Saturday, May 8, 2021

Getting Back to Normal

After all the weather excitement earlier in the week, I welcomed the chance to get away for a few days with some of the S'mores at the Mountain Quiltfest in Pigeon Forge, TN.  I made the 2-hour drive up Thursday afternoon, spent a couple of hours at the show on Friday, and came home this morning.  Most of my time, however, was spent kibitzing with the girls at the hotel ... and eating way more than I should have.

The show is put on by a couple of local guilds and the quality of quilts entered are usually quite good.  This year was no exception.  I found I was mostly attracted to stripes and samplers.   I took some photos for inspiration.

Linda Roy, a local quilt artist and frequent award winner at the big shows, used stripes in several ways in this winning entry.  Her handwork is always exquisite.

In Moody Blues, Lynda Wallace of Knoxville used a stripe in her triple sashing to take this simple design to the next level.  I like how the quilting accentuates the design.

Sue Jones, a local teacher in Maryville, TN, made this sampler on steroids.  She named it Golden.  The setting is so much more interesting than the standard sampler.


 Another sampler, this one an Edyta Sitar design, made by Kathryn Zimmerman of Mars Hill, SC, really grabbed me, as well.  I'm inspired to get out one of my many-block books and work my way through it.

I also snapped a pic of this star which would be easy to make.

Just curious -- do you find inspiration when you look at other people's quilts?  


This was my first foray into a crowd after Covid restrictions have been lessened and, to be honest, I was a little leery.  I wore a mask, but many didn't.  Which explains why I spent most of my time at the hotel within my circle of friends, all of whom have been vaccinated.  We'll see if there are any repercussions. 

6 comments:

  1. I understand your leeriness - we have ventured out to eat a couple times but not in larger crowds - my sister is having a graduation party for my youngest niece but we decided to pass it up - I have no idea how many people are invited to this get together which she says will take place outside but with a 40% chance of rain already that day I also found out that she invited people from her church, from school, friends of the family and family (some of which I know refuse to get vaccinated) - I have no idea how many have been vaccinated and even though it is outside - because we both have health issues we thought even though we are vaccinated it might be best to pass it up this time

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  2. It is still hard to venture into a crowd of strangers - I feel the same! Glad you had friends you trust to be with. A local quilter here, Sharon Engel, had quilts in the Pigeon Forge show. Hers are pretty amazing!

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  3. Yes I find inspiration in others' quilts which is why I love to look through the internet. I'm not going into crowds at all. But to be honest, I don't like crowds to begin with...anyway, I enjoyed the photos you shared! Thank you!

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  4. Thanks for sharing these lovely photos, Libby! I wondered if you might attend the show. I can totally understand your mixed feelings about being out in a crowd. SEW glad that you had some fun times with the S'mores!!

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  5. Lovely quilts, and lucky you to be able to go to a live show and get together with your friends in person! Since the stripes and samplers so grabbed you attention, I bet we'll be seeing elements of them in your work in the coming months. I'm definitely inspired by seeing other people's quilts at shows. My Checkerboards and Dresden Plates was inspired by a Chippewa Nine Patch that I saw at the AQS Paducah show in 2017.

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  6. These are beautiful quilts. Thank you for sharing them with us. I definitely find much inspiration in too many quilts. My list of quilts to make is miles long, if I ever put it in paper.

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