Quilt Show Frenzy

This week has been Quilt Show week.

Monday saw me driving to Grand Rapids to observe in the judging room prior to the West Michigan Quilters Guild.  Andi Perejda and Beverly Fine were the judges.  Having taken a design course taught by Andi and Beverly at NQA in June, I was looking forward to observing their judging.  The only picture I was able to take was of Andi and Beverly signing the judging forms - couldn't take pictures of the gorgeous quilts as they were being judged and I wasn't able to stay for the show.  If you're in the Grand Rapids area this weekend (Oct 6-7, 2012), it's worth a visit to this show at the Delta Plex Arena.  They have fabulous quilts, lots of vendors and you'll be in for a real treat.

Andi (on the left) and Beverly getting ready to review the judging forms.  I think I caught Andi with a cookie in her mouth - the treats prepared by members of the West Michigan Quilters Guild were delicious.

This weekend is also the Columbus Star Quilters Guild and the Evening Star Quilters Guild Biennial Show.  Early this morning we loaded all of the poles (I provided the pickup truck - the supportive spouses loaded the poles).  Observing in the judging room at our show was interesting, as well.  There was just a single judge and she was meticulous and thorough.  It may be odd to say this since I'm a machine quilter, but I was pleasantly surprised at the number of hand quilted quilts.

Kristen Brown with the quilt awarded the Mayor's Choice.  You can see the special ribbon with the Columbus  "C" on the blue background on the right edge of the quilt.

We had a reception for guild members this evening with a special award - the Mayor's Choice.  Kristen Brown spent over an hour walking through the show, talking with guild members and learning about quilts.  She selected this quilt as her choice - beautiful applique and wonderful piecing.  On a personal note, it was fun to talk with Kristen about her parents.  My office was next to her Dad's office for several years and her mother is one of the nicest people I know.

The Best of Show award went to Carol Walp, president of the Evening Star Quilt Guild.  Her quilt is absolutely gorgeous and deserves this recognition. 

I'm on the left; Carol is on the right.  Her quilt is a beautiful medallion quilt with a variety of quilt blocks surrounding the quilt.  She does impeccable work and her quilt is certainly deserving of the Best of Show award.  She invited me to stand in the picture because I quilted her quilt.  Why didn't someone tell me I had my glasses hanging from the neck of my shirt?!!

Carol and Ann are at the Quilter's Boutique.  We have many unique gifts this year, reasonably priced and Carol has done an excellent job of preparing the Boutique for the onslaught of shoppers.

This year's Challenge was to design a block depicting a scene based on the theme "Into the Woods."  What a lovely collection of blocks using a variety of quilting techniques.

So - if you're near Columbus, Indiana or Grand Rapids, Michigan this weekend, make sure you stop by to see our quilt shows.  They'll be a treat and are certainly worth an hour or two of your time.

Cheers!

Margaret

Book Bonanza

I was excited to see three packages of books on my doorstep this afternoon.  I had recently ordered some books to expand my knowledge of quilts, quilting, color, composition and other quilty things.

Lots of color and design books - the area in which I need the most help!

These books will make interesting reading and study material as I am currently enrolled in the NQA Judges' Certification program.  I received a list of questions that I need to answer and several of them are on color and design topics where my knowledge base is pretty thing.  Thus the need for these books.

I also ordered one that has been of enduring interest to me - Quilts Their Story and How to Make Them by Marie Webster.  It's the green book - from the Brooklyn Public Library and was purchased by them in the days before zip codes.  Their address is listed Brooklyn 17, NY.  Who else remembers those days?  It's been culled from their stacks and at one point was a reference book.  I couldn't resist purchasing this and love the old library smell!

Time to read!
Cheers!
Margaret

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