We sure did enjoy the Sulphur Springs quilt show last weekend.   The quilts were beautiful and we met some new quilting friends in East Texas. 

   

I must share with you this beautiful quilt that won Best In Show!   It is called "Perseverance" and you can see why, 10,509 hexagons and all hand pieced  by Linda Neal.   I spoke with her a bit at the show and she said it was a great take along project which she worked on everywhere she went.   The hexagons were English Paper Pieced and it took her 2 weeks to remove all the papers.    The quilting which was done by Jackie Brown is exquisite and compliments the quilt.

I'm sure we haven't seen the last of this quilt,  it has many ribbons in it's future.

This will be a busy weekend!!!   We are setting up our vendor booth this evening for the Lone Star Heritage Quilt Show in Sulphur Springs, Texas.   The show runs Friday from 10:00 am.-5:00 pm. and Saturday 9:00 am – 3:00pm.    If you are in the area stop by the show!   It is supposed to be a rainy day so, what better than to be inside at a quilt show.   

http://www.sulphurspringstxquilts.com/quilt_show.htm

Mary and I spent all weekend cutting kits and bundles to get ready for the Lone Star Heritage Quilt Guild 2012 Show.  

Mary designed this gorgeous Christmas Pineapple table topper as a kit. The kit includes a beautiful pineapple center with pieced churn dash blocks and baskets appliqued in the corners. The kit is totally pre-cut and includes the pineapple papers, and the basket which has the fusible already applied.   

   

So, it is so easy to put together.  The first batch we cut are made with the Grace collection  by 3 Sisters from Moda.    It’s a beautiful red and green collection with a large floral focus pattern, the only thing Christmasy (is that a word?), is the colors.     If the kit is popular, which I think it will be, we will have to use another line of fabrics that are similar.

Pick-up Sticks quilt

Last weekend "The Bees" (Mary and I),  along with a group of our quilting friends attended a quilt retreat.   It was not planned but, three of us at the retreat worked on putting together blocks that were traded with a swap group that is part of Bear Creek Quilt Guild.   It was a swap using scraps we already had in our stashes, the only requirement was that black or black tone on tone was used with them. This was a pattern featured in the September/October 2011 issue of Fon's & Porter's Love of Quilting magazine. This is a great pattern to use with a swap group and the blocks are so simple even beginners can participate. 

Check out our quilts on the design walls.

The quilts look very similar, we even did a little more trading among ourselves at the retreat to spread out the brights. I plan to complete mine using the pieced border that is shown in the magazine and I'll post a photo of it when it's finished. 

These are other quilters and their  projects in the works!

I worked on a four inch pineapple block today and made a pincushion out of it using vintage rickrack. I stuffed it with crushed walnut shells. It came out adorable.... I love it. I'm thinking of making a kit of it and selling it on our website (www.twobeesfabric.com). I think I'll try a Civil War version as well. 

 

The Two Bees were vendors at the Ellis County Quilt show in July.    This was only the second time we participated as a vendor at a quilt show and we had a great time and met some wonderful quilters.   We would like to thank everyone who stopped by our booth for making it such a successful show. The quilt guild in Midlothian has some wonderful quilters.  I’ve attached a few photos showing some of the ribbon winners from the show.

   The bright yellow medallion quilt "Grandma's Ruffled Roses" won Best in Show. The quilt was pieced by Deborah Ray and Sabina Thompson, isn't it gorgeous! 

Congratulations Deborah and Sabina!

 

Another ribbon winner was "Hot & Spicy" pieced by the Kaufman Quilt Guild Members and quilted by Mary Jo Smith.

Here are two more quilts from the show. Unfortunately, I didn't get the information on the piecers and quilters.

 Thanks again to all our new friends we met at the Ellis County Quilt Show and the Midlothian Quilt Guild.

Two Bees

Two bees or not two bees…is not the question.
Pre-wash or not  pre-wash, now THAT is the question.
Although some quilters never pre-wash their fabric, I almost always do.

Color Fastness   

Some fabrics bleed, especially reds, purples, blacks and some other dark or vivid colors.  If you haven’t pre-washed your fabrics bleeding dye can stain and transfer into lighter fabrics in your quilt.    I throw a Shout Color Catcher into the washer to capture the excess dye in the wash water.   That will prevent bleeding dyes staining fabrics during pre-washing.  

Some quilters prefer working with unwashed fabrics because of the crispness and find that the sizing and coatings on the fabric makes it easier to rotary cut.   If you are going to use unwashed fabrics make sure to perform a test on a small sample to make sure they are color fast.    All you have to do is take a small sample of the fabric and wash it with a few drops of detergent.   Then place the wet sample on a paper towel or piece of white fabric and leave it to air dry on the paper towel or fabric.  If the color has bled onto the towel or fabric, you’ll need to pre-wash. 

If you really like the crispness of unwashed fabric you can always us spray starch when pressing. 

Shrinkage

Some quilters intentionally use unwashed fabrics to assemble the quilt because they like the puckering that takes place after washing the quilt.   This will give a quilt a vintage or puckery effect.   If this is not the look you are going for and prefer a smoother quilt, pre-wash your fabrics. 

Some quilts, particularly scrappy quilts will contain different fabrics from various manufacturers and the each fabric will shrink at a different rate which could cause puckers or distortions.   It’s another reason I prefer to prewash …. I love scrappy quilts.

Make sure if you are doing a swap or trade with a quilt bee or group, that you specify whether to pre-wash or not.  

Personally, I’m a big fan of the color red; it’s actually my favorite color.  So naturally, I’ve had some experience with dyes bleeding and running.    It’s heart breaking to spend hundreds or dollars on fabric and quilting not to mention the amount of time and then discover that the colors have  run.  

Hapbee Roberta