Quilt Show - Pennsylvania National Quilt Extravaganza 2019

In mid-September I attended a quilt show put on by the Mancuso organization, Pennsylvania National Quilt Extravaganza. It is held annually in suburban Philadelphia, a little over an hour's drive from where I live in New Jersey.

I've attended this show most years but the quality keeps declining, making me wonder about the future of quilt shows.  Have the internet, blogs, Pinterest, and Instagram filled the need for inspiration and contact with other quilters such that quilt shows no longer serve the same purpose?  While there were some outstanding quilts on exhibit in the show, I also saw a lot of quilts on display that in my mind fell far short of quilt show standard - uninspiring design and inferior workmanship.  I don't expect to like every quilt displayed, nor do they all need to be perfect, but they should inspire in some way and exhibit superior workmanship.  Elizabeth of OccasionalPiece-Quilt blog had a similar experience at Pacific International Quilt Festival, another Mancuso show.  So if you've been thinking about entering a quilt in a show,  just do it!   They appear to be in need of exhibitors and your work is probably much better than you think.

Okay, enough negativity.  Like I said, there were some fabulous quilts.  You can see the prize winners here.   And plenty of very cool quilts that didn't win prizes; I'm showing you a few of my favorites here.

The quilt below was a raffle quilt.  It caught my eye and I knew there was something familiar about it.  On closer examination, I recognized the fabric collection as Garden Delights from In the Beginning fabrics.  I have jelly rolls and fat quarters from this fabric collection in my stash, waiting for a use to present itself and this quilt gave me some ideas. 

I knew this next quilt was in the show and was looking for it.  I am a follower of Wendy Welsh's blog, where this quilt made its original appearance.  Wendy has won prizes for her quilts in her native New Zealand and in Australia and mentioned that this quilt had been selected for an international tour.  This quilt, Vibrant Curiosities, was English paper pieced in mostly Tula Pink fabrics then hand quilted. 

The primary shape is an octagon.  It must have taken ages to piece this 80" by 80" quilt!  The mix of colors is really fabulous - there are so many different prints and colors, it could easily have turned out a hot mess, but no, it is very striking.

This next quilt, Sexie Hexies, was in an aisle that displayed quilts by quilters who were teaching at the show.  Sarah Bond had several quilts using wedges and curved piecing, all part of a series she calls Coming Full Circle. 

Sarah Bond teaches at shows, including the 2020 Modern Quilt Guild show.  This is something I'd like to learn to do. 

She made great use of color in this block. 

 The show also included an exhibit of quilts from Kaffe Fassett books.  I liked this one, called Ripples (from Quilts in Ireland), in softer colors than I associate with Kaffe Fassett designs. 

Lots of half square triangles here!

 This last quilt is called Confetti Star, by Missy Bauer.  She made it using a jelly roll then it was quilted by Nora Dougherty.  The quilting is absolutely fabulous, especially in the open spaces.  I've seen other examples of this kind of lopped off lone star and am putting it on my to-make list. 

Pennsylvania National Quilt Extravaganza XXII - The Loot

I don't think I could go to a quilt show and not buy anything.  It is always interesting to see what the vendors have with them.  My LQS is great but of course, they can't stock everything, and while internet shopping offers endless variety, seeing something on a screen is not the same as seeing it "for real."

I want to make Jen Kingwell's My Small World quilt and have been gathering fabrics for it.  I have a basket of them set aside but the show posed a great opportunity to pick up more, including some fat eighths.

assorted fabric for eventual use in My Small World quilt

Lately, I've had a bit of thing for rainbow colors in quilts and even started a Pinterest board dedicated to inspiration for an eventual project, so I looked around the show vendors for fabric that I could use in said hypothetical project.  I hit the jackpot with these crossweave fat quarters.  Only $2 each!

Assorted crossweave fat quarters - not the whole rainbow but enough

In crossweaves, the thread is dyed (rather than the cloth), and 

woven with one color for warp and one for weft, blue and purple in this case.

The fabric used in Oxford cloth shirts is an example.

Just in case that's not enough "rainbow," I got this bundle of 20 10" squares from Free Spirit Designer Essentials solid color fabric.

And that text print you see in the background of all of these photos? That's a yard of  Quilters Basic Perfect #MCS 13-45 designed by www.stof.dk (info taken from selvage).  The text is all in French, ooh la la!  It appears to be from a Danish company so I'm not hopeful about finding more.  

I have enough fabric to keep me out of trouble for a while.

Pennsylvania National Quilt Extravaganza XXII - The Exhibits

On Friday, a friend and I went to Pennsylvania National Quilt Extravaganza, an annual quilt show held outside Philadelphia every September.  You may have read my coverage in prior years.  While the internet has made quilt inspiration plentiful and easily accessible, I still like to go to the occasional show and see show-quality quilts "in real life."

Here are my favorites from this year's show:

This feathered star quilt (paper pieced) was spectacular.  The workmanship was outstanding; no wonder it won 1st place in the Traditional category. 

Feathered Stars by Barbara Khan of Weehawken,NJ, 82" x 82"

A close-up of the center star

Close-up of the border

In a funny coincidence, this quilt was displayed across from a booth vending quilting books, where they had copies of A Flock of Feathered Stars, the book used to make the quilt.  So if you'd like to have a quilt like this, all you need is the book, some fabric, and a lot of patience and talent.

When I saw this next quilt from a distance, it reminded me of work I saw at the Old Town Art Fair in Chicago during the summer, and sure enough, it was from the same artist, Deborah Hyde.  She uses color placement in Many Trips Around the World blocks to create art quilts.  Fabric pieces are only 1" square!  This quilt, Leda, won 2nd place in the Innovative category.

Leda by Deborah Hyde, West Bloomfield, MI, 71" x 43"

close-up showing color placement

close-up showing block

 Deborah Hyde had another quilt in the show, equally striking in my opinion.  

Sam In Sunlight, Deborah Hyde, West Bloomfield, MI, 59" x 76"

close-up showing block

Ever since I made my Dresden plate quilt, I've been wanting to try another,using the winding chain layout.  All the fabric used in this quilt has polka dots and the outer edge has a flange or small piping next to the binding.  

Lil Bit Dotty For Dresdens by Teri Cherne, Henniker, NH, 42" x 42"

close up showing the quilting and fabric

There was an exhibit of quilts with the theme "50 Shades of Gray,"  all made by members of a guild in Florida.  This first one looks like a black and white photo.  All the fabric used to make it was gray; a darker gray background with the applique in various lighter shades.  

Twizzle, by Dotty Levine, 36" x 47"

close up of the prairie point border 

While some of the quilts used only gray fabric, the rules allowed for inclusion of color with the gray.  I have a bit of thing for rainbow quilts at the moment so this one caught my eye.

Life on Mars, Ilona Farnes, 67" x 71.5"

I vaguely recall seeing a demo for a technique for making this block;

 the technique makes two identical blocks at one time

I like the way the star points in this quilt burst out of the inner square into the border. This entry had a story.  It was started by Edna Depper, who passed away before it was finished.  Cindy Depper finished the quilt.  

50 Shades:  Edna's Last Chapter, Edna Depper and Cindy Depper, 58.5" x 58.5"

 And one more...

Hope, Polly Bech, Swarthmore, PA, 50" x 50"

Quilt Show Vendors Are The Best!

While I enjoy the quilt show exhibits and find a lot to inspire me, it is the vendors I like best.  What can I say, my husband will tell you I was born to shop!

I took my Fabric Hoarder tote bag to the show, along with a certain feeling of liberation brought on by having destashed a little earlier in the week.  But I refrained from going wild; in fact, I did not buy much.  I was looking for layer cakes from some of the new fabric collections but did not see any (lots of charm packs available though).  I picked up a selection of fat quarters of red Kaffe Fassett prints, to go with the yellow, green, and blue I bought last year.  I have something in mind for these and needed to round out my supply.

 

 

And I made a couple of impulse pattern purchases.  These patterns came from different vendors.  The pattern on the right is for an iPad case.  The vendor had a sample made up and I liked it better than the case I have now.  It looks fairly easy to make and will be a way to use some of the pretty fabric I have in my stash.  I'm thinking of making some as Christmas gifts too.

The pattern on the left uses jelly roll strips wrapped around batting and woven.  The pattern is officially for a purse or wallet but I checked out the sample and think it can easily be adapted to iPad or Kindle size.  I have some batik jelly rolls I bought on my trip to Hawaii that I might use for this project.  Stay tuned.  The vendor I bought this pattern from had devoted their entire space to Aunties Two patterns, with many samples made up, plus all the supplies like the batting and clothes line you need to make them.  I've seen some of the patterns before but never made any.  They are cleverly designed and can take on a more conservative look when made with a more subtle color palette.

It looks like I have enough to keep busy.

Pennsylvania National Quilt Extravaganza XXI

On Friday, I took a day off work and went to the big quilt show in Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania National Quilt Extravaganza XXI.  It is held in suburban Philadelphia (or "Philly" as it is referred to around here), a bit over an hour from my house. 

Here are some photos of the exhibit quilts I liked best. 

Fall Feathers by Sandi McMillan

Lovely feathered star blocks and pieced sashing. 

You can see it won a blue ribbon. 

Feathered star is on my quilt bucket list.

 

 



 

Close-up of the feathered star block, above, and border, below.

 

 



 

Hubble, by Ellen Simmons

From a Miss Rosie's Quilt Co. pattern of the same name.

Kaffe Fassett fabrics and the bright teal background,

plus fantastic custom quilting by Jane Hauprich.

 

Inspiring to see a quilt with such an unusual background color.

 

 

Spirit of Valor, by Gina Shevchenko

Lemoyne Star blocks enlivened by intricate custom quilting

 

 

Harvest Baskets, by Deborah Johnson

From a Blackbird Designs pattern.

This was machine appliqued; I could not see a stitch!

 

Let's Do the Dresden Twist, by Teri L. Cherne

I love the design as well as the unusual scalloped edge.

A Dresden in this style (rather than round plates) is on my quilt bucket list.

 

 

Back tomorrow with a post on my quilt show "loot."



I Was Tempted At The Quilt Show

I did my bit for the quilting economy and made some purchases at the quilt show last week (Pennsylvania National Quilt Extravaganza XX).  My first purchase was this basket from Ghana, sold by French Connections, a vendor of French fabric and African baskets.  I'm planning to use it to hold either my upcoming project or scraps in my sewing room.  The vendor had some more colorful baskets which were beautiful but I chose this simple design to match the color scheme in my sewing room.  It came in handy as a shopping basket for the rest of my purchases.

Last year (or maybe in 2011), I bought a set of rulers called Leaves Galore.  I haven't used them yet but have good intentions so this year I picked up a book by the originator of the ruler.  While Leaves Galore has videos on YouTube, I thought this book would be a handy reference for how to use the rulers plus it has directions for several projects.

 

This is what a Leaves Galore ruler looks like. 

I am determined to make something bright and modern from Kaffe Fassett fabric.  I  have a few fat quarters already but saw these coordinated fat quarter packs and they called out to me.  I'm not sure what I'm going to do with them but when I decide, you'll see it here.

I needed some more greens for my stash and a vendor called The Christmas Shoppe had a great selection so I picked up eight half-yard pieces.

Miraculously for me, I did not buy any rulers or other gadgets.  I did see a demo of the log cabin square up ruler from Creative Grids.  I didn't buy one at the show but I could be tempted if I decide to make another log cabin quilt.  I'm trying to figure out if a regular 8" ruler could be used in a similar fashion.

Award Winning Quilts From Pennsylvania National Quilt Extravaganza XX

On Thursday, I gave myself a treat and visited the Pennsylvania National Quilt Extravaganza, an annual quilt show near Philadelphia.  As usual, there were some truly awesome quilts on display.  Here are a few that really impressed me.

 

Nocturnal Garden, by Deb Crime of Marco Island, FL

49" by 22"

won blue ribbon for best machine workmanship

 

As I approached Nocturnal Garden, I thought the applique was done in wool but it turned out to be cotton in rich colors. The workmanship is outstanding. 

 

 

Pennsylvania Hearts & Hands, by kelley Cunningham, Stevensville, MD

98" x 74"

won blue ribbon for best interpretation of the show theme

 

Pennsylvania Hearts & Hands is a reproduction of an historic quilt.  The blocks are about 5 inches square, and even though it uses 19th century reproduction fabrics, it would not look out of place in a modern decor setting. 

The quilt was machine quilted on a longarm, with different motifs in the intersections between the blocks and a sort of feather design in the borders.

 

 

 

On Green Pond, by Judith Wilson, Wheathampstead, UK

62" x 64"

Honorable Mention ribbon winner

 

Can you believe, this quilt started out as a jelly roll!!!!  The center uses off-center pineapple blocks framed by an intricate machine appliqued border of birds and branches. 

Star Burst, by Mieke Apps, Okaihau, New Zealand

63" x 63"

won blue ribbon for best use of color

 

The center blocks of Star Burst are irregularly pieced, like a crazy quilt but without the embroidery.  This quilter must have an impressive stash as this quilt used small pieces of hundreds of different fabrics, each piece blending into the next.

 

Tennessee Treasures, by Linda Roy, Knoxville, TN

72" x 72"

won 3rd place in the traditional category

 

Tennessee Treatures was designed to showcase authentic Tennessee feedsack fabric.  The sawtooth edge on each block and the border are hand appliqued in place, not pieced.  The top edge and handle of each basket are ruched, providing some nice dimension, while the piecing and quilting are further enhanced by embroidery in what I think is perle cotton.

 

I noticed that many of the quilts on display are densely quilted with machine quilting.  In a few cases, the quilting was too dense for my taste, when it looks more like machine embroidery that covers the fabric than like traditional quilting.  Quilting that dense must make for a very stiff quilt.  Fine for wall hangings in my opinion, but I like lap and bed quilts to have some drape to them.  My taste aside, there are a number of longarmers out there who are exceedingly talented and have raised machine quilting to its own art form.  I remember when machine quilters mostly duplicated hand quilting patterns, then came the pantograph or edge-to-edge design.  Now the award winning machine quilting is on a different level, producing effects that cannot be done (realistically) by hand quilting.  It is certainly impressive.

I'll save the report of my purchases from the many vendors for another post.