Hiking and Quilts or Is That Quilts and Hiking?

 One of the nice things about living in the Phoenix Metro

is that we are only a 3 hour drive from

the South Rim of the Grand Canyon

We took a few days vacation with our friends 

the Hollands to combine

some hiking with visits to a few quilt stores

along the way.

 Paul and Mr. Cactus

were quite the adventurers as they trekked 

down to 

3 Mile Rest House on 

Bright Angel Trail

With endless switchbacks, the Grand Canyon

is known as "a place of extremes"

While descending the 2400 feet,

going down can be hard on the knees,

but the coming back up can be exhaustive.

Mr. Cactus was quite surprised he had service

when his phone rang

deep down in the canyon.

It was our 90 year old Aunt

calling to say she was home from the hospital :)

At least it was good news!

 While the guys hiked

Denise and I hung out at the top of the rim

visiting places like Lookout Studio

and the Lodge

 Always the quilter looking for inspiration

I noticed this Hexagon pattern

on the tile floor in the ladies restroom :)

(go ahead and laugh)

 The day before on our ride towards the Canyon

we stopped at a few quilt stores 

like Quilter's Store in Sedona

Very nice with a great selection of batiks

Southwest patterns and fabrics

and even some Modern

and Quilts on Route 66

in the small town of Williams

 Quaint with a Vintage feel

and current fabrics.

We were glad we stopped.

And to not overload the guys with too much

quilty stuff in one day

we spent the evening in Flagstaff

at the Lowell Observatory

where Pluto was discovered in 1930

on this telescope.

We've been to the Lowell several times

but this was our first visit at night.

They opened up their telescopes

for some terrific views of the Moon

I was even more thrilled to be able to see

up close

 the rings

around Saturn and 3 of it's moons.

Quilt Show in Pinetop/Lakeside, Arizona

Over the 4th on July holiday

we went with our friends The Hollands

up to the resort town area Pinetop/Lakeside

This is the first we had been to this part of Arizona

and it was wonderful to get out of the heat

and to a higher elevation.

Denise and I attended a quilt show presented by the

Quilters Of the White Mountains

while our husbands hiked the mountainous trails.

***

 In the next few days I will be showing you a few of the quilts

I found especially impressive from the show.

Unfortunately, the show had terrible lighting in the convention center

so please forgive some of the poor quality in my photos.

In fact, I observed some attendees using the lights of their cell phones 

as they walked the aisles

in order to see the see the quilts :(

I kept changing the settings on my camera

with the hopes of capturing some of the color.

My most favorite from the show:

Arizona Starry Night

by Alicia Sterna

 Alicia wrote

"Van Gogh's Starry Night, a favorite, is the 

inspiration for the look at a desert sky.

 Small pieces of fabric mimic the brush stokes of paint.

 Desert plants silhouette against the night sky, 

as city lights reflect against the mountains."

 Alicia quilted this herself on a domestic machine.

Beautifully done!

 Hazy Shades of Winter

a silk quilt

also by Alicia Sterna

I really liked her work!

Alicia wrote

"Inspired by Patti Carey's Misty Pines pattern

is all about the 

Zen Tangle inspired quilt designs.

 Winter colors of dupioni (silk) evoked a mood of

hazy winter forests.

Irregular borders provide a contemporary look."

Quilted by Alicia on her domestic machine,

free motion quilting.

Mesmerized By Chihuly

 I've never been one who

has wanted to run away to the circus.

But, if ever I was tempted to drop everything

and join a group of artisans

it would be 

Chihuly

 We were invited by our friends

The Hollands

for a delightful evening

at the Desert Botanical Gardens in Phoenix

to view the 

Chihuly Exhibit

 Mesmerized is the only word to explain my experience.

Winding paths of Desert Flora

that included 

bursts of color

in the most unexpected places.

Dale Chihuly 

known for his large scale glass sculptures

is credited with revolutionizing the

Studio Glass movement.

Original

Brilliant

I find his life to be as interesting as his creations.

 Chihuly's Exhibits 

can be quite massive in size.

A very prolific artist with

permanent collections through out the world.

 We arrived at the Botanical Gardens right before the sun went down

and were able to walk the desert paths

while still bathed in natural light.

 Citron and Yellow Fiori

Taking pictures of Chihuly's work is somewhat like

trying to capture the Grand Canyon.

The  camera just cannot embrace

the scale and scope of this experience.

 Absence of color

gives an eerie image of ghosts in the forest.

Some Chihuly creations

are taller than the tallest Saguaros

 While others are as simple

as Red Reeds

 You can even see interwoven sparks of color

surrounding the Garden Restaurants.

 The Desert Botanical Gardens

are impressive in and of themselves.

I learned that there are over 2,000 species of cacti

all of which are native to the America's.

 As the sun dropped closer to the horizon

the glass began to light

bringing crisper perception

to the hillsides and trails.

 Chihuly Reeds in the forefront.

Camelback Mountain in the distance.

 Glass gives images of fireballs

 Or underwater sea creatures

Chihuly In The Garden

runs through May 18th.

If you live in the area 

or will be nearby in the next few weeks

I highly recommend

placing this on your must do list.

You will never be the same.

2013 Was A Very Good (Quilty) Year

 Can it be that we are now at the end of 2013?

Where has the year gone?

One of the nice things about keeping a blog is that

it makes it easy to go back and review what was accomplished.

I always start my end of the year search 

anticipating there won't be much to show.

And then when I begin going through posts month by month

I realize maybe I finished a few more quilts than I originally thought.

There are always twists and turns in life and

2013 was no exception.

This is my 301st Post out of 365 days for the year :)

When I started 2013, I set a goal to 

Finish UP 

quilts that had not been quilted.

You know those stacks that wait patiently in the back of a closet?

As with all good intentions,

I started off with gusto

Star Crazy

The top was completed in early 2011

*I even led an on-line group

and I just needed to meet the right person 

to have it quilted.

 My next quilt to take to Pat was

Rabbits Prefer Chocolate

which was started several years ago

The blocks were completed but the top still

needed a little assembling.

 In March my friend Lori Holt (Bee In My Bonnet)

wrote and asked me

 if I would make a pillow with 

her new Half Hexie Ruler

that had just been launched into the market.

Of course I said "Yes!"

I love everything Lori makes

and I really enjoyed playing with her rulers.

 In April I completed a 

T-Shirt Quilt

as a gift for family members

using Crooked Nickel's

easy to do

fusible technique and

Memories To A T pattern.

 May brought a very fun completion

after sewing blocks for months

following Lori Holt's (Bee In My Bonnet) on-line tutorials.

Row Along Quilt

will always have such fond memories.

Another goal I had for 2013 was only sew from my stash

and I'm proud to say this entire quilt was made from scraps.

Lori even gave us a design to make the 

cutest label!

 We were very fortunate to be with Lori during those months

because her ideas became the book

Quilty Fun

this last year!

Yay Lori!

Cross Terrain

pattern by Freshly Pieced

was made out of my red and white scraps.

                                              Then my life began to change :)

The book store I worked for 

announced they were
Closing

and 

I began to wonder what I should do next?

Pat had recently purchased 

Triangles On A Roll

and I had the opportunity to become 

Sales Manager
I began to spend hours and hours 

playing with 

all the various papers

 I also started creating my own patterns

(something I had never done before)

and a new pattern company

Cactus Needle Quilts

was launched in July

 What a wonderful 

whirlwind 

it's been since then.

I have learned a lot!

6 new patterns

came out on the market

starting with 

Christmas Pyramids

Gina is made with

the basic Half Square Triangles

 The Eyes Have It

uses Quarter Square Triangles

 Hourglass Squared

also uses Quarter Square Triangles

*even the border is made with QST's

 Baby Waves 

is made from Half Square Triangles

that are simply cut in half.

So easy to do!

 I liked it so much,

I made one in blue.

 And my favorite quilt that I made in 2013

Indian Blanket

I made

Mod Geo Cruiser

as a pattern tester for 

Kelli Fannin (Seriously I Think It Needs Stitches)

Love that it matches my new aqua Cruiser bike!

 I've also been busy writing 

Tutorials

Scrappy Chevrons

With only a little spare time

I managed to crochet to a finish in 

the last few moments of December

Moss Stitch Afghan

was a gift for my daughter and her husband.

Oh yes, and there were the monthly
Bees Knees blocks
made and sent out to various members of our group.
I learn a lot from these wonderful ladies.

2013 Was a Very Good Quilty Year:)

And I'm excited to see what 2014 will bring!