MAQF Favorites from Elizabeth

Elizabeth fell in love with the prize winning quilt by Janet Stone called ABC Frippery.  It was stunning and the maroon hand-dyed velveteen used in the background gave it a texture and depth to bar none.  Here is the entire quilt along with a few close up photos.  Be sure to click to enlarge and see the fabulous quilting.

Another highlight was part of the Peninsula Piecemakers Quilt Guild Challenge "Not Your Grandmother's Quilt".  Rhonda Gianturco made a quilt "Tat's Not My Grandmother's Dresden I" which incorporated needle tatting in each block and is a tribute to both her grandmothers, one who sewed and one who tatted with a shuttle.

More from MAQF

In addition to the prize winning quilts shown Wednesday, we had some other favorite quilts.  These are some that Sue has on her favorites list.  Some are part of the MAQF show, others are from special exhibits.

The quilt above, called Moss, was made by Mary Menzer, and was part of an exhibit by the Virginia Beach Modern Quilt Guild.  It was the result of a paint chip challenge, where the colors used in the quilt were selected by choosing paint chips.

Hollis Chatelain of Hillsborough, NC, created Source of Life.  This piece was part of a "Water is Life" exhibit which consists of 41 quilts by artists from Europe and North America.  It's purpose is to illustrate the "impact of clean water on the lives of women and girls around the world. Only 1% of all water on earth is accessible for human consumption."  This piece is created with machine applique, however much of Hollis' work is dye-painted and heavily stitched.  Check out the galleries on her website.  Sue is excited (and somewhat intimidated) to be taking a class with her at the beginning of April.

Together We Stand is by Laura Fogg of Ukiah, CA.  Laura depicts herself, her daughter and granddaughter participating in the 2017 Women's March.  It is machine appliqued and machine quilted.

This quilt, S Spiral by Sheila Shepherd of Bishop, GA, is very subtle, especially in a photo.  Click on it to enlarge for a better view.  All those spirals you see are hand appliqued on the background.  It won a blue ribbon for Best Hand Workmanship in the Wall Quilt category.  It is hand appliqued and hand quilted.

Poppies by Beth P. Gilbert of Huntley, IL, is a happy quilt made in a modern improvisational style.  In it she celebrates poppies by showcasing them in different techniques.  Some are machine free motion embroidery, some are fabric applique.  It is machine pieced and quilted.

Wrinkly/Irony is a whimsical quilt by Connie Kincius Griner of Burlington, NC.  It was inspired by an internet posting that defined "irony" as the opposite of "wrinkly".  It is machine pieced, machine appliqued, and longarm machine quilted.

Ann Horton has been around the quilting world for a long time, and continues to impress with this piece called Old Fence.  This is another quilt that needs to be viewed up close for all the fabulous details and workmanship.  It is machine pieced, machine appliqued, machine quilted, and also includes machine embroidery, felting, and couched embellishments.  Ann is from Redwood Valley, CA.

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! 

Fiber Artists @ Loose Ends

This post is a bit of a flashback to Mid Atlantic Quilt Festival in February, but we recently realized we hadn't shared what was our favorite exhibit at the show.  A group of art quilters known as Fiber Artists @ Loose Ends debuted a new installation exhibit they call Wind Chimes: Elements.  It features the 4 elements of fire, earth, water and air and is an immersive experience.  Each of the 10 artists created a panel for each element in their own unique style.  The panels are suspended from bicycle wheels which gently turn with the air currents.  What a delight to walk around and through the 4 segments of the installation and experience this art work rather than viewing it against a flat surface!  This is definitely an exhibit to see!  Below are some still photos, and a brief video to give you a better flavor of the exhibit.

Be sure to visit Fiber Artists @ Loose Ends for more information about these talented artists!