Bloggers Quilt Festival - Fall 2011

If you are here from the link on the Festival, welcome. 

If you are just happening by or are a regular reader, Amy is hosting the bi-annual quilt festival again and let me tell you, I'm excited to see all the genious out there in cyberland.  The gorgeous quilts are one thing but reading the stories adds a whole new level.  If you want to see, just click on this LINK and maybe join up with a quilt of your own.  Also, a big thank you to the sponsors (linked on Amy's blog) that contribute and assist in the hosting of such a fantastic event! (I'm off to shop as soon as I post this. :D)

For my entry this fall, I'm choosing my "The Sun Still Shines" quilt.

This was born of my desire to share my love of paper-piecing with my cyber-buddies who were new to the technique or maybe were just rusty and wanted a quick refresh.  So, I planned a quilt along and while it was small, it was a lot of fun to do.  I was able to create a design using EQ6 which would provide a lot of versatility for each individual taste out there.  I think the photos in our Flickr group illustrate that was a good choice (and if you want directions, look at the discussion field in Flickr, I don't want to link blog posts here).

I enjoyed designing this but I found I also really enjoyed creating the You Tube videos showing how the technique worked. They are my first and I was very nervous but I am proud I didn't let that get the better of me and I trudged ahead. 

While trying to decide a name for it, and holding it, I was struck by the path of destruction in Joplin, MO after the tornado this past May. The path was clear destruction and chaos but the video that next day was being shown in the bright sunshine, people were assisting neighbors and there were many places that were not destroyed. When I looked again at my quilt top and the design, it seemed to mimick the sun shining over a path much like the tornado's and I was reminded that even in difficult times and dark hours, light does return... the sun does still shine.  And the name and quilting motif was born. 

For me, naming a quilt is just as meaningful as creating it and so this one, for all the joy in creation and contentment in the name, is my current favorite quilt.  Thank you for stopping by and have a wonderful time viewing all the other quilts in this Fall Festival!

Cheers! Beck