2016 - Almost HERE

How can I possibly tell you how excited the Port St. Lucie Crazy Quilters Guild is getting.  2016 will be here on Friday of this week and we will be a month and four-days away from the opening moment of "Quilting in Paradise." It is the light at the end of the tunnel and we can't wait to see old friends, new friends, the vendors, the quilts and the whole massive creative experience.  If you are like many of us going to a Quilt Show gets your creative juices flowing and perking.  This blog will be sharing this week some of the special plans we have for you to partake of at the SHOW.

  

So check back and share what you see with your friends and family.  

Stay Tuned!!!!!!!!

Show Chairman Announces Karen Marchetti as 2016 Quilt Teacher

We are excited to tell everyone that we have contracted with Karen Marchetti of Creative LongArm Quilting to share her expertise with student at "Quilting in Paradise" from February 4th to the 6th, 2016.  Here is some information on Karen for your perusual.

Quilt Artist - Instructor - Professional Longarm Quilter

Karen expresses her artistry through drawing and painting and finds that quilting on the Gammill is very similar to both - she draws with thread. Karen loves creating and designing her own quilts, and competes as much as possible. She loves anything and everything creative - when she's not stitching you can usually find her doodling away!

Karen pieced her first quilt top in 2003. One scrap of fabric lead to another and two years later she purchased her first Gammill quilting machine and opened Creative Longarm Quilting - turning her hobby into a business. It didn't take long for longarm quilting to become her true passion as she brought her artistic background to her work, developing her own unique style of custom quilting. Karen entered her first quilt show in 2006 and won Judge’s Choice. Since then, she has won numerous national awards for her personal quilts, as well as client quilts. She quilts samples for the Niemeyers/Quiltworx, Jinny Beyer, as well as RJR Fabrics, just to name a few.

She is one of Gammill's Quilt Artists and her work has been seen in several publications, as well as multiple Gammill ads. She recently appeared on The Quilt Show with Alex and Ricky, and has several special events on The Quilt Show’s website. Karen brings a fresh open approach to teaching, encouraging quilters to use their passion to create and increase their skills gently while enjoying their creations the whole way.

You can view Karen's work on her website at www,creativelongarmquilting.com

Keep up with Karen's quilting journey via her two blogs:

Crooked Stitches (her personal blog) -  http://karenmarchetti.blogspot.com 

Creative Longarm Quilting (client work) - http://creativelongarmquilting.blogspot.com

Show Classes with Shannon Gingrich Shirley

Welcome to the Blog!

The Show is getting closer and closer and our excitement level is building.  It is time for us to share with you information on our wonderful classes.  They are being taught by the up and coming Quilt teacher Shannon Shirley.  She hails from Woodbridge, Virginia and will be coming here after her teaching gigs in California at the renown show Road to California.  We will be opening our show with the appropriate class called "Fancy Fish." 

In this class you will be using the collage method of creating a fancy fabric Oranda goldfish. This is a no sew class, but when you finish creating your fish you can add decorative stitching at home, this will be discussed in class.  The following is a link right to the sign-up page on our website.  

http://www.pslcrazyquilters.com/uploads/SShirley2016_ClassSignup_R.pdf

It is $95.00 and will be on Thursday, February 4th from 9am to 4 pm with an hour lunch break.  There are still spots available. 

 On Friday, February 5th, the classes will begin at 10 am to 11am with a Lecture and Trunk Show on "Creating Children's Art Work."  Working with children's artwork has always Shannon a lot of pleasure. Often these precious pieces of art do not stand the test of time. Let me share with you the products, tools, and techniques I use to create these works of fiber art and share many of my projects with you. Children love seeing their work recreated!  For those of you who visited the Mancuso Show in Palm Beach two yeard ago, Shannon had a large display of the art work in a special exhibit that they shared at their shows.  

The lecture is $15.00.  Again, can be found at the following link.

http://www.pslcrazyquilters.com/uploads/SShirley2016_ClassSignup_R.pdf



That afternoon the class will be devoted to the trending attention being paid to nature based art.  Botanicals are in!!!!  It is "Queen Anne's Lace" and makes your mind waunder to the beautiful weed/flower with the full head of flying seeds.  

Anyone who loves wildflowers will enjoy making this larger than life Queen Anne's Lace. Create a beautiful 18" quilt using fussy cutting, fusible and free motion stitching. Students need to be reasonably comfortable with free motion stitching.  

It is a three hours class and is from 1:30pm to 4:30 pm.  The cost is $50.00.

The final day of our show and classes, Shannon will be teaching "Something Old, Something New" and will be from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm.  It costs $95.00.  

This has always been one of Shannon's favorite quilts. It was designed around an unfinished vintage quilt block. I have been collecting vintage embroidered blocks to share with you. We will add the piano key border and accent pieces during class. We will also discuss quilting and will make the scalloped, mitered, facing and sleeve for our quilt.

The leaves on the yellow quilt were added using fusible appliqué with hand blanket stitch.
Nine small yoyo's were appliquéd on the pink quilt and a narrow green rick rack was added to resemble a narrow inner border.

Many of these blocks have permanent light blue quilting marks on them, some have light stains...it is all part of the blocks history. I have found it is not what you notice when you see the finished quilts. Vintage pieces have a certain charm you can not recreate.

Again all the classes can be accessed through our website at www.pslcrazyquilters.com.  

Pat Harrison NQA Master Certified Judge Chosen

So many of you are always wondering how do you get a critique of your work that assists you in improving your quilting and artistic style.  Well one way, that is probably use by a great many quilters is to submit their work to a judged Quilt Show. Many of us never plan on doing that but lo and behold last Show you found me in the ranks.  A quilt was submitted and a critique was garnered. Fearful to read it but thrilled at the same time that someone knowledgeable would be looking at it with a trained eye, I risked it and it wasn't bad.  My Group received a Third Place ribbon.  It was really a good enlightenment into my skill level and what I needed to work on; she did find the errors I knew were there but she was kind.  So my sampling of the ocean water with my toe and the jump into that freezing cold water (not really in So. Florida) wasn't too bad.  

My Guild Challenge won an Honorable Mention as voted by the attendees and so the scary world of submitting a quilt was okay.  I would recommend it and Crazy Quilters has always went to the expense and planning of getting a qualified judge for this purpose. The attendees are repeatedly heard saying that the quality of workmanship is outstanding at the show and we are pleased to share it with you.  A NQA judge makes the difference in a quilt show and a QUILT SHOW.

But how does a group go about getting a qualified person. Well NQA, the National Quilting Association, has made it easy. Here is information from their website and a link where you can learn about a Certified Judge.  NQA Certified Judges have a deep and well-rounded foundation of experience in quilt making as well as judging that uniquely prepares them to adapt to any show. While other types of quilt professionals have their own areas of expertise, NQA judges have each spent years in research and mentor ship to acquire the highest levels of professionalism and objectivity in quilt judging.          http://www.nqaquilts.org/media/uploads/2014/01/17/files/WhyHireaCertifiedJudge2.pdf

Marion K., our Quilt Competition Chairman, reviewed a number of possibilities and made the decision to contract with Pat Harrison of Ocean Waves Quilting.  She is located in Exeter, Rhode Island and because we do have her arriving in early to be sure the weather doesn't hamper our judging process (of course, I mean that pesky snow they have been having up north.)  So not to waste any opportunity to gain more knowledge for our members, the Guild has arranged for her to give a lecture to those members and non-members interested.  It is called 

"Coloring Your Quilts." 

A 45-minute Power Point lecture that will take you on a Journey through our colorful natural world and show how the color combinations of the world around us can be translated into the coloring of our quilts.  A trunk show follows as does a period of questions and answers.  

It will be held at the Holiday Inn, 10120 S. Federal Highway, on January 12th at 7pm.  Members are free and non-members are $10.00 (Seats are limited.)  

Here is an example of Pat's personal work called Jacobean Garden.  

Magnificent quilting that won her quite a lot of ribbons.  

Her website is http://oceanwavesqc.com/

The Opportunity Quilt

Wow!  The Opportunity Quilt has reached a milestone.  It is DONE.  The top has been pieced; the quilter has begun, worked numerous hours and finished her contribution to the quilt.  Helia Ricci is her name and she is a member of Crazy Quilters.  Under her skilled hands, the quilt has been taking shape.  We are getting an exciting opportunity to watch this quilt go from a beautifully pieced layer of cotton fabric to a quilt.  The definition of Quilt from the Oxford Dictionary comes to mind as I have watched the process Helia has been doing....."A warm bed covering made of padding enclosed between layers of fabric and kept in place by lines of stitching, typically applied in a decorative design."  Well, baby we have come a long way!  This ain't your grandmother's quilt, it is a piece of ART!  

The process of quilting uses a needle and thread to join two or more layers of material to make a quilt.  Helia uses a machine known as a longarm quilting machine that suspends the layers of fabric and batting in a taut expanse over rollers.  The quilt remains stationary and the machine moves over the surface as a skillful artisan forms the decorative pattern. It is custom work at its finest and Helia is an artisan.  She was the winner of the Best of Show at our 2014 Quilting in Paradise Show and just won Best of Show as the quilter in the 2015 Broward Quilt Exposition.  A thank you to Helia.  Please share our excitement at the seeing the quilt be formed.

After the work of the Committee was done Margy M. pieced all the parts of the quilt together to make the top and when it was quilted she did all the binding.  A big thank you to her for all her work. 


The first steps were to Stitch in the Ditch across the whole quilt. This means literally to stitch between the two adjoining fabrics so it is hidden from the eye and yet adds that shadow we all want. Here are a few shots of the quilt in that state.  

The sweeping curve and every spike was outlined.

But well worth the effort, look at definition.

Every little piece needs to be highlighted.

Even the big spikes are outlined.

Then the artistry begins once it is "stitched in the ditch."  The pictures speak for themselves, so enjoy what Helia has shared with us.  The quilting is to enhance the pieced pattern and the choice of quilting motifs certainly does on this quilt. It can be yours should you win our opportunity quilt but if you want to do it yourself here is the information on the pattern and all.  It is a pattern designed by Judy Neimeyer for her company Quiltworx.  It is called Fire Island Hosta and is done in the Queen size.  She produces some of the best patterns of this style in the industry and following her directions makes the paper piecing and all a dream.  What a great pattern.  

The tickets ($1.00 each) are now available and can be obtained from our Quilt Committee at 
pslcrazyquilterticket@gmail.com.  She has made arrangement to be able to ship the tickets to you. Also, check with any member of PSL Crazy Quilters as they will have them available as well. The drawing will be Saturday at 3pm February 6th, 2016. Just ask for..........................................

"You Hosta Love It"

100" x 100"

The Boutique Committee is humming!

As The Show grows closer, the building to that opening moment has a lot of busy hands in the background working. Thought you might be interested in seeing what it is to host a Quilt Show. The various committees will be highlighted. The busiest right now is the Boutique Committee with two sew-ins a month. They are making such a wide selection of product that your wish list will be long. But most important they are having a blast. As our former President and Show Chairman always says "Many hands make light work." We will be sharing their fabulous wares with you.  But the best thing that we are gaining from the Boutique Days is friendship and camaraderie.  Have a great day quilting. 

 

The Port Saint Lucie Crazy Quilters Biennial Show - Quilting in Paradise

Members of the Committee found themselves having quite an exciting week in early January when we shared our plans with the Guild. On Wednesday, January 7th, 2015, many things were announced as Patti Chancey opened the Show Meeting for all the members to "Join the Team." Joey Mettley presented the name that we would use for this show and shows in the future as listed above.  The reworked logo created by Karen Marchetti was presented. The branding has begun. 

The Chairmen of the Challenge, Jen Lee (Donna Eastbrooke was not present) announced the theme and rules for the 2016 Member's Challenge to appropriate music. The group had great fun guessing. Upon arrival each member had to state their home town and put a pin in the map of where they were from.  A paper Hometown name tag was given and crayons, colored pencils, etc., were provided for decorating.  There was a hush over the meeting because they were busy coloring. What a perfect Challenge -  My Hometown. 

The completed top of the Raffle Quilt was shown.  It is magnificent.  The quilting has not been done.  But Helia Ricci, the Best of Show winner of the 2014 show, will be quilting. A big thank you to Margy Merle for all the work she and her committee did to get the top completed.  The quilt was a beauty using the pattern from Quiltworx and Judy Neimeyer.http://www.quiltworx.com/patterns/fire-island-hosta/ It is called Fire Island Hosta but our version has been given a new name....that will be shared when you see the actual Quilt.  Helia is working hard to have it ready. The tickets will be soon be ready to sell so don't miss out on the opportunity to win the quilt.  This is Helia's BOS Quilt.