A Day at the Show

Smoky Mountain Quilters had their 40th anniversary show (a year late) last weekend. The guild has a passel of talented quilters including some national award winners. It's not a huge show but it has lots of categories and therefore lots of prizes.  And the quilts are hung in a manner making it easy to get up close to examine details.

So I made the drive to Knoxville on Friday to get a dose of inspiration; I was not disappointed.  

The first thing that impressed me was this device used to keep large quilts off the floor of the commercial exhibit space.

(Obviously I'm easily impressed -- or easily distracted ...)  Just a bar hung along the bottom; I'm not sure where it is attached but it's definitely effective.

Best in Show Large Quilt went to guild member Linda Roy for her original design Berry Blue.

You may recognize the name because Linda is a frequent winner at AQS shows.  Her work is always exquisite.  But she was not alone.  In fact, I was impressed with the overall quality of workmanship in many of the quilts, especially hand quilting.  Look at the detail in this small quilt, Mouse Pad,  by Jackie Perry of Marion Virginia.

Jackie received a special award for Excellence in Hand Workmanship, and I can see why!

Best in Show Small Quilt went to Debbie James of Corbin, Kentucky for her Applique Bouquet.

Beyond exquisite!

Ode to 717 Covid-19 Masks by Cindy Stuart of Maryville, Tennessee brought a smile to my face.

I don't take a lot of pictures of whole quilts when I am at a show, mainly because my photos rarely do them justice.  But I do like to get pictures of details that inspire me as did this bit of fussy-cut fabric.

So simple, yet so effective.

I had a lovely morning at the show, then popped by Twisted Sisters for a fabric fix.  More on that another day.