HMQS -- Home Machine Quilting Show

Yesterday I went to the Home Machine Quilting Show here in Utah.  Because it's only an hour away, I have made sure to go every year.  It is always a great show.  This year and last year I haven't been able to stay too long, but it is always worth the trip.  I have a few pictures to give you a taste.

The first thing I saw when I went was a special exhibit of chocolate quilts.  Oh my were they fun!

Then there was an alphabet exhibit.  These were miniatures representing every letter of the alphabet.  I made sure the piece of paper was in the picture to give a size reference.  I would guess these quilts are 16" x 20." 

I couldn't believe the detail in these two.  Others were detailed as well.  These just caught my eye.  I think the nine patches in the quilt below are 3/4" finished.

I had a quilt in this exhibit.  It looks like there were 20 of us who made the exact same quilt and quilted it different ways.

This quilt really looked like a child's quilt so I quilted it accordingly.  I quilted it with a sock monkey design of mine.  Here's a close up.

One of my favorite exhibits was this glow in the dark exhibit!  I have never seen this before! 

It's hard to catch on camera, but you can almost tell in this one.  The quilt straight back was black and white with lime green accents.  The lights are black lights.  The quilts on the left and right were quilted in glow in the dark thread.  It was so cool!

Of course, there were quilts by the masters there as well.  My favorite was this one by Sue McCarty.  No surprise that she came up with a masterpiece, but amazing none the less!

I think if you click on the pictures they may enlarge for you.  Here are a couple close up pictures.  It was embellished fabulously with a gazillion crystals.

There are pearls in the border.  I don't even know how anyone has the patience to do all of that background stitching!  Amazing!

Of course, the vendor mall is always fun.  I didn't think I needed anything this year and came home with a bag full.  Here is a friend of mine who has started designing fabric for Henry Glass.  Kari Ramsey with Fresh Cut Quilts also designed for one or two of our quilt a longs.  The quilt behind Kari is made from fabric from her first line and is a free download from Henry Glass.

But the skirt has fabric from her new line that she will be showcasing at Market next week.  So fun!

If you are in the area, the show runs until tomorrow, or plan to come next year.  It's usually the first part of May.

HMQS Update

After sleeping in on Sunday, I think I am recovered from HMQS. It was so much fun! Quilters are just great people. I love talking to all of you. I shared a booth with some other pattern designers, Crazy Old Ladies, who are friends of mine. What a riot. I want to say that it was their fault that I became as crazy as they are, but I don't think it was their fault. That kind of just happens after spending three days in a 10' x 10' space.

I spent half of my earnings across the aisle at the Rusty Crow Quilt Shop, a vendor from California. Good thing we weren't there another day or two. I might have just handed her everything just for the pleasure of taking home some of her fabric treasures that I just couldn't live without. She just had tubs and tubs of fat quarters and precut yards that asked if they could come home with me.

The quilts, of course, were to die for. I cannot even imagine all the hours that go into making them. I don't make show quilts at this stage of my life. I do love making quilts that aren't going to give me a heart attack if one of my kids curls up with on the couch.

One of my favorites was David Taylor. His award winning goat was there as well as other amazing quilts. But the best part was that on Saturday, David Taylor was there quilting his latest creation, an amazing owl. Very cool!

I collected four quilts for Quilts of Valor. That was more than I expected. I find people don't usually bring quilts to a quilt show. But many were interested and over 500 flyers were handed out. And the "Pajama Quilter's" sister won the drawing of one of my books, Simply Charming Seasons, two 1 1/2 yards of fabric and two coordinating charm packs. Yeah!

As fun as HMQS was, there was one downside. I did not get a single picture. Sigh. No excuse. Sorry.

Home Machine Quilting Show

Going to be somewhere near Utah this weekend? Come to the Home Machine Quilting Show at the Sandy South Towne Expo Center. The website is http://www.hmqs.org/ for more info. It's a great show with lots of vendors and a WOW quilt show and national teachers offering some fun classes. It's worth a visit if you are anywhere nearby.

AND if you come to HMQS, be sure to come visit my booth. It is way in the back left corner near the quilt show. Not only will I have books and fabric you may want to buy, but I will also have information about Quilts of Valor, http://www.qofv.org/.

To help the Quilts of Valor organization, I have decided to offer a drawing for quilting prizes worth over $50! To get your name in this drawing, bring a quilt to donate to Quilts of Valor. There are some guidelines like the minimum size in 50" x 60," and it does need to be machine pieced and machine quilted and labeled. You will get your name in the drawing, and I will take care of the shipping cost. QOV quilts are given to Chaplains at VA Hospitals who present the quilts to wounded soldiers. Take a look at the website for more info.

One last thing -- the vendor hours are:

Thursday, May 7th - 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Friday, May 8th - 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Saturday, May 9th - 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Stop by and say hi!

HMQS Challenge

For anyone in the vicinity of the state of Utah May 7-9 should really mark their calendars and make it a point to get to the Sandy Expo Center. For more information see http://www.hmqs.org/.

I am having a booth there this year. I am excited for the show, but it is exhausting. One fun thing they do at the show is have a quilt challenge. You are given a specific set of fabric to work with, size requirements, etc. It is a "challenge." Oh -- and it's a group project. This year's fabric is from Quilting Treasures: Ellie Fun by Karen Neuburger. This is my favorite piece of the yardage we received.

I didn't think I would get to participate this year, but today some of my quilting friends mentioned they were doing it so I get to help them. They picked a pattern, but I can never make a pattern exactly how it is written, so we made some alterations and I am excited! We will be putting the top together next week.

I love how a "challenge" gets your brain working.