Quilt Odyssey 2010 - Hershey, PA

I attended Quilt Odyssey last month. All I can say is, WOW.

There were far too many quilts being exhibited for me to get pictures of them all. But I did take quite a few pictures you can go to my flickr photostream to view the set. The photo above shows just one of several stunning quilts. Update: I have removed the pictures so as not to violate any copyright, etc. laws.

I chose to focus this year on prizewinning quilts. What is it that makes a prizewinning quilt a prizewinning quilt? I can't help but think that, at least in some small way, it is subjective, and depends upon who the judges are and what they want in a quilt--on that day. Honestly; some quilts that were passed up were beautiful, and no less breathtaking than the winners. But, I'm not the expert; the judges are, right?!!

I focused on these types of quilts at the show, because as my quilting group has recently been toying with the idea of holding a quilt show in the future, I came to the realization that I don't really create exhibit-worthy quilts. Now, I LOVE my quilts, and I think they're beautiful, but worthy of being in a show? Hmmm. This issue has given me pause for a couple of months now.

So, I have therefore begun to look at quilts differently, and with a critical eye. Certainly, every quilt can't--and shouldn't--be show quality. I believe very strongly in the utilitarian nature of quilts. All but two of mine (the antique one, and the white one that is my avatar) get used. And, besides, my children are still young, and I homeschool them to boot, so my time to quilt is limited. I not only love the clean lines of large block quilts, but they are ideal for my lifestyle, as they go together very quickly.

Yet, even if I do it one block at a time (the way I'm creating my string quilt), I have to try to eventually figure out how to slowly but surely create quilts from time to time that are worthy of being hung in shows. And, as I now have this goal in the back of my mind, I find that a couple of things have happened. First, I am more tolerant now of "traditional" quilting than I was before, and am beginning to like patterns that I didn't previously like. Second, I have to make an effort not to become discouraged about quilting altogether--since, you know, the kind of quilts I want to try to make take more time.

So, along with the busyness of life, this is a really good explanation as to why you have not heard as much from me recently. I love quilting no less than before. I have just had to, by necessity and through re-evaluation, take a wee step back.

May Quilt Fest?

So.

I'm thinking of doing an online quilt festival.




What do you think?

Mennonite Relief Sale

In an earlier post, I spoke of the preview to the Mennonite Relief Sale. This past weekend was the actual Relief Sale. Over 300 quilts were auctioned, for the sake of funding various worldwide missions. They raised tens thousands of dollars this weekend!

There were food vendors. They are hard to see in this photo; they are stationed around the expo hall, along the walls. What you are best able to see in this photo are the tables where you could sit and eat the food you purchased. Beef cheesteaks; turkey, chicken, or beef barbeque sandwiches; roast beef or ham sandwiches; hot dogs; pizza; baked potatoes; soups. And for dessert, there was strawberry pie; homemade donuts; milkshakes; cookies; and much much more!

There was an a cappella men's group.

There was a station where you could donate your loose change, and it would be counted and bagged. (See the penny hanging in the top left hand corner of this picture?)

And there were QUILTS!!! Three hundred eighty three of them!

Some were antique and vintage.

I, of course, gravitated towards the modern styles.

But I have a major thing for the simplicity of a beautifully crafted Amish quilt.

Once it was time to auction the quilts, they were placed on the slanted rotating surface you see above, and the auctioneer could literally get a quilt auctioned in about thirty seconds!

We went Friday and skipped Saturday. Next year, we will go Saturday and skip Friday. Friday's quilts were the less beautiful ones; they went for anywhere from $15 to $250ish. Saturday's quilts, some of which you can see on the stage in these two photos, went for MUCH more.

The caption in the photo above says, "Meeting basic needs in the name of Christ." You absolutely have to love the dedication of the Mennonites when it comes to being His Hands and His Feet throughout the world.

Speaker at a local quilt guild

Last Wednesday, I attended the regular monthly meeting (or at least part of it) of Piecemakers, the Middletown, PA quilt guild. They were hosting a speaker, that I'd heard was a published author, and had some beautiful quilts. I'd heard right.

The quilts Gyleen Fitzgerald brought with her for her trunk show were almost entirely from one of her latest books, Quilts: Unfinished Stories with New Endings. In essence, she discussed how many quilts go unfinished for one reason or another, and she chose to focus on quilts from the 30s for this book. She talked about being given or purchasing finished quilt tops, unfinished quilt tops, quilt blocks, etc and making the decision to finish them. She emphasized the importance of not getting bogged down with issues that might keep you from finishing--a fabric that you may be anguishing over that you don't feel is quite perfect; imperfectly stitched seams; the possibility of cutting off the tips of points to make the quilt fit; and so on. She pointed out that an imperfectly finished quilt is better than an unfinished one. But, to look at her quilts, you would not suspect that she had done any compromising when finishing them; they are beautiful. I bought the book; let me tell you, it is worth it. Great, full color pictures of the quilts; patterns; stories.

She briefly discussed a couple of other books/quilts. She wrote a book (and displayed her beautiful quilt) about house quilts--In This House: If Walls Could Talk. She also published a house quilt pattern. I bought three of these little books; one for me, and one for each of my daughters. She signed these, as well as my Quilts: Unfinished Stories with New Endings book.

She also discussed her latest project, pineapple quilts. She has written (or is in the process of writing it) a book about it, and she also created a tool/ruler for making them. She said that she could not find the right tool for making the quilt, so she simply designed it herself. She has an engineering background, so this was a no-brainer for her.

I enjoyed her presentation. You can contact her, to see if she is available for coming to your quilt guild meeting. It will be well worth it!

What a Thursday!

There's just so much to report for yesterday; where do I begin?

Once every quarter, there is a store in my area that practically wholesales fabric, so that quilt shop owners, home sewists/designers, and the hobby online fabric seller (like me) can acquire fabric bolts to then sell retail. Their sale began yesterday, and I picked up just a few fabrics this time.

That is a black and gold print on the left, followed by an Anna Maria Horner! Next to it is a green print, then white Kona, then an Alice Kennedy line! The Anna Maria Horner and Alice Kennedy fabrics will go in my Etsy shop, hopefully sometime this weekend (along with some other fabrics). While there, I met a young woman. We began talking, and I found out she designs beautiful little girls' clothing, as you can see in her Etsy shop, Momi Boutique. Her blog is here.

On our way out, a couple of ladies with whom we sew and quilt walked in. Since they were on their way to the Mennonite Relief Sale preview (as were we), we waited around a bit, then we all left together. Once a year, Mennonites hold a Relief Sale in April here in PA (I'm told there are others in other states, as well). Amongst an assortment of things, they auction a huge number of quilts. (I have always been so impressed with how Mennonites work quietly behind the scenes, much like Salvation Army, to do what is necessary in times of crisis. I don't know if I've ever met two organizations of believers so entirely devoted to being His hands and feet for His people). In March, they preview some of those quilts, and they also sell a number of things, including donated quilt related items and even some quilts. Apparently, those who donate quilts will either designate them for the auction, or for regular sale. So, at the preview, we saw some wonderful quilt tops, quilt blogs, fabric, and even old quilts.

I purchased three quilts. This one was only $4!

Granted, the quilt is a bit stained. But it is hand quilted, and huge! It is in the washer even now as I type this; let's see if any of those stains come out. If they don't, so what? We will use it for picnics, around the house--that is, if my younger daughter, who is already attempting to claim it, allows anyone else to use it. :)

I purchased this one, also $4!

We figure this quilt was so inexpensive because of the yellow "pack" in the middle of the quilt. Perhaps this is missing a stork, who is supposed to be holding the pack on its bill? The pack is unattached to the quilt on the sides, so the fact that it is empty is easily remedied; simply insert a small toy or stuffed animal, to complete the gift for a baby to come. (We know a number of pregnant ladies.) It has a few stains on the back; I will wash this one soon, and see if any of the stains come out.

I then hit the mother lode. I found this antique--antique--quilt! It was made in c.1910.

It is not in pristine condition, but it is still in very good condition, I think, considering its age. This is HEAVY. The top is pieced wool, and it is hand tied (it is much too thick and heavy to quilt).

And it was only...$25!!! I almost felt guilty!

I have my friend E to thank for this. When I walked in the doors to preview the quilts, I discovered signs that informed me that they did not accept credit/debit cards. Since I do not like to carry cash around, and I didn't have any checks (where, praytell, is my box of new checks?), I knew my ability to shop was limited. Yet E saw my dilemma and unhesitatingly opened her purse and handed me a $50 bill. I was stunned; I don't know her that well yet, but she didn't even give it a second thought to front me some cash--unasked--until I could repay her today. But she is that kind of friend, already. She takes time to patiently talk to me, my children, really anyone interested in quilting, about the art. She absolutely loves it, and wants to make sure that she passes on all of her knowledge to the next generation of quilters.

After we left the preview, we then went to get some lunch.(If you're ever in Ephrata, PA, you must go to the NY Pizzeria. We didn't even get pizza. But it was GOOD.) E (and A) allowed us to tag along with them on their usual quilt shop run in this particular region. So, we literally shopped 'til we dropped!

We started at Ten Thousand Villages. We then proceeded to Weaver's, where I purchased some great pink fabric. I have been wanting some yardage like this for a quilt or two for the girls.

We then went to Brubacker's before heading home. Know that it was late afternoon when we got back, and we'd left the house before 6 AM. It was a day of a lot of driving, and we were tired. I didn't purchase at every shop where we went (but E and A did). But I now know where their haunts are in that neck of the woods. Thanks, ladies.

Obama quilts

We are somewhere around the one year mark of Obama's presidency. Because I am a quilter, it brought to mind the incredible quilts that were created for this historic event.

1/28 update: The exhibit is now on exhibit in Europe.

Fall craft show wares

Today we had the opportunity to be vendors at a craft show.

This was our first opportunity to do this (I have been a vendor for other things before), and I am pretty clueless as to how to make our booth beautiful. As you can see in the photos, I attempted to use a lot of color to draw the eye, but I wonder if I didn’t overdo it somehow. As my younger daughter was the main co-contributor to the wares that we sold, she received the profits for this. My older daughter is just fine with that; she is not nearly as enamored with sewing and quilting, and she has another way of earning extra money from time to time.

There was not a lot of traffic, so sales were just so-so for all vendors. But we had a great time. My younger daughter seems to have been bitten by the vendor bug! I think she wants to do this again. (Oh my.) In the meantime, I will list the remaining items in my Etsy shop.

Quilt Odyssey 2009 - Hershey, PA

Back in late July / early August, the Quilt Odyssey was held in Hershey, PA, as it has been for the past ten years. I remember attending once before, when it was still a very new and rather small event. This year, I was pleasantly surprised to see how big it had become. The Vendor Hall had dozens and dozens of vendors, and the quilt exhibition hall was enormous. The quilts which had been entered into competition were too incredible to try to summarize in one simple sentence, or even a paragraph. Here are a few pictures.

Here's a beautiful abstract contemporary type quilt.

This one reminded me of chintz, which was so popular in the 80s; it was beautifully executed, with incredible detail.

This three-dimensional chocolate mini quilt was so delightful, and very fitting for a quilt competition in Hershey, PA!

There's just something about a well executed lighthouse quilt...

This Phantom of the Opera quilt was amazing!

Don't you just love this one?! I can feel her computer angst; can't you?

My daughters and I were captivated by this one. We were told that three women had created this quilt, and that all four seasons had been incorporated into the design. In case you're wondering, winter is on the back.

The quilts that get entered into these types of competitions are WAYYYYYY beyond the skills of mere amateur quilting mortals (like me). They are works of art, and quite often were created after literally thousands of hours of labor. Wow.