Viewing posts from: September, 2015

08
Sep

Registration Night

By Barbara|Academy Business|Be the first to comment!

Just a quick update . . . it is well past 1:00 am on Registration Day.  The phones have finally stopped ringing and emails are quieting down.  WHEW!  I think I will try to get some rest, and be ready for the flurry tomorrow.  There were a few hiccups, but all in all I want to send out a GREAT BIG THANK YOU to all that successfully registered today for their patience and perseverance.  You will be rewarded with hugs and chocolate at the Sign In Desk.  Quilters (and specifically appliquers) are the BEST!!!  Registration was hectic but fun . . . there are several classes that are already full and closed.  Happy dreams . . . . .zzzz . .  .

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03
Sep

Mimi Dietrich

By Barbara|Five Questions|Be the first to comment!

mimi_2221. When you get an hour all to yourself what do you do?

This time of year, I love to get a glass of iced tea and just sit on the screened porch and look at magazines.

2. What does your family think about your quilting business?

This summer I was inducted into The Quilters Hall of Fame and all of my family was there. I found out that they were very impressed by “the community of quilters” that came to celebrate with me. It was fabulous to hear both my sons mention that when they spoke at the dinner.

3. What big project are you working on now or next, and do you have pictures?

My big project for the last year was getting ready for The Quilters Hall of Fame. I put together an exhibit of my quilts and an exhibit of my students’ quilts….I was amazed at how much work that took! Right now I am getting ready to start my year-long Baltimore class….I have 50 students and it’s going to be a fun year!

4.  What is on your “bucket” list? 

What do you want to be known/remembered for?I want to be remembered for getting quilters started on their applique journey, teaching the basics of several techniques, so they can make the quilts they dream about!My bucket list….I would love to reproduce a classic applique quilt that’s not a Baltimore quilt….and I think it’s going to happen!

5.  Where do you get your quilting/appliqué inspiration?

I live in Baltimore, Maryland and am always inspired by the Baltimore Album Quilts.

 

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02
Sep

Judy Severson 5 Questions

By Barbara|Five Questions|2 Comments

judy_222What local area quilt store do you frequent, and do you teach there?

The Quilted Crow in Boxborough, MA is the quilt store I frequent the most. Since I have only lived in the East Coast a few years, I am having fun discovering new stores asI travel. I have joined the local guild, The Concord Piecemakers, and have learned that there are only a few quilters that applique. I will be showing a dozen quilts at the Concord Library the month of September in hopes of finding others interested in applique and Broderie Perse.

What is on your bucket list?

My bucket list is developing in many directions. I would like to travel to see more Broderie Perse quilts like the ones in the Charleston Museum, Charleston, South Carolina, the DAR Museum in Washington, DC and several places in England. I enjoy the out-of-doors and would like to take a walking tour in Ireland and Scotland. I appreciate artof all kinds, particularly Impressionist paintings and would like to go to Paris to visit some of the museums that exhibit that style.

When you get a hour to yourself what do you do?

When I find an hour or two to myself, quilting remains at the top of my list. The best part of quilting is pulling out fabrics and dreaming what I could do with them. I have several baskets full of fabrics ready to go when I have time. Reading is a always a pleasure to do when I have time. My favorite type of literature is historical novels. I always find time in my schedule to garden in the summer and bake in the winter so I can share my harvest and breads with neighbors and friends.

What big project are you working on now or next, and do you have photos?

By the time we get together in March for the Academy of Applique, I plan to complete a quilt called “Sundial in the Garden”. This is a challenge on many levels, including compilations with the background colors and the intricacy of the vine border.

 

What do your family and friends think of your quilting business?

My family and friends are supportive of my quilting endeavors and would like me to exhibit them more often. My neighbor who saw my quilts got me involved with the Concord Library in Massachusetts to do a one woman show in September, 2015. I will be interviewed by a local reporter soon. I am looking forward to making more people aware of the Broderie Perse style and to encourage quilters to be creative and to design their own original quilt.

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01
Sep

Nancy Chong 5 Questions

By Barbara|Five Questions, Uncategorized|Be the first to comment!

Nancy_Chong_2221. When you get an hour all to yourself what do you do? That’s an easy question — APPLIQUE!  I also applique when I have 5 or 10 minutes, or 15 or 20, or …well you get the idea.  I am never without an applique project within arm’s length.  Because I do needleturn applique, all I need is my quilt top or block, needle, thread, and scissors.  I applique in the car as a passenger, waiting for an appointment, at the airport, on the plane, at the hotel.  I’m obsessed with how relaxing applique relaxes me and the people around me.

2. What does your family think about your quilting business?   They are thrilled that I found something else to obsess about instead of them.  I was a legal secretary for over 20 years, during which time I appliqued as a hobby.  In 2001 I was able to quit that day\ job, and devote my full time to designing, and teaching how to make a traditional Hawaiian quilt, and how I do needleturn applique.   Everyone in my family, and my friends, all agree that I am a nicer person when I have applique to do, and when I get a chance to share those skills and joy with others.

3. What big project are you working on now or next, and do you have pictures?   I am working on two queen size Hawaiian quilts:  the most important one is for my husband and the other is for me.  I designed both of these, and the one for my husband is the hano hano orchid, which grew outside his window as a young boy.  This orchid has a wonderful scent and he sees his wonderful childhood memories in this quilt.  It has taken me 12 years to applique, and I am in year 7 in the quilting process — obviously is doesn’t get worked on very often.  Attached is a photo of my husband’s orchid quilt, on the day I completed the applique (at the Nashville AQS show-2007).  The one I am making for me uses a hand-painted fabric depicting the profusion of color in vine maple leaves here in the Northwest.  I am sure this will be available for someone else to pick up and get inspired to complete once I am gone (unless I live to be 318).  The photo attached is of a little more than 1/4 of the quilt.

Nancy_Chong 5 questions

4.  What is on your “bucket” list?  What do you want to be known/remembered for?   I don’t have a bucket list.  I just want more time to work on the “important” quilts I still have to do.  I hope I will be remembered as a teacher who inspired others to enjoy hand applique.  In my opinion, it’s not about the having (lots of quilts), it’s about the doing!  The joy of the making of the quilts far surpasses the joy of having made lots of quilts.  So, hand applique fits right into that — because it isn’t fast to make a quilt by hand, but it is fun!

5.  Where do you get your quilting/applique inspiration? For my Hawaiian quilts, Hawaii provides enough inspiration for many lifetimes of quilts.  And where I now live in the Pacific Northwest, and as I travel, there are beautiful flowers/fruits/trees and amazing color combinations that need to be memorialized in a quilt.  …and applique is the way I will do that.

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