Week two
Winners of Give Away
Mary's Grab Bag
Christmas Challenge
The WINNERS are
Bridget Wilson for our USA follower
Mouse from England for our International follower
We are thrilled to have such a great response to our giveaway and to meet so many new stitching friends, please keep coming back because we will be having more fun giveaways in the future.
Mary's Grab Bag/Quilt Show
I recently had the pleasure of attending two quilt shows. The first show was held in early May and hosted by The Northern Star Quilters Guild in Danbury, Connecticut. This was a large show with over 300 quilts displayed which included bed quilts, traditional quilts, hand and machine quilted, and art quilts. I was in quilting heaven!
I attended the show with my friend, Grace, who displayed a quilt of her own design called "October Sky". Her quilt was entered in the Art-Small category. They all measured less than 20 inches on each side. Autumn is my favorite season and I loved her entry.
The show also had a wonderful boutique with over 30 vendors. It was a great place for cross stitchers to shop for fabrics as many of the vendors sell the fabric in fat quarters. One can never have too many fabrics in their stash and lovely Moda fabrics came home with me.
This past weekend I attended another show presented by The Milford Valley Quilters in Milford, Pennsylvania. I brought my husband to the show and he enjoyed it as much as I did.
Please be sure to read the descriptions for the quilts that I posted. These quilts were extremely beautiful but the story behind them is what pulled at my heartstrings.
The quilts that follow are just a small sampling of the talent that was displayed at both of these shows. If you have the opportunity to attend a quilt show, please go and support these talented men and women. You will be in awe at the talent and originality of these artists.
Northern Star Quilters Guild Show
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| Grace's beautiful quilt |
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| The photo does not do this quilt justice. |
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| The detail on this quilt was amazing |
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| Lovely sentiment on this block |
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| Brilliant colors |
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| close up of quilting |
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| Such a cute fox |
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| A quilters shopping paradise! |
The Milford Valley Quilter's Show
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"Birdsong"
Made and quilted by Dorothy Decker, designed by Barbara Adams of Blackbird Designs
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| A Single Bud |
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| The raffle prize for 2018 from the Milford Guild. I will be taking chances on this beauty. |
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| Gorgeous applique work |
RJ - I stitched another Prairie Schooler Santa. This one is patriotic and from 2002. I used my own choices of over dyed threads and stitched it on 35 ct. cocoa linen. I'm enjoying all of these Santas and can't wait until I finish them and have a completed set. I've got my dough bowl ready for that day.
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| Such fun patterns to stitch. |
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| I used over dyed threads instead of the called for thread colors |
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| Prairie Schooler Patriotic Santa 2002 35 ct. Weeks Cocoa linen over dyed threads of my choice |
❤
Mary - North Pole Express is a sweet, though unrealistic, stitch from Little House Needleworks. A polar beer pulling a sled??? I still
think it's adorable and I really enjoyed stitching this pattern. I'm so
glad RJ suggested this challenge. Now, my tree will be adorned with
pretty new ornaments.
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| North Pole Express by Little House Needleworks complimentary chart when you buy the selected threads mystery linen |
One flag, one land, one heart, one hand, one nation evermore
Oliver Wendell Holmes
I come from a long line of quilters but the bug did not bite me. I am definitely a stitcher. Those quilts are truly works of art. Thanks for sharing them with us. Well if a polar bear can pull a sled then my two black bears on Smoky Mountain Christmas have a friend up north.:) As always I love yall's blog and overdyed flosses really perk up Prairie Schooler projects.
ReplyDeleteGorgeous finishes, y'all! Mary, that LHN is on my to-stitch list, as well as the companion piece. Now you've made me want to pull it out and get going on it! ;O) Thanks for sharing the beautiful quilt pictures. Such artistry.
ReplyDeleteI think the A Single Bud quilt is so wonderful! And so are both of your finished Christmas pieces. :D
ReplyDeleteWhat lovely ornaments you both created! I have stitched the PS Santa one and keep looking at the Mary's polar express one to purchase. What fabulous quilt photos you shared, Mary! Congratulations to the winners of your giveaway! Enjoy the weekend.
ReplyDeleteOh my....those quilts are amazing! Lovely stitching....and a polar bear pulling a sleigh is perfectly fine in my mind! :)
ReplyDeleteBeautiful Christmas pieces♥
ReplyDeleteCongrats to the winners!
Oh another Christmas in July, i love your pattern. Both of them are great.
ReplyDeleteThank you for all those picturs, so many wonderful and beautiful Quilts - amazing.
Big hugs, Martina
Thanks for sharing all these wonderful quilts from the shows.
ReplyDeleteYour little Santa is very nice.
Have a wonderful weekend.
Congratulations to the winners! Such beautiful quilts!!! I love that PS Santa. I did him in a large count and he is framed. The Polar Express is also a fun stitch.
ReplyDeleteI don't quilt but I do enjoy a quilt exhibition, especially when the quality is as high as that one.
ReplyDeleteLove your "unrealistic" ornament too, since when did realism trouble our designers? Out of proportion animals, giant plants and more sentient snowmen than a Frozen convention LOL
Congrats to the winners!!! Mary, thanks for the quilt show visit; I don't quilt but appreciate all of their loveliness. RJ and Mary, your Christmas projects are both adorable. I love the polar bear pulling the sled, who says we can't be imaginative! :)
ReplyDeleteAnazing quilts, the fox is adorable. Your Christmas stitches are great.
ReplyDeleteThis is a lovely posting. One thing caught my eye........those beautiful, ornate embroidery scissors with the PS Santa.
ReplyDeleteHi Mary and RJ,
ReplyDeleteThank you for yet another wonderful post full of inspiration! It really made me smile! Oh my goodness the quilts are just beautiful...the one that touched my heart though was the UFO left in a shoebox. I am so glad it was finished! I also loved the heart with the embroidered friendship saying!
RJ...thank you for stitching a prairie schooler Santa! I have always loved these guys and now I want to stitch them too! He looks just adorable!
Mary I love your Little House Ornament as well! Just beautiful!
Sending lots of hugs and love to you both!
Unrealistic it certainly is, but I rather like this sweet design. One of the great things about reading blogs is the wonderful inspiration and seeing charts and designs that are new to me. x
ReplyDeleteI love that cute polar bear! Two beautiful ornaments again in this post.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing those quilts, I don't quilt but love admiring them and the stories behind these are very moving.
Congratulations to your winners!
ohhhh my :) thank you for picking me :) love the quilts especially the one finished by another quilter .. love the ornaments too .. haven't got that one yet ..lol .. love mouse xxxxxx
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to the winners!
ReplyDeleteHow adorable quilt fox!
Love your Santa, RJ! Mary, your polar beer ornament is adorable!
Hugs,
Lili
I am so excited. I found your blog through another blog's sidebar. I am following now. I have gone back to read all your posts.
ReplyDeleteIt always amazes me the intricate work people do with quilts! They are all so beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThose quilts are beautiful! Learning to quilt is on my bucket list and hopefully I will get to it soon! I figure if an 11 year old can do it, so can I!
ReplyDeleteLove both of your Christmas ornaments. RJ I have always loved the Prairie Schooler designs and this one is no exception!
Congrats to the winners, enjoy your goodies!!!
The quilts are amazing and both of you have lovely finishes!
ReplyDeleteThe quilts are fabulous. When I first saw a quilt at a show I was blown away. I don't think you really appreciate them until you look closely at them in real life. They are outstanding.
ReplyDeleteLove both of the Christmas pieces.
Oh, such fabulous quilts! Even though I am not a quilter, I've always been so interested in the whole process of quilt making and the stories behind them.
ReplyDeleteLove both of your ornaments. PS and LHN are two of my favorite ornament designers--just never get tired of stitching them.
Congratulations to your giveaway winners--I'm sure they'll be thrilled! Enjoy your weekend, Mary and RJ!
Lucky you, Mary, to be able to attend such great quilt show. 300 quilts, how impressive. Thank you for sharing all these wonderful pictures. My favorite would be Birdsong, all these birds are just amazing.
ReplyDeletePrairie Schooler is one of my favorite designers and I love all their Santas a lot, particularly the yearly ones. I have them all but haven't stitched a single one yet, it's a shame. The day should definitely have more tan 24 hours and the additional hours would be dedicated to stitching only.
Such a lovely LHN design, it's just adorable, and so beautifully stitched and finished.
Gorgeous Christmas stitching! I love your choices, and your stitching is lovely :D
ReplyDeleteI am so excited. I found your blog through another blog's sidebar. I am following now. I have gone back to read all your posts.
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