Let's Go Downeast for a Quilt Show! - Part 1

The Pine Tree Quilters in Maine sure know how to put on a wonderful quilt show! We had the good fortune of being in Maine for several days which coincided with this annual event. One thing I admire about the Maine Quilts 2025 show is how many quilts on display depict regional influences. From pine trees, to lobsters, to moose, to boats and ships. This mosaic “Ocean of Blue” by Heidi Proffetty is one example. She worked from a photo she took while sailing in Rhode Island. Her design is a hand-drawn mosaic traced to create a digital pattern. Pieces were then cut digitally, assembled, and raw-edge quilted with invisible thread.
 

The top honors went to this stunning broderie perse applique quilt. It was made by Barbara Korengold and is all hand done. That tiny clamshell quilting in the background was amazing. The design was inspired by an antique quilt in the collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art and is titled “To Philly with Pricilla.” There were tiny embroidered details in the design elements, including French Knots. Such a masterful effort!

One theme of this year’s show was Log Cabin design quilts, and there were many, from antique to modern. I’ll share more of these Log Cabins in another post, but “Wonky Blox” by Louise Lloyd Prescott caught my eye for both color and design. It was her goal to keep the wonky going right into the sashing. She was certainly successful, but admitted it was harder than it looks to accomplish!

Even though the design and piecing of this quilt is simple, I was taken with how Frances Parker mixed prints so effectively in her “Les Owlets Jolies” quilt. Her artist statement indicates that she thought the quilt was “Cute, and somewhat weird, but fun to make.” I concur. That’s kind of how I saw it, too!

Rusty Babbitt made “Modern Hunter Star” using a pattern by Michelle Renee Hiatt. Cotton Weeds Quilt Shop did the quilting. All those tiny prints with the white stars made this a stand-out quilt.

Katherine Collins used rust-dyed fabric for her art quilt “Eclipse”. The orange color was more subtle in person, but I was unable to get a photo to show that. The  fabric was perfect for showcasing the lovely machine quilting.

First in the Applique category was “Miss D’s Garden”- a detailed wool applique piece by Carole Behan Berry (Quilted by P. Williams). So many charming elements in her quilt from the cat and birdhouse to the owl in the tree.

Florida quilter and friend Lynne Dallmeyer-Hartman had her “Dance of the Sapphire Fairies” entered in the applique category as well. (Quilted by Julia Quiltoff). Meticulous work by both quiltmaker and quilter.

“Hexanity” by Christina White is traditional and very impressive- hand pieced and hand quilted. She noted in her artist statement that she began the quilt 7 years ago with “zero quilting experience”. She’d seen a friend making her own king-size hexie quilt and thought to herself, “how hard can it be?” She found out!

Sometimes simple designs are the most appealing. That was my thought when I saw “Spectacular Flower Garden” by Camille  Rowe. She made it in a Wild & Spectacular Flower workshop with Jennifer Houlden. It’s a simple pieced background with free-motion zig-zag applique flowers in addition to the applique flower with couching. Lots of techniques in her piece. 

Wool lovers and quilt lovers alike will enjoy Carole St. Onge’s "Embroidery Extravaganza”. It’s her take on a Sue Spargo design and illustrates masterful stitching with metallic and other threads. Every “penny” is a delight to study up close.

There's lots more to see and another post is coming soon!

Roses in Bloom...

 

We had some sewing fun recently, making these French Rose blocks in workshop with instructor Merri McKenzie. It's an applique method in which layers of fabric are stitched to a background, leaving the edges "raw" or unfinished. That means they will fray, adding dimension. The beauty is in the easy sewing, freeform design of the blossoms, and the 3-D leaves. And the fun is in seeing the variety of flowers made using all sorts of fabric combinations.

We made four blocks in our session and could either keep going to make a large quilt, or use the ones we made in a smaller wall hanging or table-runner. I decided to use one in a tote bag, pulling other fabrics only from what I had on hand (a goal of sorts!-I know you understand). So here are the remaining three with some possible additions for sashing, also dependent on what is in the stash already.

These other three blocks will most likely become a table-runner. As noted above, the edges of the flowers will fray when washed, leaving them "raggedy" to add texture. I've not taken that step yet, but will try it soon with the tote bag first.

Or, maybe no sashing, just a border. What do you think? Sashing or no? There are lots of tutorials, videos, and patterns for this style of quilt block and some are even quilt-as-you-go. And I've seen some that use heart shapes instead of floral petals. What fun!

Here are some of the class blocks all at play together on the show table. And below is a shot of one of mine with a few of its close pals. Pretty, pretty!