NQA 2012

I'm still decompressing after a fabulous three days at the National Quilting Association's 2012 Quilt Show.  My primary purpose in going was to take a Design course for Quilt Judges.  Full disclosure - I have judged only 1 quilt show so far.  I've scribed and been an aide at 4 quilt shows and am fascinated by the judging process.

In the meantime, I know I have lots to learn and that was the reason for attending the Design course at NQA this year.  Taught by Beverly Fine and Andi Perejda, both NQA Certified Judges, this course was helpful in outlining design elements and design principles and how knowledge of those elements and principles can be helpful when evaluating a quilt's design.  They used Joen Wolfrom's book Adventures in Design as a starting point.  And it is just a starting point - there's so much more to learn!

One of the features this year were mini lectures by a variety of people.  "Confessions of a Scrapper" was the title of Cindy Erickson's talk.  Cindy was one of the judges at MQS and I enjoyed getting to know her there so just had to listen to her talk.  She is witty, fun, and had a wonderful collection of quilt tops to share.  Some were waiting for the borders "to be born," and with other quilts the borders were born first with the insides following.  It was interesting that she buys fat quarters and finds that's sufficient in most cases with only borders taking more than that.  I guess that's pretty much the definition of scrap quilts - lots of different fabrics, right?!

Cindy Erickson talking to a room full of quilters about scrap quilts.

Here's one of Cindy's quilt tops - complete with the border!  All of her quilts had some unifying fabric with the scraps providing lots of color and interest.

 Another fun thing was attending the live Auction Friday night with Cindy Claycamp, a friend who was vending in her Quilting Memories booth.  I was delegated to bid on a quilt for Nancy but the price rapidly exceeded her maximum bid.  I did bid on a quilt for me - and won!

"Grace Note" by Jean Power of Larchmont, NY.  Thanks, Jean, for such a wonderful little quilt.  I love it!

On the way to the auction, Cindy and I ran into Mary Buvia, a master quilter from Greenwood, IN.  We sat and talked with Mary for at least an hour - what a treat that was.  NQS had a special exhibit of Mary's quilts, "The Magical World of Mary Buvia."  Mary had done a workshop for our guild in 2011 and I've taken several of her classes.  She's a wonderful teacher.  Her book on the making of her award winning quilt "The Loading Dock" should be coming out in August.  She was in the process of writing it last year and I know it will be full of wonderful information.  

 On Saturday, there was learning integrated with more fun stuff.  I took a class from Deb Karasik and had a blast.  I missed hearing Deb talk at the MQS banquet and when I saw that she was teaching at NQA, thought it would be a good opportunity to check her out as a potential speaker and workshop presenter for my guild.  She passed!!!  Not only did I learn new techniques for paper piecing (yes - I now enjoy paper piecing, a 180 degree turn from my initial paper piecing experience), I enjoyed meeting Kathy who let me sit beside her for the day.  Kathy bought a new sewing machine at the show - lucky lady - and her daughter is getting married in a few weeks in Wooster, Ohio.  What a coincidence - I attended The College of Wooster!

My table partner - Kathy.  I love her jacket - all my colors.  I was standing there with my camera in hand and told Kathy I was going to take her picture - not sure she believed me!

Deb Karasik and "Mr. Deb," aka Jeff, holding Deb's latest quilt.  Her quilts are so vibrant with their color  combinations and this one, set against a black background, is especially stunning.

So...here's my paper pieced block.   I still have some areas for improvement but I'm pleased with the result. 

After a full day, it was a quick drive home.  My head is spinning with ideas - which one do I work on next?  Actually, there are a few quilts waiting to be quilted and they are absolutely next in line.

Cheers!

Margaret