The Quilt Fest of New Jersey

I treated myself to a day off and went to the Quilt Fest of New Jersey today. This is an annual show put on by Mancuso Show Management at an exhibition center in Somerset. Sadly, the poor economy appears to have had an effect; there were noticeably fewer vendors this year and tlhe show was not particularly crowded. But I still had a great time. There was a good variety of vendors. At some shows, it seems like everyone is selling fat quarters and they all have the same fabrics. That did not seem to be the case today, with quite a variety of fabrics on offer, and a variety of patterns too. There were several vendors with fabric from other countries (African Asian), someone vending vintage Japanese kimono fabric, a dealer in vintage linens and textiles, a large book vendor, plus the usual sewing, embroidery, and quilting machines.

I'll wait until tomorrow to share the pictures I took of the exhibit quilts. Let's start today with the important stuff - my loot from the vendors!

Barbara Persing and Mary Hoover, the women who wrote StrataVarious Quilts were there in person with their own booth. This book has been on "my list" for a while so I bought it from them and they autographed it. The technique here is that you sew narrow strips into "strata" then cut the strata into squares, triangles, etc. and piece them together. Most of the examples in the book use batiks. They had a good deal on Moda Layer Cakes so I bought three: Aviary, Legacy, and Patisserie. No immediate plans for them but I'd been eyeing the collections online and the Layer Cakes are a good way to sample a fabric collection.

I got three fat-quarter packs from another vendor, The Fieldstone House. They're at the show every year with a great selection of fat quarter packs and lots of conversational prints. I also got a pattern and that wooden thing is the base for a pin cushion - my bargain of the day at only $1.50!

Here is some more fabric - some silvery, snowflakey pale blues (for eventual snowflake quilt), some neutrals (I've used them a lot lately and my stash needs replenishing) and at the bottom is a panel of a variety of floral motifs on black, very antiquey looking.

And lastly, a little bundle of white wool (this vendor had fabulous hand dyed wools ), two Clover bias makers, some needles, and a purse frame and pattern.

The local Janome and Pfaff dealers were there so I checked them out. The Janome 6600P might be a possibility for me but I want to check out some other brands.

More tomorrrow!