You Be THE JUDGE!

 

"Yield" Life Lessons According to Regina

 

Before we become judges, let's talk a little about what is a Blue Ribbon.  Why do we give Blue Ribbons as first place?

 

Here is the definition from Wikipedia:  The blue ribbon is a symbol of high quality. The association comes from The Blue Ribald, a prize awarded for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic Ocean by passenger liners and, prior to that from Cordon Bleu, which referred to the blue ribbon worn by a particular order of knights. The spelling blue riband is still encountered in most English-speaking countries, but in the United States, the term was altered to blue ribbon, and ribbons of this color came to be awarded for first place in certain athletic or other competitive endeavours (such as county and state fairs). It also may be applied to distinguished members of a group or commission who have convened to address a situation or problem; the usual usage is "blue ribbon commission" or "blue-ribbon panel".

 

Now, that we know about Blue Ribbons, what makes these quilts ribbon winners?  How would you score them--1 thru 10 in creativity, design, stitching, finishing, backing, etc.?

 

And now a look at the ribbons creativity.

 

This is the Best of Show and also Judges' Choice Award winner at the latest West Houston Guild Show

Lovely applique

This was a good exhibit!  and a show of winners all around!

Pi Day!

It is Pi Day! 

What is interesting about this day, especially 03.14.15?   Because 2015 holds the most accurate Pi Day in the ENTIRE 21st CENTURY.

3.141592653 = March 14, 2015. 9:26:53 AM

How Cool is that?

This will happen again in 2115! 

Pi Day is an annual celebration commemorating the mathematical constant π (pi). Pi Day is observed on March 14 (or 3/14 in the month/day date format), since 3, 1, and 4 are the first three significant digits of π in decimal form. In 2009, the United States House of Representatives supported the designation of Pi Day.^[2]
Pi (π) is the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter. Pi is a constant number, meaning that for all circles of any size, Pi will be the same.
The diameter of a circle is the distance from edge to edge, measuring straight through the center. The circumference of a circle is the distance around.


How will you celebrate?  Eating Pie, of course! 

Vacation Time Mystery QAL

"The best is yet to come" Life Lessons According to Regina

WOW!  Another Friday the 13th! 

Of Course!  I'm going on this vacation QAL

So Far the patterns have been interesting and fun to assemble

This is February block

January--and I'm not too excited about the background fabric

March and I'm loving this background--

Another March pattern--this will be quilt for Grandson who loves his horses, truck and all things cowboy! 

Sashing with Karen

"Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere" Life Lessons According to Regina 

 Karen has these blocks to assemble..........

Really good color combination, but she has a dilemma==What sashing should she use? 

I suggest laying out the blocks with some sashing choices and take a photo--it's amazing what the camera eye sees that ours don't.  Okay, we laid out the blocks and put down the cross bars.  What do you think was her choice?

And now, what do you we should use for the outside borders? 

This one?

This one?

How about this?

Another choice

Then, this one.  What did she choose?  We won't know until she brings the quilt top back next month; then we'll see.  What would you choose if this was your quilt?

Now, here is Karen's choice:

She decided to use just red for the intersections and now will work on the border 

She will use the curling ribbon for her outside border with a light inter border

A small sample of the ribbon effect--she is going to use the solid red for the half block--will be interesting quilt top. Soon we'll see the finished project!

 

Other Stitching Techniques

"If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back"  Life Lessons According to Regina

When we gather as Weavers, we don't always talk JUST about weaving.............

Because, all fiber techniques have interlacement of yarn in some way or other.

Susan is working on these Noro Yarn blocks

She is using this pattern

Susan has this lamp shade to repair and here is her thoughts--knitted lace panels for each section or one large lace piece that will fit around the shade--absolutely genius!

She had knitted this scarf and it wasn't totally symmetrical so she was trying to figure out why--even though she had weighed her yarns.  My thought--colored yarns weigh more due to the dyes--do you agree?  

And now, we look at Penny's cowl she is knitting in linen stitch--how neat is this color combination!  A solid gold with variegated--soon we'll see the finished project.

Oh yes, we don't always have some weaving to discuss but our hands and minds are busy with other interlacement tecniques.

Weave, Wove, Woven

"Envy and jealousy is a waste of time. You already have all you need" Life Lessons According to Regina

Oh Yeah!  We are weaving!

I love the day we have our weavers study group gathering--especially when there is some show and tell--I think it's the touchy feely part of the whole meeting

Tracy had a pile of towels!  Yes, a whole 11 yards worth of warp!

 

All piled up neatly with delicious and colorful weavings

The touch was pure organic cotton

Wouldn't you love one of these towels in your kitchen?

I would only bring them out on special occasions!

D'Anne was wearing this great scarf--we even un-dress those who come with wearables--

Don't you love this silk warp and weft?

All hand dyed.

Barbara had bamboo scarves 

Canvas weave structure

Karen enjoys shapes and designs in her work so she wove this double binding rug, set at 6 epi

It is definitely revisable

Karen is also working on a tapestry journal/diary.  Each month she will work a different technique--here is January and February

and the back could be used as a rya carpet.  Will be anxious to see what she comes up for March's lesson.  Yes, We are weaving and our woven textiles are making people happy!

Mystery Fan? Book Winners!

"No matter how you feel, get up, get dressed up and show up"  Life Lessons According to Regina

Are you a mystery fan like I am?  I have a stack of books by my Night stand that will take me years to get through.  But, I can't help myself--if I see an interesting mystery, I'll check it out of the library or look for it on PBS.   And to make it worse--if that is possible--when I see a list like this one from Mystery Fanfare Blog I'm ready to buy them!  Then there is audio at Audible  
I'm a hopeless mystery fan!

What have you read?

Best Mystery Novel
Sandrine’s Case by Thomas H. Cook (Mysterious Press)
Dead Lions by Mick Herron (Soho Crime)
Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger (Atria Books)
The Wicked Girls by Alex Marwood (Penguin Books)
How the Light Gets In by Louise Penny (Minotaur Books)
Standing in Another Man’s Grave by Ian Rankin (Reagan Arthur Books)

Best First Mystery 
Yesterday’s Echo by Matt Coyle (Oceanview Publishing)
Rage Against the Dying by Becky Masterman (Minotaur Books)
Cover of Snow by Jenny Milchman (Ballantine Books)
Norwegian by Night by Derek Miller (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
A Killing at Cotton Hill by Terry Shames (Seventh Street Books)

Best Mystery Short Story 
“The Terminal” by Reed Farrel Coleman (Kwik Krimes, edited by Otto Penzler; Thomas & Mercer)
“The Caxton Private Lending Library & Book Depository” by John Connolly (Bibliomysteries: Short Tales about Deadly Books, edited by Otto Penzler; Bookspan)
“The Dragon’s Tail” by Martin Limon (Nightmare Range: The Collected Sueno and Bascom Short Stories, Soho Books)
“The Hindi Houdini” by Gigi Pandian (Fish Nets: The Second Guppy Anthology, edited by Ramona DeFelice Long; Wildside Press)
“Incident on the 405” by Travis Richardson (The Malfeasance Occasional: Girl Trouble, edited by Clare Toohey; Macmillan)
 “The Care and Feeding of Houseplants” by Art Taylor (Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, March/April 2013)

Best Nonfiction
The Lady and Her Monsters: A Tale of Dissections, Real-Life Dr. Frankensteins, and the Creation of Mary Shelley's Masterpiece by Roseanne Montillo (William Morrow)
Being Cool: The Work of Elmore Leonard by Charles J. Rzepka (Johns Hopkins University Press)
The Hour of Peril: The Secret Plot to Murder Lincoln Before the Civil War by Daniel Stashower (Minotaur Books)

Sue Feder Historical Mystery Award 
A Murder at Rosamund's Gate by Susanna Calkins (Minotaur Books)
Saving Lincoln by Robert Kresge (ABQ Press)
Dandy Gilver and a Bothersome Number of Corpses by Catriona McPherson (Minotaur Books)
Murder as a Fine Art by David Morrell (Little, Brown)
Ratlines by Stuart Neville (Soho Crime)