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Marie’s In Full Bloom

OK…this is a belated “popping with pride” e-mail!…..

Sometimes being able to return a favor is even better than the first round. In our case, the first round was 2003…I had just joined the Quiltart list and Marie and I signed up to do the journal quilts. We figured it would probably be the only time either of us would ever have anything hanging in Houston. Then, I got a quilt into the juried show, and one into an exhibit. So, of course, we took our hard-saved pennies and attended Quilt Festival in Houston for the first time in 2003. And I got permission to stand behind the stanchions next to my quilts while Marie took pictures of me.

This year, I get to do the same for Marie!!! Yippeeee! Marie’s “Garden of A” quilt, an original setting of blocks from the Dear Jane and Dear Hannah books will be in the In Full Bloom exhibit in Houston!!!!! Houston, here we come!

Here is another picture of Marie’s magnum opus…and as you can see from the size of Marie (she’s a cute little redhead!) it is “magnum”! (I think it is something like 110 inches across!)

Marie is one of the most artistic quilters I know. She has said of herself that she may be an artistic quilter, but not an art quilter. Personally, I disagree…she’s BOTH! As far as I know, she has never before entered a national-level exhibit or competition. Well, there’s nothing like starting with the best: Houston.

Marie submitted this quilt to the In Full Bloom exhibit for this coming year in Houston. The Dear Jane and Dear Hannah quilts / books are by Brenda Papadakis (Dear Jane is trademarked, and I’m using the term just to link it to Brenda–based on an 1863 quilt by Jane Stickle). To learn more about Jane Stickle’s quilt, you can visit Brenda at Dear Jane.

So, I’m shouting and doing a major happy dance! Every time I look at Marie’s work, I then look at mine and think “hmm, who am I kidding….” and look again at Marie’s and learn from her.

Marie also had a totally cool idea this year (among other cool ideas…) Anyway, she still lives on San Juan Island, Washington, where I used to live, and works at the County Courthouse. This year is the 100th anniversary of both the County Fair (THE event of the summer, and the best of small town America… when a friend’s son went away to serve in the Coast Guard, he actually had a hard time deciding whether to take vacation for Christmas or the Fair…that’s how cool and fun the fair is!) and the County Courthouse. So Marie had an idea to make a quilt, to hang in the courthouse, to celebrate both anniversaries. Folks made 8 inch blocks, Marie put them together and made the incredible center panels based on old photos. As an “ex-pat” islander, I even got to make one of the blocks. Here’s the quilt.

My block is at the center bottom of the photo…I always entered my jams in the fair, so I used blackberry fabric and made pictures of two jars of jam and attached one of my ribbons!

I’m SO happy for Marie, but even more I’m happy I met Marie. You know how in your life you have just a handful of truly special friends along the way? Well, Marie is one of them! So I’m looking forward to growing old with her, needle in hand, nattering away about our latest quilts.

3 Responses to “Marie’s In Full Bloom”

  1. Sioux Says:

    Oh, wow, how wonderful. Those quilts are thoroughly georgeous. Beautiful!

  2. Anonymous Says:

    Thanks, Sarah, for so eloquently saying the things we want to say to Marie and just don’t know how. I have forwarded your link to our Rainshadow Quilting Arts Guild members.
    Claudia

  3. Robin Says:

    Great to discover your blog (thanks to Claudia) and keep in touch with you this way. I can’t wait to see the County Quilt on display!!! And I hope to see both you and Marie in Houston. Way to go!

    By the way, you might enjoy this blog: http://www.allisonaller.com/cblog/index.php

    Hugs!