Quilt Festival Quilt Scene

I have had the opportunity to attend the IQF - International Quilt Fest in Chicago for the past few years. It is a ton of fun but hard on your feet. You really need to have a good pair of walking feet. It is not for traditional quilters only! It is for art quilters and mixed media artists, too. I am seeing lot of great things as I walk around. There are some great buys on machines, if you are in the market.

Anyway, I am privileged to be in this commemorative issue of Quilt Scene magazine. I was lucky enough to teach a couple of workshops at MIU - Make-It University and to be one of the Studio Artists for Quilting Arts.

Even if you are not a quilter, you would be blown away by the quilts that you see on display at the Quilt Fest. They are fabulous. I cannot believe the intricacy, work, and creativity that go into them. You get to see some of them in the magazine. You also get to meet some of the artists. There is even an 8 yro quilter in the magazine proudly showing her quilt. It is very awesome!

Helen, I love your modeling skills! You rocked that recycled tote bag apron!

There is an article in the magazine on how to make fabric birds. Way cute. I am going to have to try to make those when I have some time. There is a pattern and everything. They even show you how to make their feet. So very cute. Don't snicker at me. I will get to it...eventually. Next comes the fabric fortune cookies. Being Chinese, I am not too sure that I would make them since I have been around the real ones way more than I have ever wanted to be. They are very colorful though. Email me if you want some cheesy fortune cookie one-liners. Susan Brubaker Knapp has a very funky door organizer that looks like a really big tag with pockets. That definitely has possibilities. If you added a long enough strap, you could hang it on the back of your car seat for the kiddies' stuff. I was also groovin' on the vintage quilt book covers that were in the magazine. I could see using my scraps for something like that. I would adapt it as an altered book cover. I don't wear belts but there is a fun article on how to create your own quilted belt. An especially interesting article was the memory narrative that would be great for beginning quilters. I liked that one because it was an art quilt and it had that distressed look.

The magazine goes on with a section on special exhibits. Fab quilts. Cannot believe how great the quilts are. There are a couple of articles on quilts for the floor and a scrappy quilt and a mini hexagon quilt. I loved the inside out mini quilt because it is something that I would do because it is non-traditional. There is a section on quilting tips and even a table top with a round quilt underneath the glass top. Lyric Kinard has an article on exploring color and value with some examples. One of the most informative articles for me was about machine quiting starting right - I make some of those mistakes! Now I know how to correct them. My friend, Melly Testa, has a fun article on free-motion quilting exercises that I have to try. I have had limited success so far with free-motion quilting. How about you out there? Pokey has an article on fabric ATC and some great examples. I want one of her very cool and colorful ATCs! Alisa Burke shows you how to make a quilted cuff to wear as a bracelet. Then comes my rag quilt apron. Don't miss Beryl Taylor's quilted heart motif. If you have not tried doing one of these, they look wonderful in real life. I do these when I watch TV with the kids. They really add something extra to my artwork. The magazine ends with tips and trivia about attending IQF.

Whew, this magazine is packed full of stuff. Honestly, I would have bought this issue even if I was not in it. I hope that this was interesting/useful to you. Comments welcome. I hope to see you at the International Quilt Fest in Chicago next Spring.