Thursday, March 25, 2010

Lancaster AQS Quilt Show Review

Click your heels three times girls - we're not at Host anymore!!!
Thanks for the memories!

The Lancaster Quilt Show has moved on up, into town, and into beautiful new digs in center city Lancaster, and Lancaster has rolled out the red carpet for us. Thank you AQS for your dedication to keeping quilts in Lancaster!


This is Penn Square facing the new home of the AQS Lancaster Quilt Show in the brand new Lancaster Marriott and Convention Center.

Take a step inside this beautiful Marriott - ahhhh... lovely! And, let's address a necessity here that is all too often overlooked at quilt shows - our comfort. The hotel has plenty of locations to grab a snack or beverage throughout the 3 floors which house the quilt show. And now for the big news - the venue has plenty of clean and beautiful womens' bathrooms - do I hear "hallelujah!".

It is an amazing feat that AQS could pull off this quilt show - remember, they had less than a year to orchestrate this show in a brand new facility - Congratulations! I can see this show growing exponentially in years to come.

I attended the show yesterday with friends, and returned today to get more pictures for you all. There was a nice crowd yesterday, but today there was a CROWD - it was packed this morning when I arrived. The parking garage in town was almost full to capacity and the show aisles were shoulder to shoulder with women, and a few token men, shopping and quilt viewing. Everyone was impressed with the new venue.

The quilts are beautiful. I'm going to share with you snipplets of photos of some of the prize winning quilts - you need to attend the show in person to appreciate the beauty of these works. Many congratulations to Marilyn Badger of Saint George, Utah for receiving Best of Show awarded to her quilt "Filigree". The quilting is exceptional, and almost all of it done with metallic thread.

Best Hand-workmanship was awarded to Suzanne Marshall of Clayton, MO for her entry, "Vases". This is a stunning quilt - her color selection is lively and the hand quilting is impeccable.

The award for Best Long Arm went to Rhonda Beyer of Tualatin, OR for "Darwin's Diamonds and Flowers." This quilt is beautiful - but unfortunately it was placed too far back in a poorly lit location to truly appreciate the intricacy of the quilter's work. While this venue is better, unfortunately lighting is still an issue in parts of the exhibit hall.

Linda Roy of Knoxville, TN was awarded First Place in the Appliqued Bed Quilt category for "Icing on the Cake". I love the chocolate background fabric she used - her stitching is incredible.


"Oriental Expressions" by Karen Kay Buckley of Carlaise, PA received second place in the appliqued bed quilt category. I love the leaf spirals in her border - again it was a very dark location and you could not fully appreciate this quilt.


First place in the Wall Quilt Category was awarded to Janet Stone of Overland Park, KS for "Alpha Block Celebration" - everything about this quilt is lovely - I especially like her tabbed border.

I love this quilt by Deborah Kemball of Baie D'Urfe, Quebec, Canada - "Jewelled Garden" - it received third place in the wall quilt category - it is a personal favorite as well as a judge's favorite.

And now for my awards for the quilts that I felt deserved awards - I bestow upon them the "thread from the edge award" - sorry, no monetary value. I love this quilt - it is something I would never undertake but the quilter's workmanship is extraordinary - Congratulations Diane Johnston of Pahrump, NV for this lovely version of a Dear Jane quilt that she titles "Northwest Passage". The reverse applique is beautiful, and the different quilting in every block is so appreciated.

The second "thread from the edge award" goes to Terri Stegmiller of Mandan, ND for "Here's Looking at You Cat". I love the eyes - you have to see the cat's eyes as well. Beautiful imagery.

I obviously did not get photos of all of the prize winning quilts - to those not mentioned, sorry and congratulations. AQS invited us to a lovely premiere of the Lancaster Quilt Show - thank you so much. Three specific requests for next year - 1. better lighting; 2. full frontal views of the quilts; and 3. no quilts more than 4 feet back from the viewing area.

And to Lancaster - thanks for welcoming us with open arms. Take note of the enthusiasm of the local businesses getting into the spirit of the show. The daily menu at Carr's was blanketed with a quilt background.

This dress shop dropped a yo-yo quilt as their backdrop,

Traditional quilts stocked the shelves in this window display.

Papagalleo's spiced up their window with this lovely quilt. Get a load of my reflection wearing the zebra dress - not quite my style.

And FIG Publishing really exercised their creative side with this beautiful window display featuring quilting frames circling some of their many publications set in a patchwork inspired arrangement - love it! And yes, I am definitely as thin as my reflection suggests - not!

Oh, shopping - yes I did plenty of that, but this blog post has gone on long enough. Tomorrow I'll open my shopping bag and share with you my purchases. I will say that if you are heading out to the show before my shopping post I recommend making sure you stop at the Renegade Shops on Route 30 (across from the Host Farm) - there are quite a few good vendors in this location.

12 comments:

Pinkadot Quilts said...

Great post Lisa you captured the flavor (no pun intended) of the show.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for sharing your pictures of the show. Wish I could be there too.

Quilting Queen said...

Awe inspiring quilts. Having the merchants involved in quilt displays was a great idea. Thank you for sharing your pictures.

yahaira said...

I would so love to go. I think it would be just as much fun walking around town and seeing how the local stores were inspired by the show!

Terri Stegmiller said...

Lisa, I'm so honored to have been given your "thread from the edge" award. Thank you so much. Your post was fun and makes me wish even more that I could have attended the show.

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much for your kind comment about my quilt "Jewelled Garden" - I'm glad you liked it! And thank you for writing and posting photos of the show so that those of us that can't attend get a good feel of what it's like! Deborah Kemball

Anonymous said...

Thank you for showing pictures of the quilts and thanks for stopping in my blog and you kind comments... Happy Quilting

Anonymous said...

Whoa....lots of posts. armchair quiltshow! very positive, Lisa! ck

Anonymous said...

I love you folks with blogs that post pictures of shows I can't attend! That's my quilt,Alpha Block Celebration, that won 1st place in the wall quilt category. I am so thrilled and humbled considering the competition! Thanks so much for posting and I'm glad you enjoyed the show! Janet Stone

Anonymous said...

I saw all the quilts you listed in person and your story tells it all. Great job. I'll go back next year for sure.

Barbara in Annapolis

Unknown said...

You wrote a fantastic quilt show synopsis. I really enjoyed reading it! Thanks,
Linda
http://www.lmpoole.blogspot.com

Debi R said...

Diane did win Best Combination award recently for her Northwest Passage quilt at HMQS in Utah recently. WTG, Diane! Her quilt IS simply amazing!
Debi, Pahrump

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