International Quilt Show

We sure did have fun in Cincinnati at the International Quilt Show on Wednesday and Thursday. All 5 of us Frankfort quilters went together and had a great time. Here are some pictures highlighting things.

The thing we have learned to do it to go on Preview night and then again on the next day. The first picture is upon walking into the show venue. No crowds!! That is the beauty of Preview night. I managed to get through every vendor aisle and actually see things, get into the booths and have vendors actually talk to me and assist me, if needed. I sewed on several longarm machines, I had a foot massage, and bought a few goodies.
The top right photo is Nancy Amidon, my new quilt hero. She demonstrates her method of hand applique. I am so excited to try this. I think I can do it!! I watched her make stems as narrow as 1/8th of an inch!! It was amazing. I also watched her make a tiny berry, not a half-inch in diameter, and she says she makes them even smaller. Then there were the tricks she showed us for handling inner curves, both wide and narrow. Very cool. And last, but not least, she showed how she builds up her applique block by gluing all the parts together, and then taking the entire piece to her background, glue-basting it down, and then applique-stitch in place. So very cool and I am so very excited to give it a try.
On the bottom left, you see just one of the many quilts on display in the show. This one really resonated with me, but I have pictures of many others, too, a few of which I will share  in the coming days. This one is called Blooming in Chintz by Rahna Summerlin of Florida. She collects floral fabrics and blended over 100 of them from her stash to make this beauty. In reading about her quilt, she says she pieced one block at a time in order to be sure the fabrics coordinated to please her. She says this is her first king size quilt, and she took over 80 hours to machine quilt it.
Finally, the most amazing thing I saw at the show was that piece of red paisley fabric in the bottom right photo, which was draped over the entrance to a booth. It was gorgeous, and with my first quick glance at the sign beneath it, I thought it was marked at $2/yard. Oh, was I ever wrong about that!!! Can you imagine paying $200/yard for fabric?? Well, that is what the price of this piece was. I was astounded. It is a 6-yard piece of 1850s Turkey Red Paisley Print Challis, 38" wide. The sign said it is from the Vale of Levin, Paisley, Scotland. The minimum cut is 1-yard, and the woman in the booth said that collectors will pay that, as she has sold some. My question next was how do they cut it and use it? She said that mostly they don't. They keep the fabric whole and preserve it as is. The woman was very nice to spend time talking to me. She said while she hopes that she can sell the fabric, she almost hates to do so, because it makes such a great "curtain" for the top of her booth, she would have to find something else to use there, and, of course, nothing else would ever compare.
Added later: I thought I should add links to this post. The amazing appliqué quilter, Nancy Amidon, can be reached by clicking here. The gal with the antique fabrics has a store called Legacy Quilts, but there is no website listed on her card. She operates out of Indiana.
So, that is a summing up of my experience at the quilt show. I will share more of my pics and purchases in later posts, so come on back, y'all!
Happy Quilting, Friends!

Happy Quilting, Friends!