Quilting Pilgrimage

"Floating" by Patty Ashworth

Today I made what turned out to be an arduous journey to Harrisburg for the PA National Quilt Extravaganza. It is actually only about an hour and a half away. It was my first time going to a quilt show and I was pretty excited. I just got slowed down (by an hour) by two traffic jams! This was all because of post-football game traffic and construction in one area. I almost turned around and came back, knowing that I'd have maybe two hours at the show, if I was lucky. But I realized I'd be way more upset missing out on such a cool opportunity than I would be if I got there later and had to rush through the whole show.

I arrived with two hours to spare! And I didn't even have to pay admission! Interestingly, there was also a gun show going on at the same site. Despite the opportunity, I did not hesitate to continue with my original plan (the quilt show).

I did have to rush with my shopping a bit but found many lovely fabrics. I was particularly drawn in by the Asian style fabrics as well as the Halloween prints. I have been reading Tonya's blog (Lazy Gal Quilting) and was reminded how much I have always loved Halloween but had forgotten over the last few (10?) years. I was inspired by her love of Halloween and the fantastic projects she has made over the years and posted on her blog. So part of my pilgrimage was to discover cool Halloween fabric in the hope that I, too, may do something cool with it eventually. I had also hoped to find some particular patterns (especially a cute acorn pincushion) but was out of luck.

Here are my fabric finds and the one apron pattern I bought:
These two pictures are from the same fabric. This fabric is AWESOME! The pictures remind me of a really cool Halloween picture book I had as a kid. Now I want to find the book again. The fabric is called "Unhappy Hour" by Alexander Henry. I have no idea what to do with the fabric but I love it and I just need a little courage and inspiration (oh, and time).

The above photo is just a mix of fabrics I couldn't pass up. Below is some great fabric I bought from Sis N Me. The center photo includes the girly apron pattern I bought by Vanilla House. I've been looking for something just like this to make for a couple of my friends. The fabric on the right is Halloween-esque, some of it from Mr. Halloween's Party.










So I had a great time and saw a lot of really creative and inspiring quilts. I realized quilts didn't have to be square or rectangular and got to see up close what beading, painting, using certain thread colors and unusual quilting can do for a quilt.

I'm working on posting them in an album on the sidebar, if I am able. Otherwise, maybe I can spread them out through a few posts.

Current Mood: Content