Spring is for Quilt Shows...

 

Traditional, whimsical, innovative, masterful- whatever your cup of quilting tea, you'll get your fill at a quilt show. A local quilt shop, Miss Dee's in Palatka, Florida, kicked off spring with her Quilts by the River. It's so inspiring to enjoy a quilt show and see the wonderful pool of talent on display! This lovely  Hidden Circles by Shelley Stauffer is so beautifully pieced and hand quilted that it stopped me in my tracks. It fairly sparkles. I tried looking up the pattern in my copy of Brackman's Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns, but didn't find a match. It's complex for sure.

And then there were the aliens. This one entertains. We Come in Piece is the entry of Janel Bendis, Lisa and Candi. The improvisational piecing is a study in itself, but then the quirky bodies and expressions on the characters were a separate story. What fun it must have been to make this one. As you can see, it earned a blue ribbon in its category.

Still more whimsical creatures, this time a turtle study. And once again, the improv piecing is the star. Such a dynamic quilt! It's Heard of Turtles by Phoenix Quiltcon Group.

Between the wonderful colors and the sawtooth design, this quilt almost vibrates! Sometimes I like to study quilts to see how they were made. This one appears to be one-half of a Delectable Mountains block combined four to a block around a center square. It's likely the quilter relied on partial seam construction, which you don't see often, but works well in this block. Aidan's Quilt is by Nancy Grout.

I love cats and found the panel and colors chosen for Cynthia Irvin's Cat Quilt to be so appealing. In addition, the machine quilting was top notch. Each of those circles has a different quilting motif, densely stitched. Another blue ribbon quilt.

Fellow members of the Country Road Quilters in Ocala had quilts on exhibit. Linda Renderer made this charming ribbon winner titles Scrappy Spiderweb. It's quilted by Barbara Dees. Linda is a whiz at beautiful machine applique and fabric selection. The purple background sets off the Sampler-style piecing and graceful border beautifully.

Another guild member who is also a master at piecing is Janice McCall. This wonderful Sampler quilt titled Moonbeams was quilted by guild member Debra Johnston and earned an Honorable Mention ribbon.

My quilt, Cosmic Moon Pies, also earned an Honorable Mention at the show, so that was rewarding. It was also quilted by Debra Johnston. More photos and story here.

My husband Jack and I went for a picnic at Ravine Gardens, the state park in Palatka. There we saw this ???... I'm not sure just what, but of course I was drawn to it and had to get a photo! I guess it's a custom three-wheeler. But what a beauty.

The gardens feature a lot of stone work completed by Conservation Corps workers in the early 1930s after the Great Depression.

Palatka is Azalea central in the spring. The park was blooming beautifully. Hope you enjoyed the show!