Last of the Quilts...

I've been spending a lot of time in the studio these last few weeks, trying to get several new pieces done. Now I'm busy preparing for a weekend teaching trip to Nova Scotia. Can't wait for the Quilt Atlantic Retreat at White Point Resort!  So, I've been a bad girl and haven't been blogging much... let's fix that right now!
I promised to show you the Best of Show and a few special exhibits from the Broward Quilt Expo. Here we go.




First up, Best of Show.  


Night Blooming Rose of Sharon by Rose Hunter Valentine.

Best of Show and also first place, Appliqué Duo
 
















This is one talented lady, and appliqué is obviously "her thing."
You saw her two other entries, both ribbon winners, in this previous post.



















This was a beautiful quilt, the colours were vibrant and rich, the appliqué was skillfully done, as was the quilting.






One of the special exhibits was by the Miami Art Quilters. The fourth Saturday of July has been set aside as the National Day of the Cowboy to preserve the pioneer spirit and heritage, and to promote "cowboy culture." As part of this celebration, the Miami Art Quilters have displayed their cowboy-inspired works for a number of years.











Cowboy John by Sandy Marietta was my favourite, even though I thought he looked more like a Jake or a Sam...  wink!

This piece was also very well done. Sadly I did not record the maker's name..
My apologies.

Another small special exhibit was by a group of Brazilian SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Associates) artists. The exhibit was titled Brazilian Amazon Inspirations. The one piece that really caught my eye was this parrot, made entirely from Kaffe Fassett fabrics. Again, my apologies for not having the maker's name. (If anyone can provide names, I'll happily add them...)


























Lastly, here are two photos of some of the small quilts awaiting the auction. A "Mini Quilt Live Auction" was held on Saturday afternoon; we had left by then, but I'm sure it was great fun.
123 small quilts were made and donated for auction by members of the six participating guilds! Very impressive indeed!

Peace,
Linda

There should be an eighth day of the week called SEWDAY, where all you do is sew all day long.

And... More Quilts!

Are you ready for another walk around the Broward Quilt Expo? Got your comfy walking shoes on? No need for a lot of chat, let's get going. Again, in random order, here are more of my favourites (yes there were many favourites!) Warning, this post is photo heavy...

First a few more wonderful pieced quilts...






You know anything blue always catches my eye.
This quilt hung so beautifully, perfectly straight and square.















Dimensional Star by Joanne Oelschlanger

So beautifully quilted by Eleanor Sasnett







Although blue will always be my most favourite colour to work with, I have to admit, red is growing on me...


Free Range Sheep by Elena Madara
Quilted by Nora Bordach

The border fabrics were cute sheep prints, and I really liked the block design...



(This RED one is for you, JKS!)

Owl in the Nines by Charlotte Noll really appealed to me visually. Isn't the optical illusion well done?

Honorable Mention, Small Pieced, Single Maker.

There were some wonderful appliqué quilts to admire.. Appliqué is not my thing, but I sure do appreciate them and how much time and skill goes into them....


Anna's Blue Baskets
by Rose Valentine
(I am sorry, I don't have the quilter's name for this one.)

Honorable Mention, Appliqué Duo








Wow! Look at all those perfectly turned edges...
And what a great choice of background fabric.


ULV Breadfruit by Rose Valentine

1st Place, Appliqué, Single Maker

Another beauty!

Ella the Elephant is Watching
by Linda Levine

Honorable Mention,
Appliqué, Single Maker

This one was incredibly beautiful!

Hungarian Rhapsody 
by Elizabeth Kiss

Special Merit for Hand Quilting



And did I get a good clear closeup shot of that beautiful hand quilting? Nooooo.... Sorry! Trust me, her hand quilting stitches were fine and even.






And we'll finish off with some wool appliqué.

Safari by Cheri Guariglia

3rd place, Appliqué, Single Maker

This was another that I could have spent a lot more time studying... the longer you looked the more you saw.















There is so much to enjoy at a quilt show. Not only are you treated to seeing some incredible work up close and personal, you can learn so much from studying the quilts... design elements, technical skills to admire and aspire to, colour combinations that you would not have thought of, border treatments, quilting designs, and so on. I feel very fortunate to have been able to attend this high quality show.

Next up I'll show you a few of the special exhibits and the quilt that won Best of Show.

Piece!
Linda

Appreciation is the act of feeling the beauty around you.

...And More Quilts

I've had a busy week, with appointments and commitments, and working on several pieces for  upcoming classes. But you don't want to hear excuses for my absence here - let's just look at more quilts from the Broward Quilt Expo. It seems like ages ago now, especially as I look out at our snow covered backyard, chickadees on the feeder, snowflakes in the air... a far cry from green grass, palm trees and dolphins seen from Sandi's deck. Sigh....

Let's look at more quilts, in no particular order... these are just some that caught my eye. I'm proud to say I know the first two quiltmakers; Carol Cheek and Brenda Sirmans are both members of Sandi's guild.

Big Yellow Sunburst 
by Carol Cheek

2nd place, Small Pieced - Single Maker

Carol made this quilt for a 2016 Guild Challenge to use half square triangles.
Well done Carol!!

Colors by Brenda Sirmans


You really have to see this quilt close up to appreciate the quilting...














Wowzers, Brenda! These lines must be 1/4" apart! Bet you worked on that for "a while"....

Meandering Thru Time and Space by Annie Weinstein

Honorable Mention, Innovative Design

Sunflower Study by Jo Wilson

So pretty! I love sunflowers.

Summer Solstice by Carl Stevens
Quilted by Helia Ricci

Honorable Mention
Two Person, Large Pieced


I thought this quilt was spectacular. Such great use of color and it hung perfectly straight and square.

This is a poor quality photo, a little blurry, but I loved the quilting design in the border.

Rainbow Gallery by Carl Stevens
Quilted by Helia Ricci

Honorable Mention
Two Person, Small Pieced


I think Carl likes Color!!

Rabbits in my Garden by Linda Nastro
Quilted by Helia Ricci



This was a quilt that you really needed to look at closely to appreciate... look below to see the amazing quilting...

  More to come tomorrow....


Piece!
Linda

Quilts are a lot like chocolate... it's hard to pick just one.

Quilts, Quilts, Quilts.

It's time to show you some of the quilts from the Broward Quilt Expo in Fort Lauderdale. The entries were varied - traditional, modern, improv, challenge pieces... there was a good variety, just what I like in a show.
I'm more of a traditional quilter but I must admit, there were a number of "modern" quilts that I really liked. Since today was the first full day of spring, and also my birthday, let's start with a big bouquet of flowers!

This is Flower Power by Sarah Michaels.

3rd Place, Appliqué Duo

5 More by Karla Irby

3rd Place, Large Pieced, Single Maker

Confusion of Life 
by Deborah Krajkowski

Design: Flutterby by Jen Kingwell
















A Day at the Sklar Museum
by Barbara Kline

Diamonds in Luxe
by Jane Taylor

Honorable Mention, Modern Design

Curiosity by Karla Irby

3rd Place, Modern Design




















The Space Between 
by Deborah Krajkowski

The darks in this quilt are from shirts worn by Deb's husband and sons when they were younger.















I really liked the quilting on this one. I thought it was very effective, with the wavy lines softening the graphic angular lines.  Deb is a friend of Sandi's. She has recently opened a long arm quilting business, Quiltographic. She is doing great work, be sure to click on the link to see some of her awesome quilting.





Peace,
Linda

"The older you get, the better you get. Unless you're a banana." ~ Betty White

A Day Trip to Grand Manan Quilt Show

The Tidal Threads Quilt and Needlework Guild of Grand Manan recently held a show and since I have not been able to make it to their last few shows, I made it a priority to attend this one. A day trip to Grand Manan requires a bit of planning. It is wise to make a ferry reservation, as the ferry departs only once every two hours, and you must be in the departure compound a minimum of 45 minutes before

departure (or lose your reservation.) This meant leaving home very early in the morning, to catch the 9:30a.m. ferry. Sadly it was not a sunny blue sky day, but on the other hand it didn't rain and surprisingly there was no fog. Our crossing on the Grand Manan Adventure was smooth and before we knew it we were rounding North Head. Seeing the famous Swallow Tail Light (lighthouse) as you swing around the point and into the harbour makes my heart smile...We had lunch at the delightful Café Bleu Marie before making our way to the show.
               
Here is a sampling of the spectacular quilts we saw... enjoy!

Knotty Bits by Nancy Estle

Detail of Knotty Bits by Nancy Estle

Blueberry Fields Forever by Martha Eaton. Quilted by Jill Lloyd

Whirlwind by Dawn Locke. Quilted by Jill Lloyd

Detail of Whirlwind by Dawn Locke

Nellie Jane by Dawn Locke. Quilted by Jill Lloyd

Migration by Nancy Estle

Gwendolyn by Mary Hawkins

Woven Runner by Leslie Daigle and Knit Doll by Freda Large

Wings Over Water by the TTQN Guild.  An original design.
This was their raffle quilt two years ago. One of my all time favourites.

Detail of Wings Over Water showing puffins on the Grand Manan basalt columns.
Wow! Just WOW!

I love Grand Manan and hope to get back later this summer for another visit. In my next post I'll share more photos from last year's GM visit which I never got around to showing... stay tuned...

Peace,
Linda

"You can't use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have." ~ Maya Angelou