I spent Friday with Friend Julie at the Pacific International Quilt Festival. In years past, I have spent a few days, stayed overnight at a hotel, taken hundreds of photos and taken classes. I think those days are in my past. I might do that if I travel to another state, but I don’t want to stay overnight for PIQF any more. If there were some great classes, then I might change my mind. For me, this was a quick visit.
The best part? Spending time with Julie! No contest.
The second best part? New vendors. Yes, I bought a couple of things, but not much. I either didn’t see anything I had to have or I wasn’t in the mood. There a couple of packs of fabric I am kind of regretting not buying, but I have tons of fabric and will rummage around my fabric closet for what I need/ want to use.
A number of longtime vendors weren’t there. I don’t know why, but am guessing that the change of date (July vs. October) or the post-pandemic lower attendance. Obviously, I do not have attendance records, but I did not see the crowds waiting to buy an entrance ticket or the crowds looking at quilts. I saw many fewer women with strollers and I seem to remember many of them attended on Friday. I appreciate the list of vendors on the Mancuso website and in the program.
UPDATE 28 July 2024: Someone said that ByHands was a Korean company and implied that I had said it was a Japanese company. I wanted to be clear that I thought the handbag and general bag patterns looked like the Japanese bags I have seen in books and online. I did not mean to imply that they were Japanese designs.
A favorite vendor was byhands Purse Making Supply. They sold Japanese looking bag patterns and kits. If you have read my posts where I extol the virtues of Japanese looking bags, then you will know a couple of the reasons I liked this vendor.
I haven’t written a lot about Japanese looking bags but I talk about them all the time. I like their shapes. I like their decoration. I do not like their colors. The good thing about this vendor was that they had samples of various bags. For each bag sample there was a pattern only and a kit. If you didn’t want to use the fabric in the kit, you could buy the various parts and the pattern and add your own fabric. I liked the hardware sold by ByHands. There were lots of different leather straps, purse frames, cinch straps (new one on me) and others from which to choose. I was really interested int he various hardware that already has leather tabs attached. No more swiveling D-rings!
I think my favorite pattern was the Travel Bag. I restrained myself from buying another pattern, but I know about it now. A guild friend bought the Macaroon clutch, which is super cute. I’ll talk about Japanese looking bags sometime later.
The women at Material Girlfriends, which is driveable for me, were really fun. They had a super cute booth as well. Few depressing colors. They were giving away fans, which was perfect for our age group. Julie bought a fun Fibonacci type quilt pattern there. I was sort of interested in their Color Therapy pattern, but I didn’t buy it. I think I was more interested in the idea of it and that icky yellow-brown turned me off. Yes, I could change it, but it was so prominently in the upper left of the pattern. I think Stay Tuned, which I bought a few years ago is similar. I should make that one first.
I also enjoyed Sewing 101 and am on the fence about whether I should have bought the Tilda dots. I am thinking NO!, but a little voice inside of me is not in agreement. They had a lot of Tilda and knew their Tilda. I showed them the Tilda fabrics I bought at Springville Quilt Barn and they knew them right away (Bloomsville).
Of course, there was a Kaffe booth, All About Color Quilting. It was super colorful and had all the large flower prints I like. They have a Kaffe New SKU Club. NO! I am not joining. I came very close to buying the mosaics bundle. I thought about all the fabric I bought on vacation and walked away. Another possible regret. I love the Kaffe dots and almost bought a pack of them as well. I really like sets of things and both of these bundles satisfied that love in me.
There were some good quilts, too. I enjoyed the “Inspired by the Nation’s Capital” quilts, which depicted places and buildings in Washington DC in a small format. The exhibit is described on the PIQF Special Exhibits page as “To celebrate our Nation’s Capital, fiber artists from across the country have portrayed key places and events in the Washington DC area. This collection of over 100 original 24” x 24” quilts showcases historic buildings, monuments, landmarks, museums and recreation areas. The collection is a fabric travelogue, enabling viewers the opportunity to see a wide variety of sites from the very familiar to the lesser known that feature the heart of the city, from the most serious locations to the more playful. Techniques, materials, and fiber art skills are as varied as the subjects of the quilts. ” I think this is a book** I might want.
I liked the Mixed Box quilt by Karen Bolan, which was included in the New Quilts of California exhibit.
There was a lot of transparency work at the show and this was one of them. I saw the block and thought it would be a good one to use for the rest of the silks I have. I still have a lot after Colorblocks 3. This is the first block I have seen that had the right look. Another project for the list.
I thought a number of the quilts seemed really intricate and I wondered if people were finishing up those complicated quilts they started during the pandemic.
Of course, I can’t finish without mentioning the FOUR quilts Julie entered in the show.
This is her Safe at Home quilt, a BOM or Row by Row quilt that came out during the pandemic. Yay! A finish!.
Her other three quilts were part of special exhibits and I got distracted and didn’t take photos.
We saw friends and a lot of good quilts and fun vendors. My feet hurt a lot at the end of the day, but visiting a quilt show was worth it.
**N. B. : Obviously, you should shop at local quilt shops and small businesses. However, if you are too busy or can’t find what you need there, I use Amazon affiliate links and may be paid for your purchase of an item when you click on an item’s link in my post. There is no additional cost to you for clicking or purchasing items I recommend. I appreciate your clicks and purchases as it helps support this blog.
