QUILTFEST 2014

It's showtime, friends!

QuiltFest is on through 5:00 pm tomorrow (Saturday Sept. 27), and the quilts are beautiful! There are 480 in the judged part of the show.

I'm giving a short talk in the demo area today at 12:30: "How to Look at a Quilt...and Then Talk About It!"

The next post will be a brief re-cap of that.

Meanwhile, here's a picture of the All-Stars' lovely table...who will win that raffle quilt tomorrow afternoon?

"Summer Solstice" won the Honorable Mention!

Looking ahead: Get ready for a load of SCRAP QUILTING!

Countdown to Quilt Show!

This is the last week that does not have an official QuiltFest event scheduled before the show opens Thursday, September 20.
A week from Saturday is Turn-In Day, and I am heading up one of the locations where quilters will bring their entries.

"Smells fine and has no pet hair!" 

Basically that means I get to lug tables around and set up the room, but there will be plenty of helpers! And if anyone has questions, well, you know I am full of opinions!
Each quilt is removed from it's bag (let's hope everyone has a BIG bag this year!) and checked over: Does it look OK? Stains or pet hair? Is the hanging sleeve stitched on? Is it the correct size for the category it's in?
We can't do anything about stains except note them, so we are not blamed when the quilt is returned. If there's pet hair, we have a sticky lint roller!(also great for loose threads).  If the quilt has "an odor", well....at judging it has sheets over & under it to protect the other quilts.
Sometimes a quilt is moved to a different category due to the size. Very rarely it gets moved because the maker confused how much applique or piecing was done, or we find out a Young Quiltmaker (age 18 & under) really wants to compete for a prize....or a relative has helped so much that the quilt needs to go in the Duet category (two makers)!
Mostly though, we try to go with the category the maker entered in.

Next comes Judging for 2--3 days.

A category on tables, ready for the judge.

Judging is a lot of work for teams of people...quilts going in and out of their bags, tables set up, scribes taking down what the judge says, awards being decided, and all has to kept in order so quilts are not misplaced.
It's a great way to have a sneak peek at the show, and to learn from the comments.
BUT, what happens at Judging, stays at Judging!

Then it's down to the Convention Center to hang the quilts.

Thank goodness the pipe & drape is done by professionals!

QuiltFest invested in a new hanging system a couple years ago that is worth every penny. The hanger is like a curtain rod and goes on hooks, with cords and pulleys. It used to take an entire day to hang the show. Now it's done by early afternoon. It seems pretty slick, but that is thanks to a lot of organization by many people all the way along.

The next day vendors come in to set up their "booths of temptation", and members of QuiltFest guilds bring in quilts to sell.

Quilts for sale: all sizes and types!

This is a great place to buy a quilt at a very good price. There are also some antique quilts for collectors, and quilt tops. Sometimes there are purses and bags. My guild is in charge of this booth on Thursday afternoon...stop by and let us show you some fantastic holiday gifts!

Then comes the Preview Party (Wed. Sept. 19) and the show opens and it's a mad rush of happy quilters until it all has to be taken down. You can follow along here as I (over)do each activity...but if you can make it to the show, that's the best!
I hope to see you there...

Now back to quilting my sale items!

Quilt Show Countdown: Take-In Day

The quilts have been collected!
At five locations around the area, groups of volunteers worked for 4 hours to check in all the quilts entered in the show. More than 480 were expected!

Besides ones that were delivered from local quilters, there was a huge number of quilts that were mailed in. Those all go to one address, and are then divided up and given to volunteers who take care of the quilts as though they were their own: they open the box, remove the quilt and examine it for any problems, then bring it to a Take -In location. When the show is over, they gather their charges and mail them back to the owners.

Every quilt, delivered personally or mailed in, have to go through the same take-in procedure. One by one, the quilts are carefully opened up and spread out on a sheet-covered table.
Measurements are taken to be sure the quilt is entered in the correct category (and sometimes they're moved!) and to see that it is clean (lint rollers are part of the Take-In supply kits) and make note of any stains or damage.
Critical is having the top of the hanging sleeve at 90" from the bottom of the quilt. That means on very large ones the top edge is folded back over the hanging rod, but it allows the bottom edge of the quilt to NOT TOUCH THE FLOOR.
Can you guess that is really important? It is, because if the quilt touches the floor it can be soiled or damaged. In past years we would pin the bottom up...but that was a terrible job, and no one felt right putting that many pins into somebody's quilt.
This year some quilts had to be returned because the sleeve was not 90" from the bottom. If the owner could move the sleeve before Take-In was over, then it was accepted. Other wise...I guess they have a start for next year's entry!
(and for those wondering, this is clearly stated on the entry form, complete with a diagram!).

Plenty of hands make handling the quilt a smooth process as the front and back are examined, then carefully re-folded and put back in the cloth bag it came in.
The owner gets a receipt for proper pick-up at the show's end, and the quilt's bag has a big tag attached so it can quicly be identified by it's number.

The number tells the quilt's category, and they are all stacked in order until it's time to be loaded in vans and delivered to the judging location.

This picture was snapped early in the day! By the time all the quilts came in, this entire area was covered.

Pictures I didn't take:
1) the entire pile of quilts!
2) my van and one other crammed full of quilts
3) the quilts piled up on rolling carts at the hotel ...
4) and the quilts being sorted by category in the large room where judging will start tomorrow!

All the quilts assigned to our location came in except one.

And there is always somebody (for once, not me!) who needs every single minute up to The Bitter End to get her quilt binding finished!

No names, please! This could be any of us...one finishing the binding, one moving the sleeve.

I salute you valiant quilters, stitching on until the job is done so your beautiful creation can be part of the show!

Judging starts tomorrow at 7:30 am.
I'll be there...all 3 days. But I am not allowed to report anything about what is said, or what quilts get prizes, or basically anything.
I will try to get a picture or two, but it won't be easy to take a photo that "doesn't show anything". And I'll tell you about the process, even if I can't reveal any info about the quilts themselves...
you will have to make it to QuiltFest Sept. 24--6 at the Prime Osborn Convention Center, Jacksonville, FL!
Or keep visiting this blog (and here's a big "shout out" to my fabulous readers around the world! Hope you enjoy this peek behind the scenes!)

Quilt Show Countdown: Take-In Eve

It's time for the 2009 Quilt Show Countdown!
Only 13 days until QuiltFest in Jacksonville, FL, and there are many things to do (not counting all the months of work the Board members have put in since the show last year!).
Tomorrow is Take-In, when local quilters bring their creations to one of several locations around the area. Mail-in quilts have already been received and assigned to volunteers who will care for them through the show.

There's no minute like the Last Minute! It's been tha Last Minute for a couple days around here, but I am happy to say I am ready to go for tomorrow morning!
I did have time to do a mediocre job of quilting down the pink border on Roxanne's Honeymoon.
The border is 2" wide, so I marked every 2 " with my handy chalk marker. Using 3 marks, I started at one side mark , curved up to the next mark on the other side, then aimed backed down to the third mark to stitch an arc shape.
(note use of the term "aimned"...I was in a hurry and doing this by eyeball...'nuff said!).
The arc continued from one end of the border to the other. Then I went back and started on the opposite side, but making the same arcs using 3 marks. This ultimatley creates a design called "Egg & Dart", an oval and a diamond alternating along the border.
I will say this: it does improve on the un-quilted look the border had, and since the thread matches the fabric perfectly, the quilting design is not too noticable.


That was it for Roxanne's...I already had the binding, sleeve and label on!
So on to The Black T-Shirt Quilt.
I kept hoping I could just leave it alone, yet it still wanted more quilting.
Today I did free-motion quilting all through the various sized sashings, and they are improved by having some stitching in them.
This quilt may have the perfect backing fabric:
It didn't matter if I used red or black, top or bottom, it all desappeared into this busy print!

That was fine until I had to go look for the thread ends to snip.
You can see here a clip-on reading light, which I needed to find the thread, and a great pair of little scissors. They have curved handlesso I can keep my hand above the quilt, and then the ends curve back up, too, so they are not as likely to poke through the fabric.

At last, two quilts bagged and ready to go!

The one on the right is going in a pillowcase I have especially for show entries. I took a big Sharpie pen and wrote my name, address and phone number really big on each side. The fabric is red & white striped, so it's easy to pick out of a pile.
The one on the left is going in a humongous bag I sewed for toting quilts...first, it is rather ugly, so nobody would want to take it. Secondly, and most important, it is HUGE.

Friends, do not send your quilts to a show stuffed into a bag like a sausage!
I know tomorrow at Take-In we will see some that are so tight inside their bag that it's a struggle to get them out. The after we check the measurements, paperwork, and show requirements (such as the sleeve being 90" from the bottom of the quilt), it is extremely hard to get that quilt back into the bag! It really puts un-needed stress on the quilt.
And consider this: by the time a quilt is checked in, judged, hung at the show and then taken down so you can have it back, it has been in and out of that bag 4--5 times!
Be kind to your quilt AND the show volunteers....use a bag that holds the quilt comfortably!

We have 4 hours to check 71 quilts at the Take-In where I'll be working. It will be busy, hard work, and lots of fun!
I'll try to get some pictures for you to take a peek behind the scenes.
After we're done, the quilts will be loaded into 2 vehicles (yes, the QuiltMobile is one!) and delivered to the hotel where the judging will be done over the following 3 days.
Stay tuned for more Quilt Show Countdown!

Meanwhile....
several people have been asking about Shayla O'Puss and her adjustment from living in a shelter to living in a house.
I am happy to report, she has settled in quite well,and is friendly to my husband and other people, if they are sitting down (she's still suspicious of anyone on their feet!).
She's pretty well taken over the whole house, and enjoys her roles as Office Cat and Studio Cat.
But first and foremost, she is....
A QUILT CAT!

QuiltFest is born! Hanging the quilts...

Here we go! It's time to create a quilt show.

Every day I will include the view from the main entrance, looking into the show, and down along the front wall.

The decorating company came in early in the morning and put up the poles and drapes according to a carefully drawn floor plan. Each quilt's ID number is plotted to go in in place with the others in its category.

It doesn't look like much until the quilts are all up

Lots of space available...but wait until you see what goes here!

The QuiltFest is hung in the mail exhibit hall of the Prime Osborn Convention Center, Jacksonville, FL. It has grown a bit over the last few years and now the entire room is used. This is the same space used by the big boat show, food conventions, and the Home & Patio show .
The back half of the hall is for the vendors, food court, and activities. All that will be moved in tomorrow.

Today a sea of cement flooring....on Thursday, this will be where we look for PIE!

In this next picture you see the quilts ready to go up. They are safe in their bags, waiting for a team of hangers with a sheet for the floor, a step ladder, and hooks & chains to suspend the quilts in front of the black drapes.
The white rods slip into the sleeve that must be on the back of each quilt. When the show asks for a 4" sleeve, it's because something needs to slide easily inside it...so the rod won't harm your quilt! A narrow sleeve is hard to use and the hangers worry about hurting your quilt. Or they may not have anything that will fit inside!

We also like nice BIG bags for the quilts...some are really hard to get the quilts in and out of as we have to do at least 4 times before it comes back to you!

Oh, look! It's Perky Old Men, making its (their?) quilt show debut! No ribbon for this one, but I am exceedingly pleased that it already has people talking and laughing...those are my best rewards!

POM has no border...it's floating there on the black drape!

I did not want to harass the busy workers by taking their pictures (myself included!). Everyone got down to business and had the quilts all up by 2:30...including a nice sandwich lunch break.
Then it was time to get the vendor booths marked with the names taped to the floor. When they arrive tomorrow it will be easy for them to find their spaces.
As I left, the signs for each quilt with its number and brief description were still being carefully pinned in place. If you have not be involved in a show, you would not believe the details to attend to!

I took a couple of the same from-the -entrance pictures as I left:

Lookin' good in the Large Quilts category! All the bags from this row are in that basket, ready to be stashed away and return when the show comes down.

Still not very exciting up front ...but just wait!

Several of us set our car's trip meters to see how many miles we will end up driving back and forth to the show. It takes me about half an hour to get there, if the traffic is OK.
Tomorrow morning I'll be taking my quilts down to inventory them in the Sale Room (and to give you a peak at that, plus the vendors set-up!). Then it's another trip in the evening for the Preview Party.
After having some "heavy hors d'oevres" (I had to look up that spelling!) it's a wonderful time to see the quilts (vendors are not open), take pictures, and generally schmooze with quilters from far and wide.
So join me tomorrow evening for the celebration of having the show up....but the work is never done!