What would you do if you won a $100,000 Quilting Challenge Magazine contest?  Renowned quilter, Sharon Schamber, of Payson, AZ, has done just that with her quilt, “Scarlet Serenade.”

For the complete story about Sharon and her magnificent quilts, check out Quilting artist is tops in U.S.  by Carol LaValley, in The Payson Roundup.  Quilters who have heard about Sharon (and those who haven’t), will be intrigued by her quilting story.

(c)2008 Mary Emma Allen 

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Winning a $100,000 Quilting Challenge Magazine Contest

                          Josh Johnson’s post, Button, Button, Who’s Got the Button?, at Junk Creation, got me thinking about button storage over the years.  Josh shows a picture of the jar his wife uses for her buttons. 

So….where do you store your buttons?

My mom used a jar, as Josh’s wife does.  I have my button jar (formerly a peanut buttr jar) as well as a button tin.  I try to sort some of my buttons by color, size or material they’re made from.  Others I simply toss into the jar.                                         You also might consider plastic containers or a bowl or basket.

Use buttons for room decoration by placing some in a jar with fancy lid and adding as an accessory on an end table, a shelf, or desk.  Put some in the glass base of a lamp. 

Do you collect buttons?  How do you store them?  Do you use them for decorating?

The history of buttons evolves into a fascinating study.  Many have stories to tell.  Tell us about your button collection.

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What Do Quilters Use for Storing Buttons?

This got me thinking of the ways quilters and fabric artists enjoy fabrics and create lovely works of art from them.  Quilters can’t resist buying fabrics.  They collect colorful stashes, and find many ways to use them.

*Fabrics brighten our lives…like a ray of sunshine peeping through clouds.

*They bring back memories…like the feed sack fabrics reminiscent of those my grandmother used in quilts she made for her grandchildren.

*We share them and exchange them with quilting friends.

*Creating wearable art is another direction we can go with our fabrics.

*Various fabrics give us ideas for completely new types of art.

*They also help us brighten our homes in items other than quilts…curtains, chair coverings, placemats, tablecloths, potholders, pillows and more.

Yes, truly, fabrics are a source of inspiration to quilters, fabric artists, dressmakers, interior designers, and painters.

How does fabric inspire you?

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Fabrics – a Source of Inspiration for Quilters

A quilt bridges the generation gap by connecting people from the past with people yet to come.  Perhaps that longing to participate in the future gives quilting its strong appeal. 

(Check out Kristen’s blog to learn more about Mary Tatum’s book and the remainder of this quote.)

Quilting, to me, is a bond between the generations.  I come from a quilting heritage, one I call the Trails End Quilters, that goes back at least to my great grandmother.  It’s also delightful that my daughter and granddaughter  are carrying on this tradition, too.  Beth often blogs about her quilting act at Meandering Threads.

(I call us the Trails End Quilters because the original ladies in our family who participated in this quilting art lived at Trails End Farm in the town of Milan, NY.)

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The Quilt of Life – a Lovely Book on Quilting Philosophy & Inspiration

When I read Jennifer’s post, 32 Little Green Babies,  at Tree Hugging Family,  a new b5media blog, I thought I simply must share it.  Then I shared, in the comments section, about my family rescuing baby ducklings.  (That might make a duckling inspired wall hanging!)

                                    ENJOY!

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Something Fun for Quilters

“Her process is mind-boggline and free-flowing,” says staff writer Marilyn Bauer at Cincinnati.com.

(There’s also a photo of this fantastic quilt with Ms. Bauer’s article.)

You now may find ideas for using an accumulation of beads and buttoms you may have cached away!

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Beads and Buttons for Quilting Extravaganza by Jane Burch Cochran

 I discovered fascinating wall art with the artist using some of her grandmother’s vintage fabrics at How about orange…..  The framed hangings of vintage fabric flower petals are bold and colorful and created without stitching. 

Graphic designer, Jessica Jones also provides a tutorial for the hangings and book marks, actually relatively simple to create, yet stunning.  Her fabrics also took me back to the years when I sat beside my grandmother and stitched quilts.  (Does that make me vintage?!!)

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Fascinating Vintage Fabric Wall Art…a Variation of Quilting

When I was making quilts to sell, left to my own choices, I usually selected colors I liked, which, when you learn about color schemes, were the “cool” colors, those with pink or blue undertones.  These are the colors that look best on me, so I usually surround myself with them.

                            However, when I made quilts on commission, often my customers chose colors I never would in the “warm” color range, those with yellow undertones.  And some would combine the two, as nature does.

So….when considering quilts to make “on spec” for shops, I began selecting colors I might not for myself or for my home decor.  I found, though, that these sold well.  Either they were the “in” colors that season, or they were favorites with someone other than myself.

                       Color has a magic of its own.  With some imagination, you can create quilts and fabric art with appeal for most anyone.  If you’re making quilts solely for yourself, you may find yourself choosing colors that look best on you in clothing. 

 However, become a little adventuresome and select some colors outside the ordinary for your next project!

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Why Do You Choose Specific Colors for Your Quilting Art Projects?

My daughter Beth does this all the time.  From her collections and photos, she receives inspiration for her art work.  Recently on a vacation to Cape Cod, she took numerous photos that soon will find their way into her fabric art and quilting.

Here is one, and you’ll see more if you visit her Meandering Threads blog and check out her Back from Cape Cod post.

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Prepare Now for Quilting Later

I’d always thought of tea/dish towels as something we used in the kitchen for drying dishes and cutlery.  Yes, these often were attractive and might have been souvenir towels from places where a relative or we traveled.  But they generally were serviceable items.

So I became curious to learn more.  According to one source, these towels, often of linen, but sometimes made of lightweight terry cloth, toweling, and other absorbent materials, are called tea towels by the British and dish towels by Americans.  An all-encompassing name is kitchen towels.

It seems once you’re aware of a topic, you begin to see references everywhere.   I discovered that quilters often use tea/dish towels in piecing quilts.  These may be new towels, souvenir towels or ones you’ve used that create memories.

I learned about one lady who says she uses pieces from older tea towels as patches in her quilts.  These bring back memories and make attractive quilts and hangings for her family members.

Then I discovered tea towels at a number of online quilting supply stores.  You’ll find, too, instructions and kits for making a variety of items using tea/dish towels.

Collecting older tea/dish/kitchen towels can be fun, too. 

Have any of you made tea towel quilts or other items?  Share your story with us.

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Tea Towel Quilts & Fabric Art