Let's Go to the Expo...

 The Sew Expo that is. The formal name is Original Sewing & Quilt Expo and it's an annual convention held at a number of cities throughout the United States. I attended the one at Lakeland, Florida, recently and it was a feast of everything needlework. There were quilts on exhibit, like this one by Mary Kerr titled "Dry Tortugas National Park." One whole quilt gallery was devoted to Inspired by National Parks challenge quilts.

 I was taken by "Nine-Banded Armadillo" by Maggie Ward, representing the Everglades National Park. What a great use of lace and trims.

 This whimsical "Porcupine" quilt, made by Sandy Kretzer, has a body made from a stitched web of fabric snippets and over-stitching. It reflects fauna of Lassen Volcanic National Park in California.

And for even more whimsy, there was a display of Bake Off Quilt Challenge entries. This is "Sunday Afternoon Coffee" by Renate Diedrick.

Intense painted colors make "Meringue Pie" by Karen Crocker very striking.

And there was this showstopper- "All Major Food Groups in One Birthday Cake" is Gloria Welniak's entry. Food print fabrics make up the slices in the cake and there's even a doily and hand-stitched ruffle trim "icing". 

I love antique quilts, and this Wedding Ring quilt was one of several in the exhibit of "Southern Quilts". All are from the collection of author Mary Kerr who wrote a book with the same title. It's the same Mary Kerr who made the Old Glory quilt at the top of this post.

Such an interesting setting and borders in this Barrister Block  Southern quilt. I'm a big fan of zig-zag vertical settings in quilts.

While some might pass this quilt by with barely a glance, it drew me right in. "Primitive Star" is aptly named and is another in the Southern Quilt exhibit.

In addition to the quilt exhibits, there were sewing and quilting classes, runway shows, demonstrations, and vendors galore! I asked permission to photograph the Quilter's Fancy booth. It was chock full of wonderful kits, fabrics, embroidery threads. Author and teacher Cindy Oravez shared lots of demonstrations of ribbon embroidery and more throughout the day.

I also came across the Rhinestone Genie. At this booth, they were offering make-it and take-it projects to show how easy it is to bling any project by making your own iron-on designs. We placed a template pierced with a design on a special baking sheet, then dusted over the top with a cloth pad and rhinestones to fill in the holes. Once the design was full, we placed an adhesive sheet on top, burnished it to grab the stones, then carefully pulled up to transfer the rhinestones to the adhesive. We were given a protective sheet to transport the sparkly piece home along with instructions for pressing to adhere it to the project of our choice. I didn't buy one.... yet! It was pretty clever and fun to do. That little peek of indigo behind the items in the photo is for another post- I took a hand-dyed fabric class, and will share the results of that soon.

The Sharp Dressed Man...

And here he is- every suave bit of him! This whimsical quilt was the result of a really fun activity in our Fiber Art Bee. We all brought fabrics in various shades of purple- laces, cottons, minkee, home dec fabrics- you name it. We worked in groups of 8 and dumped all of our fabrics in the middle of the table. In front of each of us was a rectangle of cotton batting. At a signal from our leader, we each selected, cut and placed fabrics on the batting, collage style. After a few minutes, we got another signal and had to pass our piece to the person at our left. We then cut and placed a neck and shoulders on the piece. Another signal, and we passed the piece to the left again. This continued, cutting and placing fabric and passing it on, while adding a face, features, hair, clothing, etc. Finally we were done, and whatever piece was in front of us was ours to complete. My purple person turned out to be a man, and I think his hair is his finest feature! Meet some of his relatives.

We had a "reveal" at our next meeting and some of the Sharp Family were able to join us. This is Mom Sharp, and I think the hair is her best feature, too. Though those sparkling eyes are quite compelling.

One of the Sharps has become a rock star. Again- great hair. It must be in the Sharp genes.

One distant Sharp uncle had a shady past, but says he's on the straight-and-narrow path now.

And good old Uncle Sharp has always been known and loved for his warm smile and his snappy bowties.

There are lots more Sharp Family members yet to meet. Those that were completed were displayed together in a local library during March.

Not only was the activity fun, but it was also an exercise in using value and proportion. Here you can see the Sharp Dressed Man in his "awkward" stage. He's not looking so good yet.  Nose, lips, and eyebrows too big for his face. And he was missing that trademark hairdo. We pinned pieces in place to transport them home, and then the work began. Our job was to add and refine our people, transforming them. You can see that many of the elements in my pinned piece are still present in the completed one. I added paint to the background collage, free-motion quilted the piece, and edged it with purple fabric twine. And I styled his hair.

See? ZZ Top was right- every girl really IS crazy 'bout a Sharp Dressed Man. This wonderful vintage style mural is one I saw at the Disney World Boardwalk display.

And there was more sartorial splendor on display there, too.