Vermont Show Quilts - Continued

I kept finding more and more wonderful surprises in this quilt to show you: "Gilding the Arbor" by Bethanne Nemesh of Allentown, Pennsylvania. Just look at this masterful quilting! Then scroll down and I'll tell you about Bethanne's quilt.

Bethanne was inspired by her love of the garden, whole cloth quilting, oriental silk tapestry and old botanical etchings. She drew the designs on the quilt top with chalk and wash-out markers, and quilted this with a longarm machine. Wow! This quilt has some well-deserved ribbons on it.

The quilt above is "The Jewel in the Crown" by Dawn S. Hayes of Upper Montclair, NJ. She used silks and cottons to make this opulent quilt. I love the black and white sawtooth sashing.

Below, "Looking Out - My Lunchtime View" by Susan Bishop of Queensbury, NY. And what is she having for lunch? A peanut butter and honey sandwich. 

The quilt below is titled: "Smuggler's Notch" by Anne Standish of Cambridge, VT. She took this photo, then turned it into a quilt using skills she learned from Mary Ellen Krantz. She used oil paint, inks and threadwork.  She really captures late autumn, don't you think?

And finally, here are some quilters taking a good close look at "Illusion" by Susan C. Sherman of Westport, NY (with the help of a "white glove volunteer"). This tumbling blocks quilt was inspired by an antique quilt by Ann Johnson circa 1890. Susan used a combination of recycled silk neckties and new silks. The back is also silk, as is the embroidery floss. Oh, there is a lot of embroidery in this quilt!

I enjoyed taking these photos so we could "visit the quilt show" together. 

I'm so inspired, I can't wait to get sewing!

Vermont Quilt Festival Favorites

This is "Pineapple Crazy" by Bonnie Hunter. There was no info included about this quilt, but you can read about Bonnie Hunter here on her Quiltville website, or here on her blog.

Don't you love a gorgeous scrap quilt? The red center squares hold it all together. The rest is just a matter of darks and lights. How easy is that? And look at those borders and corner blocks! Great job, Bonnie!

The crowd gathered around this quilt, so you had to wait in "line" to see it: "Sweet Memories" (below) by Dominique Ehrmann of Ste. Sophie, QC. She created a whimsical chocolate cake factory using a technique that she calls "extreme trapunto," enabling her to play in three dimensions in miniature. Details below.

Note the fabulous 3-D leaves below. Yayy, Dominique!

The crazy quilt below is titled "The Keys to the Castle" by Jane Masenas of Essex Junction, VT (the town where this quilt show was). This viewer was so absorbed in the quilt that I didn't have the heart to ask her to step aside; I just took her picture. Haha. Maker Jane Masenas collected cigarette silks for years on eBay to make this medieval quilt. See the little lock on the door? (Detail photos below)

Still more quilts tomorrow.

Still More Quilts from the Vermont Quilt Festival

This is "Indian Summer" by Alexandra Nickerson of Colchester, VT. The flower petals are made from hand-dyed fabric, and the green background is commercial batik. The flowers are machine appliqued.

The next quilt is "Mind Your Own Beeswax" by Hope Johnson of Shelburne, VT. She says this quilt shows the layers of the beehive: "Starting at the four corners and moving inward are capped honey, open honey, capped larvae, open larvae, open pupae, and egg cells. The queen and worker bees go about their business." Not surprisingly, Hope won a ribbon for this quilt.

The colorful quilt below is "Can't See the Forest for the Trees" by Jane Lange of Medford, NJ. Jane used a Moda pattern and Kaffe Fassett fabrics. 

More Quilts from the Vermont Quilt Festival

Look at this wonderful quilt by Barb Vedder! She's a quilter and blogger from Ridgewood, New Jersey, and she's a member of my Empire quilt guild in New York City. She made this quilt "Mother's Garden" in memory of her mother, Catherine Bednar Clarkson, for the 20-year anniversary of her passing.

The quote at the top is from The Color Purple by Alice Walker. This is hand quilted.

I love the colors and designs in this quilt. The workmanship is stunning. That's why I kept taking pictures!

Below, see "Magnolia" by Sue Spargo who was born in Zambia and now lives in Ohio. You can see more of her quilts on her blog. I like how she combines fine workmanship with cheerful improvisation.

Take a look at the beautiful quilting too! Nice job.

Vermont Quilt Festival Was Inspirational!

This is "New Beginnings" by Kathryn Tennyson of Chestertown, NY. Longarm machine quilted by Heidi Merrill. Kathryn made this quilt for her son who was recently divorced, to inspire him to begin a new life. This magnificent applique quilt won Second Place. It was worth the 5 hour trip just to see this quilt!

Here are two more prize-winning quilts: "Hunter Star Variation in Red" by Mara Novak of Chester, VT (at right). You can see three ribbons on this quilt, below. And notice that quilting...wow! 

The silk applique quilt on the left was made by Christine Wickert. She's in the photo, wearing the green shirt.

(Thanks to quilter Barb Vedder for this info.)

Notice the English/French sign on the right? Essex Junction, Vermont is very close to Canada which has a large French speaking population.

This fabulous quilt (above) is "Dear Lucille" by Lucille Laporte of Ste. Adele, QC. This is hand quilted. I like the sepia-tint look of this amazingly detailed quilt.

This light green quilt is "Crop Circle: Woolstone Hill" by Joanne Shapp of North Pomfret, VT. The design is based on a 300' wide crop circle in England, August 2005. 

More quilts tomorrow. Bye for now.