AQS Quiltweek in Grand Rapids, Michigan

Yesterday I stopped at the AQS Quilt Show in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  One of the winning quilts had beautiful hand quilting on a clam shell quilt.

Beautiful stitching!

There is so much variety in quilting now, and since I am still in love with the old traditional quilts, I feel like a dinosaur at recent quilt shows.  But I will show you what I took pictures of, and my thoughts on the quilts I liked.  I hope you like them too.

This was a little wall hanging made by Yvette Sullivan, of Lasalle, Ontario, Canada.  It's a pattern by Edya Sitar, and I had not seen it before.  I liked it because it looks so springy and perky.

Rainbow Nest

There was an exhibit of vintage patriotic quilts, and I liked all of them!  Here is a sampling:

This quilt is folded over at the top, and looks to be 6 Stars down by 6 Stars across.  One of the fabrics has Washington's picture on it, so the quilt was made at the time of the centennial in 1876, or after that date.  It measures 58 X 69 inches.

Washington Eight-Point Star Quilt

It has such peaceful, beautiful simplicity and I loved this little "mend" on one side.  It helps me remember that "finished is better than perfect" with my projects. 

No problem!

Another fun one from the patriotic exhibit:

V is for Victory!

The information next to it says it was made to celebrate victory in World War II, and is titled, appropriately, "Thumbs Up".  Interesting little "X" in the corner of each square too.  It's 72 x 86 inches.

Thumbs Up!

Another in the exhibit was a bold red, white and blue quilt:

Kansas City Star Pattern

Detailed Information

 Closeup picture:

Bold and Beautiful

Moving on from the exhibit of vintage patriotic quilts, here are a few that I photographed from the quilts entered into the competition:

A paper piecing labor of love:

Closeup of the center:

Titled "Why Not?" and made by Angela Petrocelli, of Prescott Valley, AZ.  She used light and dark values to perfection.  It took second place in large quilts, home machine quilted, and is 75 x 75 inches.  Many people who were looking at it wondered how many hours were spent making it.  I never keep track of the time, and I bet Angela didn't either.

I liked the sashing on this one, and took a picture to remind me of how I liked the dark squares of the nine patches, and how they emphasized the separation of the blocks.  It was made by Kathy J. Havelka, Louisburg, KS and is the Afternoon Delight pattern from Susan Garman.

Afternoon Delight

   

I love how the rows of nine patches look from the side view:

Quilt is 89 x 89 inches

Next is a quilt that has the detail of a photograph:

Thread painting by Jan Berg-Rezmer, Gladwin, MI.  Entered in the Wall Quilts - Home Machine Quilted, it measures 34 x 34 inches.  It is named "Stick with Me Kid" and the detail in the reflections in the water is incredible!

Closeups:

The yellow cat thread painting:

I wish I knew how to do this, but then, I have so many things on my bucket list right now, that I don't really want to learn any new techniques, other than faster and more accurate ways to piece the quilts I have in progress.

Hope you enjoyed this little mini quilt show.