In Part 1 of my quilt show postings I showed you some quilts and how just the quilting made it look different.

I also showed you how interesting it can be to get a close-up look at the material that is used in quilts.

In today’s post I want to show you some examples of really awesome quilting that I saw at the show.

 

First, though, I want to show you this quilt. If you are a Star Wars geek/fan then you will really enjoy this one. Who wouldn’t sleep peacefully snuggled under Darth Vader?

 

 

 

 

 

When I took a closer look at the quilting I discovered that instead of using a pattern of some sort they had actually quilted in quotes from the movie in the dark bands. I’ll be honest and say that I haven’t watched Star Wars, so the top quote in this picture was something that started with Let the Wookie… and ended with C3PO. The other quote was the infamous Yoda line about anger leads to fear and fear leads to the dark side.

When I got up close, though, I gasped and covered my mouth. My mom had no idea what my problem might be. Whoever made this quilt is not a big Star Wars fan or even a fan of Star Trek because this is what I saw…

YIKES!!! This is one of the biggest sins in geekdom… to mix up or confuse Star Trek with Star Wars. My only hope is that if this is a gift that the recipient is nice enough to not ever let the quilter know that the Enterprise doesn’t belong on a quilt with Darth Vader.

Other than that the quilt was beautiful.

But my heart still hurts…

 

 

The hurt subsides a bit when I view this quilted wall hanging. Isn’t this gorgeous? Perhaps it’s just because I’m a girly-girl and so I love the whole fancy dress thing. This was made from a kit and as my mom and I looked at it we decided it was something that we had no interest in trying. The purple dress form and chest were all hand appliqued. My mom does not like to applique, so this one was out. The stippling, or background quilting, was done in such a way to help the dress really stand out. This piece is so much more beautiful in person.

 

 

Another exquisite example of stippling, though, was this white piece. It wasn’t just exquisite… it was stunning.

This is quilting in its purest form… there is no piecing, no colors nothing. It’s all just magnificent quilting. The skill and talent required for something like this is absolutely amazing.

 

 

Here’s a close-up picture for a better look. Can you believe it? There were also crystals added to give it a little sparkle. This is one piece that I would hang up on a wall just so that I could look at it. There would also be no touching allowed. You can look, but don’t touch! This was my most favorite piece at the entire show.

 

Another thing about quilting, though, is it’s an art. Not only with the actual quilting part of it, but there are such thing as art quilts. We saw a few examples of a technique that I think my mom said was called thread painting. It looks almost like embroidery.

This wall hanging was one of those artsy quilts. Also, it’s the piece that I would have chosen for my friend Patty if I had been able to pick one to give to her.

 

This isn’t thread painting, but thread is used to add texture and depth to the picture.

For example, this tree is definitely hairy like a real palm tree.

 

 

 

 

And there were “rocks” added to the beach.

The water was made using a shiny fabric so that it actually glistened a bit when the light was reflected off of it.

 

 

 

Here’s another example that I can show you of quilting and how it can enhance a piece.

Standing back you look at this quilt and think that it’s very pretty and it looks to be quilted like every other quilt.

 

 

 

 

When you look at the blocks close up, though, you can see how quilting was used to really show off the design. You have feathers in the dark border of the block along with medallions quilted in the corners of this one.

 

 

Right next to it the border of the block is quilted in the same way with feathers and the medallions, but the center of the block is different. The top block has a denser quilted pattern whereas this one has wider, sweeping curves.

These different textures really help your eye to see the blocks differently.

 

When you talk about embellishing a quilt, though, you can’t forget about the crazy quilters. It seems like anything goes with these types of quilts. I never understood it, but I guess that some people like the look.

 

 

 

 

To wrap up this blog post I’m going to share a few more pictures of the quilts that I really liked.

Like this scrap quilt. It actually kind of reminds me of the double wedding ring quilt that my mom made for me using scraps of fabric that I recognized from other quilts or even some of my skirts and dresses.

 

 

 

Cats were well represented, too.

I just glanced at this wall hanging until my mom pointed out the cats. It took me a moment, but I finally saw them.

 

 

 

 

Then one of the vendors had this quilt kit hanging in their booth. Cats with silly hats!

Please ignore the lady in the picture as I took it from a bit of a distance.

 

 

 

 

Then I was walking and happened to glance over my shoulder. “Awww, kitties!” I said as I snapped the picture.

 

 

 

 

 

You can’t forget about old Glory. The yellow is a bit bright for me, but it’s a pretty design.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally, my last picture in this post is a table runner. The unique thing about this runner is that my friend’s sister-in-law made it. She did a nice job!

 

That’s it for today’s post. Stay tuned for one more installment….