Tony Munoz

It's raining...AGAIN!  And it looks like we'll have more of the same the rest of this week.  I shouldn't complain as long as we don't get the strong storms, but geez..I'm getting tired of it anyway. 

Received a couple more siggies this week.  A mother and daughter team from Germany sent these:

Regina's has such pretty yellow flowers

And her daughter Martha this darling cat.  Martha is only 10 years old!!!  Didn't she do an awesome job?  She is the youngest person we've traded with so far and I am so happy to have her block in my collection.

Monday night was our Pittsburg (Little Balkan's) Quilt Guild meeting.  I've always loved the Tennessee Waltz quilt pattern and after seeing my friend Lou's hand pieced and hand quilted version, I'm moving it up several notches on my to-do list.  She brought it for show and tell.  Isn't it gorgeous?

Our guild held beginner's classes a couple months ago and there were some great quilts made.  One of our new members brought her finished quilt for show and tell.  I just love her color choices.  If this is the kind of work she does as a beginner, can you imagine what wonderful quilts she is going to make?  Great job!

Myldred took my workshop on silk flower wall hangings in January and I think she's become addicted to making them.  This is one of another set of place mats she has made.

 Everyone who took my workshop completed their project and most have gone on to make more projects using this technique.  I'm so happy they enjoyed it.

Our program Monday was by Tony Munoz from Parsons, KS.  Tony  has given trunk shows for us before and I enjoy him every time I get to hear him speak. He is an AMAZING hand quilter.  You just have to see his work to understand how true that statement is.  He also is very, very funny and my sides hurt from laughing at some of his stories.

Normally I like to post a link to a slide show when I share trunk shows.  But I want/need to comment on the quilts Tony shared so I'll post individual pictures this time. I've tried to reduce the file sizes on the pictures so I hope this post doesn't take too long to load.

Tony's subject was "The Five W's of Mystery Quilts...Who, What, When, Where and Why."  He brought many quilts that he has acquired with unknown history, so we are left to wonder about those five "W's".  These were interspersed with quilts he has made.  Many of these where what one might call "quirky" quilts and so much fun! I won't be able to remember all of the details about each quilt but will share what I do. 

First of all..when I asked Tony if I could share pictures of his trunk show, he made me promise to get his good side.  So I hope I did!

Tony grew up in a family of nine children.  His mother made sure all of her sons could "keep house" until they were married.  So they were taught not only to cook and clean but to sew and  crochet.  Tony taught himself to quilt and this is his first quilt.  The fabrics are a wild assortment of content.

and the back

He said he was doing Sashiko quilting before it was even popular. LOL!

This Carolina Lily top was made by a male friend of Tony's.   The maker wanted to test the Lily pattern and he used the red fabric left over from sewing a shirt.  When he decided he liked it, he took the shirt apart to get enough fabric to make the four blocks for this top. Tony inherited it after the friend's death.

This is by far the most well made double knit quilt you're likely to ever see.  And we all know that 100 years from now our cotton only quilts may be in shreds, but this double knit will look just as pristine!

This is a sampler quilt that Tony has been working on for many years.  He had some hilarious stories connected to several of the blocks.  Your guild needs to book him for a trunk show so that you can hear them!

In April 2000 Parsons, KS was hit by an F3 tornado.  The Parsons Quilt Guild were meeting in the basement of the Municipal Auditorium and didn't realize what was happening until the lights went off and people starting coming in.  I believe, but am not certain, that Tony was President of the guild the next year  and suggested they all make quilts to commemorate the one year anniversary.  

This is his.  See that little piece of orange in the bottom right corner?  He says that is the color of the sky when he went outside after the tornado had passed.  I love this quilt!

I don't remember the stories behind the  next quilts, but will just share some pictures.  Some were great antique quilts, others fall into the "what were they thinking" category.  Tony loves finding these quilts in his travels.

A definite...what????????

This one had some of Tony's amazing hand quilting

A kit quilt

Lovely fan quilt

Study this a bit.  The maker obviously just got lost setting her blocks together!  What fun.

I loved this quilt

I don't remember if Tony made this top but do know he quilted it.

Close up

An interesting Wagon Wheel quilt

Another very well made quilt and I think this one might have also been double knits.  But the question is..why surround the stars with a fence?   We'll never know.

I don't remember the story about this quilt, but it was one of my favorites shown.

If you get the chance to hear Tony speak, or to see his fabulous quilting, you are in for a treat. Thanks, Tony!   Hope you all enjoyed the show.

Tomorrow or the next day I'll have pics from the Joplin guild meeting yesterday.