AQS QuiltWeek Lancaster: The Rest of the Story

In the last post, "A Peek Into the Quilter" at AQS QuiltWeek Lancaster, we spent the morning on the first floor of the quilt exhibit. I (Teri) had noted that I was impressed by the variety of styles of quilts, but then almost every quilt I'd photographed from that floor was an appliquéd quilt. Well, I'm about to prove my statement true: on the next two floors, there indeed were many techniques demonstrated—and I even have pictures!

Best Wall Quilt Award
STICK WITH ME KID, Jan Berg-Rezmer; Gladwin, MI

Best Original Design Award
MOONFLOWER, Molly Y. Hamilton-McNally; Tehachapi, CA

Detail of Moonflower, by Molly Y. Hamilton-McNally

I love how the quilting mimics the flowers in the quilt!

Best Use of Color Award
GARDEN PARTY #2, Caryl Bryer Fallert-Gentry; Port Townsend, WA

First Place: Wall Quilts – Stationary Machine Quilted
THE VENETIAN, Jan Soules; Elk Grove, CA 

Annabelle's Wedding Feast, Kathleen Roundtree; Castro Valley, CA

I am in awe of this exquisite machine quilting!

Fever Dream, Amy Pabst; Le Roy, WV

Detail of Fever Dream, by Amy Pabst

From a distance, I just saw three large white circles on a red background, but there is so much skill involved in these tiny log cabin blocks. The fabric choices give such richness to the overall quilt. 

I can't imagine the patience it required!

First Place: Wall Quilts – Movable Machine Quilted
IT’S NOT EASY BEING GREEN 5, Simone de Haan, Beverwijk, Noord-Holland, Netherlands

More circles! 

Celtic Fox, Kathy McNeil; Tulalip, WA

Detail of Celtic Fox, by Kathy McNeil

I had to take a close-up of this owl for Kara. Doesn't it almost look real?

I...Reflection of Life, Olga Gonzalez-Angulo; Sant Feliu de Guixols, Spain

My mind raced with stories about this one, wondering what that young man was pondering as he looked at his reflection.

An Early Spring Day, Noriko Endo; Tokyo, Japan

Details of An Early Spring Day, Noriko Endo

At first glance, we thought perhaps this effect was achieved by fabric painting (the bird was), but upon closer scrutiny, we could see that she had used tiny scraps of fabric secured under a piece of tulle that was then machine quilted. What an interesting technique!

Otaru Winter, Cynthia L. Vogt; Kennewick, WA

Details of Otaru Winter, by Cynthia L. Vogt

As was the case with Fever Dream, this one had little appeal for me at first. It was interesting, but it wasn't sparking any stories in my mind—until I saw it close-up. And then, I was intrigued. I could almost feel the cold of the bleak winter; and yet, I could see the depth and richness of the snow's beauty in the silk log cabin blocks. The workmanship of this piece of fabric art was amazing.

Second Place: Wall Quilts – Movable Machine Quilted
Tuscany Village, Claudia Scheja; Werne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Detail of Tuscany Village, by Claudia Scheja

What incredible quilting!

The next quilt had to be shot from three different angles. Magical Toys, made by Flora Joy of Johnson City, TN, won third place in the category Wall Quilts – Stationary Machine Quilted. The artist uses a fascinating technique of pleating her pictorial fabric so that a different image is seen from different angles. In each corner of the frame, there is an embroidered challenge. One read: "Un-Zip this challenge: If all three of these critters lived in your house, tell what a day in your life might be like." Oh, so many stories are stitched into this quilt!

 Magical Toys, Flora Joy; from the left 

Magical Toys, Flora Joy; from the center

Magical Toys, Flora Joy; from the right

Cabin Fever, Patti Sandage; Middleton, TN

My friend, Barb, told me this one reminded her of my quilt Turning to Him. Mine was not nearly this elaborate, but we did both use twisted log cabin blocks. (To see my quilt, click here.)

First Place: Wall Quilts – Landscape
SUMMER SOLSTICE, Leah Gravells, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada 

Details of Summer Solstice, made by Leah Gravells

A masterful use of fabric and color; what tiny, skinny strips of batiks stitched together to create this longest day of the year. And it's a quilt about my birthday! 😃

Drawing Nigh, Betty Jo Tatum; Ashburn, VA

Details of Drawing Nigh, Betty Jo Tatum.

No shortage of stories stirred in my imagination by this quilt!

First Place: Wall Quilts – 1st Entry in an AQS Lancaster Quilt Contest
MY LITTLE ENCHANTED COMPASS, Cristina Arcenegui Bono, Alcalá de Guadaíra, Sevilla, Spain

I can conjure images of many an adventure in this enchanted forest!

Magic Carpet Ride, Cathy Bingham; Knoxville, TN

More adventures!

Detail of Magic Carpet Ride, by Cathy Bingham

Rain Forest Fantasy, by Rina Galant

Kara missed a lot of birds in Lancaster!

Love My Flowers, Sandra Mellinger; Prairieville, LA

~Special Exhibits~

 

Cherrywood Challenge 2016: The Lion King

First Place: The Rising Son, Jill Cranford; Ottowa, IL

Second Place: Who Rules, Pat Hilderbrand; Columbia, MO

Third Place: Zazu's Report,  Sheila Riess; Ellicott City, MD

Shadowlands, Karen McGregor; Brunswick, Australia

Detail: Shadowlands, by Karen McGregor

The storytelling in this quilt is chilling. This one was my pick for Viewer's Choice in this exhibit.

   

Left: Mufasa, Devon Pfeif; Marietta, GA

Right: Rafiki – The Great Mystic, Deb Berkebile; Conneaut, OH

Left: Fifteen Warthogs, Marilyn Smith; Columbia, MO

Right: Detail of embroidered warthogs

The Journey of Life, Anita Whichello; Baxter, MN

Focus and Fiber: Quilts by Melissa Sobotka

             

Venetian Menagerie, Melissa Sobotka, 2011; Detail above

La Rocca, Melissa Sobotka, 2009

SAQA: Made in Europe

Castelliccio—The Ghost Town, D. Arnoldi & M. Sarzi-Sartori; Italy

Detail of Castelliccio—The Ghost Town, by D. Arnoldi & M. Sarzi-Sartori

Black Sun, Karin Østergaard, Denmark

AQS Authors Showcase

Frame of Mind, featured in Trispective: The 3-n-1 Quilt, Flora Joy

Jane Sassaman's FreeSpirit Designs

We had just enough time to visit the remaining vendors. I purchased Karen Kay Buckley's Perfect Adjustable Square™ and some Rustic Wool Moire thread, and then we searched for some reproduction fabric. Barb was looking for border fabric to go with a Seven Sisters top that she hand-pieced (in honor of the seven sisters in her family.) She bought the pattern and fabric in 2010, on our first trip together to Quilt Festival in Houston; she said it was only fitting that I help her find the border fabric. Unfortunately, we only had this photo from a text she'd sent me as she was assembling the quilt top. 

Yoko M. of Lancaster Traditional, above, was a great help to us, as we dug through her piles of beautifully assembled packages of coordinating reproduction fabrics. I wanted to get some of everything, but realized that purchasing large quantities of fabric that I would have to go home and pack for our move might not make sense. I did, however, find a print that I think might work to stitch a flower in a block we are creating based on one we saw in a Baltimore Album Quilt that we viewed at Lovely Lane. And we found a stunning border for Barb's quilt. I convinced her to buy it (I love spending other people's money!) and promised that if it didn't work, I'd buy it from her. Well, it looks like I won't get to take it off her hands; she loved the border and is making plans to do some broderie perse and appliqué some of the flowers from the extra border into the quilt top. Yay, Barb!

We closed the show, with two sewing machine purchases amongst the seven of us. One of the sisters had to buy a sewing/embroidery machine when she found out that her niece would be able to get a free machine. What a great aunt! (I hear that her niece has been busy sewing all week!)

We had seven women, including a teenager, in two adjoining rooms, and we spent the evening celebrating a birthday. The "birthday girl," bedecked in a plastic tiara, led a rousing game of none other than Pin the Tail on the Donkey, which none of us (except the teen) had played in about 40 or 50 years. We laughed until we cried. What a gift it is to have been adopted as a "sister" into such a loving family of sisters! 

    

The next day, we hit the outlets for a short shopping trip before heading home. Quilts, laughing, games, shopping, sisters—all in all, a PERFECT weekend!