Tuesday, March 14, 2017

Gone Fishin'

Lots of fish are swimming in the waters where I am "fishin'."  Of course this is my kind of fishing as there are no hooks, no worms and best of all, no mosquitos to bite me.
The Bama Belles quilt guild decided to make a quilt called "Goldfish Crackers."  One of the members found this online and the group decided to make these quilts for the children at a nearby residential school.  Here are the blocks I made for our team's quilt.
The directions said to use orange for the fish and I cut lots of them. If I am not mistaken, I cut 23 orange sets of "fish parts" and one set of red - all from scraps!
Before the day was finished we started laying out the quilt.  Linda was busy doing several things at once so her blocks were not yet completed when we did the initial layout.
As you can see, she still needed to sew on the corner triangles and add bubbles on the ones that would have bubbles.
So, as she sewed that part, I sewed the top three rows together.
Linda will take it home and either complete it there or bring it back to the next meeting to finish it.  Two of her fish still need bubbles, but isn't this the cutest little quilt?

We had decided to use blue backgrounds for all of the quilts, but the blue fabrics varied between quilts.
Brenda was sewing away on hers.
She was speeding along and had all the fish blocks completed before we left.
Although you can't tell it so well in the photos, the blue is made up of hearts that look like heart-shaped bubbles.  It is just delightful.

Bev was away from her table when I was taking photos - but she made some very cute blocks also.
I just love the music note fabric - Is that a SongFish?
And she had more in process- 
Lois was also a busy bee making her blocks.
Her light blue background  is very soft and lovely, but even better is the green fabric she was using for the fish bodies.
Isn't it adorable?
On an interesting side note, I discovered that I can use the magnetic clasp on my Fitbit band as a temporary pin holder. However, when I went to the other side of the room to square my blocks, the pin apparently brushed off of it. Luckily I found it before anyone got jabbed by it. 

We had a great day and have three quilts well on the way to being ready.  I left my spare cut pieces to be used by anyone who needs them to make another quilt or for some of their blocks.  

I mentioned a few days ago that I am preparing pieces for a gallery show.  In April, the Mountain Valley Arts Council in Guntersville, Alabama will be displaying my work along with that of Rita Winters, a traditional weaver.  I will have paintings, woven garments and art quilts in the display.  At last count, I had over 40 pieces ready for hanging.  I am very excited about the exhibit. If you are in the area, the exhibit opens on April 5th.  There will be a reception on April 6th from 5-7 p.m. Central time at the Gallery.  I would love to see you there. 
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6 comments:

Bev said...

It was really a FUN day.

Barbara said...

Wow, Gene, you are having so much fun --- joining groups and following directions, who would have thought? I think the most non-conventional thing you did was use your magnetic FitBit band to hold a pin. BUT, all that you did was for a very worthy cause and the great fellowship was a bonus. I surely can't go to your exhibit, but to those who can, you must! That is where everyone will see the unconventional work of the Gene we all know here in blogland!.Be prepared to be amazed!

A Left-Handed Quilter said...

LOVE your fish!! And good luck with your show in April!! I'm with Barbara - "I surely can't go to your exhibit, but to those who can, you must!" - ;))

Jeanna said...

The fish quilts are so adorable and a great idea for the children at the residential school. Even though everyone's fabrics are different, they are all still perfect for the quilt.

Good luck with the exhibit. I wish I was closer, I'm sure I would enjoy it.

Marlene said...

Adorable quilts, sure to be loved by the kids lucky enough to receive them. How many is your group making? For that matter how many active members are in your group?

It would be wonderful to see your exhibit. Does the venue select the individual items they want from what you present, or will they hang all 40+? Please get photos for those of us who will not be able to make it to the exhibit due to distance.

Rhonda said...

Those fish are adorable! I'm sure your show will be a great success!!