APNQ 2008 Show : the good, the bad and the merchant mall

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.

Quilting Loft in the News

I had been looking for this article and came across it today. The Quilting Loft is a new-ish and really cool store in Seattle.

Latham Smith

Most quilting and fabric stores have white walls so they don’t clash with the fabrics that line them, said Angie Andreson, the 30-year-old owner of Ballard’s The Quilting Loft.

“When I decided to start my store, my husband insisted that I couldn’t have plain white walls,” Andreson said. “So we painted them.”

The Quilting Loft, which opened in March, offers floral prints, polka dots, stripes and solids alongside roller girls and children’s book characters splashed over square yards of fabric. It also provides quilting services and classes such as skirt making and quilting techniques.

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Painted Floors

Everywhere I go, I see something that reminds me of a quilt or something inspires me to make a quilt or gives me some creative idea and I just have to show you. Towards the end of our trip we went to the National Forest Service Museum (Smokey the Bear land). These were the floors.
It looks like some kind of applique. Can you see the trees and the mountains?

This would be much easier and you could probably piece the whole thing. Yes, even the circle. For those of you are beginning to suspect that I have lost my mind, take a look at Ruth McDowell’s Piecing book. This is a classic quilt book and really should be in everyone’s quilt library. She wrote this before C&T started publishing shorter books. A newer version is Ruth McDowell’s Piecing Workshop.

Fair Photos

This was the last weekend of the county fair, so we took our free tickets and went and indulged in quilts, rides, funnel cakes, lemonade and frozen, chocolate covered bananas.

The cheerful quilts are coming. I saw a definite change in the palette of some of the some of the quilts. There were a few really bright quilts, a number of pastels and fewer in the brown range.

Oak Hall, which normally houses the Home Arts (including the quilts) was closed and they were using a huge tent. Not an ideal situation, but Julie Curry, the Home Arts building director did a great job hanging the quilts. I would have liked to have had more room to take photos and a little more light, but at least the quilts were not 30 feet up on the wall.

I hope to see some of the quilts at PIQF so I can get better photos.

PICT2183 San Mateo County Fair 2008
http://www.flickr.com/photos/artquiltmaker/sets/72157606792927862/

A selection of things from the set

PICT2183 PICT2045 PICT2046 PICT2047 PICT2048


This quilt was my favorite quilt. I liked the black on white print that the maker used for the background. I liked that s/he used a lot of different prints as well. I also LOVED the blue circle. That detail is genius. I think it makes the pink stand out even more, but takes off the sweetness edge.

S/he did this in hand applique

Nice border as well.

Playing with Fabric

Barsha is an artist I know who is the poster girl for creative play. This stuffed bear is a good example. His story is that Barsha saw the fabric, bought it and just had to make something right away. I think the fabric makes the bear.

We had a long discussion, similar to one that TFQ and I often have, about how people deal with their creativity. We came up with the possibility that people don’t feel free enough in their creativity (pressed for time so everything has to be perfect???) to just play and to make mistakes.

Go forth and play with your fabrics and, yes, make mistakes.

Bullseye Arrangement

I have a sinking feeling I already posted this picture, but I can’t find it in the blog, so either I am losing my mind or imagining things. Either one could be positive. 😉

This is the first arrangement. It will work, areas I want to stand out stand out. With a few more blocks the self bordering will work as well.

I know I rearranged the pieces after I took this photo, but, once again, my camera is upstairs, so it will have to be a post for tomorrow.

Amy Butler Tote redux

I found the Amy Butler tote on the K&C Company website. It looks really nice and has gotten rave reviews from some people who have emailed and commented. I’ll have to think about it before I buy. I still want the pattern so I can try and make it from my own fabric.

clipped from www.kandcompany.com

Amy Butler Belle Fabric Scrapbooking Tote Bag

Hold everything! Our exclusive, Amy-Butler-Designed craft bags are great for creativity on the go!

Made of durable, padded canvas, these versatile creativity bags are divided into: one wide 12×12 pocket, one flat 12×12 pocket, one open compartment with three small, wide pockets on each side, and two exterior side pockets that are perfect for photographs or tech gear like a digital camera, cell phone or mp3 player.

Use to hold an album, 12×12 papers, embellishments, paper cutter, fabric, yarn skein, tools, photographs, projects and so much more!

Shell: EVA Foam-Backed 100% Cotton
Lining: 100% Cotton
SPOT CLEAN ONLY

Amy Butler Belle Fabric Scrapbooking Tote Bag
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Admiring Rectangles

Fractions on a Roll is another Jelly Roll pattern that I admired at the APNQ show. In addition to diamonds, I have also been admiring rectangles. I actually started a rectangle quilt to comfort my aunt while she was in the hospital. Unfortunately, I didn’t finish it in time and haven’t had the heart to work on it. This design, however may give me the boost I need to work on it.

The layout of the rectangles is different than my original design and may give a UFO new life.

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Jelly Roll Patterns

I saw this pattern at the APNQ show, which I promise to write about soon. I seem to be attracted to Jelly Rolls and Jelly Roll patterns lately. Not sure what that is about, but am just going to go with the flow.

I have long admired diamond quilts, but aside from a few 8-pointed stars and a Lone Star center, I haven’t ever made a diamond quilt.

It is appealing because of the way larger diamonds are made up of smaller diamonds. Strip ‘n’ Dip is from GE Designs, an Icelandic company.

Strip ’n’ Dip Jelly Roll Quilt Pattern G.E. Designs
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More Complex Bags

I was at Pacific Fabrics yesterday and saw this great bag from K & C Company and Amy Butler. It is called the Creativity Bag and says it was designed for scrapbooking.

TFQ and I liked it because of the interior dividers. I don’t think I would want to carry it around all the time, but it would make a nice travel bag. Frankly, I would just like to try to make one. Either the design or the fabric is licensed, so, after discussing with TFQ, we are skeptical that they are also selling a pattern. It seems like they would just want to sell the complete bag. I’ll have to look carefully, though, on the Web to be sure.

TFQ found a pattern she bought several years ago, which is similar. It has the dividers inside, but doesn’t have a really good variety of photos of different angles.


Thinking about Borders v.APNQ

Quilt shows are a good place to try and work out a quilt puzzle because there are, generally, more quilts at a quilt show than any other place you normally inhabit.

I wasn’t really trying to work out a problem, but the idea of borders was rumbling around in the back of my mind.

I sincerely dislike borders t hat have no good DESIGN reason for being there. I don’t like borders that are just slapped on because the Quilt Police say you need a border or the quilt wasn’t quite large enough. I have engaged in this behavior, much to my chagrin, and endeavor not to do it anymore.

Thus you can imagine my delight when I saw this light and airy border on a Mariner’s Compass quilt. I LOVE the idea of giving the Mariner’s Compass some boundaries without hemming it in with a heavy and long piece of fabric. While it is not as cohesive as the self bordering technique can be to the design, I still find it to be very successful.