Ties That Bind...

For me quilting is the common thread between two worlds and multiple lives. Right now I am tied by my bonds of love and connection...from my family in Oregon to my family in Alaska, and back, again. Two homes, two lives, two families, and a lot of ties of all kinds.

Now these ties are all tied up and in place....shown above are the 'Necktie Sisters'. They are just so great and so much fun to catch sight of....anywhere, anytime. But if you catch them at a quilt show in the Pacific Northwest....it makes everything instantly interesting and way more fun.

What I love is watching them looking at quilts and seeing the unbelievable nonchalance of quilt goers trying not to look at them! I'm sorry if you are dressed like this, you like showing off your handiwork and don't mind being stared at or photographed. I've asked them to give me a photo op on several occasions and I think they are super nice and a real hoot! I love that they've now added coordinating jackets and hats to their ensembles of skirts and bags over the years.


Here's some of the fun quilts at the actual Mid-Valley Quilt Guild ( the one I belong to in Salem, Oregon) quilt show whose photos actually came out. (And yes....I'm suddenly back in Oregon, again as I am publishing this.... like a lot of my scheduled and published posts on the fly.)
 
The one in the middle, above,named 'Americana'  won 'Best of Show' (the quilt, not the sister). It was made by Margie Bergan who lives in McMinnville, Oregon.and is a talented quilter in our own MVQG. Margie choose block ideas from "A Celebration of American Life" with some alterations and additions to create this beauty. You have to see this quilt in real life to know just why and how it won. It's quite amazingly lovely and really stands out.

Quild members say it often easier when someone from out of state wins as it makes it easier on guild friends who might all be competing in the same category....haha..but we still love it when our own members win..can't help it! I'm not including any other names of quilts or their makers. It is all I can do to take the photos and get them online, folks!

But thanks to dear quilt friend Mary Lu who is helping me with my corrections...somebody needs to. Heck, I could use an entire office for editing my posts ;) Here's more of our lovely, lovely quilts:

The show ran around our Easter season, so this first quilt bridged the gap between sacred and the well, the Easter bunny! Lovely!




Oregon has lots of rain, a border on the ocean, and lots of lakes, rivers, and streams..so of course..fish are great fun as are good friends you manage to get into your photos! Hi Pat..you can run but you can't always hide!


And where there is water, there are also bears,


and chickens...well, at least at my house they like water...


..there's ducks...

But as quilters, of course, we all do frog quilting ....whether we like it or not...so, frogs....



And when fish and frogs aren't enough...well, cats rule and dogs....

are among the 'Best Friends' category of course!








And if they're not drinking water... or in it..they're on it.... like these Clipper ships:


or dragonflies...


And I LOVED these chevrons, below. The quilter used a Kaffe Fasset pattern to piece her own stripes....Kafe rhymes with safe, Fassett like in a diamond not the water dispenser hanging over your sink... so I'm changing categories here. (I'm always surprised when long time quilters mispronounce his name, so like to include it every chance I get.)

The chevrons were gorgeous and the quilt hand quilted by our Classique quilters who meet every week and help one another out with big quilting projects.


And french braids that are more than for your hair...



Some of the quilting is just as fun as the quilts. Check out the southwest fun:


And if geckos didn't send me twirling and swirling, this fun quilt sure sent me spinning:


And Christmas quilts so stunning, I'd keep this one out year round I think!


And more trees...these are 3 D and might be a Karla Alexander pattern, I think:


and always, there are beautiful flowers!

and more flowers and then there were cute birdhouses:


And some terrific curved piecing ala Jean Wells:

a little one:


and a bigger one, Jean Wells-style with a quilt upon a facing upon a quilt back. Jean uses the itty bitty strips like this one has at the bottom, too. Love it!


Awesome job to everyone!!!

Links of interest:
Mid-Valley Quilt Guild, Salem Oregon
my posts on the guild's previous shows, lectures or classes
and of course:
Jean Wells Quilts
My Color and Design Class with Jean Wells