Girlfriends and The Dallas Quilt Show

Yay!!!  A day with Girlfriends is the BEST kind of day.  Okay, okay -- days with family are pretty amazing too.  Stephannie has put together a breakfast at Mama's Daughter's Diner for everyone to meet and visit before the Dallas Quilt Show begins.  Sherri and I are the first to arrive and followed shortly by Suzanne.

And then by everyone else.  Where is Stephannie, you ask?  Well, she didn't have nice words to say about the traffic when she finally did arrive, however almost everyone had already left to attend the show.  We'll meet up with her again later.  (Yes, two pictures.  I like parts of both so couldn't cut one.)

Starting in lower left corner and going around the table:  Kelly, I'm the empty space, Suzanne, Lydia, Kailey (being a bit shy with mom) Kelsey, Rusty, Anna, Debbie, Sherri, and Cheryl.

Even our little Quilter in Training had a good time.

Now, onto the show.  As soon as Sherri and I make it through the door, we are on a hunt for Maria's quilt.  We have been teased with the back of it and can't wait to see the front.  The program points the way and off we go.  Well  . . . . since we are walking past a row of quilts, we might as well pay attention.  Especially when they start out like this one.  Love, love, love it.

It is "She Was a Nice Girl" by Patricia Eckstrom of Grand Prairie, TX.  She says, "I saw this quilt and thought it was funny."  The quilt committee says, "Patricia is still a nice girl and has lots of nice quilting friends."  The design credit goes to "Quilt Talk" by Sam Hunter.

Next up is "The Magic of Christmas Eve".  I'm simply loving Christmas quilts right now thus I am stopped instantly to peek at this sweetheart.  The border is PERFECT fabric and everything about this makes my heart sing.  It is by Laura North of College Station, TX and she writes, "This quilt was inspired by the Henry Glass border fabric.  I designed the center block and garland after taking Cynthia England's workshop on broderie perse in 2015.  The tree is raw edge applique while the toys and garland are needle turn.  I modified McKenna Ryan's "To All a Good Night" pattern to allow for Santa and his sleigh flying away and used Susan Thomson's paper pieced Santa and tree in the corners of the center block and broderie border."  I KNEW the border was cool.

A black and white, with a bit of red is right near by and it stops me too.  WOW.  Entitled, "Stormy", this is by Lynette Koelzer of Wood River, NE.  Her words are, "This creation was highlighted with 1600 yards of #30 weight red "So Fine" thread.  The quilt won Best of Show at the 2017 Nebraska State Fair."  It's wonderful.

We are still moving down the aisle and I have hit a modern quilt that I really like.  The different sizes of flying geese are so enticing to me.  This one is called "Traffic Jam" and is by Jules Rushing of Fort Worth, TX.  Jules says that, "Inspired by the current DFW traffic, I decided to paper piece flying geese to replicate what we drive through everyday.  Due to construction, we are always sitting in a traffic jam."  It is paper pieced using ice-dyed cotton.

YAY!  We have finally come to Maria's quilt.  It is wonderful and I have to tell you that I was so surprised at the size.  I won't tell you more than that, but it's not what I expected from the sneak peek.  Hahahaha.  It is called "The Sparkling Sea" and is by Maria Hall of Flower Mound, TX.  She says, "When I was in the Navy cruising the oceans at night, I'd often see the bio-luminescent plankton sparkle and swirl on the surface.  This is my homage to that beauty of nature."  Yep, I can see it.

Okay, we have achieved our first goal.  Now to find a restroom.  As we are starting back into the show, I am stopped by Sherry Moran.  She is in Our Quilt World and yet we've never met.  How fun to put a face with a name.  Nice to meet you Sherry.

Well, we are on the other side of the hall now, so might as well work our way back.  This is a row of vendor booths and in one of them I spot this owl quilt.  Oh Jennifer and Debi, I am thinking of you both.  This is just dang darling.  Each owl is holding a little mini quilt block.

And right next to it is this one.   Hmmmm, I may have to try something here only with purple/red dresses and background.  Oooooh, the ideas are a swirling.

At the end of the row, we turn the corner and are back into the quilts.  Nice.  Sherri and I spot this one at the same time.  Oh how fun.  We really take a close look at it and that is required to thoroughly understand what went into this.  It is entitled "Dead Tree of Life" and is the creation of Dianne Cronenberg of Richardson, TX.  She writes, "This is my first original quilt.  I drew the picture when 'Tree of Life' was announced as the Chair Theme.  It was a combination of everything I do -- hand and machine embroidery, hand and machine applique, and machine quilted on my 40-year-old Bernina 830."  It's just spectacular.  Look close or you will miss something.

Next - I am literally in awe.  This one started in the dying process.  It had to.  Nothing else makes sense to me.  What a vision.  It is called "Inspired by Dali" and is by Elizabeth Budd of Lewisville, TX.

When I spot this next one, I am immediately reminded of the old tapestries or rugs that graced homes of years past.  It is by Ceidys Butterworth of Frisco, TX and quilted by Susan Corbett.  Design credit to Laura Kay Houser.

A quick stop at a vendor booth and this hand-dyed ribbon jumps out at me.  Isn't it simply fabulous?  I have absolutely no idea what to do with it, but the colors are wonderful.

From across the aisle, this next quilt draws me in.  I always say that I'm not a modern girl, but every now and then I have to admit there might be a little part of me that is.  This is called "Big Top Undone" and is by Debbie Herring and quilted by Connie Keller.  Debbie writes, "I used Faith Jones 'Big Top' as a jumping off point for this graduation quilt.  I used my sister's stash to make this for her granddaughter, Madeline."

Ooooh -- another friend I haven't seen in awhile.  I miss ya Kitsey -- so fun to say howdy.

It's not the ribbons on this one that pulls me towards it.  It's not the way cool binding.  It's not the embroidery.  It's the whole package.  Honest.  I love each and every bit of it.  Entitled "For the Love of Sundresses", the maker is Sally Brown of Colleyville, TX and it is quilted by Mona Levingston.  Sally writes, "This pattern was just too darn cute.  I loved every minute of spending time with these lovely dresses.  It reminded me of fond memories of when we used to wear pretty dresses."  Desing Credit goes to "Sundresses" by Crabapple Hill.

Oooh, oooh, oooh.  Again, I am not often drawn to dimensional quilts but this is so full of fun.  It is called "Curly Cube" and is by Richard Larson of Carrollton, TX.  He simply says, "Fun quilt to make.  Yes, I would do it again."  Take a minute to really look at the quilting.  So, so fun.

Woohoo -- another familiar face.  Hello Annette.

Teal -- ah teal.  I do love thee teal.  Again, a  modern take that I like.  Would I make it?  Oh my goodness, no.  It has circles.  Those are just too scary for me.  This one is "Flying Circles" and is by Deborah Kay of Haslet, TX.  Ooooh, she is coming to retreat with us this year.  Fun times ahead.  Deborah says, "Two color challenge was met and created when I found this bird fabric on the opportunity table."  Excellent job.

I would be remiss if I didn't show one of Heather Pregger's quilts.  They catch me each year.  Okay, so maybe there's more than just a little part of me that likes modern.  This one is named "Galligantyus".  I need a trip to the dictionary or encyclopedia.  Oh goodness, do they even make encyclopedias anymore?  At any rate, I do love this.  She says, "Jack the Giant Killer is the story of a plucky young man who defeats and large green giant named Galligantyus.  I've also been known to call this quilt the "green monster".  Whew, maybe I don't need to look it up.  It's just a name.  I feel better now and this quilt is really cool.

Another local artist that I have spotlighted here on the blog is Barbara Hartman of Flower Mound, TX.  I adore her work and this one is no exception.  It is called "Somewhere VI" and she says, "it is part of an ongoing series that utilizes the smallest pieces left from previous projects so that all materials are used."

This "Storm at Sea" is the color palette I love so very much.  Pam Walsh of Dallas, TX created this and it's wonderful.  She writes, "No time-savings in piecing my "Storm at Sea" as a miniature.  And it didn't make a dent in my stash."  Yep, that's right.  This is miniature.  I think my studio would love to wear it for awhile.

So, a few months ago, I joined the selvage crowd and started saving some.  For what?  Beats me.  However, this next quilt certainly gives ideas.  "Selvage Fanfare" is by Mary Beth McCormack of Keller, TX and quilted by Ida Anderson.  Mary Beth states, "Long before I started quilting, I admired fan quilts.  Twenty-five years of quilt-making later, I finally made one for myself.  I used selvages for a modern, quirky twist."  I agree but if it took that long to get enough selvages to do this, I may have a change of mind -- quick.

It's noon and that means time to go and meet up with everyone at the mini-quit auction where Suzanne is a volunteer today.

We start peeking at the quilts and I have to laugh at the center of one.  Ohhhh, so true.

Picture time.  Our quilt world ladies - back row - Suzanne, Leanne, Cynthia, and Lydia.  Front row:  Mindy, Sherri, Stephannie (ahhh see I told you we would find her), and yours truly.

Now back to the fun.  We only have a few aisles left and as soon as we start down one, we run into Ami.  Hello there.  After exchanging some future retreat info, it's time to move on.

Harry Potter!!!  It's terrific.  Downright magical.  And oh so detailed.  Wow.  This is called "Amanda's Harry Potter Quilt" and was created by Cynthia England of Dickinson, TX. She writes, "This quilt was a mother/daughter collaboration  made in a month as a surprise gift for Amanda.  We tried to incorporate as many Harry Potter things as we could think of.  We were inspired by other Harry Potter quilts on the internet and adapted some of those ideas in this quilt.  Other blocks are original designs; some of which were painted designs then appliqued on.  There are several framed photos which were lifted into my daughter-in-law's Facebook page.  Made the 3rd Howler (screaming letter) and did most of the lettering on the books."

We have reached the end.  BOTH of us stop and stare at the following quilt.  It's so cool.  While we are standing there, another lady asks if we are good quilters.  We look at each other and smile.  How do you answer that?  Since we're both quiet, she asks, "Okay, have you made more than three quilts?"  Now, we can answer and do.  She then asks about this quilt and tells us she is new to quilting and has just made her third quilt but thinks she can do this one.  We are both in awe and neither of us would dream of tackling it.  This one is called "Spinning Blocks" by Sharon Engel of Greeley, CO.  Her write-up says, "I saw this pattern on Marlene Odie's blog and knew I had to try it.  I love the purple/green combo, but it did kick my butt, he he."  I know it would do that in spades to me.

We grab a selfie and so, please meet Jean Garrett of Fort Worth, TX.  During our conversation with her, she mentioned that she put her second quilt into the show in the Beginner category and it won a red ribbon.  Guess where we are going next?

Here it is.  Wonderful.  I love the grays.  It is called G. G.'s Folly and Jean had it quilted by Jessica Harper.  Jean writes, "My second quilt.  I saw pretty gray and white fabric and decided to interpret crazy quilt without limits.  I did not have a set pattern - just fun and whimsey."  Well, Jean -- my hat is off to you.  As for everyone else, keep your eye on this name.  We're going to hear it more often in the future.

A stop at the selfie booth and the universe provides a nice gentleman to take our picture.  Thank you Sir and universe.  As we are walking away, I have to remind Sherri that she can't keep the sign.  Hahahaha.

It's time to go.  As we walk down the aisle towards the door, one more quilt catches my eye.  I did see it earlier but this time I am coming directly at it.  "Garden Tea Party" by Joni Schon of Colleyville, TX and quilted by Mona Livingston is delightful.  Truly.  Joni writes, "I truly enjoyed making this quilt as it marries my love of piecing and embroidery.  It makes me smile."  Me too Joni, me too.  She gives design credit to "Garden Tea Party" by Alrene Stamper and Melissa Harris.

And that's it.  We are beat and ready to go.  Besides, it's almost 2 and our bellies are complaining.  A stop for Thai food and once again, the world is right.  Home, good-byes are said, and the day is done.

Until next year, thank you to the Dallas Quilt Guild for putting on a great show.

Ohh, do you want to know the best part?  I walked out with ONE yard of fabric and that was required for binding on my Texas Tumbleweeds quilt.  I STILL had a blast.

See ya'll around.