Another Quilt Show

WARNING -- LOADED WITH PICTURES !!

I woke up to thunderstorms this morning.  Pretty heavy rain and lots of lightening.  Nothing like the terrible weather they had down south, though.  Today Sue and I headed out to Ortonville for a quilt show at the Ortonville United Methodist Church.  The church women's group along with the Country Quilt Guild put the show on every other year.  I've been going for 20 years -- wow, did I say that out loud??  I actually learned to quilt when I volunteered to help with the show in 1990.

This was probably one of the best shows that they've ever put on.  So many fine pieces and so creative.  There were pieces that dated back to the mid-1800s right up to works completed this year. 

Many of the quilts are draped over the pews in the sanctuary.

This year's featured quilter was my friend Colleen who is so modest and shy, she took down the signs that touted her work.  She was scolded and the signs were replaced.  Here are few of her wonderful pieces:

Hand embroidered Harry Potter scenes:

And finally this masterpiece:

This amazing 9 patch quilt was made by Colleen when she and our friend Cathy decided to challenge themselves to make the same quilt at the same time.  Cathy's version inspired several of the Chickens to do a swap of these tiny 9 patch blocks.  I wisely decided to just watch from the sidelines.

Cathy had several quilts at the show too:

Be sure to click on this one block -- it's got the teensiest-tiniest half square triangles!

Truly amazing work!

My friend Brenda, who owns the Mabelena's quilt shop in town, made this wonderful piece to honor her dad, Bud, who passed away a few years ago.

He was a real treasure and was so kind to my kids when we lived out there.

I snapped a lot of pictures of quilts that I thought were well made and creative.  Some were very old like this next one from the 1800s:

Others were made very recently like this one:

This one was done as a whole cloth challenge, quilted the design, then inked the colors on -- amazing!

Here are a few that I really enjoyed seeing today:

A Giant Dahlia quilt finished on the day her niece, Dahlia, was born!

The next three pictures are quilts that were made by Ruth who has been inspired by the Gee's Bend Quilts.  She just picks up fabric and sews it.  She calls it 'Freestyle quilting'.

This wool applique quilt was part of a Sue Spargo workshop taken at Mabelena's.  Look carefully -- there's both wool and cotton fabric in this folk art piece.

Here are a few more:

Isn't this one amazing -- taken from a photograph of her husband's first car.

Here's a picture from a child's quilt.  I loved the silly goat:

And a token Chicken quilt:

Kind of how I feel most days....

After filling our bellies with delicious food prepared by the Methodist Women's group, we headed over to Mabelena's for more eye candy.  I love Brenda's shop.  She opened it several years ago after her beloved husband died from cancer.  It's in the former Ortonville Post Office and couldn't be cuter.  She has a huge array of samples made up and so much variety that any style quilter could find what she needed here.  I have to hold myself back and not get too carried away.  I reminded myself that I haven't worked on the last projects I bought from there. 

I would have taken pictures of the shop but it was so darned crowded -- good for Brenda.  Sue found several fabrics she had to have plus some new bag patterns.  I was fascinated by the clothesline bowls and decided I have to give it a try.  A couple of years ago fellow Chicken Diane tried to the get group to make these and we poo-pooed her.  Big mistake!  So here's what I bought while there today:

The plastic project container is meant for quilt blocks but I think it will be great for my needle felting supplies.  The books all have inspiration for my needle felting designs and I can't wait to get started on Wool Coat #4!

Sue and I stopped at the local A&W for a quick root beer -- hit the spot, and headed for home.  Such a fun time and I really enjoyed seeing all the creativity.  There are so many talented quilters in our area and we need to remind ourselves there is greatness among us by showcasing their accomplishments.

I'm writing this post with the window open and fragrant aroma of my lilacs wafting into my room:

I wish they lasted longer.

Phew -- 33 pictures -- is that a record for me??!!