you know, not everyone is quilt worthy!

Please excuse the poor photography.  I bought my husband a new digital SLR camera for Christmas and this was one of the first pictures he took with it.  He wasn't sure if he got the strap in the way or what.  I just labeled and washed this quilt last Thursday night so there wasn't really any time to check the pictures before it was given away.  

I bought the fabric for it when I went to the IQA show in Houston last November.  It took me exactly two months to make it.  The center blocks have only been ditch quilted but there are feather designs in the setting triangles and heavy feather quilting in the outer border.

If you have yet to register for the Retreat/Reunion, now would be a wonderful time to do so.  We still have a few spots left.  If you pull up the Retreat/Reunion post on this blog, you will find a link to the registration form with pricing etc.  If you have questions, just contact me, Linda Quilter.

Let me know if you would like to post.  I can set it up for you and I would LOVE to see someone else's newest work on this blog.