Thursday, April 4, 2019

It's Show Time!

A quick one-day trip to Lancaster, PA with some girlfriends this weekend brought all kinds of inspiration!

The AQS Quilt Week show had plenty to see, and lots of vendors with enticing goodies. For the most part, I kept my wallet in check - pretty unusual for me, but it's tax month and I need a new set of brakes on my car, so those things can really put a damper on spending.


Quilt Week sign Lancaster



Still and all, there was plenty to catch my interest at the show. People sometimes call me crazy when they see the small pieces I have used in my quilts ("99 Bottles," from the cover of ScrapTherapy, Scraps Plus One, for example!) This quilt, made by Angela Petrocelli, is just covered with teeny tiny flying geese! I wonder if Angela gets 'grief' from her quilty friends for her itty-bitty quilty tastes! *Wink!*


Quilt Show example

Quilt show example with tiny flying geese and my hand for perspective


It was nice to see an example of cross stitch worked into some of the show quilts - this one called 'Halo Star' by Annabelle Dollins has some cross stitch cornerstones and borders. (Detail, then full quilt below)


quilt show example with cross stitched border

Quilt show example with cross stitched border, full view



Featured Artist: Bethanne Nemesh

The show had an entire section dedicated to the exquisite work of local quilter Bethanne Nemesh. Perhaps I was drawn to them because she uses a lot of bird imagery in her quilts, or perhaps because the level of detail is inspiring. For whatever reason, I was blown away by her work on display, including this centerpiece bench entitled "Sitting Pretty" The detail in the quilting and the couched threads and yarns is just 'wow!'


Quilted bench with peacock

Close up of quilted bench


Bethanne's beaded piping is a signature technique that appears in many of her pieces, both along the binding (as shown) or incorporated in various parts of the quilt. It adds elegant texture to some already awe-inspiring work.


Beaded piping example on quilt binding



The Rogue Show

We discovered that a separate quilt show was going on simultaneously with the AQS show over the weekend. This one (The Lancaster Quilt Show) was at a nearby hotel. We hopped in the car after lunch with plenty of time left to shop and look. Here is a birds eye view of part of the vendor area at this secondary show.


Lancaster quilt show over look


Always nice to see Your Nest Organizers 'in the wild!' This short stack was all that was left in the Bee Happy Quilting Booth (Union City, PA)


Your Nest Organizers at quilt show booth


Also nice to meet people you previously only know online. The charming Ms. Rachel Rossi had a booth at the 'rogue' show and we got to meet in person in her booth.


Joan Ford and Rachel Rossi photo



Projects Moving Along

During the trip, we took some time in the evening to do some social sewing in our hotel lobby/lounge area. I finished the seed stitching in the background for my hummingbird project. But now, I've decided to keep going with a little more embellishment along the border edge. Right now, I'm adding a simple chain stitch in dark blue perle cotton, but there is more to come! This may be the project that never gets done. But I certainly am enjoying the journey!


Cross stitched hummingbird with seed stitch background complete

Cross stitched hummingbird quilt with chain stitch embellishment


To break things up a bit, I started and finished this little needle book inspired by a pattern in the March 2019 issue of Cross Stitcher Magazine. My mom used to call the dragonflies that criss-crossed the surface of the pond sewing needles. So this little case is very appropriate and handy. It's great to hold my tapestry needles, and it is small enough to fit nicely into my project bags for stitching on the go.


dragonfly needle case, cross stitched

dragonfly needle case, cross stitched


And that table runner I started a couple weeks ago, which features four of the blocks from The FLOCK collection is moving right along as well. I'm working on the machine quilting in between other 'distractions.' Eventually, I suspect I'll make this up into a bonus pattern for FLOCK members. Are you a member yet? Wanna give it a try? More info on The FLOCK here.


machine quilting on table topper with bird quilt blocks


Happy Stitching!

Joan



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