I finally have time to post about my trip to the quilt show. First, the drive went well, and I only got a LITTLE lost up at the end. I have a car navigation system, and it thought the EXPO center was a bit larger than it is... I heard the message 'You have arrived at your destination' quite a bit before I could see the building.
The first to greet me was Alice. She was with her sister Diane. I made a quick call to Deena (who lives 10 minutes away) and Alice, Diane and I started making the rounds.
Let me tell you, Alice can powershop for fabric better than any I've seen. While Alice and I started walking the aisles, leaving no stone unturned, Diane was making a run around the building. Seems she was bird-dogging for fabric for the I-SPY swap. Alice had told her what to look for, and Diane, while not a quilter, is a sewer with a danged good eye. With Diane doing reconnaissance, I believe Alice bought out ALL of the best of the conversation prints for her I SPY quilts. After seeing what they accomplished, I envy any of you who are swapping those 4" squares.
Deena arrived shortly thereafter. Living so close, Deena had already been to the show each day. But, had yet to go with another quilter. Seems the show has something for everyone, and while Deena had arrived each day with friends, they had spent most of the time looking at vendor booths (especially a scrapbooking section). So, Deena was REALLY anxious to look at the quilts.
Leaving Alice and Diane to their mission, (with only a small concern that they might purchase ALL the fabric, leaving none for me, before I came back), Deena and I began our peruse.
Wow! I am continually amazed at the sheer imagination and art folks incorporate into their quilts. I didn't have a digital camera, so I can't post pics at the moment. Three quilts in particular held my eye. There was a wholecloth quilt a woman designed for herself, and her workmanship was amazing... stitches even front and back, and so much texture! There was a quilt in the innovative category, of fairies. If the woman with the white gloves wasn't there you might miss the fact that it was double sided! The white fairies were on the front, while the dark fairies graced the back. It was a mirror image -- exact, if you looked at the quilting each piece was perfectly outlined. And, both sides were embellished. There was an album quilt from Spain with a ribbon labeling it 'Best of country'. I had to imagine that it was. All hand appliquéd and quilted, and simply stunning.
There was a themed exhibit, 'the eighth deadly sin'. I think my favorite entry was the one with the woman's head being swallowed by a clock. A good number of entries pointed to procrastination. Some entries included chocolate, though no quilter even hinted it was sinful. There were politically themed entries as well. One banner quilt seemed quite original, all painted red and green dots, with the word 'racism' embedded in such a way that you cannot see it if you are red/green color blind. And, evidentally, to many people the eight deadly sin seems somehow connected to George Bush.
By now it was 1 pm! The time had really flown. Deena and I took a break, and met up with Alice and Diane at the snack area. As I feared, Alice bags were FULL of the most luscious fabric.
It was time for me to do some serious shopping!
I wandered, looking at everything. My first purchase of the day was a pattern for a quilt with, believe it or not, flip-flops. Impulsive, but those sandals embellished with buttons, ribbon flowers, and yo-yo's made me think of my daughter, and the too-quickly passing summer.
Next was a trip to Pat Yamin's booth. Pat has a company called 'Come Quilt with Me', and has the neatest supplies for piecing traditional blocks. Cathy and I took a course with her years ago. After using her products in the class, I purchased her 'Brooklyn Revolver' cutting turntable and clear acrylic templates for fussy-cutting I-SPY hexagons. I am always amazed that Pat remembers us each time we go to the show in Fort Washington (she asked me where Cathy was. I told her how Cathy couldn't come, and introduced her to Deena, Alice, and Diane, and told her how/where to find RTCQ.) This year I bought the templates for a six-inch grandmother's fan block. Alice has used the templates before as well, and she also made a purchase at Pat's booth.
Another booth sold pre-cut strips of fabrics in rolls. Now, THAT is an idea. I love 6" blocks. Since I use thangles for piecing HST's, 2 1/2 inches is perfect for any 6" block I might want to piece. I did some heavy damage there, buying 6 of the 'rolls' of strips. Some really pretty orangey and purpley batiks for the maple leaf quilt that has been in my thoughts a few years, and some florals that will work perfectly with the templates for the grandmother's fan. (I checked, a 2 1/2" strip cut across the width of the fabric will make 10 fan blades using Pat's templates). I also bought a moda fabric 'kit' of sorts for my friend Cathy.
I was oh-so-very tempted by the booth with BATIK FLANNEL! I have never before seen batik in flannel. And such wonderful batiks. I bought some fq's of the cotton ones, and will visit the website for the kit I saw.
(I *WILL* post the websites of the quilt stores when I get back home).
Alice and Diane left just before closing, while Deena graciously waited for me to buy 'one last fq' until every vendor had closed up shop.
All in all, a wonderful day.
Thanks to all of you who encouraged me to go. Thank you Alice, Diane, and Deena for adding your companionship. It is SO nice to have an extended family of quilters to share good times with.