Quilt Show

Last Saturday when we went to Longmont, we took in the Rocky Mountain Quilt Festival at The Ranch in Loveland. It was a national show and there were over 500 quilts, dolls, garments and accessories. Hoffman Fabrics has an annual challenge in which quilters design masterpieces using a focus fabric. This years fabric was an Asian print that featured peacocks.

The interesting thing about quilt shows is that you always think of people and things when you see certain quilts. This quilt hanging reminded me of my cat Willowby, the mighty, mighty June bug hunter.

There were quilts that reminded me of everyone:

Sister Three had a stint as a hot air balloon chaser

so naturally I thought of her when I saw this quilt.

She sent me this photo in 1999. I still love it.

Wouldn't it make a great poster?

Whenever I think of Nicki or Andrew, I always think of Anderson and Isabella. Someday I'll get Izzy's alphabet quilt quilted and Anderson's continent quilt pieced together. I wasn't crazy about the little boy sleeping, but I loved the dreams that he was dreaming and I imagine that Anderson will have some of those same dreams.

Isn't it fitting that it has a hot air balloon as well?

Frog Legs is on there as well.

Teddy bears always make me think of Izzy.

I don't know why, but they do.

I thought this quilt was really cool

but I sure wouldn't have wanted to appliqué all of the bees.

The only way this quilt could have reminded me more of
Sister Two is if it had been hung by a quilt with a cow on it!

There weren't very many patriotic quilts displayed,

which is pretty unusual. However, this is one I would

have liked to have been able to share with my class.

One of the standards that we have to teach is

patriotic symbols, their origins and meanings.

Wouldn't this be cool way to introduce them?

Can anyone guess which animal is Krista's favorite?

The African animals were plentiful this year. This quilt had more giraffes, but I think the one above it is much more magnificent.











Then of course, there were the elephants. In fact, this elephant was the first quilt I saw and of course, Aunt Sue came to mind immediately. Once upon a time she collected elephants and made the mistake of saying this out loud. For the next few years, she got elephants of all sizes and shapes. I wish I were talented enough to create this for her --- whether or not she still collects them! I was just in awe of this.

I'd be happy to produce a quilt such as this Tumbling Block.

I have the pattern, but I haven't attempted it yet.

Maybe next summer.

Or the next. Or maybe the one after that.

There weren't many frogs on quilts, but this one definitely
made me think of Frog Legs! I still think her froggy quilt
is better even if the frogs were only done with the thread.

My friend Traci really liked lions.

Or maybe it was tigers.

Whatever it was, she would have loved these!

Here's another quilt I would like to try someday .... with different colors. I love this style of quilt, but I hate working with curved pieces. I would love to do a Mariner's Star, but I don't have the faintest idea of how to begin. Maybe I'll find a quilt retreat that is offering a class some summer. A quilt retreat in a tropical paradise. Or on a Greek island. Yeah, right. I'll probably just watch The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and Mama Mia while I sew in my living room! That's probably as close to Greece as I'll get.

On a side note, I went and saw Mama Mia again last night. It was just as good the second time around. I seriously considered going again tonight.

My class room theme is oceans this year.

This turtle would fit right in.

Okay, so it's not a sea turtle. It looks more like Lucky Randolph

who moved back to school yesterday. Into a brand new aquarium

twice the size of his old one. No one can believe how much he has grown.

This is probably what I'll feel like a week from Monday.

No! I don't want to go back to school! And you can't make me!

Actually, I'm getting really anxious for the kids to start back.

We had a little guy come in yesterday .... only he isn't so little anymore.

He must have grown three inches over the summer!

Actually, this is how I'll look:

You know school is about to begin when
quilts begin reminding me of people from school.

Anjelica loves pandas.

Hunter loves penguins.

Of course I won't have these guys this year. They were mine

for four years. Now they belong to Loni.

Loni is crazy about paper cranes.

My friend and former teaching partner, Julie, would have loved this quilt:

By the way these quilts with the animals on them are not panels --- they are either pieces of material pieced together to make the images of the animals or else painted and dyed fabric.

Mom would have liked this chickadee. It was for sale,

but there wasn't a price listed. What does that tell us?

The back is as incredible as the front.

And the picture doesn't begin to do it justice.

She would have liked the swan quilt as well.

Too bad I didn't get a good picture of it.

However, this one made me think of her.

After we put up her shutters we had watched

the movie Dragonfly and so now I think of that time

whenever I see something with a dragonfly on it.

This one was done by a fourteen year old. Unbelievable.
I could live to be a hundred and fourteen and
I wouldn't be able to produce something like this!

This one was by a first time entrant.

This was one of the overall winners.

Here's a shot of the dolls. They were quite unique.

Some close-ups of them:

Dolls aren't my thing. Never have been --- unless you count the Barbie heads I lined up on the back fence and shot with my slingshot. But these just catch you ---- the detailing is incredible and you wonder just how long it must take to make something like that.

There were beautiful quilts ... front and back.

But you have to love a quilt with some humor!

Information Retrieval System

Fabric Approval Department

I'm just plain crazy when I'm in a space with lots of people.

There were lots of people at the show.

Even male type people.

Of course, I think he was there with the missus.

He doesn't look overly excited does he?

Even with all of the people, it was worth attending!