The Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show Comes to Andrea's Backyard!

I would have been in Oregon this past weekend for the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show if circumstances all over the world were different....

I so was heartbroken to learn that the annual show was to be canceled.  I have attended every year for the past five years and can't even put into words what that event does for my soul....  It's the most amazing thing I've ever been part of!  And, unless you've experienced it, it's hard to describe it in a way that gives it even an ounce of justice.

Just like you, I've experienced one thing after another being canceled this year, to the point where there was next to nothing left to look forward to anymore.  It was so disheartening!!

I knew for my own sake I needed to do something special the day of the show, but what??  What could possibly fill the void left by the Sisters show?  And what could console me knowing that no pilgrimage to Oregon would happen this summer??

And so the idea of a Sisters-inspired quilt show in my very own backyard came to mind. 

During quarantine I photographed a number of quilts in my backyard and gained a new appreciation for it.  I could envision my quilts hanging around the yard and from the house, just like out at Sisters.

But, I think "Covid brain" had shut me down a bit, and I just couldn't make up my mind as to whether or not I wanted to take the plunge and proceed.  July weather in PA is so iffy, so I knew I would have to have a rain date.  For whatever reason, I kept dragging my feet and couldn't seem to come to a conclusion.  But finally Thursday came, and I knew I couldn't wait any longer to make a decision.  Bottom line, deep down I knew I would regret it if I didn't move forward.  And so I did.  I really wanted to do the event on Saturday, the day of the actual Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show, but the weather forecast was calling for thunderstorms.  So, it would have to be Sunday, and that would have to do.  On Thursday morning I posted a notice on Facebook and trusted that whoever was to be there would see the invitation and come.  And they did!

I soooo enjoyed getting ready for the event; it was exactly what my soul needed.  It gave me the motivation to get my garden beds weeded, and spread the pile of mulch that had been sitting in my driveway for a month.  I love entertaining, but really haven't done any kind of hosting, especially outside, in the longest time, so I was way overdue.

Sunday dawned just beautiful!  The weather forecast looked perfect.  The blue sky, low humidity, Shasta daisies, and my neighbor's stepladder and assistance in hanging a few quilts reminded me of Sisters.  My heart was full, yet ached at the same time.

I gathered and arranged flowers, made freshly-squeezed lemonade, and had fun attending to the final preparations.  

I had baked and packaged Fresh Mint Shortbread Cookies the night before.

As I was hanging the remaining quilts, the skies looked a bit threatening, but I wasn't concerned since  there was no rain in the forecast.  I continued on.  As the skies grew more omnious, I checked the weather forecast, but everything still looked just fine for my area.  I figured the rain would go around us, like it often does.

At 5:00 (the event was to start at 6:00), a friend called and said, "It's pouring here!!!"  I checked the weather forecast one more time, and it had totally changed!!!  Not only was it to thunderstorm, it was to rain the rest of the evening!  What in the world??!!

I stood in the doorway looking at the downpour that was now happening, totally dumbfounded!

What do I do?!

I figured that since all the quilts were hung, we may as well proceed, that is if the guests would even show up.  Everything was soaked, except for the two quilts hanging on the back of the house. 

My lovely Flower Girl quilt was so water logged that it fell down.  We ended up throwing it over a stepladder to display it.

My Pixelated Sunflower quilt top was totally drenched, and mulch has splashed up on the bottom of it.

And, my Kaffe quilt was sopping wet and hanging limply....

But, the most amazing thing was that just about everyone showed up!!

Not only did they show up, but they were such good sports too!

I had a pile of quilts sitting on my living room sofa that were begging to be seen, but I opted to show just a few during the break in the rain.

This Buds in a Basket quilt has a special place in my heart since I had seen it at the show on my first trip to Sisters, and knew I had to make one for myself.

The event was also a fundraiser, benefitting The Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show and the Elizabethtown Fair, two organizations dear to my heart.  $250.00 was raised, thanks to the good-hearted attendees.

I'm still bummed that I wasn't able to do arrange the refreshments on the patio like I had envisioned,  pile a large stack of quilts on the table and share them, or place flower bouquets here and there.  

And, I was so disappointed that my guests didn't get to experience the beautiful evening light in my backyard; it is truly magical at that time of the day.

BUT, I am so, so grateful that it actually happened!

I would have been heartbroken otherwise.

Had I known it was to rain, the show never would have happened.   Sometimes there are very good reasons why certain details aren't revealed in a timely fashion!

The damage to my beloved quilts?  They survived just fine.  I'll do a separate post on how we rescued the wet quilts!

Thanks to everyone who pitched in and helped out, especially Michele for taking pictures in the rain.

Enjoy the rest of the pictures!  

Quilter's Knot Video Tutorial

I  finally got around to creating my own YouTube Channel AND uploaded my first video!

I've been wanting to do this for a while now, but it took Saturday's class on Big Stitch Hand Quilting and the need for a follow up video on the Quilter's Knot to get my butt in gear and do something about it.

One of the reasons I kept putting it off was because I don't have a tripod, especially one for an overhead camera.  But, I just happened to see a gal on instagram post an overhead tripod hack, and the lightbulb went off!  It worked great, even though it looks very DIY!!

So, here's the link to the video on how to do a quilter's knot.  There's no music because I haven't figured out how to do that, but hopefully that will come!

Vinyl Zip Pouches from Vintage Patterns

These zip pouches still give me the goosebumps....

When my siblings were cleaning out my parents' house this past summer,  they found a box containing my mother's wedding dress pattern, scraps of the bridal fabric, and even the receipt....

I knew my mother's wedding dress was long gone.  I can still remember the day when she threw it out....  It had been stored in the farmhouse attic, and at some point the roof had leaked.  When my mother discovered that her dress had been ruined, she simply threw it out....  That always haunted me!  She seemed OK with it (at least from what I had observed as a child), but I always wished that she had saved it so that we could have salvaged at least something from it.

So, imagine my surprise when my sister presented me with the newly-found box of scraps.  I was thrilled!  But, it wasn't until a few months later when I opened the box to sift through it again that I discovered the receipt!!  It's the coolest document ever to me; it lists my mother's maiden name,  the address of where she was living at the time, the yardage amounts for her dress and her two bridesmaids' dresses,  how much they paid for all the fabric, and the date.  It even documents that weddings weren't such a big deal back then - my mother bought all that fabric on August 10, made her dress, and was married by the end of September of that same year.  Done.

I love that the pattern lists her name in pencil and documents her tiny size.  

:)

I think she even looks a bit like the bride in the pattern!

I knew I wanted to do something with the pattern for my sisters and sister-in-law for Christmas, but what??  I was so grateful that the idea for these zip pouches came to me one day in class when I was chatting about it with some of my students.

  The pouch made out of the receipt is backed with some of the bridal fabric scraps.

We also came across one of my dad's shirt patterns, so it made the perfect zip pouch as well.

I love the "J. J. Newberry Co." stamp!!

It took me a little bit to figure out just how to I wanted to do them, but I am tickled with the results!

Here's how I went about it:

After ironing a piece of Kona cotton (color PFD) fabric onto a sheet of freezer paper, I fed the fabric through my ink jet printer and photocopied the images onto it.

Then, I ironed some fusible vinyl onto the fabric.  Just be sure to cover it with a press cloth before fusing.

I trimmed the zippers, added zipper tabs, and turned the photocopied fabric into a zip pouch using this method.

They are easy to make as long as you have an ink jet printer that will feed the fabric through easily.

I am so, so pleased with how these turned out!!

Now I can't stop thinking about what else I can turn into vinyl zip pouches....