Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival 2018

Elizabeth and Sue spent last weekend in Hampton, VA at the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival (MAQF). It had been 2 years since we were there, as last year we went to QuiltCon in Savannah.  We enjoyed the quilts and shopping at the vendors.  For 2 people who had very little on our shopping lists, we certainly found plenty of opportunities to boost the economy!

This is a huge show, and really takes several days to thoroughly take in the quilts.  It is overwhelming to spend a long time on the quilts, so we tend to mix our time between quilts and vendors.  The main prize winning quilts are in the center of the convention center on the blue carpet.

Vendors encompass the areas surrounding the show quilts. Here's a shot of the Artistic Artifacts booth.

There were so many quilts to see, it's even hard to select favorites.  We'll start with some of the prize winners.

Above is the Best of Show quilt, called The Twisted Sisters by Margaret Solomon Gunn of Gorham, ME.  It is hand pieced, machine appliqued, and longarm quilted.  For this and the other quilts, click on the picture for a larger view.  The quilting on this quilt is spectacular.

ABC Frippery is by Janet Stone of Overland Park, KS.  It won the ribbon for 1st Place in the Traditional category.  It is machine pieced, machine appliqued, and machine quilted.  This is #18 in a series of alphabet quilts; her intent is to make a total of 26 alphabet quilts.  This one contains antique buttons and jewelry that illustrate some of the letters of the alphabet.

Lepidopteran #5 was inspired by a moth, and is made by Caryl Bryer Fallert-Gentry of Port Townsend, WA.  It won 1st place in the Innovative category and is machine pieced and quilted.

Deb Crine of Marco Island, FL, created Great Blue.  This won Best Wall Quilt.  It is painted on silk and machine quilted.  Do enlarge to get a better look at the stitching detail.

Reflections on Water is by Sandra L. Mollon of Valley Springs, CA.  This won 3rd place in the Wall Quilt category.  It is done with fused applique and is machine quilted.

Stay tuned for more in our next post! 

SNaP Challenge

SNaP is an acronym for "SAQA Northern Virginia Pod" - a group of local quilters who belong to the SAQA national organization.  SAQA stands for Studio Art Quilt Associates, a national group that promotes art quilting.

The SNaP challenge was issued to the group to make a 12 inch art quilt to interpret the word "snap".  It could be whatever the word brings to mind - snapshot, a snap closure, the snap of a rubber band - you get the idea.  At our January meeting we shared our challenge pieces seen below.

 Above, we have the snap of a football, and the snap of a broken heart.

The quilt on the left represents snapchat, the quilt on the right represents snappy repartee.

We also have an awesome snapping turtle, and snapdragons (Sue's piece).

 And finally, a piece representing a snapshot.  Looks like successful pieces all around!