Vertical Quilting Curve

It was an excellent show. I was very impressed with the local efforts of the quilt guild. There were a great many tremendous quilts on display. I left a little overwhelmed but quite inspired. As you can see in the accompanying photos the show was not just on the floor but in the rafters so to speak. It was held in the Prairie Stone Fitness Center gymnasium and many of the quilts were hung from the upper railing of the walking tracked that is raised above the gym floor. I think this touch made it feel even bigger and better.

Besides the quilts themselves there were many activities going on. The guild members had two booths set up. One was books and magazines they donated for sale. Magazines were going for just 50 cents and yes I did adopt a few. Who wasn’t doing this at these prices? Some members were also selling handmade items from everything to full sized quilts to bookmarks. I picked up a bookmark. A few members were also demonstrating different techniques. I saw redwork embroidery, needle punch and machine piecing demos.

Other activities included merchants row, quilt appraising and a quilt turning. I wrote about quilt turning in this previous post but actually attending one was the best part of the show outside all of the beautiful quilts in the show. Seeing these antique quilts being turned down on an antique bed in person and having their stories told was very entertaining and informative. The oldest quilt was circa 1860. Amazing! I’ve posted a photo here of the start of the bed turning. There were two grandmothers flower garden quilts that I will have to write more on later. One of the more interesting quilts was one made from corset scraps brought home by a girl who worked in a corset factory in the late 1800’s and pieced into a quilt. It was actually quite lovely and looked as if made from fine dress scraps.

Overall the show was time well spent and has given me quite a few ideas for projects that I already have planned and those that have popped into my head because of the show. It has also given me some ideas to share with you.

quilting, quilts, quilt show, quilt turning

I just found out there is a quilt show just a few miles from me and I’m off to see some local creations.

If your are in the Hoffman Estates, IL area (suburb of Chicago) maybe you can check it out today, too. It is the Northwestern Suburban Quilters Guild’s show. They only hold it every 2 years. Also, I’ve been wanting to find out about membership in the guild so I am looking forward to meeting some of the members to check it out. You can check out the guild at their website.

quilting, quilts, quilt show

I love going over to Flickr and searching the groups for quilting and crafting related themes. You can view what other creative people are doing and you can also join in on a swap or challenge. I’ve linked to a few of the groups you may find interesting:

English paper piecing/foundation piecing caught my attention since I am working on a Grandmother’s Flower Garden quilt. I may have to join this group.

Doll Quilt Swap is the group for you if you like to make these little quilts and would like to exchange them or just to get some ideas. There are some cute little quilts here.

Quilted Barns is a young site where you can see and post photos of barns that have been decorated with quilt motifs on them. So, if you are out traveling and see a barn painted with a quilt design make sure you stop and take a photo to share with everyone.

Fabric Addicts Anonymous will let you admit your addiction but in no way encourages you to get rid of it. In fact, the more fabric you have the better and if you want you can take part in swaps so you can get more!

Use what you have is if you feel you have too much and need to stop purchasing all those supplies and actually use them. Vow to not buy supplies for a month and just “use what you have” then post pictures of what you make.

Quilted Teacup is just for fun and the only rule is that the item you make and post is about tea in some way.

Hope you enjoy these sites and if there are other interests besides quilting just go to flickr and search the groups. Warning: it can be addictive to see what is out there especially when you find others who love the same things you do. Oh, and of course you can have your own photo page. Here is mine although it is a variety of crafts and I haven’t uploaded many of my quilting projects yet.

Flickr, English paper piecing, doll quilts, quilted barns, fabric, quilting groups

I was surfing through the Internet last night and I happened upon an article about a quilt show in Maine. I was thinking what a nice place Maine would be to attend a nice little quilt show put on by the statewide guild. Then I read the guild, Pine Tree Quilters Guild Inc, has over 2000 members. Yes, that is 3 zeros behind that 2. And, not only that but they have chapters (72 of them) throughout the state. Wow!

I’m guessing that if you’re a quilter and you live in Maine you probably belong to this group. I’ve been a member of statewide guilds before but the numbers were never that large. I’m really impressed and a little jealous. Some may say it’s because Maine has such long winters and they get more quilting done than those of us out enjoying the long, hot summer days by the pool with the kids.

I’ve never been to Maine but it’s on my list to go see and now I think I may have to move it a little closer to the top. They just had their 30th annual quilt show with workshops. I’m going to put that on my calendar for next year but just for fun. If I don’t get my daughter to Disney World I may never see another quilt shop again.

Question of the day: Hey, does anyone know if Stephen King is a member? I bet he would make some interesting quilts!

quilt show, quilting, quilt guild