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Showing posts with label Grand National Quilt Show. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Grand National Quilt Show. Show all posts

A MAJOR shock!

Meet my Mum ! My Mum is the WORLD'S BEST FAN!  She is full of unconditional love and supports her kids, her grandkids, her great grandkids, her siblings, her sons and daughters in law ,to the nth degree! Everything any of us undertakes to do is supported fully by Mum! She thinks the best of everyone and is SURE that everything will work out- ALWAYS! That said, I have a small story to tell.

You know that this was the opening of the Grand National today and Mum was over the moon that I had had two pieces accepted. So was I, make no mistake. However, Mum was bound and determined that I would surely win an award. I tried to explain that for me , just getting my work accepted was prize enough and then, to have my one piece chosen for the invitation ...! Enough for me . However, Mum hung fast in her belief and faith.

So, on to the ceremonies this afternoon. It is a lovely show this year- a LOT of gorgeous work and , given the theme of Local Colour, a very colourful show. It was a sunny day so the little gallery room was hottt! It was crowded, noisy and there were a lot of longish speeches- you know the ones:-) As the awards were being given, the award itself was announced followed by the name of the recipient. Being totally sure that I was NOT in the running , being VERY sore from a long stand having just spent three days up a ladder painting, I was blackberrying in my mind , not paying much attention until I suddenly heard my name being called. A woman beside me said, "that's YOU" and sort of ushered me forward. I was totally flabbergasted! I was flabberghasted to the point that I accepted the envelope, the smiling handshake and stood for a photo or two- and to this point, I have NO IDEA what I got it for? Apparently the list will be posted very soon online so I expect to find out exactly what the honour was really for and shall let you know asap! It was for my Smoke Bush Leaves piece. Thank you, Friends of the Grand National!

Grand National Quilt Show




Tomorrow afternoon, 21 April, 2013, the Grand National Quilt Show opens in Kitchener, ON at Homer Watson House and Gallery. I was fortunate enough to have both of my entries accepted for the show and will be attending the opening. If you look carefully, you will see that I also had the honour of having my quilt, Red Iris, chosen for the photo on the official invitation to the show! This was hugely exciting for me .

There are over fifty works in the show apparently, from all across Canada illustrating each participating artist's "take" on the theme, "Local Colour". I am really looking forward to seeing what others did. You know me! I am a literalist and a realist so my two pieces, Red Iris and Smoke Bush Leaves are both representations of the glorious colours I am surrounded by so close to my home.

If you are in or near Kitchener, ON, DO drop in and see the quilts. The show runs till 23 June, 2013.

A Week of Surprises!!!

This has been an interesting week! A few weeks ago, I submitted three pieces of work to two quilt shows- two to the Grand National in Kitchener and one to the Wee Quilt Challenge in Cambridge. The GN was in touch very smartly to say that both pieces I submitted to them had been accepted- YAY! BUT, I heard nothing from McDougall Cottage in Cambridge. I waited patiently, surprised that they did not even acknowledge receipt of my entry form , and then called them. I was told I SHOULD have gotten an email , but that I would be informed as to whether my work was accepted or not. More waiting. Deadline for entries came and went and I just put it out of my mind. No prob! BUT, two nights ago, just at supper time, I got a call from them asking when I would be bringing my quilt to them??!! I was flabbergasted, to say the least. To make a long story short, I WAS accepted but the emails had been sent to an incorrect address. Easy error to make, I guess. Anyway, patient DH drove me to Cambridge yesterday with the quilt so now three of my babes are out for public scrutiny!

Last evening, I got a lovely surprise from Remy, one of six really FUN ladies from Guelph ON who took my Urban Cubes class last fall, with a nice attachment- see below- of her finished piece. It is so nice I really wanted to share it with y'all.

Didn't Remy do a lovely job!


This is not a pattern , per se. I taught them how to make each of eleven cool, 3D blocks and then they arranged them as they liked. Remy chose the hexagonal shape similar to the one I used as my teaching sample. It is on my blog somewhere I think. The blocks are a combination of ones by Sara Nephew, Maxine Rosenthal and Joy Pelzmann. Great fun to do and a very effective little wall quilt.

The pieces I submitted for jurying into the two shows are Red Iris, Smokebush Leaves and Tangy Glen Bluebells. See below...
Smoke Bush Leaves 

Red Iris

Tangy Glen Bluebells
The top two are at the GN , this year's theme being Local Colour, and Bluebells is the late arrival at the Wee Quilt Challenge.

Now, here is the last nice surprise. I have JUST learned that the Red Iris has been chosen to be used as the photo advertising the opening of the Grand National - 21 April at Homer Watson House and Gallery in Kitchener,ON. The Wee Quilt Challenge opens 10 April at McDougall Cottage, Cambridge, ON. Maybe we shall see you there?