Northern Lake County Quilt Show Pix

Hello Pieceful Quilters,

I just wanted to share a little of the fun we had at the Northern Lake County Quilter's Guild Show. We had a wonderful time vending there - everyone was so nice to us, and it was great to see so many familiar faces and meet some new friends.

I was very impressed with the skill level of the quilters in this guild. The show had something like 200 quilts, and there wasn't a dog among them. These girls obviously are doing a great job of sharing their skills with each other, and that is what belonging to a guild is all about.

I was especially pleased to see a lot of Pieceful Gathering class and kit quilts in the show, along with a lot of quilts featuring our reproduction fabrics. I tried to take pictures of a bunch of them, but my camera card didn't have enough room for everything I would have liked to photograph. The lighting made the pictures turn out kind of dark, but I tried to lighten them a little, and the rows were too close together to get full pictures of some of the bigger ones, so I apologize for them in advance, but here are a few that I did get (in no particular order):

Starburst by Jean Gundrum

This was a Pieceful BOM that eventually was made into complete kits. I think we still have a few floating around the sale room. Isn't it gorgeous? Good job Jean!

Elegant Garden by Lynn Ray

This was Katie's last Wool BOM. Lynn did a beautiful job on it. And, might I add, I think Lynn had more quilts in the show than anyone else. I could be wrong, there were several women that had quite a few, but I was pretty amazed. Imagine finishing all those quilts! What a concept!

Civil War Sampler by Madelyn Anderson

I think this was the first BOM I did after opening the shop. It was a wonderful quilt that was designed by Karen Witt, one of our favorites. I might have been a little overly ambitious when I decided to tackle this one, but several people did finish it, in spite of me! As you can see, Madelyn won a well-deserved ribbon for her efforts!

Baltimore Album by Marcia Hilse

And speaking of ribbons - Marcia won Best of Show with this stunning quilt. Marcia started this gorgeous quilt in our Baltimore Album Club with Joanne Parks and finished it later on her own. I believe most of the blocks come from Elly Sienkiewicz designs. It is amazing to see how beautiful a traditional quilt like this can look when you do it in batiks. Congratulations Marcia - what a wonderful heirloom you have made!

Lori Smith Quilt by Marcia Hilse

While we are admiring Marcia's work - here is another one of hers. I can't remember the name of it, but it was another Block of the Month we did awhile back from a Lori Smith pattern. As you can see - it is pretty complicated. Great job Marcia!

Jacob's Ladder by Susan Russell

This is a kit we made up using a pattern that I wrote up for a traditional Jacob's Ladder quilt. Susan did such a nice job on it that we stole it from her for awhile to use as a shop sample. I really loved that quilt. It was nice to see it again!

Dear Jane by Denise Groesbeck

ACK! It's the "Slit-your-wrist" quilt. Ok, that's my take on it, but many feel their quilting life won't be complete unless they do one of these incredible quilts. Denise actually finished hers, which I think is a rare feat. Many have started and given up somewhere along the way. (I can guarantee you that this one will NOT be included in my vast collection of UFOs) I wish I could have gotten a better picture of Denise's quilt, but there wasn't enough room to back up. However....

Dear Jane by Shar Snellman

Shar's Dear Jane was hanging at the end of a row, so I was able to get all of it in my picture. Any Janiac living in this area probably knows that Shar is the Queen of Janiacs. Her quilt is amazing - but I would still slit my wrists....

Tumblers by Denise Groesbeck

Well, I think Denise did this before she became a Pieceful Groupie, but we do have a Tumbler class, and I really liked her quilt, so I had to take a picture - and look, she won a ribbon!

Cool Cheddar Star Quilt by Denise Groesbeck

I tool a picture of this one just because I liked it. How awesome is that Streak of Lightning setting with the Cheddar? A little bird stopped by to tell me this was made by Denise. I should have known - I love her work!

This show takes place every other year, so be sure to watch for it in 2011!

Happy Quilting,

Carrie