NW Quilters show - lots of pictures

Today was the local guild's annual quilt show, and although it's a relatively small show, the quality of the quilts was impressive. Here are some of my favorites:A nice traditional wedding-ring quilt. I liked this one because the colors were bright and it was almost an eye-spy quilt with lots of little critters hiding in the 2" blocks. This is the kind of quilt I'd love to own.

Let Sleeping Cats Lie
This one was just cute - major 'Awwwww' factor from me. The little stitched-on kitty faces are adorable, and you've got to love the little mousies curled up with the kitties. Very cute. Good choice of fabrics for the cat fur too.

Monkeys!

I took this picture just for T-money. I mean, check out all the monkeys!!!!Who knew there were that many monkey fabrics out there?


Trick or Treat
What I loved about this one was the incredible amount of detail. The trick or treaters are carrying actual paper bags, the fireman has a shoe-lace hose, the trim & detail just put this one over the top. Plus, I love the nod to Sun Bonnet Sue. This is not the kind of quilt I would ever want to have... or to make, but I can really appreciate it on both creative and cuteness levels.

Beaded Fairy
I don't usually like beading, but this was spectacular. The black & beads really stand out against the dyed fabric... and the simplicity of the silhouette let the subtle colors of the fabric stand out. It just works.


Hawaiian style:
I love Hawaiian style quilts, the symmetry, the shapes, and the colors just get me. I especially like the reversed colors on the border.



Bugs
Ok - how can I not love this one with all the bugs... I mean, they're each so detailed.


Concentric frills:
The colors and fabrics used on this one really grabbed me, but what impressed me most was the long-arm quilting. I love the spirals and circles.



And let's hear it for the boys!

Here is M5K's Labyrinth. I love this quilt!
Something you can't quite get from this picture is the way the colors move - there are hots spots and cool spots and they all just kinda blend.
The grey blocks aren't really greys either, they're all different lightly colored tints that balance and contrast with the brighter background colors. It's really impressive.


Ben's amazing Spiderman quilt.
I love this one - I mean, it's spiderman, so what's not to love, but here's the story "I started this quilt last year when I was 8. I've wanted to sew for a long time but my grandmother finally started teaching me last year. I picked out all the fabrics and did all the sewing. I also learned how to use Jack the Ripper (and I like it!). I did all the ironing until I burned my hand so now my grandmother does that. Next I'm going to make a quilt for my little sister."

OMG - do you not love little Ben????


Now, I don't want to make a bunch of sexist generalizations, but it does seem that guys who quilt bring a different set of themes & styles to their quilting that really stand out against the more traditional & traditionally feminine patterns used in quilting. I say the quilting world could use more boy quilters. So I applaud Ben's grandma getting him hooked nice and young.

But here is my favorite quilt of the show... and a boy quilt to boot!

Neo Gothic:
Yet another quilt that is just impossible to do justice to in pictures. It is *very* three-dimensional. The gargoyles in particular stand out quite a bit.

I'm not sure what techniques were used for the stained glass sections. I can't tell if it's pieced or painted. And I can't tell if the stitching between the panes is a trim or a machine stitch. However it was done, it was just amazing (and huge!).


You can see a bit more of the stained glass sections here... as well as more detail on the gargoyles. I was seriously impressed. To be completely honest I kept checking to see if I could find cheats. I mean, this is soooooo good I couldn't believe it was all for real... but the proof is in the quilting... like all the stipple quilting around the gargoyles. Really amazing. I might go back again tomorrow just to see this one again.