Kristin Shields Quiltmaker

Willamette Valley Weekend

Now you know what I like to do when I'm not quilting!  I hope you enjoyed this photo essay of our trip to the valley over Labor Day weekend.  As much as I love the high desert, sometimes my New England trained eyes long for the lush, green views of the Willamette Valley.  We had a very nice visit with Chloe too!  If you're interested, here's a list of the places we visited:

Champoeg State Heritage Area
Methven Family Vineyards
Red Ridge Farm
Durant Vineyards
Vista Hills Vineyard
Our Lady of Guadalupe Trappist Abbey
The City of Carlton
Yamhill, Oregon Quilt Barn (see this cool Pinterest board!)
Elk Cove Vineyards

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!

Red, White and Blue

Last year I started collecting red, white and blue fabrics that had a nautical theme.  I wanted to make a quilt for Chloe and meant to get it done last year.  I didn't get to it until about a month ago, but finally decided on a perfectly normal chevron.  There's not a liberated seam here at all!  As it turns out, Chloe prefers non liberated quilts, including this one.  She was surprised to find it on her bed when she was home last week.

She loved it so much she took it back to school with her.  She is staying at Linfield for the summer as she works on a couple of research projects.

After I made that one, I had some leftover fabric and cut up triangles, so I started another perfectly normal quilt!  I know, so unlike me.  However, I didn't have a lot invested in this one so it was easy to experiment with it.  I decided to try a machine quilted spiral which came out pretty nice.  Once you get started it is just around and around for 2-3 hours (including breaks).  I really like how this came out. 

The only thing about it is a pronounced wave.  I am really having a problem with that lately, but I think it's because this one wasn't basted very heavily.

I thought this one would look good hanging on the porch for July 4th, so I need to figure out how I'm going to hang it.

A Boy and His Quilt

Ryan's Stars was finished just in time for the COMQG challenge reveal.  I really love it, especially the small stars, which I'd like to try again with some solids.

The next day I was able to wrangle the boy into taking some photos with the quilt. He liked it a lot, but didn't realize it was his until I mentioned he should see what the label says.

His reaction was priceless!  I was thrilled to finish this one for Ryan because he always shows his appreciation.  I plan to hang this on his bedroom wall once it's done with its show debut this summer.

Last weeekend was the Mt Bachelor Quilters' Guild retreat and it was fun, but so exhausting!  I got a lot done, several bindings on small quilts, a top for a class sample that's ready for quilting and my Novel Idea quilt.  That one was done from start to finish and takes a lot of the pressure off for the next couple of weeks.  Photos of all that next time!

21!

My first born turned 21 today.  I'm feeling a bit nostalgic for the baby that once was.

We've all changed over the years.

Chloe has changed the most, but hasn't lost that determination to do it all.

Happy Birthday Chloe!

Puzzling World

This top is done, basted and ready to quilt!  This is my entry for the Riley Blake challenge for the Modern Quilt Guild.  It's also my entry for the Mt Bachelor Quilters' Guild Cabin Fever Challenge.  The title is from Puzzling World in New Zealand.  The photos below are from 5 years ago!  Look at those cute kids of mine.  Anyway, the optical illusions created by the stripes made me think of this very cool place.  The blocks are free pieced, cut to the same size and sashed with as much precision as I could muster.  Don't look to closely at the corners!

 

Adios Amigos!

***Photo by Chloe's friend, Ruth.

At long last, we are about to head off to Ecuador to see our Chloe girl!  We've missed her these past 4 months, but she's been having the time of her life!  Zip lines, Machu Picchu, bungee diving off a bridge (??!!).  Oh my gosh, I nearly fell off my chair when I saw that video.  Lucky I only found out about it after the fact.

We are ready for quite an adventure and will have lots to share in a few weeks.  I hope you enjoy your holiday where ever you are.  Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

A Visit with Salley Mavor

Sorry for taking so long to finally post this!  I guess I lost my blogging mojo for a bit, but I was also taken down with a bout of vertigo which lasted about a week and then had so many projects I was behind on, it took a while to catch up.  

Anyway, I was so thrilled to be invited to Salley Mavor's studio while we were in Massachusetts in July.  I was excited to be able to see the last days of a very special exhibit at Highfield Hall in Falmouth, MA.  The Fairy Houses of Beebe Woods was such a lovely way to experience this historic mansion.  Chloe and I went for a visit to see the fairy houses and were really enchanted by the whole thing.  Afterwards I sent Salley a message that I was so happy to have seen it and she asked if we would be able to come visit her studio!  Wow, what a treat!

Salley is the author of Felt Wee Folk: Enchanting Projects.  She has also illustrated many children books with her amazing fabric relief pictures.  Be sure to check out Salley's Etsy shop if you would like to see more.  She has a way with felt that is incredibly charming.  Come along with us as we check out the creative space of this fabulous artist!

Salley's studio is in a second floor space over her garage.  It's a large space, filled with creativity and inspiration and many of her older projects.  We spent about an hour, chatting, looking around at her work tables, current projects and her objects of inspiration.  Be sure to click the photos to see the details.

This is a detail of a the fairy house that Salley contributed to the exhibit at Highfield Hall.  That's a milkweed pod swing.

This is one of Salley's creations depicting herself and her husband at their wedding.

The bird display is a family heirloom.  She still has the trolls she played with as a child!

There are many lovely vignettes in her studio.

These are some of the dolls heads she is working on as she prepares to update and expand her Felt Wee Folk book.  The word is the updated edition will be published in 2015.

I hope you enjoyed that glimpse into Salley's studio.  She is just a warm and funloving as you'd imagine from looking at her work.  Thanks for the tour Salley!

Let's Celebrate!

First of all, if you are new to my blog, welcome!  The Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show was incredible this year!  What a fantastic year to be the Featured Quilter.  The weather was picture perfect and my whole experience was incredible.  I talked to so many lovely people and heard many wonderful comments.  It was really one of the most fabulous days of my life.  To celebrate, make your way to the bottom of the post for a little announcement.

My quilts were hung at Ponderosa Properties, just near the Sisters Coffee Company which is always abuzz.  I had a lovely grassy area with quite a bit of shade for most of the day.

When people asked which was my favorite, I always said it is Ryan's quilt.  It was so funny, when Ryan was actually there he kept hearing his name.  He was also very shy about it.

The Lone Star, standing alone, but looking great!

I had several requests for commissions and had to explain why nothing was for sale. Although I had to politely turn them down, it's nice to be asked!

Several comments about the Obama quilt, only one negative comment though.  Someone asked if any president could be in the show!  Had to laugh at that one.  I also pointed out that my quilt was meant to be historical rather than political.

I got photos with lots of friends that made my day.

Jean Wells, founder of the SOQS.

My sister, Cheryl.  I'm so glad she could make it here for the show.

My mom, Carolyn.

My dad, Jim, and Bo.

Janelle, fellow Undercover Quilter.

Cathy and Pris, Mt Bachelor Quilters' Guild friends.

Jessica and her sweet daughter.

Marion, amazing wire sculptor and quilter.

Ryan and Mark

Laurence and Betty Dyer, owners of Ponderosa Properties.  Laurence makes these beautiful wooden jewelry boxes and he gave me one.  Such a special gift!

Tonye Phillips and Sue Spargo.  They did a beautiful job hanging my exhibit and they also took down!

Last, but not least, my dear friend, Sarah.  Sarah took hundreds (maybe thousands) of photos during quilt week.  I feel like I had my own personal paparazzi!  I'm so glad my mom got a photo of us!  

Celebration Time!

And now, to celebrate this auspicious occasion, I would like to offer free domestic shipping on orders over $25 in my Etsy shop (use coupon code SOQS2013).  In addition to the mini quilts and ornaments, I have added the new Inspiration Packs, greeting cards and handspun skeins of yarn for embellishment.  The first 10 orders will also receive a special gift with their order.

I am heading out of town on Wednesday, so orders that come in before 8pm PDT Tuesday (tomorrow) will be shipped on Wednesday.  Orders coming in after that time will ship when I get back, the week of July 29.  

In addition to that, leave a comment on this post to be entered into a drawing for a bundle with a selection of goodies from my shop: hand dyed fabric, handspun yarn, greeting cards and maybe an ornament!  Last day to leave a comment is July 28.  I will choose a winner on the 29th.  The coupon code is only for US addresses, but for the drawing, I will ship anywhere!

Thanks to everyone who stopped by to say hi and to those who are just learning about my work.  Thanks to Ann Richardson and all the volunteers who make such a great show every year.  It was truly a dream come true!

**  Photos in this post were taken by me, my mom and Mark.**

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Thank you everyone!  The comments are now closed.  I'll be choosing a winner later tonight.

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2013 Fiber Arts Stroll

What a marvelous time we had!  Chloe came to help me with sales and that was a huge help.  I hung 5 of my completed quilts and some of the mini's I have for sale.  I think they were a big hit.

Chloe brought some of her own hand crafted items for sale so our table was a bit crowded.  Here she is just finishing up a sweet little narwhal stuffie.

Chloe's end of the table was filled with whimsical animals and fake food.  She loves to create in 3D and really has a talent for it.  My friend Jan stopped by just when I was taking photos.

This is the piece I worked on when time allowed.  I started it last year, but thought it was time to do some more work on it.  I used some of my handspun to show how I use it for couching.  Of the items I sold, cards with animals seemed to be a favorite, as well as the inspiration packs and the handspun skeins.  

I won't have time to list new items for a few weeks probably, but I have the shop up and running again.  I've also replenished some of the Inspiration Pack colorways that were unavailable for a while.  For locals and those visiting Sisters, I plan to have my sales items with me while I'm in Sisters for the week.  If you want to look at what I have just leave a comment or email me (or just flag me down!).  Thanks!