The Winners' Circle

Maine Quilts 2011 is over for another year. This is always an incredible show, with lots to see and do. The Pine Tree Quilters' Guild is a statewide guild with 73 chapters and over 2300 members. Many of these members participate and this year there were 775 quilts to see- both antique and contemporary, judged, challenges and special displays. As well as the quilts, there is always a verrrry tempting Merchants Mall (40 vendors from across the USA), not to mention lectures, demos, and wonderful classes with top notch teachers. I have taken classes for the last 4 if not 5 years, but took a break from classes this year and just enjoyed the show (and yes, I enjoyed the vendors too...**wink)
The Show is always well hung and as usual the winners did not disappoint. I'll share with you some of my favourite winners here and some other favourites on the next post. Postcards from Venice by Margaret Solomon Gunn of Gorham ME was the top winner. (Green rosette for Best of Judged (highest score), Purple rosette for Exceptional Merit and Blue rosette for first place in its category- Wall Quilts over 96" perimeter.) It is 74" square and her memories of Italy's ornate inlaid floors influenced her design. The machine quilting on this beauty was extremely well done and certainly contributed to its success, I'm sure. Congrats to Margaret on her win with such a beautiful piece of work. (Most of the quilts in the show were machine quilted, many by professional "long-armers". There were very few which were hand-quilted. Sad, but a sign of the times I guess.)










First place winner in the Large Bed Quilts category was To Everything There is a Season (84" sq.) by Pat Delaney of Abington MA. An inspirational fabric of hellebores gave Pat her color scheme and theme; three dimensional blossoms are scattered along the borders, signaling the arrival of spring. The detail shot below will help you appreciate Pat's machine applique, machine embroidery and hand couching, not to mention the intricate quilting, done on a domestic machine (by Pat, I assume, not sure).





























Through Spenser's Eyes by Judy Lariviere of Cotuit MA earned a ribbon as well in the Bed Quilts section. Made for her son who is heading off to college, he was involved in the fabric collecting and design process. I have long been a fan of the New York Beauty and this one is definitely a beauty!! I loved the bright batiks and her color transition was wonderful. I sure hope Spenser takes good care of this quilt at college! No beer spills, Spenser!! Are you listening Spenser? (Sorry- I just can't imagine this beautiful quilt on a dorm room bed... can you??)
































Another winner which really caught my eye was Just Go With the Flow by Noreen Borys of Kingwood TX. I know Noreen and I could be good friends- we both love the same colors. Who could resist these rich blues, greens and purples?? SO gorgeous! An original design, it hangs on her livingroom wall as a daily reminder to slow down, relax and be thankful for her many blessings. (Noreen, if you EVER tire of this one, it would look awesome on MY livingroom wall too...hint hint...***wink wink...)





















In case you have not seen enough color yet, how about Blossoming Bulbs (39" sq.) by Beatrice Gilbert of North Yarmouth ME. An original design, she combined traditional machine piecing with hand appliqued dimensional trapunto. Her use of vibrant silks made the piece simply glow! As you can see, this quilt won a Judge's Choice pink rosette.








Intertwined (42" sq.) won first place in the Wall Quilts category. Guess who? Margaret Solomon Gunn again! Yeah Margaret! You go girl! She was inspired by the centre square which was started in a Karen Kay Buckley class at Maine Quilts last year. She has used her favourite batik fabrics. (I understand totally Margaret- I LOVE batiks too...) Again this piece is beautifully quilted - and if you look closely at the detail shot below you can see the sparkling crystals she has added. What a gorgeous piece... I'd say Margaret has got it all figured out, wouldn't you?





















Another first place winner in this same category was Mom and Auntie Jean Play Gin by Rana O'Connor of Portland ME. This original piece was done from a photograph. Not only has she done an amazing job on the figures, but look at that Tiffany lamp...Wow!! It was pieced, appliqued and quilted by machine, and also featured machine embroidery, trapunto and other embellishing.
As I told you- a very impressive show indeed. I'll share more photos on my next post so y'all come back...
And don't forget about my Giveaway which closes this coming Friday evening. Not many have entered yet, so your chances of winning are good. Just scroll down to the previous post to read all about it...

Piece
Linda

"In the sweetness of friendship, let there be laughter and sharing of pleasures."
~ Gibran