Wednesday, March 21, 2012

What an Inspiring Day!

Guy and I had the incredible pleasure of hosting Deanne Moore Quill at our home last night.  She is a quilt shop owner from New Braunfels, Texas, and an exciting new designer who is working with fabric manufacturers.  She was in Northern Virginia to give some trunk shows to the NOVA Modern Quilt Guild in Fairfax, as well as show her works in Stafford, Virginia, with an invited group there.

Through the wonder of the Internet, I invited Deanne to come stay with us, so that she could visit the Virginia Quilt Museum today.  We were privy to a private trunk show at our home.  These photos are shown, thanks to Sabrina Davis, who was allowed to photograph her quilts at the NOVA Modern Quilt Guild meeting on Monday evening.  Thanks so much, Sabrina:

This pattern is "Shenandoah"....it uses gradations of an ombre fabric done in reductions on rectangles.





This pattern is the "Road Not Taken".  Deanne has done a very interesting design here based on half-square triangles used several different ways to produce the deviation on the traditional "square in a square" shown here. 




This is Deanne's"Boxtrot" pattern....done with such contemporary Christmas fabrics....




Another version of "Boxtrot" done in a different colorway.....




Today, Deanne and I visited the Virginia Quilt Museum where she delivered her little quilt for the "Little Quilts, Big Talent" auction which is a major fundraiser for the museum this year.  Here's a picture of her entry, that she titled:  "Virginia Dawn"



It was so much fun to walk into the Museum and deliver a contributor quilt "one on one" so to speak.  We had great fun, also, going to Patchwork Plus in Dayton, VA, to discover that, hey, TWO of Deanne's quilt designs were on display made up into tops. 

I had an "eye-opening" day today.  Making friends through the Internet and through my blog and joining Facebook groups like the NOVA Modern Quilt Guild brought me to Deanne's attention.  Sharing my love of quilts, and how I was working on one of the quilts for the Little Quilts auction attracted Deanne's love of contributing to worthwhile things.

I've made a new friend this week.  I have discovered a new talent in the world of quilting.  I have gotten inspiration, and as an "oldie" (yes, girls, I'm a Baby Boomer), some great ideas  on how to use some of the wonderful new fabrics coming onto the market in new and different, but extraordinarily creative ways.

Deanne shares her patterns with others through her website at Creative Sewlutions.  She is also a proud owner of her quilt shop, The Quilt Haus, in New Braunfels, Texas.

It was so much fun to find out about new manufacturers, new lines coming out that are attracting all the new quilters who are part of this wonderful world of women that share our love of fabric, design, and making things for others........quilting transcends generations. 

We all share our love of fabric, and, moreover, our love of sharing our talents for comfort with others, and that is something that was reinforced with our 20-something hours with Deanne today.  What you don't see in Deanne's trunk show that I've shown is her lovely quilts for the Altzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative, for the Project Linus group, or that fact that she just "stopped by" to drop off her quilt to help raise money for the Virginia Quilt Museum.

I ended my day so inspired.  Here's my challenge:  Won't you share your quilting skills with others?  Make a quilt for charity in your community, make a quilt for cancer victims or chemotherapy/radiology patients at your local hospital, make a quilt for Project Linus, make a tiny quilt for the the Altzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative, or make a quilt for the Virginia Quilt Museum "Little Quilts, Big Talents" fundraiser. 

Donate a quilt top to the Quilts of Valor project.  If any of these ideas inspire you, Google their websites, and find out how your contribution can make a difference.

You don't even need to raise your voice, you just need to take up a needle and thread, and in a few hours, that little bit that you can do can make a huge difference......it's just another way to contribute...thanks for listening.  I had a wonderfully inspiring day.  We can learn so much by listening to others.....quilters have huge hearts.......

We are blessed here in our beautiful Valley...

Have a wonderful day tomorrow.

Kathy

2 comments:

Carol Rogers said...

what a great day!!! Thanks for passing on the inspiration. Carol R

Cherie said...

Sounds like you had a fantastic day! Love the quilts! =D