I apologize for the lapse of posts these last few days.  I have been tied up with my other life, the life of birds.  This weekend is the big Festival of the Cranes down at Bosque del Apache NWR, where I have been leading daily raptor tours of the refuge and giving presentations about hawks, eagles, falcons and owls.  I’m heading down again shortly for today’s presentations, but then tomorrow and Sunday we are scheduled to host an outdoor public outreach booth featuring our live birds of prey.  A giant winter storm is approaching and I have this nightmare vision that we will all be trapped in our hotel for the entire weekend and never even make it down to the refuge.

But, here goes with two more categories.

Kazanoban 2 by Masako Sakagami, Toyama-shi, Japan

Masako Sakagami writes, “I live in Toyama, Japan.  Festival of Kazenobon celebrates harvest.  Using an old kimono, I used the sewing machine to free-motion the local folk song.”

Kazanoban 2 Detail

I found this to be a very interesting quilt with considerable detail throughout.  Her technique was to use small pieces of fabric covered with tulle and quilted.

A Work in Progress by Nancy Dickey, Magnolia, TX

Nancy Dickey writes, “A large-patterned floral fabric was the inspiration for this quilt.  Its oriental theme brought to mind a Japanese garden.  While thinking of the classic Japanese watercolor landscapes, with their hint of distant mountains, I visualized the idea for my own painting.”

Moon Drunk by Susan Fletcher King, Houston, TX

Susan Fletcher King writes, “One bonus of living in Houston is using our screened porch all year.  Occasionally, we are lucky enough to watch as the light of the rising moon shows a beautiful trail of small moths and other flying creatures that only come out at night.”

Greetings from Watkins Glen, by Julie Weaver, Mt. Vernon, ME

Julie Weaver writes, “This Alfa Romeo Formula One race car quilt started life as a photograph I took in 1970.  Later that year, I painted a large oil paining from that photo.  Forty-two years later, I used the painting as my inspirations for a ‘Postcards From Away’ challenge.”

Les Fleurs de la Maladie 2, by Helen Remick, Seattle, WA

Helen Remick writes, “These ‘flowers of sickness’ show the damage to my joints from erosive osteoarthritis.  Using a thick batting, and longer and finer needles with metallic thread allows me to continue, for now, the handiwork that I love.”

The breadth and variety of quilts displayed at the International Quilt Association competition is both amazing and overwhelming.  I have enjoyed writing these posts at a more leisurely pace so that I can take the time to better know and understand the talented quiltmakers that create these masterpieces.

More to come — but not until Sunday!