Circleville Quilt Show

The quilt show sponsored annually by the Goodtime Quilters of Circleville, OH, was held this past weekend. It's hands down one of the best local quilt shows around and has been for a long while.

I wish I could say how many I've attended over the years - I know I'd have to go way, way back to figure it out. I can't say that I've had 25 years of consecutive attendance, but I know I've gone for over 20 years.

I want to tell you about a new vendor (new to me, anyway)  at the show this year - Ohio Barn Quilts. What a sweet lady! I had such a pleasant visit with Joan White about her company in Oregonia, OH (near Lebanon). I was so interested to learn how her business has evolved over time, and her care in insuring that her products withstand wear and tear of both the mailing process and a variety of weather conditions. 

 Joan's booth was so colorful! The variety of blocks she offers is impressive, and after studying her website a bit, I learned that she offers custom colors to match particular color schemes.

As I've shared here in previous posts, I have made 2 barn quilts - one for our house here in Ohio; one for our house in Florida. I have considered making more, so I was particularly interested in seeing her variety. If I make more, I would want to keep it super simple. Joan has some very complex designs!

If you know of anyone who'd love a barn quilt on their home or barn, Joan would be the perfect person to contact. It would be a great gift for someone, quilter or not. The barn quilt craze is not waning; we see them everywhere!

Another vendor I visit every time I attend is Sewing The Good Life with Annette and Craig. I visited with them in Daytona this past winter; I knew I'd see them again here in Ohio. They are practically neighbors! Their Jeffersonville, OH, home is only about 30 minutes from me. And, yes, I bought more Tilda fabrics while I visited! *wink*

Now here are a few pictures I took of quilts at the show. I mostly took pictures of quilts made by friends. Enjoy the pretty quilts! I wasn't as fastidious about taking pictures as I was in Daytona.

Pieced and hand quilted by Frankfort Girlfriend, Sheryll.

 

Pieced and hand quilted by retreat friend Lisette.

One of the winners. I'd love to make this someday.

 

 

Another of the winners. Gorgeous, but not one I will make.

The quilting on this one is amazing.

Wouldn't this look gorgeous as a wall hanging?! 

Okay, that's all. I didn't allow myself to dilly-dally, with our reunion planning in full swing last week. We had 20 here yesterday, and despite the heat, we had a wonderful day. 

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne 

A Wensleydale Plan

 Yes, I've been to the big AQS quilt show held last week in Daytona and I saw so much that I am still processing it all. So many quilts and vendors! Truly, it was a bit overwhelming.

So, let me share it in small doses. The easiest place to start is with a particular purchase I made at a very special vendor booth, Sewing The Good Life.

Meeting up with Annette and Craig was a super-fun treat. I'd contacted her a few weeks ago to find out that yes, she would be vending in Daytona. Her booth was the first place I stopped. And the first money I spent! 

And what a special spend it was. Take a look.

These are fabrics by Tilda and they are absolutely scrumptious. All except for that pink one came from Annette's booth. I already have a group of this fabric at home in a blue colorway, so I intentionally selected reds and browns and greens to add to my blues.

And, in quite an unusual twist, I actually have a plan for these Tilda fabrics. Let me take you back to this post for a hint.

Of the handful of quilting goals set forth for this year, one is to make Wensleydale, a paper-pieced beauty of a quilt that I have long admired. At the time I bought the pad of foundation papers, I made this one block.

I used scraps from a previous quilt and found that I wasted quite a bit. I held off making any more while I searched for tutorials on how to make the best use of my fabrics. In the midst of sleuthing, I got to see so many varieties of finished Wenselydale quilts, and this helped me decide to use Tilda fabrics.

The AQS puts on a mighty fine - and ginormous! - quilt show. It'd been a very long time since I've been to a national show, so I was all agog at the incredible workmanship on display. Mighty impressive, to say the least.

In addition to enjoying the show, I have increased my circle of quilting friends. Gayle and her quilting pals Mary and Joan graciously welcomed me and we had a full, fine day. How nice to connect with other quilters! Learning their quilting journeys, their preferences and histories made me feel right at home. My own group of quilting friends would be just as at home with these girls as I was.

I promise to bring pics of all the above. I am sifting through and editing. Eighty-plus pictures! I won't overwhelm you, but I will share as much as feasible.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne

A Bit of Embroidery

At the Circleville Quilt Show earlier this month, I picked up two little projects to fill down time in the evenings while watching baseball. I have also tried taking them on car rides, but it is hard to do neat, even stitches in a moving vehicle, so I gave that up.

Annette at Sewing the Good Life had a basket of these small designs in her booth for $5 each. They were just so appealing - small, easy, portable, no hoop required. I should have gotten more.

The designs are printed on what appears to be tea-dyed quilt-like fabric. Cut large enough for trimming to desired size, the fabric is single-ply with texture that evokes a worn and weathered effect.

My current plan is to piece a small patchwork border around these and then then insert them into frames. They could become gifts or maybe I will put them on the wall in my sewing room. My inspiration for framing came from a picture I recently saw on Instagram. This is my main reason for loving IG as much as I do - the inspiration is unending.

As I often do, I am linking up with Kathy's Quilts and her Slow Sunday Stitching party. For anyone who hand-stitches, as Kathy says in her post "we are your tribe." The variety ranges from beading to hand-quilting to hand-piecing to embroidery - and far many more. Check it out!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Quilt Show Vendors

A week ago I attended the Circleville Quilt Show, shared here, and made a thorough round of both the quilts on display and the vendors present. I love checking out all the various booths; it gives me a chance to discover new shops as well as some local favorites.

I mentioned in the last post that I bought several FQs from a couple of vendors; the one I used for my UFO came from Annette at Sewing the Good Life. (Shown above at Hillsboro.) I love visiting with her and checking out her new patterns and displays. I always come away learning a lot, especially about applique, and grabbing up some choice precuts to add to my stash. I saw her at both the Hillsboro and Circleville shows.

Another vendor I thoroughly enjoyed chatting with in Circleville was Janet at The City Stitcher. She has an online shop out of Centerville, OH. That's a Dayton suburb, for anyone unfamiliar with the region. She has come to this show for years, and I even mentioned her in a post from 2016.

I am always fascinated by the variety of items for sale at Janet's booth. She makes blocks. That sounds like an ordinary thing, but that is the bulk of her display - well, it always draws my attention, at least. Check out the table of goodies in the photo, above. I see Economy blocks, Evening Star blocks, and 9-Patch blocks. Often these are separated by color with enough blocks for a whole quilt. I am sure mixing and matching options are available, too.

For the busy quilter who doesn't have the time, the skill or the inclination to cut and piece blocks, she does the hard stuff for you! Making them and selling them by the bundle is inspired, if you ask me. So all a seamstress has to do then is prepare setting squares (or not), sew the rows and create the quilt top. What a great service. To some, the piecing of blocks is so tedious and overwhelming. I can see where skipping this part would be desirable.

Janet also has other products for sale. She has lots of patterns available, shown on the wall in the photos (check the link above) and she has crocheted items.

Assorted flowers, leaves, butterflies and more in a wide range of colors - and to inspire people, she provides examples like the hat, above, for making use of these dainty creations.

If you love traditional quilts and designs, cross stitch, and crochet, and you have limited time, you need to check out her shop. It seems like she would have the exact product for you.

Hope you are having a super Saturday!

Happy Quilting, Friends!