Sunday, 20 March 2016
We made it to the quilt show! at the Columbia Pacific Heritage Museum. It was not a long trip as the museum is about three blocks from our house.
Here are our favourite quilts, with an excerpt about the quilt following each one. Each of the 130 quilts had its own beauty. This selection is influenced by my love of garden and beach themes, jewel tones of purple-blue-green, and an appreciation for abstract patterns. You can look at every one of the quilts in this Peninsula Quilt Guild’s Facebook page album. If your favourite colours are earth tones, you’ll find many more quilts to admire.
garden themes
Becky Olson Evans: “Pi’o Ana Keanuenue Ma Luna O Luna’I” is the Hawaiian name for this quilt by Pacific Rim Company. The busier the applique the more fun I have…”
The Hawaiian pineapple quilt had a crowd around it admiring the stitching. Someone said the quilter used the width of her finger as a guide.
Below: I do love a green and purple colour theme.
Joanie Chapel: “The leaves were made with one of a kind hand dyed batiks. It was fun making the leaves as beautiful and striking as possible.”
Deborah Berkely: “I wanted a new challenge, so 45 degree angles was it. I sewed, ripped out, cussed (under my breath), and sewed again. After numerous attempts, it all came together but surprise—it was the total opposite of the pattern.”
Teri Keizur: “I started this quilt in late 2009. one of the first quilting classes I took. The hexagons went together quickly, but the quilt was up on the design wall two or three times before the layout was finalized.”
Below, the quilt that got my vote for the best medium quilt. Again, I was swayed by childhood memories of my grandmother’s autumn canning. I also may have been swayed by fondness for the creator of the quilt, a former gardening client (whose garden I gave up because it was steep and plagued my knees).
Ann Saari: “I found some canning jar patterns in a box of fabric I got at a sale and they reminded me of the pantry (actually cellar) at my Aunt Dorothy’s farm out east of Spokane. Each summer I stayed there helping with gardening and canning.”
I was overwhelmed by sweet memories of helping my grandmother can pears, peaches, applesauce, green beans, tomato sauce, bread and butter pickles, Virginia sweet chunk pickles, beets, apple butter…
The medium quilt that would otherwise had gotten my “people’s choice” vote also featured fruit…uncanned, on the tree.
Kathy M Dean: “This 60s era quilt top was purchased at an antique store in Aurora, Oregon. I added the borders and had it hand quilted by a wonderful group of women. Fun fabrics, including the red telephone fabric.”
Becky Olson Evans: “Several years ago I completed 3 of these blocks and then lost interest and tried to sell the kit. Nobody bought it, so since I had so much work already done, I gritted my teeth and finished it! So glad I did not sell it as it is a favorite of mine!”
Jan Darcher: “Original design, inspired by my garden. Hand embroidery on “fancy” fabric.”
My favourite large garden themed quilt:
I couldn’t even get far enough back to get this whole large quilt in the photo. Maureen Bittner: “…from a pattern found in the Mar 2001 Quilters’ Newsletter Magazine. I fell in love with the quilt and decided to make it a scrap quilt instead of using batiks. After finishing the quilt thought the border too blah so I appliqued butterflied to it, which was not part of the pattern.”
Hollyhocks almost got my vote for best large quilt because I loved the butterflies around the edge so much. Here are some detail shots:
memory quilts
There was one quilt that just aced out Hollyhocks for my Large Quilt People’s Choice vote, because it reminded me of my childhood when I used to go camping with my mom and my dad, an avid lake and river fisherman. The name of the quilt is perfect:
Earline Nichols “I found this pattern in a quilt shop last summer in Caldwell, ID. It reminded me of the many fishing trips I went on with my father in various parts of Idaho and Yellowstone Park. It was quite a task to get all embroidery finished so I could enter it in the show.”
This is the first time a non garden-themed quilt got my vote for best of its category (large).
More quilts that evoke memories:
Marge Herrell: “After my Mother passed away, I used her fabric scraps to make memory quilts. I made 8 small quilts for family members.” The dresses were beautiful; I wish this quilt had caught my eye so I could have gotten a crisper photo. I think it was in a busy, bustling room of small quilts.
Janet Darcher: “Following my father’s passing in Feb 2005, I made six Papa Quilts for my mother and sisters (4) from his favorite “stuff”. He was a fireman, carpenter, gardener, and grew up in the “dust bowl” and served in the Navy during WWII.”
Joe Ann Riedesel: “My mother had started the blocks using a pattern from Fons and Porter Magazine. When she passed away I inherited the project. I finally decided to finish the blocks and set them together. A “sunny” way to remember my mother.”
I read the following description of a quilt that I did not photograph. I now wish I could see it, as this touches me so deeply:
Remembering Grandmother by Audrey Johnson: “My grandmother made a quilt with this pattern sometime before 1967. My sister has that quilt. I drafted a pattern and used 30s reproductions of fabric like she had put in her quilt. All the “Y” seems make it a bit harder than a smple nine patch. I often wished for Grandmother to be at my elbow to explain how to best construct this block.”
A memory quilt for someone I knew:
Carol Osterholm: “Two very dear friends, Ethel and Nellie. For the life of me I could not keep their names straight so called them both Nethel! They both loved blue and yellow so this quilt is dedicated to them both.”
memorial for quilter Nellie Beasley
Long time Peninsula resident, expert quilter, and occasional gardening client of ours Nellie Beasley died earlier this year. The Quilt Guild memorialized her with a display of photos and her quilts.
geometric and abstact quilts
Along with my love of gardening quilts, I also go in a big way for bright and exciting patterns in jewel tones and for the traditional quilt patterns in my favourite colours.
Doris Schalka: “I’ve always said “Wow” at any Bargello quilt I’ve seen. I found a pattern that simplified the construction but found that the hard part was getting the colors to flow to make the wave effect.”
Gail Messick: “Took a class from Janet King. This pattern was way out of my comfort zone, but I was able to complete it and I’m happy with it. Just like the bright colors. Seems to make the pattern stand out.”
Below: Again, I do love a green and purple colour theme.
Billie Warrick: “I originally started this quilt for a guest room my eldest daughter usually stays in. Purple is her favourite color. She recently bought a home for her and our precious granddaughter. What better housewarming present than a quilt for her new beginnings.“
Maureen Bittner: “I made this quilt in a class taught by Lee Fowler using her pattern Encapsulated. It was a fun quilt to make and great for using up scraps.”
Karen Snyder: “Random and wonky were the goals for this quilt—a part of my effort to use up my batik fabrics. This quilt nearly depleted my batiks. Yeah!”
Gretchen Mobley: “This quilt is a Block-of-the-Month project. It was my first paper-piecing quilt. It was quite a challenge and I discovered while doing it that I enjoy paper-piecing. It won’t be my last paper-piecing quilt.”
Joanie Chapel: “I always wanted to be in a circus. Never happened so I made a circus quilt. All 7 Dresden Plates were appliqued with the wildest fabric in my stash. It took months to free motion quilt every inch of this quilt. I am slow.”
Kathy Vale: “The strips for this scrap quilt were pieced on adding machine tape I found at a thrift shop. Many small scraps were used, the strips were then made into blocks and viola…a paper pieced scrap quilt. It was lots of fun to make, but it didn’t make a dent in my scrap accumulation!”
Lynda Newell: “A Jacqueline DeJong pattern that really got my brain ticking. These look pretty intimidating but really when done step by step in her directions they aren’t too bad. They do take a considerable amount of time to complete. Jacqueline is from The Netherlands. The translations sometimes require standing on your head to understand.”
Lynda Newell: “Complicated looking geometric designs really get my brain ticking. Jacqueline DeJong, through her company, Be Colourful, is one of my favourite designers. She lives in The Netherlands. Her early patterns were all in metrics but she is now printing them in inches, which is much easier to figure out. Her translation to English is still sometimes challenging.”
Joanie Chapel: “This is a color splash quilt. I love to select colors from light to dark and blend them together.”
This quilt won me over despite being in brown tones. I love the description: “Using Asian fabrics, I made this wall hanging and I used a technique from Freddy Moran, called “sticks”. When it was completed, I was reminded of the dinner table after a Chinese meal at the Canton Grill in Portland, OR, I restaurant our family frequented many times when I was growing up. Chopsticks everywhere, and tip money left on the table.” Now I have a strong desire to dine at a Chinese restaurant.
Marian Martzall: “This quilt was inspired by the hand-dyed fabric I bought (the most I’ve ever paid for a yard of fabric) and I didn’t want to cut it up.”
Renee Newstrum: “Pop! is what happens when bright prints are highlighted on a low volume background. This Drunkard Path pattern was inspired by a photo of a wall hanging of the big medallion centerpiece.”
Quilts at the Beach
One wall of quilts all featured a beach theme.
Beach Challenge: “Each year the Northwest Quilt Guild Exposition is held in Portland, Oregon. This year, the organizers challenged the Peninsula Quilt Guild to make and display quilts depicting our vision of “life at the beach”. The quilts needed to be fairly small and originals by guild members. The results are as varied as the artists who created them.”
These were my favourites:
Clearly, Joanie Chapel’s were my favourite quilts of the show. School’s Out got my vote for best small quilt. Joanie Chapel: “I love applique, embellishment and landscaping in my quilts. I combined all three when I made this quilt. The fish were fun to make.” Little sparkly “jewels” embellish this quilt.
Karen Snyder: “When our guild was asked to participate in a challenge called Quilts at the Beach, I decided to step outside my comfort zone and do a non-traditional quilt. It was my first time beading and I really enjoyed it.”
Ann Saari: “I used several paper pieced designs from Cheryl Peck’s book “Seascapes” and put them together. I need a class to make this really work.” I think it works well, Ann.
Renee Newstrum: “My improvisational quilt depicts the magic that is clamming at night. The remnants of sunset, the stars in the darkening sky, and all the lanterns carried by people are all parts of what makes this such a favorite experience.”
Marian Martzall: “I saw this pattern while visiting my granddaughter, Megan in Newport OR, while she was going to school to become an Aquarist. Hence, I got to try a new method/pattern and use my Batik in the border that I bought in Ghana, Africa.”
Gloria Park: “Living at the beach brings us lots of wind. The wind brings the kite enthusiasts with their bright, beautiful, and all around delightful kites. Blue ocean waves and soaring kites make for outstanding days.”
Terri Seifried: “I made this quilt to hang in my sewing room. The pattern and fabrics make me happy.”
Billie Warrick: “A celebration of our life here at the beach. Despite the ever looming threat of a tsunami, life goes on.”
Rena Andrews: “This quilt was inspired by where I live just two blocks from the beach on the Long Beach Peninsula. It was designed by using a composite of photos taken by my daughter and myself.”
Beth Riesen: “This quilt is based on a photo that I took on my first morning clam tide. I turned around just in time to catch the sunrise. As I looked at the photo later, I realized the sunrise was reflected in the sand. The photo and many of the fabrics were pinned to the design wall for months. This was my first attempt at a landscape quilt.”
Lynda Newell: “Sunsets and Bonfires popped into my head immediately with fond memories of childhood growing up in Seaside where I live today and still enjoy those magical times on the beach.”
Joe Ann Riedesel: “I love to dig clams. I had my husband draw the pattern for the Lady Clammer.”
Terri Seifried: “This quilt is a loose interpretation from an aerial map of Oysterville, WA designed by Rickie Seifried. She was inspired by a workshop she took with Victoria Goodwin. Photos were incorporated to give a sense of time between the present and the past.”
When I first lived here, that barn was still standing, but fragile; it blew down in a wind storm.
Kelly O’Brien: “I took a class on woven quilts a couple of years ago. The theme of the beach challenge was anything to do with the beach and I love kites.”
The quilt below was larger and not in the beach theme display, even though it is definitely beachy.
a few more quilts
Terri Seifried: “I made this quilt to hang in my sewing room. The pattern and fabrics make me happy.”
Janet Darcher: “Redwork (hand embroidery). Made for my daughter when she was 13.”
Beth Riesen: “My son-in-law is a huge Dr. Who fan. I have been looking for the perfect pattern for a Dr. Who quilt. I saw the quilt made up at Fabric Depot. My quilt will be going to him right after the show and will be going on deployment in May.” Our very best wishes for her son-in-law’s safe return. We are Dr Who fans also.
Kathy Vale: “My grown son, Sean, loves anything Dr. Who! So I made this little scrap quilt for him. There was no pattern, only a picture on Pinterest, so I graphed it out and collected some yellow frabric and started. It was fun and another scrappy quilt for me to make.”
I hope you’ve enjoyed my favourites of the 130 quilts that were on display in the show.
Love quilting! These are so beautiful.
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Thanks for appreciating!
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I love the Peninsula Quilt Show and was so sorry to miss it this year. What a treat to read your blog this morning!! Thank you.
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TThanks, dear Lorna! Have a look at ALL the fabulous quilts on their FB page. So many it boggles the mind.
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Wow! I had lost interest in quilts many years ago, but some of these made me sit up and take notice. Especially the leaves motif that was done with batik. Stunning!
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I am really impressed with the original designs and enhancements to traditional designs.
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Wow, there are some outstanding quilters. I would be hard pressed to pick a favorite and I am now inspired to get busy on all my UFO’s for sure. I would love to come to the next quilt show. That would be a dream trip and hubby and I should start planning now!!! Thank you so much for this wonderful post.
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Oh, do come for the next one!
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Hi, trying to find a pattern that Lynda Newell made. entitled Kismet.
Thanks, acc@pmquilting.com
Heather
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If you can access Facebook, find the Peninsula Quilt Guild page and I bet someone would help you track it down.
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