Maine Quilts 2012! The 35th Annual Show!

We just spent a glorious day in Augusta at the Maine Quilts Show!  It was awesome in every way!  I have tons of pics to show, so it will be in several posts.  I'm still recuperating from the day.....we left at 7 am and didn't get home until after 8:30!  Whew!  We were wiped out!  And so was my wallet from the vendor booths!  lol

First things first.....the antique quilt room (no pics allowed....dang!) was SO BEAUTIFUL!  It was a collection of 11 quilts from Judy Roche's extensive collection of antique quilts and sewing tools.  Two display cases were in the center of the room filled with antique quilting stencils, pin cushions, patterns, booklets and blocks.  The quilts were all appliqued, dating from 1850-1890, and reflecting the theme "Summer's Offering"; and they were all exquisite.  Many were in the style of four big blocks, and I am so inspired to make one now!  They were just gorgeous!  Thank you Judy, for sharing these lovely quilts with us!

Ok.......so here are some pics from the show, in no particular order.....just ones I really liked!  Some quilts were waving in the breeze created by the air conditioning, so some don't look straight or square, but they are!  Enjoy!

 "Garden Stars" by Mara Novak, Chester, VT.  Freehand machine feather quilting and painted shadows.  A really effective technique.  Gorgeous!

 "Eureka!  It's done!" by Diane Dixon, Palermo.

 "Pawsitively Pretty" by Marla Baker, Portland.

 "Jamestown Landing" by Laurie J. Hall, Milbridge.  A Bonnie Hunter design....we love Bonnie!

 "Orca Bay" by Jennifer Alley, Beals.  Another Bonnie design!

 "X Marks the Spot" by Daniel N. Perkins, Rangeley.  Professionally machine quilted by his wife, Carol (a previous 2 time Best of Show winner herself!)


The Best of Judged quilt:

 "Rainbow Nouveau" by Margaret Solomon Gunn, Gorham.  Really beautiful.

 This is a portion of the back, and included more crystals!

 "Family and Friends Remembered" by Evelyn D. Sabean, Augusta.  Beautifully hand quilted.....it's a treasure!

 "Autumn Migration" by Patricia Converse, Bridgton.  (Previously shown on my pics from the local Chickadee show.....I love it!)

"Desert Whimsey" by Frances I Vanderveer, Rome, NY.

 "Louise Ann" by Georgette R. Sutton, Biddeford.  Another Bonnie pattern, Texas Braid.

 "Linda's Quilt" by Karen G. Bean, Bethel.

 "Big Bang" by Carmen W. Jensen, Corea.  Made with 1,394 diamonds!

 "Inspiration by Jeanette" by Nancy Skala, East Machias.

 "Rose of Sharon Challenge" by Donna Gayle McCole, Bath.

I was surprised at how many huge (king sized) quilts were at the show.....and most had to have the bottom 12" turned up under so they wouldn't drag.

More pics in my next post.....I took over 150 pics at the show!  Holy Cow!  Lot's of inspiration, that's for sure!

Have a great day!

regan

More quilt show pics.....and a new top!

Here are more pics from the Chickadee Quilt Show from last weekend......but first!......

I just finished putting this little top together last night!  I love it so much!  My friend Pat had given me her bonus triangles from a project she had made, so the plaids were matched already with the shirting prints.  I sewed them up, and trimmed them down to 1 3/4" and then put 4 same plaids together in each block.  The red was a must.....hubby said so!  lol  I'll finish this off with some straight line quilting and red binding, and should have it on the wall within a week (I hope!).  Thanks Pat!  :o)

I've been saying that I wanted to make more wall hangings.....and get some patterns that I just love made up into minis, since I know my bed sized quilts are not terribly quick to get done.  So I'm really happy to get a move on that!  Minis......woohoo!  They work up so fast!  I love that!

Ok.......on with the show!

Gorgeous!  And beautiful hand quilting, too!  Made by Sarah VanLeeuwen.  She writes that the alternate fabric was picked up by her husband years before on a mission trip to Nigeria.  She finally got to use it!  Nice!

 Tree of Life made by Mari Hook.

 Made by Marlene Thombs.

 A selection of minis......sorry, can't read the names of the makers.

The yellow cornerstones were only a 1/2 inch!  Very sweet little wall hanging!

 I love penny rugs!

Made by Pat Converse.

 Made by Shirley Hoeman.  I really loved this quilt.....made in those great repro fabrics!  Yummy!

 These were so beautiful......a really loved the technique.  Looked like a Monet painting!

 Made by Sue Drisko.  I love that she embellished the hexies with a million little french knots and embroidery. See the close ups!

 Sorry so blurry.

Made by Suzanne Bruno.  I saw a similar quilt in a local shop, and immediately bought the Aussie prints to made a quilt like this for my hubby!  I just love it!

 These are the things I purchased at the show.  The books were at the 'yard sale' section of the show, and were picked up for a donation.  I've wanted the Quilter's Travel Companion book for a few years now.  I had one about 10 years ago, and it was so great!  Nice to have an updated one, at a really good price!

 These are the beautiful fabrics I bought at the Busy Thimble vendor booth.  Cyndi is so awesome, and so helpful, and always on the lookout for a print that we are trying to match or recreate a look.  And she has the best shop......filled to the brim with nothing but repros!  Love that!  Check out her blog!

Another item I picked up at Cyndi's booth was this wonderful stamp!  It's meant for signature blocks, and has that lovely look of a vintage scripted design.  I love it, and will use it on the labels of my repro quilts in the future!  The next day, I popped over to JoAnn's with my coupon and picked up an acid free stamp pad to go with it!  I'm ready now!  Yay!

Well......that's the end of the show!  Hope you enjoyed it!  I certainly did!

Our humidity has broken, finally, and I have had the best night's sleep for the past two nights!  I don't think I had slept for about 2 weeks before that!  Felt so good!  I hope you are having better weather where you are, too!

Have a great weekend!

regan