Bayberry Quilters of Cape Cod Show

The Bayberry Quilters of Cape Cod is a large guild that meets mid-Cape, which I joined today when I went to see their show. A few years ago Rachel and I went to one of their shows and were quite underwhelmed. But today's show had many lovely quilts to look at, mostly contemporary pieced, quite a few older quilts were shown and quite a few were traditional usually with contemporary fabric. I was happy that long arm machine quilting was not as prominent as in some shows I've seen in the last few years. And there were a few hand quilted bed size quilts that were beautifully done. Yes, there were some art quilts but none I felt inclined to photograph.

In a way I call the blue quilt above an art quilt. It was my favorite and I'm driving myself a bit nuts trying to figure out my own handwriting to see who made it and I've miserably failed. I'm sorry because this is another Marian Rosenthal kaleidoscope quilt, possibly the prettiest, I've seen so far. I constantly learn how important the fabric choice is and that various things work, in this case a fabric that did not have a great deal of pattern and was only blue.
This quilt with the bright orange, which is less than a quarter the size of the blue one, is as bold and vibrant as the blue is serene. The piecing didn't photograph well. It is an askew log cabin and each black central square has a blue button on it. This is gy Julie Larivaire and I took the picture because this paper pieced pattern keeps appearing when I go through my stack of "someday" pictures and patterns. I would choose different fabrics, of course, I think this reminds me not to use something this brilliant.
There were several pretty batik quilts including this one by Kathryn Kacergis. I think it works very well. These batiks have been popular for quite a few years and, lovely as they are, they're beginning to seem to me ho-hum. Maybe that's only because I currently have a batik quilt on my bed which has dark and vibrant colors on one side and pastels on the other and I've been looking at it a little too long.

The guild did a very good job with the show. They had a very fine group of vendors, a caterer who offered good sandwiches for a good price [I always found awful food available at the various shows I've been to in New Jersey], and the quilts were displayed well. The venue, a technical school complex, is extremely easy to find. Two different doors were marked as entrances. As it happened I went out the one I had not come in and found myself facing a parking lot that my car was not in. It took me a bit to orient myself and find my car.

Quilt Show

This afternoon Jinny, my next door neighbor, took me and another of her friends to the quilt show in Falmouth of the Crazy Quilters of Cape Cod. It was a small show but very worth seeing -- not a crazy quilt in it! Most of the quilts were contemporary/traditional. Sizes ranged from small to large, some were Christmas quilts and there was a selection of Christmas stocking quilts, but most were totally contemporary with very good craftsmanship and excellent color choices. Many had been long arm quilted, only one was hand quilted. Only half a dozen could be called art quilts, these were not arresting but it was good to see them included.

The quilt at the top is another of the one-patch Miriam Rosenthal style quilts that so fascinate me just now. I think this is a brilliant example. The quilter chose a fabric that worked extremely well in this method. If you click it enlarges and if you click again it will enlarge every further and you may see why I find it so fascinating.
The border is the fabric that was cut into triangles and made into hexagons which make up the quilt.
There were several quilts that seemed to have come from taking classes in certain techniques or styles. Of these I think the most successful were several tumbling block quilts with excellent color choices and very careful and accurate sewing. Here are two examples.
They are open to new members and seem friendly and dedicated to doing fine work so I think I will probably join this guild, possibly not until September although they meet during the summer months. They are about 20 miles away which is not a big deal. I liked what I saw.

Emprie Guild show, Urban Inspirations 2009

For the next three posts I will show pictures from Urban Inspirations 2009, the quilt show of the Empire Quilters' Guild. I thought I had made a note of who made this brilliant red quilt but I find I did not. I'm sorry not to give people credit where due. I loved the energy and sheer exuberance of this quilt. I found it very exciting. In fact the show was exciting -- so much color used so fearlessly in quilt after quilt -- and interspersed with quilts in quiet or toned down colors to give balance. The show was truly a visual treat and inspiration.

I'm sorry I decapitated these wonderful ladies but I was so drawn to their sneakers and the soccer ball, as well as the traditional African dresses. This quilt is called "Bling it On" by Pauline Meyers. I loved it!

And this quilt by Mary Butler had a quiet feeling and was unlike any other design in the show [several reflected classes taught by a particularly inspiring teacher -- though each was different the basic design was the same -- a great design but its repetition was distressing. Mary calls this "Notes Ascending". Something about it was very refreshing.

Over 200 quilts were shown, hung as intelligently a space permitted but the space simply wasn't large enough, too many were crowded together, especially the small and middle sized quilts. Some of them would have been stunning seen alone but crowded with another couple their punch was lost. Mine was one that suffered from that problem -- which was unavoidable given the space available.

I'm told a great web site will be put up, in due time, of all the quilts so that each will be presented in it's full glory -- but such a project takes time. I'll be happy when it happens but, as I told the web masters [husband and wife] I wish there could be a book as there was after the last show. I realize a book is a terribly expensive undertaking. But it is books I relate to and I still have the book from the previous show on my coffee table where I browse through it rather often.