More Quilt Beauty

 If you are dropping by for the Grow Your Blog party, please click here for that post.

It's now February (!!) and I can hardly believe I haven't posted anything in over a week! It's time I got back here, isn't it? First of all I'd like to extend a warm welcome to all my new followers.
The Grow Your Blog party has brought lots of new visitors to Stitch Lines and I am so happy so many have stopped by and left a comment! Some have chosen to "follow" which is great too- I will look forward to "hearing" from you all regularly! The "Party" continues for another 11 days and of course the list will be there on Vicki's blog long after that, so if you are looking to find some interesting new blogs to read, and new friends to meet, check it out. You don't have to be a blogger to enjoy "the tour"... There are nearly 600 blogs participating, so you have lots of choices! I've been slowly working my way through the list and not surprisingly I have added many to the list that I'm following....
With this blog party and several other things going on that are demanding  a lot of our attention and time, last week was a busy one for me. I taught two classes as well, Beginner's Machine Quilting on Thursday and a Totebag class on Saturday. Thanks ladies, for all the fun! It's always rewarding to introduce people to new skills and see their confidence grow. I'll be putting together my demo "components" into a new bag for the shop owner. I got started on that today.
Our weather has been a little kinder the last week or so, with temps not as brutally cold and not much snowfall this past week but I guess we have another storm coming for midweek. At least we're now into February which is a shorter month. Regardless of what the groundhog's prediction was yesterday, I'm taking the positive attitude of  "We ONLY have six more weeks of winter..." lol  Let's hope...
I do have an amaryllis starting to put up a new shoot- yippee! They are such fun to watch grow. And it will be a surprise as I have no idea what color this one is.
So - are you interested in some more photos from the World Quilt Show in southern Florida? It seems like so long ago now... sigh... Here are some more of my favourites from the World Competition, in no particular order...

Morris Dance by Catherine Millar of Castle Cary, UK     72" x 103"

"I was inspired by the wall tiles of William Morris and others in the Art and Crafts movement. Halfway through making this quilt, I slipped on wet grass and broke my right wrist. I am truly grateful to the many friends who cut out the shapes from my designs so that I could applique using only my left hand to guide the work through the machine. Perhaps a better title for the quilt would be "Occupational Therapy". Original Design. Machine Pieced, Machine Appliqued, Machine Quilted."









Blue Mist by Andrea Ashwell of Westbury UK  66" x 89"

"The inspiration came from traditional North Country quilts in the United Kingdom. This is my own design. I wanted to have a free flowing border for this quilt. It is handquilted on a handwoven Oakshot cotton with a variegated thread for the feathers and a gray thread for the background. Original Design, Machine Pieced, Hand Quilted."











Dual Image Jacobean by Dilys Fronks of Mold Flintshire, UK   60" x 77"

"These two wallhangings from one cut-out illustrate positive (applique) and negative (reverse applique) techniques. This original pattern in the Jacobean style is enhanced with machine stitches and free motion stitches.Original Design, Machine Appliqued, Machine Quilted."  These two pieces were stunning.












Illuminating Blue by Judith Barker of Aberystwyth, UK    36" x 39"

"This quilt was inspired by illuminated manuscripts from the Middle Ages. These hand-written books are rich with tendrils, leaves and flourishes, and I wanted to capture this exuberance in my quilt. The simple border blocks echo the architecture of the time and the asymmetrical layout reflects the layout of a page. Cotton, silk and polyester; mostly machine sewn.  Original Design, Machine Pieced, Machine Appliqued, Machine Quilted."   I  loved this one... and not just because it was blue...







Don't Go by  Laura Kemshall of Wolverhampton UK   52" x 71"

"This quilt is part of a series that explores the notions of protection, love, loyalty and loss. For me, the swallow is a symbol of all that is fragile and precious. Techniques involved in the creation of the quilt: painting, print and free motion quilting.  Original Design, Machine Quilted."

Winter Solstice by Sandra Grusd of Eastbourne, UK   52" x 52"

"This piece was inspired by the glorious colors observed during the lunar eclipse which coincided with the winter solstice of 2010. It is one of a series of quilts using a cross motif. The work was machine pieced using hand dyed cotton fabrics and machine quilted.   Original Design, Machine Pieced, Machine Quilted."

Dotty Roo by Denise Griffiths of Shellharbour, Australia  53" x 70"

"Australian wildflowers are so beautiful it is hard not to be inspired by them. I have tried to work out a way to construct each flower differently but to still be in harmony with each other, while at the same time being thrown onto a more contemporary spotted background. I used applique, fusing, free motion embroidery and quilting, hand stitching, painting, and shrinking fabric (hand dyed and commercial fabric.)  Original Design, Machine Pieced, Machine Appliqued, Machine Quilted."









Naturally Crazy by Linda Steele of Park Orchards Victoria, Australia    67" x 67"

"Hand embroidered and machine quilted on my domestic machine. My crazy quilt depicts the flora and fauna of 12 countries with Australia featured in the centre. Original Design, Hand Appliqued, Machine Quilted."









For some (crazy!) reason, I missed getting a photo of this entire quilt, but I know you'll enjoy seeing these closeups so you can appreciate the work...




That's all for now.. still more to come.

Peace,
Linda

"The details are not the details. They make the design."
~ Charles Eames