Final Thoughts on AQS

It's been fun looking back over the pictures I took last Saturday at the Daytona AQS Quilt Show. It was as much an art show as it was a quilt show. These quilts will never be used on beds. Rather, they will be displayed on walls in formal settings or in businesses or libraries or art galleries.  I showed you quite a few of these beauties yesterday and have just a few more to share today.

Because I am currently working on a Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt, I was interested in quilts using hexies. This one is quite a work of art.  

Eobuba by Jinyoung Lee

Combining mediums in such an artful way just amazes me. The applique of the woman and child has so much movement. The uneven edges enhance that movement and the overall effect creates a breathtaking experience.

Hextesela-El Camino Azul by Carmen Maria Cambronero

The design in this quilt simply takes my breath away. The massive medallion is gorgeous, and I love the color combination. So impressive; and no, a quilt similar to this is NOT in my future. I will be satisfied to get my GFG done; plus, I must get back to business on Lake Effect, so no. No. No.

Super Moon and Tokyo Tower by Noriko Misawa

This incredible quilt was hard for me to photograph satisfactorily because I couldn't get close enough to really zoom in on the hexies. The bottom picture zooms in on a 3-D part of the reddish 'swish' across the quilt. Those are hexies and they are INSIDE OUT! Yeah. They are stitched onto that quilt upside down. Strange, but such a cool way to add dimension to a quilt. The color variations are so artistically handled, especially in the dark border, which I zoom in on in the middle picture. Really lovely.

The AQS and their sponsors host various sub-categories of contests or specialty efforts. For this show (and possibly more; I don't know the typical methods they offer), one sub-catgory that captured my interest was the Cherrywood Challenge: Poppy - The Petal. Cherrywood is apparently a maker and/or seller of hand-died fabrics. This was a popular challenge with dozens of entries. 

And some close-ups:

 

Other special challenges or categories included "Name That Tune," Medallion Inspirations," (I actually shared a couple of those yesterday) and the AQS Creative Challenge: "My Dream ____ Cabana." Quilters made a very small wall hanging and filled in the blank - like my beach cabana or my farm cabana or my mountain cabana. Here's the link to all the challenges.

One last specialty exhibit in the show featured quilters Pat Holly and Sue Nickels who happen to be sisters! Their quilts were beautiful! I took a few pictures of their quilts. All of their quilts had QR codes on the labels which sent viewers to a YouTube program in which the sisters are interviewed about the quilts. I have found and added the links to three of the videos which are enlarged under three of the pictures below.

Blue Tips on Pink Skies by Sue Nickels

 

Tea at Tenby by Pat Holly & Sue Nickels

Paisley Peacock by Pat Holly

 

Le Panier de Fleurs by Sue Nickels

Saffron Splendor by Pat Holly

The YouTube videos are all done by AQS on their channel. I will watch for the remaining videos and share them if/when I find them.

I need to make a couple of additional notes to yesterday's post. Several of the quilts I shared yesterday were actually winners in various categories of judging. Click this link to see all the winners, including the handful that I included. 

And best of all, the Best of Show for this whole event was Heartwarming Days. AQS has posted a YouTube interview with the quiltmaker, Aki Sakai which I think you will enjoy. She reveals how long it took her to make her award-winning quilt - she was certainly dedicated in her efforts. Watch to find out. *grin*

And now, my friends, I believe I have shared the AQS quilt show at Daytona in about as much detail as I can. It had been many years since I last attended a national quilt show, and I hope I can plan on going again next year.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne