Another "Small Wonder"

Yesterday's post was about the Small Wonders Challenge & fundraiser, and I mentioned that members Torrie and Deb each donated a quilt for that event.  I now have a photo of Torrie's entry.  Look closely, and you'll see her French knots and hand-stitching that meanders through the blocks -- it reminds me of tiny bird tracks.

Torrie's "Small Wonder" entry.

I like her interesting pieced work, and especially the small shots of red in the vertical blue strip on the right.   Can't wait to see all the entries this year!

Deb's "Small Wonder" quilt

Two of our members, Torrie and Deb,  have submitted quilts for the Small Wonders Challenge.  Here's Deb's entry: 

"Sister's Temptations" by Deb Sorem

The Small Wonders Challenge and fundraiser is one of the highlights of the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show (SOQS).  This is a judged contest (with prizes), and all donated quilts have to be of an original design.  Last year, over 80 entries were received, raising $1,100 for a local charity.

While I don't have a photo of Torrie's entry right now, I'll try to get one, as well as photos of other members' projects.   I just need to keep asking for them!

"Accepted into the show . . ."

There's a new phrase that I'm beginning to love.  It begins "Congratulations!  Your quilt has been accepted into our juried show . . ."

My quilt, "Natural Symphony."

I received notification this afternoon that my quilt, Natural Symphony, was accepted into a new show in Bend, OR called Fabrications -- The Art of Quilting.  But that's not all the exciting news.  Fellow Fabrications members Torrie Gordon and Deb Sorem also heard that lovely phrase today, and they each have a quilt juried into this show:

Torrie's lively, contemporary  quilt, "Water 2," juried into the FABRICATIONS show.

 Deb's exquisitely pieced quilt, "Bolero," juried into the FABRICATIONS show.

Obviously, all three of us are thrilled and practically dancing on clouds as we await the upcoming artists' reception on Feb. 3.  This is a new show and is sponsored by Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show, which has made Central Oregon a mecca for quilt enthusiasts with their annual summer quilt show (always on the 2nd Sat. in July), where over 1300 quilts are hung throughout this 1800's style town for one day. 

There are many, many talented quilters in Central Oregon.  Submissions for the Fabrications show numbered over 100, but the venue has space for only 30 quilts.  That's a humbling thought.  Having our quilts selected for this show is an honor, and in our excitement, we haven't lost sight of that.

Surprise: an award!

Torrie and I went to the artists' reception for Salem Art Association's show, Bits & Pieces: Intuitive Quilts from the NW and Beyond this past Fri. night, since we both had quilts juried into this show.  It was a really fun time -- people were friendly, the energy was high.  Several times I overheard comments such as "finally, quilts are being accepted as fine art."
We were there for about an hour and a half when someone pointed out to me that the tag on my quilt said "Merit Award."    I don't know how I missed that, but it was true!  When the awards were announced, my name was the first one called.  It was a huge thrill, happily shared with several friends and family members.  (Thanks to those who came out that night!)  We had planned to go out for dinner afterward to celebrate my first juried show.  As it turned out,  there was even more to celebrate!

Merit Award:  my "Natural Symphony"quilt.

 There were three other Merit Awards presented.  Two went to Jean Wells for her two quilts below:
 

Merit Award:  "Coffee Country" by Jean Wells.

Merit Award: "Steppin Out" by Jean Wells

 In my excitement, I've forgotten the recipient of the 4th Merit Award.  (That, plus other details, I'll add later after I've returned from seeing the show again.)

The award for Best of Show went to Salem's Kay Worthington, whom I met for the first time that night.  (I'll add a photo of her award-winning quilt later . . . my camera's batteries died early in the show!)

LOVED this one!  (title/maker to be added)

Another entry by Kay Worthington.

The color RED was well-represented at this show.  (Title/maker to be added)

 The show will be up until Oct. 15 at Salem's Bush Barn Art Center.

It's almost showtime!

Torrie's quilt in ad

Bright and early Sunday morning, Torrie sent me the following link to an article  in Salem's Statesman-Journal about the upcoming Bits & Pieces show.  Near the end, it mentions both of us!

In addition to the Gee's Bend quilts and the quilts juried into the show, there's also an invitational part to the show that we weren't even aware of!  Once again, Jean Wells' name enters the picture -- she was one of the quilt artists invited to be a part of this show.

Torrie, who, unlike me, is always early for everything, reaped the rewards for her promptness.  A close-up shot of  part of her quilt was used in the full-color ad for the Bits & Pieces show (also in Sunday's paper).  Incidently, this detail shot shows some of the surface-designed fabrics from our Fabric Swatch Exchange!)

Our first juried show!

Both Torrie and I were thrilled to each have a quilt juried into the upcoming show, Bits & Pieces: Intuitive Quilts from the Northwest and Beyond.  The show is sponsored by Salem Art Association, and the Call to Artists went out to "established and emerging fiber artists living in OR, WA, northern CA, and ID."

Torrie's "Play Behavior #1"

My new & improved "Natural Symphony"

The show runs from Sep. 9 - Oct. 15 at the Bush Barn Art Center (Salem), with an artists' reception on Fri., Sept. 9, 5-7pm.   (It's open to the public, so please come if you're in town!)  A small selection of quilts from Gee's Bend will enhance this exhibit. What a treat to see them in Salem!

We both entered our quilts from the last Fiberexplorations challenge (Fabric Swatch Exchange).  I changed mine a bit before submitting my entry photos because I  felt that it was missing something  The large green section  seemed too empty to me, so I  brainstormed some design ideas.  All of a sudden, I spotted another (unfinished) project --the piece I presented at a critique group last month when Ore. Art Beat was filming a feature story about Jean Wells.  Of course:  LEAVES!

Leaves, ready for the picking!

They were only pinned in place, so I snatched them up and auditioned them on my current project, turning them this way and that.  With encouragement and feedback from my son and daughter (both college students and both visiting that day), the five leaves found their places on the quilt.   The top layer of each leaf  is made from an earlier session of deconstructed screenprinting; the bottom is black cotton.

Back on track with challenge quilt

Putting it all together

With a little help from my friends, I'm back on track!

Torrie came over and helped me audition fabrics for the green section, and we both agreed on this batik.  Its subtle printed design gives just enough movement to this section, which will be enhanced with lots of horizontal lines of quilting, Barbara Shapel-style.  (Not straight across or evenly spaced, but lines that are more organic.)

Both Torrie and Lisa voiced their agreement that the blue-green "squiggly" print needed to be used, and it works to introduce the blue in the next section.
I'd already sewn some vertical strips with tucks and really liked them (seen in Lois Ericson's book Options), so I made more and pinned them along the length of the left side. 

Detail of tucks going vertically down the left side

More tucks close-up

I liked my original sketched design for the bottom section, but when it came time to construct it, it felt too boring.  I also wanted to try another version of tucks from the Options book, so I made a few practice rows and pinned them to the bottom.  This might be a good thing!    Another design line will be created when these sections are joined together and the horizontal seams are added.  (They'll fill the bottom section of the quilt, and the multi-colored vertical strip will extend over it to the bottom.) 

Detail of tucks in the bottom section

I'm wondering about making a longer version of the navy-and-blue-green-yellow wavy piece (on bottom right of design board -- 1st photo) and adding it as the bottom of the quilt.  I guess the answer will come by the time I reach that point. 

Less than 2 weeks and counting!

Progress on our challenge quilts

Torrie's "Small Wonders" piece

At our April meeting, Torrie brought her finished piece for the "Small Wonders" quilt challenge, sponsored by the Stitchin' Post in Sisters, OR. For this challenge, partipants create and donate a small quilt (between 18" and 24" in size) for a fundraiser benefiting nonprofit organizations in Sisters. The quilts are displayed in the Sisters Library during the month of May, where visitors can vote for their favorites. Prizes totaling $500 will be awarded. If you can't get to Sisters to see them in May, the quilts will also be displayed (and sold!) during the Sisters Quilt Show on Sat., July 9.

I love the cheerful, high energy feel to this little quilt, which incorporates pieces of all the fabric swatches from our in-progress Fabric Swatch Challenge. But Torrie's not finished working with this color palette yet; she still plans to make a larger quilt for that challenge! It will be a different design (and larger -- at least 36" on each side), using the rest of her fabric swatches from our exchange, plus fabrics from her own stash.

I've made some headway on my own piece for our Fabric Swatch Challenge. I first sketched some design ideas in my design journal, chose the best parts, then drew the layout (an abstract landscape) on large tracing paper, choosing a 36" wide x 48" long format. Yikes!!! That's HUGE for me; I usually work much smaller, like 9" x 12" journal quilt size. But it's a good challenge for me -- and that's what a challenge is all about, isn't it? Pushing yourself to try things a different way, testing yourself, getting out of your comfort zone, and seeing what you're capable of.

The next step was to gather the pieces from our fabric swatch exchange and audition others that worked well with them. The fabrics were folded to fit together in their assigned areas of the traced layout, then photographed:

The "draft" layout of my design.

Since taking that photo, I've stitched together 2 rows/sections: the blues and greens and the yellow-oranges.

I strayed from my original plan when placing fabrics at the bottom of the design; I've decided to change it back to my original idea. The dark brown vertical piece has also been nixed, along with several other changes.

Again, that's what I love about art quilts -- that new ideas can be considered and decisions made all the way through the process; nothing's set in stone. That's freedom!

Final note: I really want to be the buyer/owner of Torrie's "Small Wonders" quilt, but I'm afraid I'll have some stiff competition. If anyone out there has some influence in helping me make this acquisition, I'd be most grateful!