WALLA WALLA VALLEY QUILT FESTIVAL

P. O. BOX 1471 WALLA WALLA, WA 99362

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * September, 2009

Often, when sharing a tip or hint with other quilters you may hear me say something like, ÒI just LOVE to contribute to the delinquency of quilters!Ó So, here I go, tempting you to participate in our tenth anniversary Walla Walla Valley Quilt Show.

We are soooo excited to bring you this event and just to recap whatÕs availableÉ

Saturday, September 12, 2009,

we will be having a small Òpre-showÓ of quilts at the brand new Waterbrook Winery, 10518 W. Hwy 12, Walla Walla, phone 509-522-1262. The Winery is open from 12 PM to 8 PM that day, so stop by, see some eye candy and try some of their wonderful wine! Admission is free. There will also be a menu of small plates available for a small charge.

Friday, September 18, 2009,

we open the doors to the Community Building, Walla Walla County Fairgrounds, 360 Orchard Street, welcoming you to the Festival. Inside you will findÉÉ

¥ Featured Quilter Ð Pamela Mostek
¥ Local Featured Quilter Ð Barbara Bohlman
¥ Block Challenge
¥ ÒGentle GeishaÓ Challenge
¥ Festival Challenge ÒTen Years Ð Ten ColorsÓ
¥ Festival CafŽ Ð West of the Blues (Plan on lunch or a snack!!!)
¥ Hourly demonstrations (Pamela Mostek Ð 2 PM daily)
¥ Door prizes
¥ Many Vendors
¥ Bid Bid on our Silent Auction quilts/wall hangings.

We will be there for your enjoyment Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, 10 AM to 5 PM. One admission of $4.00 is good for all weekend. Where else can you find a bargain like that???

We will ask you to pick your favorites. Ribbons will be awarded the winners based on Friday and Saturday voting.

If you plan on entering a quilt in the Show, please remember that they must be at Walla Walla Sew ÔN Vac no later than 4 PM, Saturday 9/12. I understand there will be a car show happening downtown on both Friday and Saturday,and that Main Street will be blocked off to traffic and customer parking. You may want to consider getting them in a little earlier (like Thursday) so you donÕt have to carry them quite so far.

IMPORTANT: REMEMBER TO KEEP YOUR CLAIM FORM FROM THE SECOND SHEET OF THE ENTRY FORM. YOU MUST PRESENT THIS FORM TO PICK UP YOUR QUILTS AFTER THE FESTIVAL!!! Entry forms available at www.wallawallaquiltfestival.org.

CanÕt wait to see you all. WeÕve really put together a special show for you! Bring your hubby, sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles, cousins, in-laws, and friends! There is something for everyone!

RICKY TIMS SUPER SEMINAR

The 3rd week in August, five of us from Walla Walla attended the Ricky Tims Super Seminar in Lynnwood, WA. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, Ricky, Alex Anderson, and Libby Lehman poured on the Òhow-toÕsÓ handy tips, and lots of laughter. There was a total of 15 hours of intense learning happening.

There were over 500 people at that seminar and we were seated in an auditorium style setting with the presenters on a stage in front. Now you are asking yourself why would I rave about this seminar since you probably couldnÕt tell what was happening anyway. Two giant TV screens up front allowed us to literally look over their shoulders to see up close what was happening , almost as if you were the only other person around. It was GREAT!

If you ever have the opportunity to attend one of these sessions, please do. I canÕt imagine that you would be disappointed. The only drawback is that you need about a month of sewing room seclusion to practice everything you learn!

Handy Tips:

These tips come to us via The Quilt Show with Ricky Tims and Alex Anderson. You can see many more on their web site Ð www.thequiltshow.com

Keep That Iron Clean:
There's nothing worse than discovering that you've "gunked up" the sole plate of your iron during an active day in your sewing room. Once again, it's off to the kitchen for a handy, simple solution: ordinary table salt and waxed paper!

We received this terrific tip from Nancy McElroy: Sprinkle table salt on the waxed paper. Run the hot dry iron over the salt until all the sticky residue is removed from the sole plate. How easy is that?! If you have a teflon coated base plate, be sure to check with the manufacturer before trying this cleaning method.

Corralling Your Fusibles
Use mailing tubes in various sizes to keep your assortment of fusibles organized and easily accessible. A label on the top of each tube allows you to find the correct fusible quickly, and a cardboard box keeps everything neat and orderly.

Portable Sewing Kit:
Have an empty small metal can (like an Altoids tin or an old can of shoe polish where the polish has dried out)? Make sure it is clean, and then embellish it to your heartÕs desire. You can paste fabric/buttons to it, make a portable pin cushion, keep thimbles, thread, etc, for a travel kit. This would be a great project to do with your youngsters, friends or just for you. Let the creative juices flow and have fun with it.

OTHER THOUGHTS:

The nights are really getting cooler here, and the days Ð shorter. That means that tomato season is growing shorter. But the trick here is to enjoy each and every minute of each and every day and when Jack Frost catches up to the tomato crop, weÕll just begin dreaming of the next one!

Countdown to Festival Ð less than two weeks now. YAHOO! YÕall Come.

Cathy Wiese
Walla Walla Valley Quilt Festival
Email: wwvquilts@hotmail.com
Web Site: wallawallaquiltfestival.org
Talk to a real person??? (That would be me) 541-938-6130. If IÕm out and about, leave me a message and I promise IÕll get back to you.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * July, 2009

Just Thinking:

IÕm sitting here remembering last December. About this time of the month, the snow was about 2 feet deep and the temperatures were in the Ôteens. It was just plumb cold! It was beautiful and very appropriate for the world to be washed white for the Christmas season.

But I was conjuring up the warm sunny days of summertime, tomatoes from the garden, daylight still at 9pm; no coatsÉget the picture?

Summertime did finally arrive, and we have had our first tomatoes from the garden. And the temperatures are headed toward the century mark today. My mantra of ÒCÕmon Summertime!Ó is a reality and all is well! I love summertime almost as much as I do quilting. I just grab some hand work, my cool cup with iced tea, and head for the shade of a tree in our yard. What could be better?

Also: My computer is doing very strange things. I do apologize for any glitches you may get, but here it is anyway! CW

MARK YOUR CALENDARS! September 18, 19, 20, 2009

Walla Walla County Fairgrounds Community Building
360 Orchard Street,
Walla Walla, WA
10 AM Ð 5 PM daily

There will be : Beautiful quilts to spark your enthusiasm.
Featured Quilter: Pamela Mostek, Cheney, Washington
Featured Local Quilter: Barbara Bohlman
Festival Challenge: Ten Years Ð Ten Colors
Block Lotto: using Laurel BurchÕs Secret Garden Collection
Silent Auction Quilt(s) (more later)
Merchant Mall including:

The Sewing Basket
Art and Soul Quilts
Glitz & Glamour
Quilt Patch Land
Admit One Fabrics
Sweet Pea Quilts
Quiltmania
Pamela Mostek
Pieceful Designs
Middleton Woods
Seminole Patchwork
Sue BeeÕs Designs
Festival CafŽ
And maybe moreÉ.

The Festival CafŽ will be catered this year by West of the Blues Barbeque. The menu will include hot coffee and muffins. The lunch and afternoon menu has three types of salads, chili, BBQ sandwich, veggie burger, cookies, brownies or brownie sundae. Soft drinks and bottled water will be available too. Keith Knotts whips up some very good eats, so itÕs something to look forward to as you sit and enjoy the eye candy of all the beautiful quilts.

Festival Challenge will be judged. Cash prizes for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd are $250, $150, and $75 respectively.
We will need your help in choosing the PeopleÕs Choice awards for the large and small quilts on exhibit; the Challenge, and Block Lotto. The Block Lotto winner will take home all the blocks to finish into their own creation!
And there will be hourly demonstrations with surprise gifts going to lucky attendees.

WANT TO SHOW YOUR QUILT?

To make it easier for those wishing to show a quilt, we have made arrangements with three area quilt shops to serve as drop off/pick up points for your entries. They are:

Aunty IdaÕs Quilt Shop
435 W. Hermiston Avenue
Hermiston, OR
541-567-2726

Pendleton Quilt Works
138 SE Court
Pendleton, OR
541-276-9546

Hawthorne Gallery
220 W. Patit Avenue
Dayton, WA
509-382-3137

Take your quilt(s)* and entry form(s) to these shops and a representative of the Festival will pick them up before the show and deliver them back to the shop after the show. What could be easier?

And if you are local and want to drop off and pick up your quilt you may deliver your quilt to:

Walla Walla Sew 'n Vac and Spas
102 East Main, Walla Walla, WA 99362
509-529-7755

See the web site for the entry forms.

*Includes quilts to be shown, Ten Years Ð Ten Colors Challenge, Block Challenge and/or Geisha Challenge.

Remembering Carrie:

Many of you saw the lovely quilts made by the 2008 Festival local featured quilter, Carrie Fernald. I am sad to report that Carrie succumbed to Lou GehrigÕs disease last month. Carrie was responsible for many many lovely fabric creations - quilts, as well as embroidery and handwork. She had a quick wit, a warm smile and a contagious laugh. When diagnosed with her disease she became an advocate for research and funding of ALS. ItÕs not a matter of if she will be missed, she IS missed. Each of us is richer for having known her.

Silent Auction Quilt Update:

Last newsletter, I promised to give you an update on our Silent Auction Quilt. I am happy to report that it is finished! Although there might be just a tad bit of prejudice in the following statement, it is just splendiferous! What do you think?

--Silent Auction Quilt 2009

This quilt as well as others will be available for bidding during the Festival. It is from the book from C&T Publishing, Radiant Sunshine and Shadow by Helen Frost and Catherine Skow.

Award will be made to the highest bidder Sunday afternoon just before we close the doors on the 2009 Festival.
(Unfortunately the hands and the feet in this quilt are not included! (Great picture tho, right???)

We were recently invited to show the quilt during the 4th of July Festival in Milton Freewater. We didnÕt realize that there would be a prize for ÒpeopleÕs choiceÓ but we received 50% of the vote. It is bright, cheerful, and needs a good home.

Another Road trip?

I received this from Sondra and promised to let you all know about their showÉ.

Greetings from the valley of the Wallowas. Our show is September 11-12-13, at the Wallowa County Fairgrounds in Enterprise, OR. Our entry forms are available on our website and also our show information letter. Good luck to you and let us know if we can do anything to help.

Hells Canyon Mule Days
Cloverleaf Hall, Wallowa County Fairgrounds
Enterprise, OR
Address: P. O. Box 50, Enterprise, OR 97828
Phone: 541-526-3271 or cell 541-263-0104
Contact Ð Sandra Lozier

Tips and Other ÒStuffÓ

About this time last year, I gave you a hint about using the toy swim pool ÒnoodlesÓ to roll and store your quilts. They are available at most Dollar Stores. But it was the end of the swimming season, and the supply was scarce at best. So, here it is again. They cut very easily with a kitchen knife, and it would be simple to work out a scenario to hang them in the back of a closet using a wooden dowel through the noodle. They are also great for storing bindings, and bias tapes.

Threads - If you have a problem with thread and your sewing machine, or you are confused about what thread or needle to use, you can usually find the answer at www.superiorthreads.com. They have a really nifty chart that takes a lot of the mystery out of those frustrating things that drive us crazy. And a great newsletter to boot. I really do like their thread. Check it out!

Rotary Cutters Ð Have a significant other that has discovered the joy of using a rotary cutter on leather, wood veneer, paper and other blade dulling things? Treat yourself to a self-closing cutter and give one to them to use as they like. The self-closing feature is a safety bonus, and the gift will be appreciated, and it relieves a lot of frustration

A NEW Quilt Shop:

Right here in Walla Walla! ItÕs Stash and located at 43 S. Palouse Street. Phone number is 509 526-5141. Check it out. ItÕs really a great addition to our efforts and our Valley.

Last but not least:

Last weekend, hubby and I went to the Sweet Onion Festival in downtown Walla Walla. We got there just in time to watch the onion eating contest. One brave soul downed not one, but TWO onions in quick order, just like you would eat an apple. Now friends and neighbors, you just canÕt beat the flavor of the Walla Walla Sweet Onion, but I just can not imagine eating them like that. Anyway, the moral to this story is that the onion season is in full swing and if you havenÕt tried them, in salads, baked, broiled, on burgers, you should treat yourself. If interested in ordering some, contact me and IÕll put you in touch with a grower.

Till next time Ð stay safe, stay cool, stay happy!
Cathy Wiese, Editor

Web Site: www.wallawallaquiltfestival.org
E-Mail: wwvquilts@hotmail.com"
Mailing Address: P. O. Box 1471, Walla Walla, WA 99362
Phone: Cathy @ 541-938-6130