Heeeere's Freddy!

At Island Quilter with Kristin, me, Freddy, Janet and Karen.

I mentioned in my last post that I was on Vashon Island for a special event, and here it is -- meeting quilter and author extraordinaire FREDDY MORAN in person at the Island Quilter shop!

She was wearing her trademark big red glasses and had a big red tote and red nail polish, but otherwise she was dressed all in black and white. Her quilts were being exhibited through October, and it was one of the most colorful exhibits I've ever seen.

The most surprising thing I heard her say is that she didn't start quilting until she was 60 and she's now 83.

 

Freddy was there last week for a book signing and tea. I bought "Freddy & Gwen Collaborate Again," written with Gwen Marston, and naturally she signed it in RED. Her other two books are "Collaborative Quilts," also written with Gwen, and "Freddy's Houses."
 

Her quilting mantra is

RED IS A NEUTRAL.

She said she uses black and white to give the eye a place to rest.

Here are some examples:

Another tidbit she offered about her freewheeling style is: "If it's too big, cut it down. If it's too small, add something." You can see that in this lively basket quilt, with the detail below showing how some basket bottoms are cut off and others float on the background. 

She also uses a lot of polka dots, and she spent a lot of time at Island Quilter's excellent polka dot shelf:

She said this next quilt, "Little House In Big Woods" represents Gwen Marston's house, which is all by itself surrounded by woods on an island in a lake.


"Little House In Big Woods" by Freddy Moran

The backs are almost as much fun as the fronts. I'm showing the detail of this sun quilting on a backside because the fabric is called "Madison WI," which is where my son lives. (Not that he ever reads my blog.)

The rest of the photos are just eye candy. You can see more of the exhibit on my earlier post: http://sherriequilt.blogspot.com/2013/10/red-is-neutral-freddy-says.html
I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did.

The cash register was a busy place during the event.

Have a colorful day

"Red is a neutral," Freddy says



A few weeks ago, my husband and I took the ferry over to Vashon Island so I could visit Island Quilter and he could go to a wine tasting. Here's the view from the ferry line as we waited to get on and sail through that layer of fog. That's Vashon Island, above, poking out of the cloud.

And these two photos show Mt. Rainier towering above the morning water activity in Tacoma.

It got gray as we entered the fog bank, but once we got to the quilt shop there was this explosion of color:

 

Island Quilter on Vashon Island, WA

Do you see the mountain hanging above the fabric? Besides thousands of bolts of vivid color, Island Quilter has a different exhibit each month.

 

October's exhibit has dozens of quilts by the VERY colorful Freddy Moran, whose quilting mantra is:

"Red is a neutral."

 

Freddy Moran exhibit

I got permission to take photos and put them on the blog, so here is a glimpse of her fabulous work. You have until Oct. 31 to see them in person, and she's also scheduled to do a book signing at Island Quilter on Oct. 29. Check with the shop for details.

 

"Oklahoma Chickens" by Freddy Moran



I really liked "Oklahoma Chickens." The closer I looked, the more details I discovered.

"Around the Block" by Freddy Moran

"White Flower" by Freddy Moran

The exhibit is uninhibited delight! Here is what the shop's blog has to say about Freddy, in case you're not familiar with her:

"Freddy Moran has been producing her groundbreaking colorful quilts for the past 22 years. Her first quilting book, 'Freddy's House,' brought her fearless use of color to a wide audience and is still in demand. Since then she has written and co-authored several other books. Freddy travels and teaches extensively, challenging quilters to break the rules and do what works best for them. "

"Then Pony" by Freddy Moran

After the exhibit, we had lunch and wandered around the little business area. Vashon has a large community of artists, so there is plenty of local art and other interesting activities.

Then it was back on the ferry for a sunnier ride home.

Have a colorful day

Pamela's fundraiser quilts

Some of Pamela's quilted fundraiser items.

One of the great things about blogs is the ability to sign up as a "follower" of blogs that interest you. Every day when I sign on, I get a list of new posts on my favorite blogs -- sort of like being handed a morning briefing at work, except instead of being about "work" it's about "play."

I always look forward to an update from the

 Art of Being Pamela blog:

http://www.artofbeing-pamela.blogspot.com

So today I'm publishing a link to Pam's blog post about a project she started last year at the Michigan hospital where she is a nurse. This year, she distributed pieces of fabric that co-workers made into quilt blocks. Then she collected the blocks and turned them into two small quilts, three art quilts, three pillows and two tote bags that will be sold to raise money for the Sue Maher Foundation.

You can see more photos at her colorful blog here:

http://artofbeing-pamela.blogspot.com/2011/08/i-can-almost-see-end-to-this-project.html

Happy blogging, and thanks to all of you who "follow" me. I love seeing your faces every morning when I sign on.

Have a colorful day

Long Beach quilt festival and California color!

I flew down to California last week for the International Quilt Festival-Long Beach and to visit family. I couldn't resist snapping a photo of this sign in an alley in Redondo Beach.

Before we even got out of the Los Angeles airport I was soaking in the colors, like the mouth-watering tile mosaics we passed on our way to baggage claim. My daughter and I couldn't resist posing by sections that coordinated with our clothes, and check out her thrift store vintage green suitcase!

The tiles might inspire a quilt titled

"Avocado Salad by Turquoise Pool."

Day 2 was the big quilt festival, and here's the colorful scene that welcomed us at the convention center in Long Beach:

This calm quilt by Sue Andrus, "Stained Glass and Ferns," was declared the favorite of the friend who drove me to the show:

As Sue explains in the sign below (click on it to enlarge for a clearer view), she used sun printing to achieve the fern designs. I knew Sue's name from the quiltart.com list, so if you'd like to see more of her art check out her sites:

Art Quilts on ArtFire- http://www.AndrusGardensQuilts.artfire.com
Gift Items on ArtFire- http://www.AndrusGardens.artfire.com
NEW!Patterns& More on ArtFire- http://www.AndrusGardensDesigns.artfire.com
Blog- Works in progress, inspirations and more- http://andrusgardensquilts.com/blog
Main Website- http://www.andrusgardensquilts.com

There were so many fabulous art quilts that I couldn't pick a favorite, but high on my list was this happy quilt by Ceceile Francis.

I'm especially drawn to abstract work with strong colors and simple shapes. This quilt by Chantal Dupont was striking.

I didn't take many other photos because I just wanted to walk and gawk, but you can check out festival photos and news at the official show site by clicking here: http://www.quilts.com/lbqf11/enVivo/

Photography wasn't allowed in the vendor booths or in some of the exhibits, but you can see some of those areas by going to the quilts.com site.

 

The rest of the trip was all about the beach, food and family, but I was still on the lookout for color. The richly embroidered cushions above were at a vegetarian restaurant in Redondo Beach called the Green Temple, where we had healthy food surrounded by a lush courtyard setting and peaceful Buddha art.

We also ate at a Mexican restaurant, where Julia gives thumbs up to the velvet painting. She loves vintage kitsch and has a most hideous Don Quixote orange velvet painting from a thrift store.

Every time I visit Redondo Beach I photograph this lifeguard station. It's usually deserted in winter, but in summer the cute lifeguard car with its surf board shows up.

This is the beach where we have photos of my son trying to feed himself sand with his little plastic shovel when he was a baby, and here he is all grown up.

Then it was time to head home. One last photo with my kids, parents and brother:

More airport art called to me when we landed at Sea-Tac. Its colors are fittingly more subdued than the dazzling tiles in LAX.

Have a colorful day