Quilt Show at Stephen Foster State Park

The Suwannee River Quilt Show & Sale was held last weekend in White Springs, FL, at the Stephen Foster State Park.This is a must-go annual event for me, whether I am participating or, as this year, just going to enjoy the quilts.
If you're thinking "Way Down Upon the Suwannee River" you have it right....the park is all about the popular songwriter of the 1800's.
This delightful couple were adding some local color as they appeared at different places around the park. Love that banjo music!
And what is that in the background?
Why, it's the newest FL vendor, the Quilt Trolley! Yes, it can be driven around anywhere to deliver bolts of fabric and other quilting needs. When I get the whole story about this couple from Lutz, I'll fill you in! (No, that is not the same couple as the musicians!)
I did a miserable job of getting the info on these wonderful quilts. I apologize to all the artists and makers. I hope I hear from the artist who made the quilt above...I think I know who it is!
One of the great things about this show is they have something for everybody. If you like art quilts, you'll see fine examples of personal expression and embellishments.
And if you like traditional or vintage styles, there are always quilts like this. The butterflies were made by people from her family, and she completed the quilt.

There are some truly dedicated hand quilters...good ones!...in this area, and the Best of Show was a perfect example:

This is "Blooms and Baskets" by Itsuko Andrews. The applique done in a stunning array of fabrics, carefully chosen to give depth and detail to each flower. And it was topped off with wonderful quilting (if only my camera been able to capture it!).
I especially like that each square with a basket had a different pattern of background stitching.

Here is another quilt made by the same lady. Great color and applique, of course...that black background always makes colors sing!...but take a look at the borders between the outer row and inner section.

That's a stripe made of little flowers and other motifs on a black background. So the seam disappears into the plain black fabric behind the applique, and gives the effect of a very tiny run of pattern floating between the squares.

This is how you learn at a quilt show: see something pretty, then look to see how it was done. I would never be able to do this sort of applique, but the idea of matching the background color of a print with some plain fabric to get a floating effect...now that's something I would do!

What a fun collaborative quilt from a group in Trenton! Each block portrays a song from the 50s or 60s...this is called "Rock Around the Quilt". Elvis is well represented with a hound dog and some blue suede shoes. There's also a Flying Purple People Eater and Puff the Magic Dragon. A list of songs was hanging by the quilt so everyone could have fun playing the match game!
The group quilts really caught my eye, because here is "Lotto Xmas" by Kim Conner.
I just happen to love this pattern, and the bright holiday prints were soooo cheerful! These blocks all had their own framing borders, so when put together they have a neat double-sashing effect.
Ann Opgenorth always has at least one huge applique quilt. This is "Sandhill Cranes" (she also had another of "Appalachian Animals"). The detail is amazing and invites closer viewing. She also designs and makes metal sculptures...I would love to see them! What doesn't show up on this cropped shot of the quilt is how she uses the quilting patterns to continue the picture and motifs out to the edge of the quilt. This is the creation of a real artist.

Another artist (and a friend) is Sandy Lindfors. She had a couple of good pieces in the show and actually covered a great range of styles! Here is "Faces in My Head"...let's get a closer look....
What fun to see so many people looking out, all done in varigated threads!

"Barns Are The Heart Of America" by Sally Bowman is a study in how to take a pre-printed fabric and turn it into truly creative work. She found a fabric with barns from Ohio (yes, I immediately recognized the Round Barn in the upper right here) and cut it up to re-arrange and add other appliques to form new scenes.
What a great selection of smaller pieces! And you know I love animals! "Sonny in the Jungle" by Joyce Marie Lottinville has such pretty colors. "Molly Want a Cracker" by Sandy Lindfors was a experiment in the stained glass style. And "Love Me--Love My Pets" by Rosilyn Blanck features several dogs and a cat done in thread work. Rosilyn has a line of patterns showing different dog breeds done in thread painting.

Well, no show is complete without a Challenge of some kind, and the Lady of the Lake Guild (Lake City) had their projects from this year, to make a quilt from a book. There were lots of clever representaions of both children's and adult books.

But this is one from somebody who was reading the Pogo comics:

That gator's pink hat got my attention, so we must have a closer look....oh, my!

Check out that stogie he's smoking! This is so funny and well done!
I am really sorry I did not get the maker's name!

There is less than one month left for Florida Quilt Show Season. It will end with the new, to FL, World Quilt & Textile Show in West Palm Beach next month, and pick up again in January next year.
I hope you go to a show soon...every show is worth seeing! No matter how small, there is always something waiting to be seen, something that has a good lesson for you to learn, something that has laughter and beauty to share.