A Few Favorites from the AQS show in Syracuse

I'm going to begin this post with a bit of editorializing- sorry.
This was only the second year for the "Quilt week" event in Syracuse, and it was also the last.  The AQS has decided to focus their efforts a bit and are paring down the number of commitments, as described in the email I received the day after the show closed.  While I can respect the need to focus one's attention and set priorities, I do not feel that two years was a fair test for the success of the show in Syracuse.  It seems like just another example of the "get rich NOW" mentality that has pervaded almost all business practices these days.  No one is in it for the long haul.  If something isn't an overnight success, it is abandoned.  So I feel quite honored that I had a quilt in each of the shows they did have so close to my home.  But I wish they had stayed longer and taken the time to build an audience- maybe by including more quilts in their quilt show???

OK, so I took a ton of pictures and got home to discover I had taken many of them in macro (for getting the details on the quilts you can get right up close to!) mode so they are out of focus.  D'oh!  But of the good ones, I can share a nice sampling of the talent that was on display.

One of my very favorites was this one, which won First Place for home machine workmanship.  But what I was impressed by was the hand work!

Bailando en la Noche, by Shelley Stokes

I found a blog post from the maker, explaining the process for this one and was more amazed to see the design was stenciled on with paintstiks!

My viewer's choice vote went to this one.  I don't know if she dyed the fabric or not, but the design is completely made up of beads!

What's up Buttercup, by Chris Taylor

I loved the way  the striped and ombre fabrics were used in the borders on this one!!

Mandala, by Karen Gloeggler

See the black flowers in this one?  They aren't there- it's the curtain behind them!

Proud Peacock, by Antonia Hering

And then this one, amazing enough for the color arrangement and the quilting.  When I got close, I realized the rainbows were all the same fabric design, from the Kaffe Fassett group, in different colorways!  I've always thought it would be fun to use all the colorways of a given fabric in a quilt- and I was right! :-)

Chasin' Rainbows by Teri Herne

I didn't take note of how the colors were added around the edge. 

And there was so much quilting inspiration!  I have always liked a lot of quilting on my quilts, and am very hopeful I can find ways to put all this inspiration to good use!

Hosta Dream, by Nancy Goans

Toward that end, I attended the lecture with Jane Hauprich on getting your quilt quilted.   She had some great ideas for choosing designs and where to use them.  Hopefully you'll see what I learned soon.  :-)

I am grateful for:
Air-conditioning (still)
Good macaroni and cheese
Playtime with my BFF
Great ideas
I didn't step on the pointy end of that old nail!