> ~ Insights by SewCalGal ~

Monday, February 6, 2012

"MOO" Velous Cow Parade

Sometimes Life is truly greener on the other side of the fence, or shall I say "Moo" Velous vs greener?

While at the recent Road to California Quilt Show, I had fun looking at the "MOO" Velous Cow Parade.  This whimsical quilt exhibit was created by Mary Lou Weidman and Melanie McFarland using the "Purple Cow" pattern from the book "Out of the Box with Easy Blocks".  They challenged their friends to create their own version.  What resulted is a "moo" velous collection ov bovine beauties.

There are nine cow quilts with a BOVINE theme:   Psy-COW-delic, MOO-lin Rouge, Holy Cow, Pana-MOO Canal, MOO-oy COW-liente, and more!  I found each of these quilts to be captivating, artistic, humorous, detailed and many with beautiful embellishment and/or free-motion quilting. As such, I'm delighted to be able to share insights with you today. 




{above} Udderly Green with Envy, by Pam Tombs. 



{above} Pana-MOO Canal, by Susan Typpi.

I found this quilt to have some beautiful embellishments that were absolutely perfect for this quilt, yet if you breeze by it, you could easily miss it.  For example, look at the beautiful  beads used for udders. 

{above}  Veggie Cow, by Kathy Collins

{above} COWmen Miranda, by Sue Cresse

{above} MOOOY COWlient, by Tina Neppl.

{above} MO LA LA at the MOO-lin Rouge, by Sandy Fisher.
And don't overlook the beautiful free-motion quilting on this whimsical quilt.


{Above} Boo MOO, by Molly Evangelisti.

I also enjoyed the detailed free-motion quilting in this spooktacular quilt.



{above}  Holy Cow!, by Melanie B. McFarland

I found this quilt to be beautifully pieced,
with delightful embellishments and lovely free-motion quilting.





This was definitely a "MOO" Velous Cow Parade.  I hope you enjoyed my insights on this whimsical quilt exhibit too.




22 comments:

Vroomans' Quilts said...

MOO-on over - I just adore whimsy and how super cute are these! And yes, some awesome quilting - look at those leaf patterns.

Nana B said...

Let me try- these quilts put me over the MOOn - so much fun. I loce the beading.

Joanie's Trendy Quilts said...

Quilts put you in a great MOOd after viewing them! Fun quilts!

Joanie's Trendy Quilts said...

Quilts put you in a great MOOd after seeing adorable quilts!

Barb said...

What fun!!!! Enjoyed the cows...

Dana Gaffney said...

You started my day with a laugh, thanks.

Nina Lise@Mrs Moen said...

How fun! I have all of Mary Lou's books, I just love her approach on quilting. Thanks for sharing the exhibit with us!

Janet O. said...

So very fun!! Thanks for sharing these smile-makers! : )

Snoodles said...

These are so charming! A fun start to my morning! Thanks :)

Wacky Woman said...

Love, love, love Mary Lou. Just puts a smile on your face!

tink's mom said...

very fun visit, thanks for sharing

Ariane said...

I love these!!! They were so fun to look at!! I'm sure they were fun to make too!!!

Kim said...

The "Out of the Box" book is terrific with tons of great ideas to use
on your own quilts even if you aren't tantalized by one of Mary Lou's patterns !
Her freestyle, color rich, quilts are just so fun!

Happy Sewing

Kim at QA said...

Mary Lou is teaching this cow pattern and "flower power" flowers at our summer retreat, so we had the pleasure of having her PsyCOWdelic quilt hanging in our booth at Festival in Houston. I also attended her Schoolhouse presentation and got to see the full stampede of cow quilts. They are divine in pictures, but until you see them up-close you just can't appreciate the extraordinary details these quilters have put into them. The eyelashes and tassles on the udder of MOOlin Rouge, the peace symbol nose ring on PsyCOWdelic...the "Grass is always greener" quilt says "On the other side" on the back. Simply beautiful quilts by a very talented group of ladies.

Richard Healey said...

I love the cows that's pretty cool.

http//richardquilts.blogspot.com

Zanymouse said...

These moo-licious quilts were some of my favorite at Road 2 California. Each one was so creative and had me giggling. I love how many quilters have such a terrific sense of humor.

quiltmania said...

After seeing all these quilts in Houston, I just had to have the book. Definitely on the to do list!

Sandi said...

Mel and Mary Lou have done a wonderful job at getting the herd together! Thanks for sharing all the wonderful photos.

My version is under construction and I hope to have it finished to join the herd at their next round-up!

quilter99755 said...

these are adorable. Just in time for a baby quilt with the gender unknown. I think this is the answer for me! Thanks for bringing this to my attention. I love them!

Michele said...

Those are MOO-r-velous. Thanks for sharing.

Elaine said...

These are hilarious. (The udder is the 'bag' and the four um, spouts, are 'teats,' not udders. I am probably one of the few remaining American adults who have ever milked anything by hand.)

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