Friday, September 15, 2017

Trailing of the Sheep Quilt

Trailing of the Sheep is a unique festival in our valley. It celebrates the cultural heritage of the Basque sheepherders who helped to transform our mountain communities from mining centers into ranching centers. In fact, way back when, my grandfather used to herd sheep from Twin Falls to Stanley Basin, a stretch of 130 or more miles!



Held every October, The Trailing of the Sheep includes a host of events and activities. And our local guild - The 5 Bee Quilters' Guild - has begun a tradition of hosting a quilt show during the Trailing of the Sheep Weekend. In conjunction with showcasing member's quilts, the guild creates a Raffle Quilt.  A committee designs a wool quilt, the members piece the blocks, it's quilted, then bound, and finally ready for display as a Raffle Quilt which helps support the guild's charitable projects! The whole process takes about 7 months.

Here is this year's quilt, minus the binding:


I made one of the sheep blocks and did the long arm quilting on it. It sure was a fun quilt to work on!



Not wanting to quilt on top of the wool applique, I simply did some background fillers around each block and then quilted an outline pattern around the exterior dancing flowers. It makes the appliques really pop!



The outside border has a feather feeding off the blue sashing, with piano-key quilting extending to the edge of the quilt.



Notice how the Bees have even made their way into this quilt, to represent the 5 Bee Quilt Guild!


If you are ever in the Sun Valley, Idaho, area the first weekend in October, make plans to attend some of the festival's activities. The Sheep Dog Trials are a jaw-dropping experience in and of themselves! And watching hundreds of sheep trail down Ketchum's Main Street is such a nostalgic experience.

While you're at it, you can even pop in and see all the wonderful quilts our members have been working on over the past years.  You never know what inspiration you'll find.






Quilting with a smile,
Barb

Linking up with:
Finish Or Not Friday
Needle and Thread Thursday 
Show Off Saturday 
Linky Tuesday

Friday, September 1, 2017

Labor Day Sale at Mountain Quiltworks' Etsy Shop!

I am so excited to let my readers be the first to know about my first-ever Labor Day Sale in my Etsy Shop - Mountain Quiltworks!  Sales don't happen often, but I'm making way for my new inventory of fall and Christmas items. You can take advantage by saving 20% off everything in my shop!

This includes Baby Quilts







Lap Quilts


Table Runners



And even the fun Aviatrix Quilt Pattern!



This sale runs only through Monday, September 4, so check it out now. Any questions, just let me know.  And have fun shopping!

Quilting with a smile,
Barb

Remembering All The Little Things

I have let my blog side away in lieu of posting photos and updates over on Instagram. For me, it takes less time, and is a faster way to doc...