NW Quilter's Guild Quilt Show 2014

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No blog post from me yesterday. We had the most beautiful weather...unseasonably warm, but I'm betting there wasn't a single person in all of the Portland Metro area who was complaining about the heat. Mike and I sat outside for dinner and continued drinking wine past the setting of the sun. At one point, Erik came up to borrow our Jeep for an off-road camping trip this weekend. It was wonderful to have him join us for a relaxing evening on the patio.

When Erik and Mae come up, they always like to take a walk around the garden. There is a lot to see right now, and the wisteria is finally in full bloom. It is so beautiful, and it smells good too.

This morning I went to the Northwest Quilter's Guild quilt show. I knew I was going to have a lot of pictures and lots to tell you, and so I gave myself a day off on yesterday's blog. Not really. I just didn't have anything new to tell you. It was a boring day. I went swimming, and then I went to the dermatologist. And then I capped off the day with a trip to the grocery store. I know. Meh.

But today was a little more interesting. The quilt show featured more traditional quilts than anything else, and so I wasn't inspired to take a lot of pictures. The quilts were lovely, but when you've seen one Irish Chain, you've pretty much seen them all. I found myself taking pictures only of the ones that caught my eye for some special reason. 

Usually, I give you quilt show pictures in batches, but I'm going to give you all the pictures in one post. Just a warning...this is a picture-heavy post. I see those warnings on blogs all the time, and so I'm doing the same thing...not because I think there's anything dangerous going on here. Unless you fear being smothered in quilts or something sinister like that. Quilts, I've said many times, aren't for wimps.

So anyway...here we go. This quilt was called Retirement Garden.

In most cases, I'm just going to let the quilter tell you what's going on, so read what she said here:

As I approached this quilt, this was the first thing I saw. Since I have an "Erik" with a "k", it caught my eye right away.

My friend, Lisa, has a "Keeley". (Her Keely ends without the extra "e".)

I like how this quilt is quilted with green thread for the leaves and neutral for the rest. I've never really thought about changing colors.

I liked this next quilt called "Life is Beautiful". The original pattern was redwork, but this quilter said she'd always wanted to make a yellow and black quilt, "So, here it is."

Lots of good advice here:

Cute quilting on this next one.

This was probably the most unusual quilt in the whole show. It was lap sized, and it appears to be pieced with a flange between each row.

Here's what the quilter had to say about it:

This next one was doll quilt sized. I liked it as a way to display lapel pins.

Lots of cute detail on this next quilt. You could spend all day looking at it.

Puffins are just about my favorite bird.

I love the color and whimsy in this next one.

Of all the quilts I saw today, this one touched me the most. 

You'll need to read the quilter's statement. Being well familiar with the devastation depression can cause, I loved the sentiment expressed here:

Here's a detail of some of the quilting.

Latimer Quilt and Textile Center was there with a display of quilts. I donated some of my grandmother's quilts to this museum. They were going to do a turning of the quilts, but I didn't stay for that. This one (circa 1930) was on display, and I really liked it.

This next one is from Oregon's own Helene Knott who often uses Oregon scenery as the subject of her quilts. This is her own technique that she calls "striplique".

This next quilt has been on my to-do list for a long time. I see it made up at lots of quilt shows, and I'm always interested in the different ways folks have quilted the snow.

Several of you are making owl quilts out in Blogland, and so this one is for you:

The quilter's statement said there are over 100 pieces in each owl!

They had a really fun challenge going on. Some of you are looking for challenge ideas for your own guilds. This was a fun one:

So here's the first quilt magazine:

And here's the quilt:

Magazine:

And associated quilt:

Oh my gosh, I would have hated to pick this next magazine. Here's what the quilter said about it:

Cute idea, huh?

You'll have to look hard at this next one. The quilter said she didn't see anything at first, and then, she saw the owl. See the owl on the top of the bookcase on the left? Once she saw that, it grew from there.

Here is her quilt:

There were lots more, but these were my favorites. All the quilts were about 30 x 30 inches. Fun, huh?

This next quilt was hanging in one of the vendor's booths. 

I loved the quilting.

I managed to look at all the vendor's booths and come away with just one pattern. You'll never guess why I had to buy it.

So that's all I have for you. I hope you enjoyed the show. If you live in the Portland area, the show is going on through the weekend at the Expo Center.