Quilt Show "Challenges" and Results

Hi Everyone,

This is the final post about the quilt show.  I have lots of other things to discuss and share so it is time to move on, as sad as it is to have the show over. 

The "challenges" that I have for you concern a few quilts.  Have you ever entered a quilt in a show only to find other versions of it also in the show?  It is a little bit like seeing the same dress on a different woman that you are wearing, too.  (You always wonder if it looks better on her or you!)  As a spectator, however, I sort of like to see the two, to look at how they differ and what choices work better, etc.

I was one of those people with another quilt the same pattern as I made.  There was another version of Dresden Doilies hanging in the show.  Looking through my photos, I see that I didn't get a picture of it.  It was very similar to the version in the magazine, with yellowish/creamish plates on a mottled red background.  In this case, I thought my version was better--mostly because of the spectacular quilting that Valorie did--and also because of the motifs in the centers of my plates.  At any rate, neither won a ribbon.

The other quilts made of the same pattern have one version that won a ribbon and one that didn't.  I'm going to show you the pictures of both and let you guess at the one you think earned a ribbon.  I will put in lots of spaces so that after you decided, you can scroll on down and see the "answer." 

Before we start, it is important for you to know that the ribbons were awarded on a "viewer's choice" basis--not on workmanship.  The criteria is simply the favorite quilt in each category for the attendee.
With that said, are you ready for your first challenge?

First up is this adorable animal pattern.  I haven't seen it before and it was great to see two versions!  All the details (which you may not be able to see in the photos) are really fun--bow buttons on the giraffe's shoes, etc.  But I would like for you to look at both and decide which one you think won the ribbon.

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Did you decide?  The ribbon went to the bottom one.  In my opinion, I think it has to do with the border/sashing fabric choices.  I like the brightness and playfulness of the bottom one.  The bottom one also had more quilting.  Who knows, though!  Were you right?

Ready for the next set?  This one has even more of a story.  One of our members designed this pattern to use up scraps, etc.  She taught it to a group of other members and one of them finished it and entered her quilt, too. 

 

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Wow, they both look really similar, don't they?  The bottom one looks lighter, but only because of the camera angle.  So which one won?  The top one is the original, made by the woman who designed the pattern, and the bottom one is the quilt that won the ribbon!  The quilting on both was machine done and done well, although differently.  I can't for the life of me decide why people thought one is better than the other.  Is it that the lighting was better on the bottom one?  Or did one have more friends to vote for her quilt?  Do the quilts hanging on either side make a difference?  Also, the lady who won the ribbon had another quilt in the same category that I liked better and it didn't win.  I am truly stymied on this, but it fascinates me! 

Are you wondering how I did?  I entered two quilts in the bed category, one in the wall category, and one in the "other" category.  I was thrilled to find that I won a ribbon!

My whale bag set won second place in the "other" category!  I blogged about this bag when I made it.  If you are curious about any details, you can read about it here.

I'll see you tomorrow with pictures of my Schnibble!  It will be the last day of the month and I need to post about it if I'm going to be included in the big parade.

Have a great day,
JoAnne

Some Fun Quilts from the Show

Hi Everyone,

I'm back with another post about the quilt show.  Yesterday I put the house back together and did some cleaning and then the mail came with a VERY exciting package which I will share with you later this week.  Today I need to work on some holiday sewing--two nighties for my nieces to be exact.

Back to the show.  Today I want to share some pictures of some really neat quilts. 

This white-on-white was done on a long-arm machine.  See the dog in the middle?  The artist did this as a tribute to the rescue dogs of September 11.  The card says that the dogs who were there to search for people weren't finding any and the handlers worried that the dogs were disappointed, so volunteers hid in the rubble to give the dogs someone to find.  I'm not sure if this is true, but I'd like to think it is!

 

I have three or four books on making pictorial quilts, but I still haven't attempted it.  I love these birds!  It is such a bright and happy quilt.

 

This was one of the quilts from the crayon challenge that our guild sponsored.  It was made by the artist at the retreat I went to back in August.  It was fun watching her work on it.  The details are extraordinary.  The petals of the dogwood are dimensional and the centers are beaded.  There are lots of other beads all over the quilt.

 

Another pictorial quilt.  The card on this one said it was a pattern.  Nevertheless, the fabric choices were perfect.  It won a ribbon, too, third place for wall quilts.

 

More fun techniques in this dimensional applique piece.  The handle and trim for the basket is strips of braided fabric.  The large, round flowers are ruched.  I thought it was effective on the simple background, so no details got lost.

 

Finally there was this fun quilt.  It was from a challenge.  The challenge was to make a gold-colored quilt containing yo-yos and featuring a sport.  It looks sort of Celtic or something, right?  It is obviously gold and you can see a group of yo-yos in the center, but what is the sport?  Time to get closer:

 

It is easiest to see in the corners.  Ladies.  Synchronized Swimmers!  The center "circles" are also swimmers.

 

Isn't it wild and fun?!!  And the workmanship is exquisite! It should have won a ribbon, but I don't think most people read the card and "saw" the swimmers.  I didn't until the artist who made it came by while I was looking at the piece and she asked if I saw the ladies.

 

 

I'll be back tomorrow with one more post featuring some "challenges" for you. 

 

Have a great day!

JoAnne

The Quilt Show

Hi Everyone,

Our quilt show was such a success.  It looked beautiful and was well-attended.  More than that--it was fun!  Even though there was a whole lot of work involved, it was so worth it!  I've got quite a few photos to share, so I will do so today and tomorrow!  First up, just some overview snapshots.  Not only did we hang the quilts, but we also brought in all the neat, small items we could to set on the floor to keep people from tripping on the legs of the racks.  The resulting "decorating" of the show was extremely effective!  We received many, many positive comments on how it looked.

(this is my ladder)

 

I brought these fun pumpkins with the tall stems but someone else brought the stands.  They worked so well together!  

 

 

Next are some of the small quilt displays

This is quilts from our Crayola Crayon challenge

Some of the smaller wall hangings.

 

One of my favorite moments was getting to meet Judy from Small Quilts and Doll Quilts.  I recently noticed that she wrote that she was home in Williamsburg and so we were delighted to realize we weren't too far away.  She drove the short distance to attend our show and to meet!  It is always so fun to meet a blog friend!

I think I will have two other blog posts about the show.  One featuring some close-ups of some fun quilts and another with some challenges for you!  See you tomorrow!

Have a great day!
JoAnne

Set Up

Hi Everyone,

Yesterday was lots of work!  I can't believe what a hard-working bunch of quilters are in my guild.  There were also several husbands helping, including mine(!) who took the day off work to help out.  We met around 1:30 in the afternoon at the guild's storage facility.  Four pickups were needed to load all the racks, tubs, boxes, etc. that were needed.  We were the last one in the convoy over to the school.  I took a picture because it was kind of funny.

Maybe you can see the white truck and the two in front of it absolutely stuffed full of wood, etc.

 

 

Since the show is in a middle school, we couldn't start until the students left--about 2:45.  Once that happened, it was a whirl of work.  Unloading, sorting, piling, decision making--all that had to be done.  We had never used this venue before so we had "plan A, plan B, plan C," and still we had to "wing it" a few times. 

 

I unloaded the door prizes, lugged tables,  decorated a few of the trees out front, climbed up the "folded in" bleachers and pinned sheets around pvc, etc.  Just before we broke for a pizza supper, all the racks were up and quilts were being hung!

 

 

I'm always fascinated to see the types/design of different guild's racks.  My poor husband had never done this before, but plunged in and learned on the fly--he was on the team that put all the racks up and together.

 

While we were eating, I thought about all we had left to do and figured we would be there until 11 pm.  However, we all redoubled our efforts and got to work.  We finished the hanging.  Then we had to "readjust" a bit, and there was an issue about one special display (we weren't able to do the PVC/sheet trick that I had worked on the other side of the gym) so it required some creative problem solving!  Luckily, quilters are creative people!  We also brought numerous "props" to use in decorating.  Old ironing boards, baby cradles, milk cans, etc.  Anyway, we finally finished just a little after 9!

 

I was never so glad that we have a whirlpool bathtub ever.  I'm still sore, as a matter of fact.  Today I go spend the whole day there, as well as Sunday afternoon.  Then it all has to come back down and back to the storage shed....    I don't want to think about that yet.  Here is a sneak peek of some of the quilts.  I will take plenty more to share!

 





Hmm, this was taken with my phone and I see that I got way too much floor in the photo!

Have a great day!
JoAnne

Can You Help?

Hi Everyone,

This is such an exciting day!  This afternoon we set up for the quilt show and hang all the quilts.  It opening tomorrow morning!  After all the work and meetings, I can't believe it is finally here.

Meanwhile, I have a question for all of you.  My sister bought the piece in the photo at a thrift store and discovered that it has a rotating door.  When rotated, it looks like this:

 

It clearly looks like a sewing cabinet to me.  The top "shelf" has the pegs for spools and the tray for needles, etc.  But how about the bottom "shelf?"  Do any of you know what those donut-shaped impressions are for?  Larger spools?  Crochet thread?  I'm racking my brain to picture vintage sewing notions and can't seem to come up with a match.  I would love your input!

 

Don't forget about the giveaway on my Postcard post!

 

Have a great day!

JoAnne

October

Hi Everyone!

I guess it would have been more fitting to post this yesterday, but I was busy.  It is finally October--a month that has been "red-lined" on my calendar for ages now. 

Yes, it is finally quilt show month!  Our quilt show will be held the last weekend of the month on the 26th and 27th here in the Newport News, VA area.  I hope that anyone out there reading this who is nearby can plan to attend.  I think it will be fantastic!

I'm going to be busy, busy getting ready.  I'm on the committee, and our sub-committee is in charge of the door prizes, the demonstrations, the viewer's choice voting, and the ribbons.  Yesterday, we got together to package up the door prizes.  The ladies who worked to get them donated did a fabulous job!  I arrived at one of their homes yesterday and the dining room looked like a small quilt shop.  Fabric, books, patterns, batting, notions, etc. were piled high.  We set about assembling all the small things together into prize "packages."  When we were finished, we had over 100 door prizes!  Since we sold 300 tickets last year, but hope to sell 500 this year, the odds of winning a prize are pretty great!  They take up lots of room, and since it is only my husband and I here, I brought many of them home with me.  It looks like a quilter's Christmas in here.

Aside from being busy yesterday, I didn't want to post because I wasn't sure I could trust myself not to comment on the recent political situation.  In fact, I just wrote more of this paragraph and then I deleted it, because I'm firm in my resolve not to discuss politics here on this blog.  I want a safe place where everyone can go to be distracted from it!

Along that theme, I can't thank Valerie over at Pumpkin Patch Quilter enough!  She is currently quilting my Dresden Doilies quilt at this moment, and has been posting "teaser" photos to Facebook.

 
Be still my heart!

I'm planning to enter this quilt in the show so I really need to get cracking on making the binding, label, and sleeve.  I have some other sleeves to make and attach to 2 other entries, too.  As I mentioned, October is going to be busy!

Have a great day!
JoAnne

Feeling Fallish

Have you ever noticed that in the fall we welcome cool days and nothing is more exciting than the first snow of the season?  We are so relieved to be over the heat and humidity and we look forward to the beauty of the fall leaves, crisp apples, comforting soups, etc.  Six short months later and we are sick of the cold, tired of snow, so over wearing pants and sweaters!  Where are the flowers?  Can't I wear sandals yet?  I think the only consistent thing about us is that we are always hoping for a better day!

I tried to appreciate the snow we had Sunday and Monday and not resent it as much as I wanted to, so I went to my quilt room and got into a fall-feeling.  It was actually a bit of a quilt show day, as yesterday morning I had a committee meeting here for our guild's upcoming show.  There are five of us on our committee and it is great fun getting to know the others and they are so organized that it is fairly stress free, so far.  We are the Presentation committee, in charge of demos, door prizes, and the viewer's choice ballots/awards.  The show isn't until the end of October, so it is still early in the planning stage. 

After the meeting, I went up to work on some blocks that we are doing for a raffle quilt for the show.  The show has a fall theme so we are making a quilt in fall colors consisting of rail fence blocks and leaf blocks--all in batiks.  I had fun as I had a partial Bali Pop with all the appropriate colors.

Here are my results from just an hour or two of sewing:

Each stack of rail fences has about 6 in it--they are the results from one length-of-fabric strip set. 

I also worked on the sashing for the Blogger Girl's BOM and got all the corner squares done.  It seems like I have such a pile of "bits and pieces" of things to work on or finish.  I feel easily distracted.  I going back to try to get some of these things finished or put away, or....  something.

I hope you all have a great day!

JoAnne

Quilt Show--Hawaiian

I know I have already share some of the wonderful Hawaiian quilts at our show, but it was such a banner year for them that I felt I wanted to share more.  Some may be repeats, but if you are like me, you don't mind seeing beautiful Hawaiian quilts.

I hope you enjoyed your quilting trip to the Island.  I'm about to go off the the show for a fourth time!  I'm taking some more friends who are quilters but haven't yet gone to the show.  I have to go back tomorrow afternoon, too, as the show is ending and I have to pick up my quilts.

Aloha,
JoAnne

More from the quilt show--Asian

I have now been to the quilt show 3 times! I went to the opening, and then on Tuesday with two non-quilting friends, and yesterday I "worked," or as we call it "sat the show." I have taken many photos and decided to break them down into several posts. Today I am focusing on the Asian-style quilts. Living here in Hawaii, we have a strong relationship with "The East" and it is always fun to see those quilts.

 This one (above) was done by a dentist in the Air Force.  Both he and his wife quilt!  Another surprise I got from my husband was when he looked at it and said, "Someone's been doing a lot of fussy-cutting!"

This one is actually a panel that was purchased in Japan.  The quilter used the open space in the printed blocks to do sashiko.  The results are amazing and you can't tell it is a panel at all.

More sashiko.  I got a kit while I lived here.  It is still in the package.  Maybe I will try it soon.

Aloha,

JoAnne