Mid-Atlantic Quilt Show 2013...

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Well, I've returned from another fun visit to the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival in Hampton, Virginia.  I try to make it to this show each year as it's only 3.5 hours from my house and it's a nice size show.  It also has a great mix of vendors.  Although the show was actually last week, it's taken me until now to edit my pictures and write this post.  I was also surprised to find that I didn't take nearly as many pictures as I usually do.  Mainly, I found my focus was again on the quilting rather than the composition, because that's what I'm striving to improve in my own quilting right now.

This was the most impressive quilt there and I'm sure it's going to be at the bigger shows later this year.  It's Carousel Stampede by Cathy Wiggins and won "Best of Show".  Some interesting facts about this quilt: She began with a white muslin for the background which she then painted.  She spent 300 hours painting it, 250 hours machine quilting it and around another 40 hours applying the more than 5,000 crystals.

Carousel Stampede by Cathy Wiggins

Honestly, it's the machine quilting that blew me away on this one.  She quilted the name of each horse into the background.  Here are a bunch of close ups...

Can you imagine how much time it would have taken if she had appliqued these horses?  To have to pick out the perfect fabric for each piece and achieve sharp points and the right shading would have been even more of a challenge.  I'm seeing a trend these days towards a lot more painted quilts and there were quite a few at this show.  In any case, I really loved this quilt!

Here's another example of a painted quilt.  This is Windblown by Maria Elkins and won "Best Wall Quilt".  I liked how she carried the quilting from the hair into the background of the piece.  I also thought the rest of the quilting was pretty interesting.

Windblown by Maria Elkins

Another favorite of mine is Marilyn's Badger's Euphoria.  She won 2nd place in the Traditional category.  Her machine quilting is always amazing and this one was no exception.  To be honest, I would have placed this one higher!  She said the quilt was inspired by the works of Jacqueline De Jonge, Judy Niemeyer and Sally Collins.  I can see the influences in the design and colors.

Euphoria by Marilyn Badger

This is another one with over 2,000 crystal beads hand-sewn on it.  Lots of bling!

I was really impressed with the quilting on this next one, even though I'm not a big fan of the colors.  This is Green Miles by Peggy Kragnes and it one 1st Place in the Traditional category.

Green Miles by Peggy Kragnes

There are a lot of different things to look at in the quilting, which always makes it more interesting.

So those were the quilts that really impressed me at the show.  The following are quilts that I just liked!  None of them won a major award, but I just enjoyed looking at them...

Lollipop Trees by Mary Ellen Sample won a Judge's Choice Award and it just made me smile.  What a happy quilt to look at and what fun fabrics!

Lollipop Trees by Mary Ellen Sample

Closeup of Lollipop Trees

It was only while putting together this post that I realized this next quilt was made by the same quilter as the previous one.  I would never have guessed and in fact, had to double and triple check to make sure I had the names right.  This quilt is Florida Keys Fantasy Garden by Mary Ellen Sample.  (I obviously like her work!)

Florida Keys Fantasy Garden by Mary Ellen Sample

I saw several quilts using this next pattern in the show.  I believe it's a Sue Garman design.  I really liked this particular fabric combination and her quilting was also very nice.  This is Ascent to the Stars by Linda James.  (I'd like to make this quilt one day!)

Ascent to the Stars by Linda James

And finally, I had to admire all the detail in this last quilt.  I know the picture doesn't do it justice; there was just so much to see!  This is School's Out by Eileen Williams.

School's Out by Eileen Williams

So those are all of the quilts I have to share this year.  It's funny, but I've seen others blog about this same show and they've mentioned completely different quilts.  I suppose that's why there are so many quilts in a show.  We all have such varied tastes and interests that what captures the attention of one person might not do the same for another!  But sometimes looking at their choices gives me a new perspective on a quilt.  In any case, I hope you enjoyed looking at a few of the quilts out there this year.

This post is already long enough, so I'll have to share what I purchased in another post.  Not that I went crazy or anything, but I did manage to pick up a few things.  Have a fantastic week and I hope you stay warm and dry!

Fire goes out without wood, and quarrels disappear when gossip stops. 

Proverbs 26:20, NLT