To Boldly Go - A Trekkie's Travel Bag

Even men need travel bags, and masculine laminated cotton isn't always easy to find.  For Christmas 2013 I was on a travel/wash bag roll and everyone in my family received one as a Christmas gift, including the men.  This is the travel bag I made for my husband, Simon.

The outside laminate is NYC Subway map - on licence from MTA and available only from The City Quilter in Manhattan where I teach.  Available in 100% cotton and also as a laminate it's a really great print - I've used it for quilts 

FP's Taxi Quilt

Could You Live Here? Quilt

and gifts.

Needle Book

So the laminate was a perfect choice for Simon's travel bag...

... and inside I included some fabric from one of his all time favourite TV series - Star Trek by Camelot Cottons.

I fussy cut the fabric so The Enterprise was as visible as possible.  I've turned the wash bag inside out here so you can see just how that lining looks!

And then the co-ordinating tissue cover and yes that too has Star Trek lining.

Over the last 12 months, Simon has travelled across the world pretty much weekly and the travel bag has boldly gone with him - it's safe to say it's been a huge hit.

You might be interested in also seeing another masculine laminate fabric I've used for wash bags, I've posted about it here: A Good Snapshot Or A Total Wash Out?

Disclaimer: 
This post is for informational purposes only, no payment or commission is received on click-throughs and opinions are my own.

   

     

Grand Central Terminal Challenge Winners & Quilt Show Announced

Back in May last year I posted about a Grand Central Terminal Centennial Quilt Challenge organised by American Patchwork & Quilting Magazine & The City Quilter in association with the NY Transit Museum & The Metropolitan Transportation Authority - the best bit was news of the top prize of $2,000!  You can read my original post here.

I bought the required fabrics and was all set to create my winning masterpiece.  Then life threw a spanner in the works ... I started my dream job working at the store so, as staff weren't allowed to take part in the challenge, I set my fabric aside and started to look forward to seeing everyone else's entries instead. 

Back in October 2013 the quilts were judged by Elizabeth Tisinger Beese and Jennifer Keltner of 

American Patchwork & Quilting and Cathy Izzo & Dale Riehl, owners of The City Quilter - you can see photos from the judging day here on the store's Facebook page.

And at last I've got pictures of the three prize winners and two honourable mentions to share with you and you can see all of the top 30 quilts here at APQ.

Grand prize winner: Amy Krasnansky, Baltimore, MD
Quilt name: "Time Flies, But We Take the Train"

First prize winner: Ligaya Siachongco, Woodside, NY
Quilt name: "Grand Central Terminal Mandala"

Second prize winner: Beth Carney, Yonkers, NY
Quilt name: "Chasms 16: Under the Stars"

And here are two Honourable Mentions, the first is

"A Grand Centennial" by Teresa Barkley of Maplewood, NJ

and

"Mercury's Concourse" by Fran VanEron of Fort Collins, CO

I love all of them - and I'm kind of glad I didn't enter the competition, none of my ideas came anywhere near matching the inspired creativity shown here - but if I'm pushed to pick a favourite I think mine is "Chasms 16: Under the Stars" by Beth Carney, I love that she went for an abstract, modern interpretation of the challenge and I'd love to know more about her inspiration.

I'm invited to the opening event at Grand Central on 18th March and I hear that more than half of the exhibited quilters will be there,  I'm looking forward to meeting everyone and I'll take lots of pics of the event and quilts to share with you.  Of course, if you'd like to see the 30 quilts for yourself they will all be displayed in The New York Transit Museum in Grand Central Terminal from 15 March to 6 July 2014 - Mon to Fri, 8 am to 8 pm/Sat & Sun, 10 am to 6pm.

For details of other fabric, yarn, trim and notion stores that I've visited around the world along with the NYC stores I love, exhibitions and events I've attended and wonderful people I've been lucky to meet click the links below or in my sidebar :D

Disclaimer: This post is for informational purposes only, no payment or commission is received on click-throughs and opinions are my own.