Lancaster Quilt Show 2011, Part One

My first time using a longarm. I want nao. (Thanks Betsy!)

So, this didn't go up quite when I said it would. Glenn and I went to bed around 11 last night, and I didn't wake up until 11:30 in the morning. Keep in mind, I am usually up at the crack of dawn. This should give you an idea of just how overwhelmingly wonderful the show was.

Betsy admiring some rulers, I think.

When we first walked into the Mariott I knew we were in the right place, mostly because I suddenly dropped to the first quartile age wise, and because there were women dragging along what could only be sewing machine cases, no doubt with their little Singer Featherweights tucked safely inside. We acquired our stamps without problem, and entered the absolute bane of my existence and bank account: the convention.

Now, I'm going to hold off showing what I purchased, because there's so much to be said about the inspiration and awe the show itself left me with. I took pictures of nearly every single quilt that really struck me, and believe me when I say there were quite a few, so if you have a slow internet connection, you have been warned.

Unfortunately, I didn't think to write down the names of the quilts nor their quilters, so if someone sees their quilt here by some chance of fate, please let me know and I would be more than happy to give you credit for your incredible work.

This one caught my eye not because of the blocks, which are technically beautiful to begin with, but because of the way the quilter used value and the concentration of black to create the 'wave' pattern through the middle of the quilt. I think it's a beautiful hybrid between traditional blocks and methods and a modern aesthetic. The rusty-red throughout the quilt with the little splashes of blue also help to make the quilt.

Obviously this one won an award; I believe it might have been best in show? I apologize if that is incorrect. While I wasn't blown away by the colors, which are wonderful, don't get me wrong, it was the quilting that made my jaw drop.

Sorry about the blurriness, but holee smokes. As Ann must have said at least twenty or thirty times yesterday: "It's the quilting that makes the quilt."

Oh, what a beautiful fabric the quilter used here! I love the flowers, and how carefully she must have cut the fabric for it. The idea for using a star is really neat too, it gives it such character.

Wait. Hang on. Is that... applique?

Holy shinizzle. And it's handquilted. I'm... I'm just going to sit in the corner and think about what I've been doing wrong with my life. Beautiful use of fabrics and colors and just pure skill in this quilt. I mean, look at how regular the stitching is in the regular quilting; there's almost perfect ripples going up and down in the tan, so that the stitches line up perfectly. Incredible. (I'll be using that word a lot).

A beautiful sampler sort of quilt. One of the things Betsy pointed out was how the quilter used teal as opposed to the standard forest green, which I think lightens up the quilt and helps it to stand on its own.

I loved this one because of the beautiful tiger lilies. They remind me of my grandparents' house in New Hampshire, where they had huge swathes of the property just lined with these bright, cheerful flowers. I strongly encourage you to click on it to see it full size, it's really astounding.

Another sampler. I haven't tried applique yet (otherwise you all would know about it ;D), but I can still be impressed by the regularity of the pattern and the technique and pure and simple time that goes into the appliqued quilt.

Betsy was going gaga over this one, and who can blame her--it's got hexagons all over the place, never mind the applique! I liked it because of the overarching theme and story of the quilt, which I think is the best part of quilting, is the ability to tell a story with the blocks. While this may be urban legend silliness, I remember reading books about the 1800's talking about quilting bees and characters putting stories of their lives into these quilts as they worked on them during long periods of inactivity. The romantic in me loves that sort of detail, no matter how fabricated it may be.

Check out those reds! Love love love the contrast between the reds and the black.

A close up of one of the blocks on point.

I didn't take a full shot of the wedding ring quilt, but just look at the detail in that quilting. Ann was teasing me about how much of a traditionalist I am at the show, since I spent most of my time drooling over traditional block quilts. In my defense, they are just as awesome as some of the modern art ones I'll show later.

... I'm going back to my corner now.

How cute, a nine-patch! Dang, that's a lot of little squares, must have been some stash the creator had to work through and clear out.

... never mind the embroidery thread that met its end in the quilt. Each white block, maybe 3x3, had little details in them from camels to cats to wishing wells.

A lovely quilt. I don't recognize the kanji on the back, but I thought it was particularly nice to see in light of recent events in Japan.

And to wrap things up, a soothing earth tones quilt.

That's all I wanted to post for now, but don't worry--I took around 83 pictures at the show, and that's not including pictures of what I picked up at the show, both fabric and tool wise. Hope you enjoyed!