Kristin Shields Quiltmaker

Sweet and Simple Owls

Here's another old work in progress finally finished!  This one started several years ago.  It must have been not too long after Tonya Ricucci's Word Play Quilts book came out.  I love this owl print and I wanted to highlight it.  I also wanted to hand quilt.  Remember, this was several years ago.  I started having some hand issues and the hand quilting was really bothering me.

I took a few years off of my old way of hand quilting (with a rocking motion).  I tried big stitch quilting without a hoop for a while, but recently I got back into the hand quilting as I mentioned in the previous post.  My new method is working well for me and it didn't take long to finish this one.  Actually, I have been hand quilting everyday for the past couple of months and enjoying it immensely.  Unfortunately, my knitting has taken a hit, but you can't have everything!  All of this quilting is done free hand.  I hate taking the time to mark and I hate having to deal with leftover lines.  Sometimes I'll do a little scratch across the fabric with my needle tip, but mostly I just wing it.  The more you do it the easier it becomes.  I'd love to know, have you tried free hand quilting?

How I Love a Free Hand Fan

Here's another newly finished quilt.  This one was started in Gwen Marston's Beaver Island Quilt Retreat last fall.  I started doing the free hand fans, but was stymied by the needle I was using and put it away for several months.  By the time I got it out again I had discovered a better needle for me so the multiple layers and frequent seams weren't as much of a problem.  

I may now be addicted to free hand fans.  On this one, the first row at the bottom was pretty regular.  After that I went a little more free form and just started adding new fans wherever I liked.  This loose style fits the quilt better and is more fun to do!

I embroidered my initials, the date of the retreat and the initials for Beaver Island Quilt Retreat in the corners. I haven't come up with a name for this one yet.  

Scrappy Christmas

Amongst the many old projects I've finished lately is this one.  I started this so long ago, I can't remember when exactly.  Could be 10 years or more.  Anyway, I had most of the house and star blocks done.  I only had to make 4 more houses and one star to finish it.  I don't even remember what the original plan was, but there was no way I was going to do more blocks than absolutely necessary.  So, I found the Santa panel for the bottom, leftover from something else, to finish it off.  The final star had to be made from scratch, so instead of a regular star, I made something more liberated which you can see below.  The blocks were quite a mess with uneven edges so I had to cut them down to a uniform size so some points got cut off.  No problem!

I'm glad it's done and I kind of like it.  What old UFO have you finished lately?

Okay, now for the winners of the calendar raffle.  Drum roll please!  Beatrice and Susan, please get in touch with your address (see the Email Me link on the left).  Congratulations!

Kit Stafford :: White on White

The Owl and the Pussycat by Kit Stafford

I was sorting through my recently uploaded photos this morning and found this set that I had forgotten about.  These photos were taken on Fiber Arts Stroll day.  Sarah and I got in to Sisters at about 11:00 so that I could get set up.  First thing we did was to stop somewhere for coffee and, lucky for both of us, it was Navigator News that we chose.  I had no idea there would be such a special exhibit there!  I was blown away by these lovely artworks by Kit Stafford.  Kit is the daughter of the famous poet William Stafford.  My quilt, Longing for Connection, was inspired by one of his poems.  I had not known much about Kit, except as his daughter, but she is a longtime Sisters resident who is very much a part of the art, music and poetry scene. 

When we got there, the labels weren't up on these art pieces, and Kit wasn't there.  I got to chat with one of the employees who was preparing the labels and I mentioned that it was too bad Kit wasn't there, because I'd love to meet her.  As it turned out, she stopped by my booth later and said hi and I got to say how much I loved her work.  She said that her one and only "quilt" class had been with Janet Bolton a few years ago and she made these pieces after that.  She doesn't do much sewing nowadays.  Boy, that makes these pieces even more special.  You'll note that these illustrate fairy tales and nursery rhymes and are made so inventively with vintage textiles.  I consider myself lucky to have seen them.  Most were framed under glass and I only had my cell phone with me so I did the best I could with Photoshop to crop and enhance the photos.

Kit Stafford (no label, so I'm not sure which story this is)

The Three Little Pigs by Kit Stafford (note the bbw)

Kit Stafford (no label, so I'm not sure which story this is)

The Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe by Kit Stafford

Little Red Riding Hood by Kit Stafford (sorry for the reflection, but this was my favorite!)

Tiny Red Riding Hood detail

This last piece was the only one with color.  It's a fantastic map quilt all sewn by hand. It reminds me of the work of Valerie Goodwin, but I'm not sure if that was the influence.  I really love the detail!  So, are you inspired to get out your old linens and work some magic?  I know I am!

Scrappy Times at Home

Whew!  It's been an other whirlwind few days with lots of quilty goings on.  We had the SOQS Volunteer Appreciation Party, which is always fun.  I got a very nice thank you package with wine, a gift certificate and a stack of fabric.  Sarah gave me some of the coffee in her package, so I got that too.  On Thursday was the SAQA meeting, my knitting group and my book club in the evening.

At the same time, I managed to finish the piecing and get this scrappy quilt machine quilted.  Below are some close ups.  This quilt includes all sorts of scraps from older novelty prints to Kaffe Fassett.  This will be donated to my guild's community quilt program.

I am still working to clean up the studio so that I can start fresh in September.  It'll be like going back to school and I'll be concentrating in some areas that I'll share later.  Even as I finished this one, I knew I had enough scraps for a bunch more of these community quilts.  I also knew that it was really starting to drain my energy to work on things that aren't furthering me as an artist.  I have only so much time in the next 6 weeks to get things under control and I have some trips coming up and so forth.  

So, even though I love scraps I just realized last night that I can actually sell/giveaway some scraps and life will go on.  Why is it that it took me so long to accept that?  Anyway, three bins later and I'm making progress.  I decided that it would be better to sort them.  Some scraps are not usable except for those dedicated to small pieces and skinny strips.  The rest was sorted into color piles.  I will be selling these at the Mt. Bachelor Quilters' Guild show on August 16.  I have also raided my magazine piles and book shelves, cleaned out several drawers of ancient projects and old notions, etc.  Things are looking up!

PS. Thank you to those who commented on the previous blog post.  There is still time to get in on the giveaway!  If you want to be in on it, please see the end of the previous post and comment there:  SOQS 2014 :: SCRAPS (AKA ODDS AND ENDS)

SOQS 2014 :: Scraps (aka Odds and Ends)

Okay, I hope this title doesn't upset anyone.  I don't mean to say that the quilts in this post are any less worthy than the previous posts. In fact, if you know me at all through this blog, you should know how much I love scraps and scrap quilts!  These quilts either are true scrap quilts, or just didn't fit into the other categories.

This particular quilt was a real favorite and I almost missed it.  I probably actually gasped when I saw it.  The words are fantastic and all these various blocks are truly a treasure.  Sadly, I didn't get the name of the maker, but did note that they referenced Tonya Ricucci!See the black kitty, Tonya?

These quilts were seen in lots of different places around town. The ladies above are really great.  Remember to click to enlarge!  Below are some of the quilts in the Sisters Coffee Co.  Janet Storton is a local quilter who has a project working with ladies in Uganda to teach them to quilt. They always bring some wonderful quilts for sale here.  Below is Janet's quilt that she worked on in my Liberated Basics class last fall.  I love it!

This red and white quilt is so fantastic!  The variety in the blocks could keep me looking for days and I always love red and white.Shannon is our guild president.  Isn't this a fantastic quilt!  

I also have a particular fondness for red, white and blue quilts.  This is a great flag quilt and it inspires me to try one someday.

This scrap quilt above is really great.  Lots to learn with that one.

Quilt by Wendy Hill

Here are a few that were in the Teacher's Tent.Quilt by Sarah Kaufman

Quilt by Colleen Blackwood

This Beatles quilt is also a favorite!  So much great stuff.  It was sold and I was there when the new owner came to get it.  Lucky gal!

Here's my Nautical Star which I didn't find until the end of the day at the coffee shop.

Okay, if you have made it through the last week of quilt show posts here's my thank you to you!  My 9 year blog anniversary is next week.  To celebrate that and to celebrate 100 likes on my Facebook page, I am raffling off two packages that will each include a SOQS Men Behind the Quilts calendar (signed by the men!) and a stack of quilt postcards and greeting cards.  Please only leave a comment on this blog post to get your name in the raffle.  If you are so inclined, sharing my blog or facebook page with a friend would also be great!  This is open to anyone, anywhere.  Comments will close on Sunday, July 27 at 9 pm and I will choose two winners on Monday.  Good luck!  ** Comments are now closed.

SOQS 2014: Three Special Exhibits

Today's post will show three of the many special exhibits at the show.  The first grouping are quilts by this year's Featured Quilter, Carol Webb.  Carol is a local quilter who describes her work as eclectic.  Her exhibit ranged from traditional quilts to very contemporary art pieces.  I love her use of color and line.  The quilt above on the right is one of my favorites.  

The quilt above left is my favorite of Carol's quilts.  It was created in a Nancy Crow workshop and was all black and white.  Carol decided to paint the white areas when she got home, to great effect!

Below starts the Mt Bachelor Quilters' Guild special exhibit, Cabin Fever.  Quilters in my guild took the log cabin block to extremes!

Lindsey and her quilt

Puzzling World by me

Erin's orange log cabin is just great!

Patti's log cabin is a wonderful inventive telling of her move from California to Bend.

The final exhibit is The Language of Flowers quilts by my book club, The Undercover Quilters.  It was beautifully displayed along this porch with a huge profusion of flowers.  These quilts were inspired by The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh.

Quilts by Lani, Cindy, Susan

Quilts by me, Wanda, Erin

Quilts by Betty, Martha, Jane

Quilts by Janelle, Sandie, Sally

One of the wonderful things about this location was the Barn Swallow family watching over our exhibit.  

Tomorrow I'll post the last group of quilt show photos and an announcement you won't want to miss! 

SOQS 2014 :: Modern Quilts

The first exhibit is the Central Oregon Modern Quilt Guild's Ohio Star Challenge.  This is the second year that our exhibit has been right on the main road.  The Sisters Drug Store is the perfect location to highlight these quilts.Quilts by Sarah, Katy, Erin, Erin

These quilts range across just about all the categories of possibility when it comes to modern quilts.  I am certainly no expert, but I did get a chance to see Jacquie Gering's lecture during quilt week about how to recognize a modern quilt.  Then I went to the Modern Quilt Guild community and watched Heather's Grant's webinar on the same thing.  In both lectures, even after going through a long list of attributes of which a modern quilt is likely to have at least one, it seems to wind down to "you'll know a modern quilt when you see one".  So, please take my selection here with a grain of salt!Quilts by Kristin, Lindsey and Sarah

Quilts by Kayla and Shannon

Quilts by Laurie, Sabine, Janice

Quilts by Christy, Corni, Susan and Marilyn

Quilt on left by Tamra

Katy and Sarah were hostessing when I got there, so they got photos with their quilts.  Katy's sold very early in the day and got lots of attention!

Sarah attempted to avoid a photo by engaging every passerby, but eventually I got her to hold still for a beautiful photo!

Erin's is really a favorite of mine.  Those solid colors are fantastic!

The quilt above and all the other ones are quilts I saw around town.  The makers may or may not consider them modern, but I have declared them so for this post.

The two quilts above are from the Portland Modern Quilt Guild.  I really adore that one on the right!

This stripe quilt is very cool!  What a great way to use strings!

This denim quilt is one of my favorites in the show.  I just love it!  I need to get back to some Gee's Bend style piecing.

Above is another one by Sarah!

Marion's quilt deserves to be shown with this grouping too.  I think it would probably fit right in with our COMQG exhibit.

Next up: the 2014 Featured Quilter and the Mt Bachelor Quilters' Guild exhibit.

SOQS 2014 :: Colorful Quilts

Any quilt show is going to have its fair share of colorful quilts, so this category is somewhat arbitrary.  It is inspired by the Cover to Cover Book Club Quilters' exhibit called, "Dreaming in Color".  There are some lovely quilts in this special exhibit including the next two.  The one below is especially wonderful.  The hand dyed fabrics were created and arranged just so to create the look of tile.  Remember to click to see these photos enlarged!The next one is a fantastic use of striped fabric.  As you may have figured out this exhibit was inspired by Kaffe Fassett's book, Dreaming in Color. 

The following quilts were seen along the streets of Sisters.

Above: My Scrappy Cabin by me.

The next few were in the Teacher's Tent.

Above: Sue Spargo.

Above: Pat Pease

Above: Ann Shaw

More quilts from around town.

Above:  Martha Sanders

Above: Memories of Joanne by me.

The middle one came home with me to join my little flock!

The next few quilts are sponsor quilts which means they are in shops around town and are up for the whole month of July!  Nice bonus if you can't make it to town right on quilt show day.Above: Jan Tetzlaff and her quilt.

Above: Tonye Phillips

Above: Bright Lights, Big City by me (and it's for sale!)

Above: Love Makes the World Go Round by me.

Next time modern quilts!

SOQS 2014 :: Whisper Quilts and The Clock Shop

Today's post takes us to the area of town just behind the Stitchin' Post.  Clearwater Gallery had a lovely exhibit of quilts by Jean Wells.  These small pieces are being sold at very affordable prices and they are so beautiful.  

In the courtyard outside the gallery we had the special exhibit of the Central Oregon SAQA group.  These are our Whisper Quilts.  For this exhibit the group was divided into smaller groups of 5-6 people.  The first person created a quilt and passed it to the next in the group.  The 2nd person made a quilt inspired by the first.  The 3rd person only got to see the second quilt and so on.  Just like the old telephone game! It's so interesting to see how the quilts change from one to the other.  Inspiration could be color, shape or subject.The group above managed to keep a pretty obvious tree theme going.This is my group (above).  It started with the octopus, then the raven, then the yellow one which turned out to have bird shapes and the other two to the right followed.This group has a lot of variation!This group has a strong element of vertical shapes in all 5 pieces.This group is a little harder to follow, but I see various inspirations from one to another.Across the street from the gallery is Beacham's Clock Shop.  This is such a cool place!  The quilts are displayed so beautifully and you get all the fascinating clocks to look at to boot.  These are the SOQS challenge quilts with the theme, "Stars Over Sisters".This challenge allowed for a lot of variety.Marion's quilt is still my favorite though!

Some of these photos were taken the week before quilt show. I had to go to Sisters for something and I brought Ryan with me for his first visit to the clock shop.  He has developed a love of grandfather clocks, so this was a perfect field trip!  The one above was his favorite.  Also, I found a real cuckoo!