Most autumns, I do a certain amount of panic sewing. No, I am not creating Halloween- or fall-themed quilts. I am not getting a leg up on my handmade Christmas gifts. I am joining other QuiltCon hopefuls and finishing up projects to submit to the show before the October 31 deadline.
Here’s the thing: I am not a show quilter. That’s not a judgment on my artisanship—it’s being honest about my approach to quilting. Most of what I sew as a pattern designer is created to be replicated by others and doesn’t reflect the QuiltCon aesthetic. I am solidly JV when it comes to QuiltCon, and that’s fine with me.
Then why submit at all? Because is an absolute thrill to attend QuiltCon and see my work hanging with the others! And I find the challenges especially inspiring—they get me creating things I wouldn’t have made otherwise. (The problem with the challenges is that they tend to be announced over the summer, when my productivity is minimal at best, and I can’t really get going with them until my kids are back in school. Hence the frantic sewing in September and October.)
Some of my project have shown at past QuiltCons (read a recap here). Will this year’s submission? Maybe! In a moment of clarity I abandoned the notion of submitting a quilt to the transparency challenge—I don’t have adequate time—so I will submit just one quilt, to the Windham Ruby and Bee Fabric challenge. I used all six colors in the palette selected by Tara Faughnan. After straight-line quilting the piece on my domestic, I added some chunky hand quilting. There are some sneak peeks of the quilting detail in this post.
Are you also susceptible to QuiltCon panic sewing? If so, I wish you the best of luck! I’d love to see your work—and mine—in Phoenix next February.
Follow Me On ...
The pageant rules are simple:
- Post your finish in the linky tool. (No links to your own giveaway or linky, please!)
- Point your readers back here with a text link or use the button above.
- Visit and comment on other participants’ finishes.