The finale: Let me introduce you to Martha!
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| (This was us in the Carriage Quilt Shop in Des Moines, WA) |
If you have read the blog Q is for Quilter you probably know a little about Martha. It was my pleasure to meet her in person although I got lost getting to her house in Bellevue, WA, eventually I made it.
This quilt greeted me as I entered her house. Martha uses mostly old/vintage/antique fabric to remake quilts. The repros these days are authentic, so she uses them when she has to.
Isn't this little quilt adorable? This one and the next are mourning quilts for special animals who have passed on.
Martha does most of her piecing and quilting the old fashioned way. (templates, scissors and by hand!)
These are ones she has made. On the pinwheel quilt she didn't like the way the seams came together in the intersection so she appliqued the blue circle over it. I love creative quilters! (check out the beautiful wavy edge)
WOW!
Another cool border and edge.
Some more wow!
Here is a top that instead of taking apart and using the pieces she may finish this one the way it is.
Martha collects old coloring books, embroidery books and so much more. But look how she utilizes them!
More coloring book embroidery!
It's nice to peak into a quilters stash. Most of this is vintage.
Here are a few of her tops waiting to be quilted.
This is one of my favorites.
Martha gets quite a bit of her stash from old quilt tops Some are in good shape, some are not.
So, as you can see my few days away were a good time to decompress from work and the stresses of everyday. Quilters are the best and the hospitality was outstanding!
Thank you Juliann, Laurie, Linda and Martha for making my trip north a very memorable one and letting me share a peek into your life.
Love you ladies!!
Have a wonderful weekend.
Another ! Wow ! visit Lori! Many thanks to you and Martha for sharing the quilts. The one that you said was your favorite... Is that called ? Seven Sisters ? I saw that quilt in a Blackbird Design display once and wasn't sure what it was called or if there was a pattern... Thanks much! Glad you got to decompress a bit. No better way than spending time with like minded friends.
ReplyDeleteWow to Martha!! I love every single quilt and would be hard pressed to pick a favorite! What a great idea with the embroidery......Thanks for sharing your getaway with us.....
ReplyDeleteWow! What an amazing collection of quilts. I love the way she did her Grandmother's Flower Garden. And Seven Sisters -- Beautiful! Thanks so much for sharing!
ReplyDeleteMartha is amazing. What beautiful hand work. Thanks for sharing your travels Lori.
ReplyDeleteThanks to Martha for sharing on her blog. Besides her great quilts, she has a wonderful blog.
You sure met a lot of prolific quilters on this trip. Next time you can come to my home but first you should lower your expectations for the show and tell portion of our visit - wink, wink!
ReplyDeleteMartha's quilts are fabulous!! What a great time you must have had looking through her quilts!! The one she gave you is so "you". Why would you take it apart? The blocks look great is it not all in good shape? It reminds me of a star quilt you made with poison green and double pink setting. On your next trip north - come a little (maybe a lot) further to Calgary, Canada :0)
ReplyDeleteWow, beautiful, what treasures and what a stash! Love the scrappy on point nine patches and snowball blocks -- definitely my next scrap project. She knew you were the perfect person to gift those pieces to. Looks like you had the best trip!
ReplyDeleteThanks for this wonderful little quilt show! Martha's quilts are Wonderful. Love how she works with her fabrics.
ReplyDeleteAwesome Quilts shown here from Martha's collection. Nice that she shared some of the parts with you, too. My Favorite was the Dresden plate!
ReplyDeleteThanks for introducing another great collector! Live that she put the blue circles on the mismatched seam lines, what a great idea!
ReplyDeleteWhen you drove up I-5 did you stop at Aunt Mary's Quilt Shop in Smokey Point/Arlington? Another great shop and Carole the owner is lovely. Check it out on your next northern trek.
Hey Lori! I have been reading along and thank you for such a great road trip! Wow! I would have long since run out of words to describe these beautiful ladies and their quilts and talents! So happy you had the opportunity to travel and connect with fellow quilters! xo Pam
ReplyDeleteLori, those quilts are amazing!! Looks like your trip was a huge success!
ReplyDeleteThat was so much fun, I'm sorry it is over already! Love Martha's quilts from A to Z!! LOVE the 7 sisters and the colouring book embroidery quilts were very very close second. Thank you so much for sharing all this with us.
ReplyDeleteHoly Moly!! What an absolute treasure Martha is!! It would be impossible to pick a favorite! I do love the embroideries, though. And these quilts are all from vintage fabrics, amazing! How lovely of Martha to gift you the quilt top!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing these fantastic quilts, Lori! Martha's work and style is awesome! Love it! And now I'm following her! Thanks! (And....I grew up in Bellevue! :o) Glad you had such a good time there! )
ReplyDeleteWow! There are days after reading your blog and looking at your pictures I would love to take pictures like you and quilt too .So glad you could get away I know it was needed and well deserved. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you Martha for letting Lori show us your wonderful quilts. You have given me an idea to use some churn dash blocks I made about 15 years ago. :-)
ReplyDeleteI was so pleased you shared these quilts. There is one which I saw a few years back on the internet. It was not credited to the quilter, but I loved it and took a copy of the pic for my own reference, meaning to make the quilt one day. I am happy now, to know the talented lady who made the quilt I love!
ReplyDeleteI love those retro looking stitchery alphabets! Would Martha mind sharing what coloring book they were from. I'd love to find one.
ReplyDeletehttp://qisforquilter.com/2009/09/abc-embroidered-quilt-top/
DeleteWow, Lori!! Just WOW!
ReplyDeleteI'm blown away by all those beautiful quilts! I just LOVE that Martha uses vintage fabrics and works mostly by hand!! Wow!! What a great treasure she gifted you with - so beautiful!
ReplyDeleteThis was my first time meeting a blog friend in person, and it was so fun meeting Lori that I am encouraged to do this more often. What could be better than spending time with other quilters looking at quilts, talking about quilts, and visiting quilt shops.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Lori, for the wonderful posts about your trip, and a special thanks to your blog readers for all their nice comments about my quilts.
. . . . Martha
Having followed Martha's blog for a good long while, I am sure the visit to her home was a treat getting to see all her vintage pieces.
ReplyDeleteWonderful quilts and what a great selection on designs and fabric. I bet you had fun seeing all of them in real. Thank you for sharing this post with us.
ReplyDeleteGreetings,
Sylvia
I love Martha's quilts - traditional and lovely! The nine-patch is so interesting. How fun to meet her and see all these beauties. nice lift gift to take away too -
ReplyDeleteWow what an amazing collection of quilts. Thanks for taking us along.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure I speak for everyone when I say how much fun it has been for all of US to be inspired along with YOU... we all had the opportunity to peek inside the homes of these talented ladies! Of coarse you had the bonus of being there in person! Many thanks to you and Juliann, Laurie, Linda, and Martha! (I love all of Martha's quilts, especially the two mourning quilts... that's one of my favorite blocks!)
ReplyDeleteWhat fabulous quilts! What a talented lady Martha is! And ditto Kindred Quilt's comment.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the visits with your quilting friends! They are all amazing and their work is beautiful - and very inspirational! Thanks for sharing with us!
ReplyDeleteI love Martha and her blog, so am so happy to see these lovely quilts.
ReplyDeletegreat post…wow love Martha's quilts thanks for sharing with us. I own one of her masterpieces…its a treasure to me. enjoying catching up on your posts…
ReplyDeleteKathie