APWQ QShow 09-01-11

A gorgeous day in the hills outside San Juan Bautista - sunshine and flowers blooming in Mary's deck boxes. Today was my 73rd birthday - at some point in the past I didn't want to admit to having a birthday and getting "old".  Now each year is an accomplishment!  Mary served fresh wild salmon for dinner - it was beyond delicious - and we followed up with olallieberry pie/vanilla ice cream.  A dinner for royalty!

This quilt really made a visual impact.  Just stunning from a distance and interesting to see the work close up.  The detail shot is of the right side panel.

The label states that this quilt is all done with curved piecing and it definitely looks like Ruth McDowell's technique.  Obviously Wanda does excellent sewing and she has a good eye for color.  I love this quilt.

 

Such realistic feathers and a very realistic eye.  Quite a beautiful quilt with great technique.

I'm sorry I did not get a full-on shot of this beautiful quilt.  The colors are so vivid and the detail very accomplished.  Note the stamen on the hibiscus in the detail above.

 

This is why I need to go a 2nd day to a big QShow - just to retake the pictures I messed up on the first day.

Anyone who is a fan of Linnea artwork will appreciate this quilt.  I use their desk top calendar every year and am inspired each month by the graphic quality of the illustrations. http://linneadesign.com/

Terry learned Velda Newman's lessons well and created in the large scale that Velda uses.  This quilt is six feet wide and almost four feet long.  I'll bet she has special place on her wall to show it off.

This is a little tropical fish hidden in the shoulder - right edge about halfway.

There is (was?) an oil painter who did this type of brilliant interpretation of animals.  I went to a dentist who had some prints on the walls of his waiting room - many years ago.  The look on the horse's face seems so sad - I wonder if it is intensified by the blue color.  

PIQF #6 Complex piecing 10-20-09

Among the trends I noticed at PIQF was complex machine piecing such as that developed and taught by Ruth B. McDowell. I haven't a clue if any of these quilt makers took a class from Ruth, but looking at the piecing order and complexity makes me think they did. Ruth is acknowledged in only one of the labels. I don't know that any of these artists took a class from Ruth, I imagine other teachers have started teaching Ruth's process.

The hollyhocks in the center of this quilt are from a pattern in Ruth's book "Pieced Flowers" published by C&T Publishers.

The pattern has been flipped, greatly enlarged and the background surround done in small squares.

Continuations of the flowers are done in outline in the wide background surround.

This is Ruth's original sample done for the book. It now belongs to a friend.

This quilt is a tour de force in complex machine piecing. I can certainly believe the 400 hours!

The feeling of motion is dominant - free wheeling horses in a cloud of dust. The complementary color selection gives a festival feel.

If you click on the picture to enlarge you can trace the seaming from the horses into the background.

June used a great variety of old and new fabrics.

I like these 'shadow' horses in the back of the herd, they contribute a great deal of depth.

Wendy has used the complex piecing in her quilt dedicated to her son. What a loving sentiment.

The figures are balance and play nicely off of each other. The color says "hockey".

Again, if you click on this detail you can figure out the piecing lines that allow the shapes to form.