QuiltFest: Around the show

The quilt show's last day runs from all the fun of meeting friends and seeing the beautiful quilts again to the extreme exhaustion of taking it all down.

Here is a last quick visit to the show:

The Young Quiltmakers' category is for those under age 18. There were 47 entries! They are not judged, but each one does get a ribbon. The zebra quilt in the center came from someone in my guild's annual Kids Camp.

This is "Sunshine & Sisterhood", winner of the Collaborative (group) category and also Best Machine Quilting. It was a true show-stopper, with feather designs in the yellow parts and a wide variety of designs behind the flowers. You can find out more about the group who made it from the website of the Quilters Workshop of Tampa Bay....it is their raffle quilt!

Another group-made quilt, this is the raffle quilt from the Sunshine State Quilters Association. My block is down there in the lower left corner: The Rick-Rack Shack! There are many creative blocks in here, including a light house and Quilters Rehab house.

The group quilts are just unbelieveable! I took this picture because I hoped the quilting would show up well, and it certainly does! At the time, I didn't realize it was made by the Quilting Sisters Guild in Leesburg... I'll be teaching for them next year!

The miniatures! Thank goodness somebody else makes these for me to admire...I couldn't make them! The winners (first, second & third place) were hung on these special set ups at the end of their category's row. It made a good break between the show area and the vendors, and it was easy to direct people who were looking for the top quilts....
According to the judge's decision! I enjoyed quite a bit of lively conversation about what won and why!

This is quilt is "Aurora" by Mary Anne Henderson of Marietta, GA. It is simply impossible to show the effect of the 20, 000 crystals (front and back!).
It was part of the Large Pieced Duet Quilts. This category was added recently in response to the many quilters who are having their tops quilted by someone else. Both people get a ribbon (if it wins).
Just when one controversy gets addressed, another is likely to pop up. Sure enough, today I was asked about the quilts done on the Statler Stitcher, a computerized longarm. Is that "fair"?
A good question for another time!A last peek at the demo area...what fun I had telling about "Mile-A-Minute" patchwork!
I am not even sure who this is giving a demo here, but there was always a group of people willing to learn about something new, while taking a load off their tired aisle-walking-weary feet.
I am afraid I did not do just to the merchants' mall this year. My purchases were few, though I may show them off tomorrow.
On Monday, the All Stars (my guild) will have "QuiltFest Recovery Day" as the theme for our Sit & Stitch. We'll be showing (and telling!) our experiences at the show, and I'm sure more a small amount of fabric will be revealed!

The DoubleMint Twins visit the quilt show!

I said I would put this in my blog! You know who you are!
What fun we had when one sister came to the Turn-In Day with the other sister's quilt!

Tomorrow I'll show some pictures of Take Down and start to wrap up this QuiltFest report. It takes awhile to get all the ends in place. Facts are constantly being revealed (what was the total attendence?).
It is a lot of hard work for many people, but putting on a big show like this (400+ quilts) is a labor of love, and is the most fun you can have while working yourself to the limit.