RISING STAR QUILT SHOW 2008
Featured Quilter, Chris Crouch
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Chris gave a presentation at the Quilt Show, telling us about her quilts. It was very interesting and well attended.
Each year, the guild chooses one or more of its members for the 'Featured Quilter' exhibit, which is intended to showcase the type of work our members do. This year, Chris Crouch is our featured quilter. Chris's work has won prizes at guild shows and at juried shows. We asked Chris to talk about what drew her to quilting and about how quilting has enriched her life. This is what she had to say:
I joined the guild in 2001. I did not know a soul, but the members of Rising Star made me feel welcome at my first meeting. Like many of us, I was balancing work, family, and care giving for my Mom with Alzheimer's. I really needed an activity out of the house for myself. The guild members embraced me with their warmth and encouragement. I feel truly honored to be chosen by my fellow quilters as the featured quilter this year. They have given much to me.
I have no great story about how I started quilting. I always admired the patterns and colors of quilts. I took a basic class in the early 90's. The purchase of a sewing machine a couple years later is what really jump-started my quilt making. I took occasional quilting classes to help with my skills. I still love learning new things. There is always a new technique or tool in quilting, so we can never be bored. I think my work as a Dental Hygienist helped my quilt making. We have to be detail oriented, and we work with small tools. I also discovered the peace of mind quilting could bring. A bad day can be forgotten when trying to piece a complicated pattern.
Choosing colors and fabrics is still my favorite part. Bright colors especially attract me. Subtle has never been used to describe my quilts. Sometimes I like to challenge myself with a complicated pattern. I worry that housework is killing off brain cells, and I need to keep them firing. I am still working to improve my quilting skills. My first quilts were made in a little space in the attic. I now have the luxury of a dedicated space. It has been nicknamed 'the sew-a-torium.' Those who have sewn there with me know it can get a little crazy, but it's always fun!
I hope that any new quilter will walk around our show as I did. They will see all levels of quilting and say to themselves 'I want to do that.' With encouragement and guidance, all things are possible.
Click on the pictures to see larger images of the quilts by Chris Crouch .
Mill Basket, 2002
This was made for the Rising Star guild challenge that year. This was the first guild quilt show in which I participated. We were given three fabrics from 'the Lowell Lower Mills collection' to use in our quilt. I took elements from two different patterns from The Quiltmaker magazine. I used one pattern for the basket part of the quilt, and another for the two sided appliqué flowers. The basket was machine pieced, the flowers were hand appliquéd and the quilt was hand-quilted. It won 3rd place.
Sir Douglas and the Dragon
39 x 32
I made this quilt for my son Douglas's eighth grade graduation present. He was a Dungeons and Dragon fan at the time, so when I showed him the pattern he said 'Cool, but the dragon needs to be done in red because they are the most powerful.' The pattern was in a Foundation Piecer magazine. It had 100 paper-pieced parts to it. Choosing fabrics was the fun part. After this project, I am not afraid of any paper piecing.
Machine pieced and quilted.
Star Bright, 2003
76 x 76
The pattern is from Jan Krentz's Lone Star Quilts and Beyond. Here was a quilt that made good use of my favorite bright colors. How could I resist' I decided it needed to be bigger and designed a border to go with it. The radiant stars were paper pieced, while the rest was machine pieced and quilted. It won 1st place for large quilts that year and was later juried into the 'Lowell Images' and 'The Gathering' shows.
Sue and Sam in the Attic, 2004
The guild challenge in 2004 was 'Grandma's Attic.' I tried to use my own attic's triangular shape for the body of the quilt. This was my first try at drawing a quilt and then translating it into fabric. Most of the pieces were fused and then machine buttonhole stitched for a bit of an old-fashioned look. The little quilt is a separate piece. It won 3rd place that year and was juried into the 'Lowell Images' show.
North Pole Neighborhood, 2005
55 x 45
I started this two years before in a class with Missy Shea at Cambridge Quilt Shop. I had the pattern 'Welcome to the North Pole' by Piece of Cake Designs on my bookshelf for a long time. Choosing fabrics to fit the houses was fun. With each house, my needle turn appliqué got better. This was my first quilt with beads (More things to buy!). I was still sewing beads on 2 hours before the guild show but really enjoyed the effect. It won 2nd place in wall hangings that year and was juried into the 'Lowell Images' show.
Mutant Garden, 2006
42 x 21
This was my entry for the guild's 'Black and White with One Color' Challenge. I wanted to try the origami in Rebecca Wat's book Fantastic Fabric Folding. I thought it would be fun to do it in black and white. The background was paper pieced. Some parts were hand appliquéd and embellished. The guys in my house gave the quilt its name. They said they looked like mutant flowers plus (Yuk!) pink! It was juried into the 'Lowell Images' show.
Stellar Pinwheels, 2006
56 x 39
I promised my husband something special for his office. The book by Barbara Kaempfer, Log Cabin with a Twist, had always fascinated me. This was a true lesson in organization. The quilt is completely paper-pieced. I had to make a map to keep track which color went where and the order of the colors. I quilted it in invisible thread because I did not want to take anything away from the colors. It has now won enough prizes that my husband is afraid to take it to the office. I guess I will have to make him another quilt. It won 1st place in wall hanging size at the guild show. Last year it won 3rd place small traditional in 'Lowell Images' and won the publishers ribbon at 'The Gathering.'
20 Rising Stars of Quilting, 2007
40 x 40
Our guild's 20th anniversary was last year. The challenge was '20 Years and Our Star is Still Rising.' I had great fun with the 20 theme. There are 20 rising star blocks with 20 different polka dot fabrics in them. There are 20 sizes of rising stars blocks. Each is different by a quarter inch. Then there are 20 quilting women. Can you find me (the blonde-haired woman with the poodle)?
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