Monday, October 20, 2014

Quilt Show

I was lucky to see a post on Facebook that reminded me I could spend this past Saturday admiring quilts by the Needle Chasers of Chevy Chase. It was in the armory-town hall in Kensington, Maryland. About a ten mile drive which took only 45 minutes due to road work and lots of traffic out along the way. The weather was beautiful like we expect in the fall.

When I arrived I found a  DC Modern Quilt Guild friend, Linda who blogs at
I FinallyHaveTime waiting to show me around the big hall with lots of very colorful quilts. I went through twice the second time stopping to snap photos of the ones that I liked the best. The raffle quilt you see in this first photo was up front and a very handsome extra colorful.

ORANGE! I felt right at home. These are two by quilter Fran Card I liked. "Condos for Elderly Angels" and "High Desert Fall" were two that featured lots of orange.

She also quilted this interesting circle quilt called "Black Hole"that has a surround of black on black log cabins. You have to look closely the contrasting value is almost non existent. The detail shot shows it a little better with some help from photo shop.  

This next quilt was a kit Margaret Ann Sparks bought in 1959 called "Rose of Sharon" which she write was too complicated then so she shelved it and got it back out in 2012 keeping track of her time she completed it this year. 263 hours applique and 406 hand quilting the finish! How she kept track of those times I would love to know. 
Wool is the latest new thing we have been seeing in quilting with embroidery holding appliqued bits on top. This next quilt is a mix of wool and cotton and was made to decorate a Downtown apartment. Westend Greens by Kim Kelly shows lots of creativity. 
I loved the bold color and skilled applique of this quilt called "Jacobean Garden" by Barbara Marom-Pollack, It's kind of Elizabethan to me but I have always loved these exotic flowers in prints and this appliqued version is sort of a magical modern version. 


Next is a small photograph picture based quilt  by Donna Radner called "North Woods" the scene reminds me of hikes I have taken on the edge of the Potomac River up near Great Falls. It was about 20x30 inches and the black is the drape it's hanging on not a lopsided frame.
Two quilts made from "scraps" in blues and whites appealed to me but I doubt I have the patience to make one like these for myself. 
the first is a detail of a bed sized quilt Marty Fry calls "Churchville" a "lady of the Lake quilt.
also "Regency Sampler" was very sweet in blues by Marty Fry 49x49"
Modern quilt guild member Anne Brill did this quilt I liked at the guild when I saw it and was inspired. She titled it "Low Volume" a bed sized quilt that came right off her bed to hang in this show. I took a detail shot to show the simple design works so well.

Black and white blocks made with 2 inch squares  makes up the next quilt I thought was notable for the time it must have taken and the simple graphic results. Martha Lisle called it "Adams Rib" for the Hepburn and Tracy film. 

There was a little birthday quilt made by a bunch of kids in one family that had some great insects in the prints and the machine quilting. Jan Danis's grand kids I think is who did this quilt. I liked the dragonflies and the wonky diamonds. 
These two color quilts were my some of my favorites in the show of 200. They are by a Marina Baudoin who also does long arm quilting professionally. 
 Then there was this interesting batik quilt of x and crosses with an inset picture of horses.
 An orange modern quilt
 The amazing "Wedding Ring" quilt in marigolds with red and a bit of turquoise by Renuka Algama. Next to the "Zinnias" by Elizabeth B. Davison  pictured quilt was like a garden delight.

Finally I caught Linda walking across the room and surprised her with my flash. Thanks for making me feel right at home with all the other quilters Linda! Great to have a catalog of the titles descriptions to bring home and allow me to give you some details about who did which quilt and what they call them.

2 comments:

Linda F. said...

Wow Frederick! That was quite a detailed and wonderful description of some of the quilts in the show. Thank you for your wonderful photography and blogging! So glad that you were able to make it there.

Sujata Shah said...

Beautiful quilts! Thanks for the show pictures. I like those quilts from the solids too.