Still more Valley Quilters QShow 02-17-11

This quilt was front and center when we went into the quilt show.  The quilting was very nice.

This sweet design was, as the sign says, hand painted on cotton, then the images were cut out and hand appliqued to the background. The breed of each cat is shown in the machine quilting.

An interesting variation of Double Wedding Ring.  Nice color.

More Valley Quilters QShow 02-16-11

Marilyn Ball seems to applique and do piecework with equal ability. She made "Going South", the quilt I posted yesterday, and she also piece this wonderful traditional "Thousand Pyramids".  

It is a much more difficult piecing job that one would think.  All those bias edges are easily stretched, so the piecer must be careful when sewing them by hand or by machine.  She has achieved a great classic coloration.

 

Great fun for a grandmother to receive these exuberant images to make into a quilt.

The addition of Josey's image is an inspired touch.

A lovely traditional applique with a nice choice of fabrics.

Valley Quilters 31st Annual Quilt Show, Hemet, CA 02-15-11

As I said the other day, I have been going to the Valley Quilters Quilt Shows almost every year for the thirty-one years they have held them.  I didn't go the first year and I have missed a few others, usually because I had my winter bronchitis.  It isn't a large show and most of the quilts are quite traditional, but they are very nicely done.  Besides, the ladies in the guild are always friendly and welcoming.

 This was surely my favorite quilt this year, so much so that I photographed individual blocks - each a little gem.

As you can see, the judges also liked it.

 
Not a realistically shaped nest, but a wonderful fabric choice.

That is a real feather - remains of the bird that lived here.

 

 Great details - the books, the pencil, the little bell.

Such perfect hand applique.

Valley Quilter's 31st Annual QShow 02-12-11

I have been traveling out to Hemet/San Jacinto to this quilt show most of the last thirty years, even before I knew my friend Liz.  I think it was the first QShow that Floyd ever went to.  Liz has gone with me almost every year for the last eighteen or so years - it is our Spring ritual.  We usually see lots of wildflowers and baby animals, but this year was a disappointment on both items.  We saw no baby animals, mostly because the area has been built up so much that there aren't the open pastures and farmyards there were even ten years ago.  And we only saw three small clumps of poppies.  I expected masses and masses, but I suppose the rain was too early (December) or maybe the flowers are just later this year for a reason I don't understand. 

I haven't had time to work on the pictures I took of the quilts, so they will wait until next week.  But one thing that we always see at quilt shows are quilty license plates....

 

I guess if you "read" the heart shape that this plate says "Love Quiltin'".

 

Here is a Lexus ES driven by a quilter.

 

Lots of Oregon plates in the parking lot - of course, retirees come down for the winter to get away from all the rain they have up there in God's Country.  The light washed out the license plate frame which says something about the "Sweet Adelines:" organization - I like the bumper sticker that relates.  

This lady drives a Grand Caravan.   I wish I were still driving my Caravan, but it wasn't a Grand because my garage is a little too tight for the length.  However, they no longer make the "Sport" which had a shorter wheel base.  I don't find my Lexus RX very comfortable and I REALLY miss those sliding side doors.

 

There was a small flock of cattle egrets in the grassy area beside the parking lot.  I don't think I have seen them in the Hemet area before and I haven't seen many lately while driving up I-5.  But it is migratory bird season, so maybe these guys were just passing through.  They don't have their apricot colored breeding plumage yet.

Even without wild flowers and baby animals we had a great time together and saw ladies from Surfside Quilters Guild in San Clemente who had made the journey out to see the show. 

Made with Love 02-17-10

The quilts at the Valley Quilters Quilt Show are generally very traditional and generally very well made. There is much more machine work now than there was at the first show thirty years ago, but the group seems to respect that there are many different styles and ways of making a quilt. This year there was at least one quilt that featured felting and several that included paint in various forms, however most of the quilts were pieced and appliqued by hand or machine using commercial cotton fabrics. I think one reason Liz and I enjoy going is that it takes us back to the era of quilt making that we remember from years ago. There are about one hundred quilts, a few garments/accessories, sometimes antique or vintage quilts and some very welcoming, friendly guild members. Unlike the huge shows we sometimes attend, this one does not leave us wilting and exhausted at the end of the day - refreshing.

"My Guardian Angels" made for BJ Jones by her friends to support her in her fight against cancer. This is a quilt made with love and expressing the styles and talents of the individual quilters who made the blocks. Appliqued, pieced, embroidered, and machine quilted it is a cherished expression of loving friends. It was my favorite quilt at the show.

It won't win any design competitions, but, oh-my-goodness, those thousands of stitches taken with love and understanding. They will be treasured forever.