Garden of Quilts Quilt Festival

The past few weeks I have been consumed with the Genesee Valley Quilt Show, Garden of Quilts. As many of you know I was one of three Quilt Show Chairs and the Vendor Coordinator for the show. Here are some pictures from start to finish of the show over the four day period.

Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) Gordon Field House size: 60,000 square feet. An empty field house.

Starting of pipe and drape.

By 11:30am on Thursday, we have a little more pipe and drape hung.

It's 12 noon and it is time to start to take in quilts for the show.

"Now, where does this quilt go?"

We are making progress.

We're getting there.

Looking good!

Vendors start to move in as early as 8:00am on Friday.

Some finishing touches for the quilts.

Pillowcase Party gets all set up. You could rest for a bit at the show and make a pillowcase for one of our community out reach programs.

The other side of the field house.

"Where is all this going to fit?"

Just about there.

Here is the True Creations booth. My daughter, Andreana and my husband, Jim stand proudly in our booth. I had Andreana and Jim man my booth the entire time during the show. My first job at the show was that of Vendor Coordinator, my second job was being one of the Quilt Show chairs; and then there was no more room for any more jobs. It was soooooo much fun!

Looks like the vendors are ready for the show to start.

That is until someone decides 15 minutes before the show is about to open that we need a little excitement and they bump a row of quilts.

Everyone pitches in and helps.

We reset the quilt row and are ready within the 15 minutes. The attendees were none the wiser.

Opening ceremony begins promptly at 5:00pm on Friday.

The ribbon is cut, and the show is officially open!

The show floor is busy as a beehive on Saturday morning at 11:30am.

Over 2500 attended the show over the 2 1/2 days. (Friday evening, all day Saturday and all day Sunday.) There were over 900 beautiful quilts on display. It was breath taking! It was amazing! There was plenty of room to stand back and admire the quilts, take photos and really enjoy the show and all it had to offer.

At the Pillowcase Party booth, Julie (one of the co-chairs) and my husband Jim take a few minutes to make some pillowcases.

We take a few moments upstairs to enjoy some lunch and all say, "Next time ....."

Towards the back of the field house we had classroom areas set up.

Here is a glimpse of a class in session.

Vintage quilts hung around the outside areas of the classroom space.

This shot over looks the show floor from the balcony. The balcony was a great place to relax, enjoy some food, and absorb the beauty of the quilt show. It was magnificent! There were art quilts; pieced quilts; quilts made by first time quilters; applique quilts; small quilts; big quilts; wall quilts; all kinds of quilts could be found at this show!

With 44 vendors, from CT, VT, NH, MA, OH, MI, PA and NY state; everyone was able to find something of interest.

It's Sunday evening and the show has ended. The vendors are starting to move out.

Quilts are starting to come down.

The field house is just about empty.

The quilts are down, the vendors are gone.

It is just about time to turn down the lights.

Until our next show; which is tentatively planned for June 2011!.
I hope you enjoyed the quilt show process. We are already starting to think about the next one; how we can make it even better.

To Market, to Market in Pittsburgh, PA

When you arrive at Quilt Market you see this welcoming sign.



As you enter the floor this awaits you ...

... and this is only half the floor!


There was booth after booth after booth. Here is a look at Terry Atikinson's booth. It was just filled with fun. On display were quilts from her book, Fat Quarter Fonts and bags from her new book, Big Bags, little bags.



Another booth was filled with laughter from Mary and Barb, (Me and My Sister Designs) as they were having way too much fun during a book signing. Their new book Four-Patch Frolic from Martingale and Company will be available in early June. There are 15 patterns in this book. The quilts are designed with 5" squares, 10" squares and fat quarters in mind.


Their booth was filled with quilts using their new line of fabric, Birdie. This line should be available at quilt shops in September.


It seemed that no matter where you looked you could find bags, totes, and purses.


Be sure to check back again for another installment about Quilt Market.
Kathy

Pittsburgh and Quilt Market

We are back from Pittsburgh and Quilt Market. I am just getting the feeling back in my feet. We took some advice from Mark Lipinski's April / May 2009 issue of Quilter's Home magazine about his hometown - Pittsburgh. What a wonderful city it is! Intimate and pedestrian friendly. There were little parks and squares all around. A little bit of a hill here and there; something which you don't see in most downtown city areas. Tall interesting buildings, great sculptures, and plenty of little restaurants and eateries. Which brings me to a resturant that Mark recommended - Primanti Brothers. We had the Pittsburgh classic (as Mark refers to it); a sandwich with meat, cloeslaw, French fries, tomatoes and cheese all on one huge Italian loaf! It was quite and experience. Speaking of Mark, we were able to track him down at Market for another photo with the camera this time. I don't know if this one is any better than the one with the camera phone. Maybe it's my photographer?

Thanks Mark for indulging me again.

Thursday night was Sample Spree. You can get your hands on the newest, greatest, latest and almost on the market stuff. Like fabric, more fabric, patterns, books, and more fabric. It is an experience to say the least. Here is the Moda table all set; waiting for the Sample Spree to begin. Can you guess what is going to happen to this table?

If you guessed this:

or this:
then you were right!

Which Moda fabrics do I have?

How about some Bali Pops?
That's is just a taste of what was the beginning of a fun Quilt Market experience. I'll have more to share in the days to come.
Kathy

In New Hampshire for Machine Quilter's Exposition (MQX)

At the last minute we made the decision to go to the Machine Quilter's Exposition in Manchester, NH. What a great time. I decided to take a class from Elaine Huffman. We made "Arm Candy"! This bag is made from double sided quilted fabric. It has a zippered pocket on the inside and all the seams are enclosed.

Of course because we left at the drop of a hat, I had no supplies with me for the class. Fortunately sewing machines were provided and Elaine had one piece of double sided quilted fabric that she was willing to part with. All I had to do is fine some thread and a piece of fabric for the inside pocket. As part of the class the pattern and a zipper were provided. It was so nice just to sit and sew for myself. This bag was finished in less than four hours. If you are looking for a really nice gift for someone special this bag just may be the ticket. The Gum Drop Bag finishes nicely. If you pick up the pattern make sure to tell Elaine I sent you.

Just before my class I ran into the creator of Quilter's Home. I'm sure you know the magazine.

While talking with Mark my husband decided we needed a picture for the blog. So quick find the camera. Oooooh yeaaaah, it's in the room. Good place for it! So the next best thing was my husband's cell phone camera. So as you can see, Mark is crystal clear and well I'm a little fuzzy. That will teach us to have the camera with us at all times.



Of course since I was in New Hampshire I had to visit one of my all time favorite quilt shops, Quilted Threads. The shop is wonderful; and the staff is cheerful and very helpful. One of the displays they had was from when Mark was there.

I just love this shop!

Next year MQX will be moving to Providence, RI. I'm not sure if I will be going. There are rumblings that the Statler Users Group And Representatives (SUGAR) will be meeting in Columbia, MO. Last year the conference was held just before the Machine Quilter's Showcase (MQS) show. MQS is the midwest version of MQX. So if the SUGAR conference is at or near the same time MQS is next year I might just have to go to that show instead.

Keep on piecing those tops,
Kathy