I spent last weekend in Seattle with TFQ. While I was there, we spent quite a bit of time at the APNQ show.
As usual there were a lot of great quilts. Sadly, however, there were a lot of depressing colors in the quilts. Happily, the jurors really picked quilts with GREAT technique, so there was a lot of fantastic quilting, piecing and embellishing. It is a thrill to see people who care about wonderful piecing and try new techniques.
This slice quilt was very cheerful and joyful. I liked the umbrellas.
There was a Sharon Yenter/In the Beginning special exhibit of antique quilts. I really liked the exhibit and was glad that they allowed us to take photos (sans flash) on the second day. We looked at these quilts several times and decided that the difference between them and the new quilts was that the antiques had
joie de vivre in them. These quilts were not perfectly flat, nor did all the fabrics match exactly and the piecing wasn’t perfect, but the quilts had life in them. They looked like the maker enjoyed making them. It looked like there was a little bit of a twist to the regular pattern in each one.
There were a few quilts that used wheel or plate designs and this was one of my favorites. I love the block, but the colors are also very cheerful.
I am drawn to tree quilts lately.There were a few at the show and this one was lovely. I like the fact that it does not try to be realistic. I also like the different fabrics that the maker used.
All in all I was disappointed with the show. I have always liked this show and been overwhelmed when I have attended. This year’s show did not meet my expectations. I am not sure if my expectations are too high or if people are submitting their new and fantastic quilts somewhere else or what else might be going on.
The merchant mall was very sad. There were not enough vendors with fabric. None of the vendors had much, if any of the newest fabrics, such as Heather Bailey or the new Pimatex dots. As you can see, above, I was able to find a few pieces. The fabrics in the lower right hand corner are silks, which I intend to use for another Colorblocks quilt.
I see a trend towards packs and kits rather than yardage as well. I don’t have anything against packs and kits, but I want yardage. I especially want to see the yardage in person since my recent bad experiences shopping online. I heard through the Grapevine that they didn’t let the Quilting Loft into the show as a vendor since the show organizers thought they had too many fabric vendors already. BAH! We went to visit the Quilting Loft anyway and stocked up. 😉
Fabrics from Pactific Fabrics in Northgate Mall.
Gifts from TFQ from Seattle.
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Gifts from TFQ from Seattle.