Finished Project photoshoot

 

Fish Bowl Quilt

I went out to the park recently to take a photoshoot of my finished Project Linus quilt. I'm naming the quilt "Fish Bowls" since almost all the blocks contained fish. Tula's book originally names the pattern "Trellis" but I'm going with a water theme here. 

I know I mentioned this before but it is from Tula Pink's City Sampler 100 Modern Blocks. If you are interested in the book I found mine on Amazon. There have been a few quilt-alongs that use this book for a pattern. Gnome Angel's 100 Blocks 100 Days challenge and Mountain Creek's National Park Sew Alongare a couple I know of off the top of my head.

I was trying to get a good photo of the complete photo of the front but most of them were not coming out how I liked. I did get an interesting photo of the back. I had a bit of a picnic with me because I stopped for drinks and snacks on my way to the park. 

I think the bench photos are my favorite but they do cover up part of the blocks. A lot of times quilts need to be seen up close for a good idea of the quilting involved, but I didn't get a real close picture of it.

The sky was very overcast this day because it was right before the remnants of Ida hit us. I got home an hour later and it started pouring rain within minutes of me getting inside.

Tea Time!

My tea for the day was a Matcha Iced Latte from Starbucks. It had been a while since I had one and I thought it would be a great treat.

Smokey Mountain Quilters Ruby Jubilee Quilt Show for 2021

This year I decided to also participate in the Smokey Mountain Quilters Ruby Jubilee Quilt Show. This was actually my first time at this show. The show is a fundraiser for the quilt guild. Mom said she had been a member of the guild in the past but neither of us is currently a member. There is a fee to enter a quilt but we do get into the show for free for one of the two days it is held. It is a bit smaller show than the Mountainfest one held in Pigeon Forge but there were several quilts that had been in that show in this one. 

I did not win anything this time, but I do know the person who won in my category and also won viewers' choice! Hunter from Mountain Creek did a fabulous job with all the quilts he entered. I am so proud of him. It was good to see him and Sam since I can't get to that shop much. Overall I enjoyed the show a lot and am glad I got to visit. The show was held at the end of July and will probably be next year around the same time for anyone interested. I also have a photo gallery here of some of the quilts I took pictures of. 

Finishing Projects

 

I have a few finished projects to share. I've been so busy between prepping for craft shows and quilt shows, I've not got that many large projects done. I did finish a wall hanging and a large casserole koozie at the beginning of August.

The casserole koozie is from a gypsy quilter precut. I used a few strips from a Tula Pink jelly roll to make it stripped. I added a few others I had leftover from another jelly roll for contrast.

The strawberry wall hanging was a pattern I got from RJR fabrics for free. It is an Elizabeth Hartman pattern from either last year or 2019. I saw it in the background of one of her quilt market videos and was so thrilled when I found it on the fabric company's website. It's when her Berry Season line came out. I feel bad I can't remember the exact date now. I've had it on my to-finish pile for a while, so I'm thrilled to have this UFO done.

The end of August was dedicated to a quilt that was supposed to go to Project Linus. I liked it so much I may keep it. The fabric bundle was from them and part of an under the sea challenge. I did give them a donation for the fabric. The quilt uses Tula Pinks' City Sampler of 100 Modern Quilt Blocks. I got this book earlier this year and had been wanting to do something with it. I finished it just last night so I don't have a final photo of it, but here is a shot of the work in progress.

Tea Time!

I have been slacking on getting new tea for the month. I've been getting my usual stuff. Here is a shot of me doing my hand piecing at Starbucks recently. I was having a nice day out and trying to relax. It was in June I think so it's been a while. I've stopped going back out since then due to the uptick in Covid cases. I need to get something to go soon and sit by the riverside with it. I'm working on a Tula Nova.

Mountain Quiltfest 2021

 With covid impacting a lot of things several shows and conventions were canceled or delayed. One of them being Mountain Quiltfest in Pigeon Forge, TN. It's normally in March and was the last thing I did before lockdown last year. This year they moved it to May. This week in May to be exact.

I've always gone to shows but never entered anything. The most daring I've been, has been to enter the county fair. Because I didn't believe in myself enough to enter anything I considered a professional show. But the ladies who enter the fair are professional at what they do. Their quilts are fantastic, and until I saw my completion I just thought I'd have a better chance at the judging. 

This year I decided "Why Not!" I put my best quilt forward. I did Gravity by Jaybird Designs and paid to have it quilted. It was too large for me to tackle. I am thrilled with it. I love how it came out. I spent a week fussing over it and the little things before turning it in. 

The show started today and goes on until the 8th. Mom, being excited to see the winners called today to see when they would post them. They told her noon tomorrow but I decided to check out the website tonight. I wanted to figure out where to look tomorrow. To my surprise, they had already posted the winners.

I won second place in my category. I am so ecstatic to see this. I can't wait until I can go to the show this weekend and get a picture in front of the quilt. I have pictures of it but not in this setting. If you go to the show I'm L-16 in extra-large quilted by another!

Since there hasn't been much travel lately so my drink to spotlight is not tea. I went to a speakeasy in Knoxville and had some very fancy drinks. This one is called a paper airplane and I loved it. The bartender is a genius artist! It's in the alley next to the Oliver Hotel in the downtown area. There is a password and I don't know it right now. When we went we didn't have to give it since my friend was staying at the hotel.

Craft Shows!

 I have been a busy bee the last several months. Just not busy writing about it. In November I decided to take a chance and participate in a craft show. I made several small projects and took a few of the larger ones I had to sell in the Christmas Market in Oak Ridge. I can say I was successful. 

I have since looked into participating in more. This weekend I have one in Johnson City, TN. It's far enough away for a day trip, but still close to home. We are going to get a hotel for the weekend. I'm excited about the new venue and change of scenery.  I have been working the last three months hard to making new items for this show. I have several bowl koozies, table toppers, masks, and other quilted items. I'm excited to see how this show goes. 

If you are in the area it's Sat March 27th at the Appalachian Fairgrounds. 100 Lakeview St, Gray, TN

Tea Time!

Tea for today was one I enjoyed in December. I'm so far behind. I picked up a holiday tea sampler at World Market and loved every one of them. It's always nice to get variety packs so I can have something different. The cup is a present from my best friend I got several years ago. My cousin moved in with her two cats and I had to move the teacup collection to a safer place. I pulled the cup out to use it since it came with a strainer for loose tea. I've enjoyed using the cup a lot. 

Bonus photo of my new sewing companions.

Knit in Public day June 13th

I do not knit. I have tried and I suck at it. I do cross-stitch and small had stitching projects. I normally go to Sit N Stitch with my local quilt shop and work on a Harry Potter SYOA cross stitch. Recently on Knit in Public Day, I decided to join the shop in their social distance gathering. It was nice and fun. I got to talk to people I've not seen in a long time. Meet new people. There was a food truck with yummy food and drinks. I don't know how much progress I really got on my cross stitching but it was relaxing. I know a few other people in other locations who do knit and did knit in public.

I got tea and mini quiches from the food truck. I also got a mango smoothie cause I couldn't make up my mind on what I wanted to drink. I can't for the life of me remember the name of the food truck right now. I can see myself coming back later to add them.

The shop is going to throw another day similar to this in Jackson Square on July 24th. She's calling it Crafters Night Out. The Crazy Cuban Food Truck will be there and we can just sit outside and enjoy a summer evening ran or shine. Thanks to covered walkways we can still go out. I just hope it's not 100 degrees outside.

East Tennessee Shop Hop 2020

East Tennesse Shop Hop Shop list

This year's shop hop got delayed a little. It had 10 shops participating. Two of the shops did double blocks instead of one so they can have a total of 12 blocks for the hop. One of the shops from last year decided not to participate and one of last year's shops closed. That did keep me from having to drive all the way out to Jamestown, but I did make the trip to Johnson City.

Downtown Johnson City

We split this up into three days. We were going to do more on day two but were a little tight on the budget so that trip was rescheduled.

The hop was originally scheduled for June but was rescheduled and extended due to COVID. This year's theme was "Blooming Blue in Tennesse" featuring the Leah collection by the Beginning Fabrics. The blocks were designed by Marti Michell. It looks like an exclusive pattern for the shop hop because I was trying to see if the overall sampler had a name but I couldn't find one. The individual blocks do have names.

Outdoor Gallery in Johnson City

Sat July 12tn

• Little Blessings - Crossville - 4 Curtain Call & 7 Center Stage
• Loose Threads -Harriman - 2 Blowing in the Wind
• Gina's Bernina - Knoxville  - 8 Folsom Favorite

Mon July 13tn

• Twisted Sisters - Maryville - 9 Crossed Tower



Mural and Flowers at Cafe in
Johnson City

• Dizzy Diva - Knoxville - 6 Tempest in a Teapot

Sat July 18th

• Bernina in Stitches - Johnson City - 5 Sukey's Corners
• Sewing Bee- Jonesborough - 11 This kit is being mailed to me so I don't have the name.
• Tennessee Quilts- Jonesborough - 12 Junior Rockets & 3 Big Top
• Cherry Pitt- Sevierville - 1 Rolling Along
• Mountain Stitches by Susan- Gatlinburg - 10 Hearts Among the Stars

Mom's Haul

Overall I got to explore some of the areas I didn't stop to look at last year and had a fun road trip with mom. Both of us ended up with a massive haul. I can't say I'll ever have as massive a haul as I did from Quiltcon Last year but this was fantastic.

I was going to turn my passport in at Gina's but since that shop is the closest to mom I decided to have her turn hers in there and I turned mine into Susan's.

My fabric haul