Saturday, July 30, 2011

Maine State Quilt Show

We just got back from our day at the Maine State Quilt Show.  Maine has a statewide guild, with chapters throughout the state.  Each of those chapters can have a show of there own, but once a year, there is a huge show in our capital, Augusta with quilts from all over the state.  So today, Brenda, Suzanne and I drove up and had a ball!  Of course, we stopped at a couple of Mardens along the way (huge discount chain here in Maine, and they have a fabric section....yay!)

There was quite a lot of variety this year again.....that's always nice!  And I noticed quite a few quilts have those little sparkle dots (like a small rhinestone) attached to them.  And a lot of beading as well.  Several quilts had so much quilting.....micro-stippling really.....that I'll bet they were stiff as a board!  But WOW, the quilting was really great!

I think you can click on most of the pics and get better detail.


The show is held at the Civic Center, and totally fills the floor.  Vendors line all of the walls, and an additional room!  The quilts were displayed in rows that were probably only 8 feet across to the next quilt, so standing back and getting full shots was nearly impossible......most of the pics are of the main design, or a special block I really liked.


This was really lovely, and the textured from the quilting was great!

Fun colors....and I really liked the built up circles.

These next 6 pics are all miniature quilts.....really fabulous!






This was the largest, and was only about 18 inches square!

This had the little sparkles attached.....and it truly glowed!  Wonderful quilting on it, too!






This was my favorite quilt.....it was such a splash of fun colors.....not my palette at all, but I just love it!


Gorgeous.....both of them!

Amazing hand quilting and applique on this one.....I just love the colors in it, too!  Who knew yellow and red could look so good together!  lol

This had a really sweet border with those sprigs of flowers.


The applique and the hand quilting on this one was so beautiful!  Really lovely work.

The show also had an antique quilt room, with more than a dozen amazing quilts, dating back as far as 1830's.    Unfortunately, they would not allow pictures of the antique quilts.....dang!

Suzanne purchased a great quilt kit from one of the vendors, and also a book she's been wanting.  Brenda and I behaved ourselves, and only spent a smidgen at Mardens on the way home.

And just before we got to Suzanne's house to drop her off.....she showed us a fun little local 'quirk'.  This is a tree stump turned upside down, and the roots have been planted with petunias!  It's so fun!  And there was a second one on the other side of the house, but not near as big.



That was quite a feat turning that tree upside down and 'replanting' it so it would stay!  Yikes!  As I walked around it, I saw the soaker hose peeking out of the center.....so they are really working at keeping those flowers going!  I love this!  Totally cool!

And now I'd better get busy on some quilting.....there are a few priorities already stacking up!  Oy!

Hope you are having a great weekend!

regan

16 comments:

  1. What beautiful quilts - and such an amazing variety. I LOVE the upside down petunia tree. Someone has a very good imagination. Some day I will get back to Maine - I am from the Pacific Northwest and took my mom and her sister back there in 1999 to visit cousins in South Paris and Norway, that they had not seen since shortly after WWII. Very pretty countryside and some similarities to Washington state.

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  2. Wow, what gorgeous quilts! Thanks for the show. The miniatures.... I can't believe the size of some of them!

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  3. Thanks for sharing the quilts from the show. I can see why you chose the ones you did...they are beautiful. But I agree, that upside down tree is the best!

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  4. Your show and tell quilt show was almost as good as being there. I loved the built up circles, too. Thanks for sharing.

    The inverted tree is the most unusual and creative planter I've ever seen. I'm sure the birds love it for nesting/resting too!

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  5. Thanks for sharing your quilt-show photos! Great minis and the red and yellow applique is gorgeous...

    The upside down planter is very hobbit-like! love it!

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  6. Beautiful quilts, and the miniatures are so amazing. The upside down trees are rather amazing, too. thanks for sharing.

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  7. I always enjoy seeing photos of quilt shows, especially ones like these that are too far away for me to visit in person. It looks like it was a terrific show. I would have loved to have seen that antique quilt room that you mentioned! And that tree stump! Wow! Your friend sure is creative to think of that.

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  8. Thanks for the quilt show! Such lovely quilts. I especially like the first one - this pattern has been on my to do list for a while.
    An upside down tree stump as a planter! where do people get these ideas? So creative and pretty, too.

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  9. Oh so many amazing, incredible, wowy zowy quilts!! I love that upside down tree too. Some people are so clever!

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  10. That was a fun quilt show for us!
    That upside down tree fascinates the hell out of me!

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  11. Looks like a great show with wonderful quilts - thank you for sharing.
    Love the tree ;-)

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  12. I love seeing quilt show pics- I have never been to one! The upside down tree really is amazing! So creative.

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  13. thanks for sharing the quilts from the show! wow am i ever impressed!
    beautiful quilts
    I saw that eagle quilt I was in awe, the lady that made that is friends with Cyndi from Busy thimble quilt shop/blog and lives in Maine too!
    do you know her as well?
    love the tree, what a creative idea!
    conversation piece but still so practical!
    Kathie

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  14. The detail on that one with the eagle is amazing! The miniature quilts are so cool, and their size gives me hope that maybe someday I could tackle something small (yet with a simple design) like that. Love Mardens, but I always spend more than just a smidgen there. And wow the uprooted tree with the petunias, love it! ~Lili

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  15. Lovely quilts and thank you for sharing this amazing quilt show with your followers.

    :) Carolyn

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  16. Fabulous quilts - thanks for showing us. And that petunia upside down tree - so clever and what a lot of work.

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