Hoffman Challenge at the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival

Have you ever had the opportunity to view the Hoffman Challenge traveling exhibit?  Each year, Hoffman Fabrics selects one of their fabrics for a competitive challenge to make quilts, garments, dolls, and accessories.  The rules are on their Website.

I first saw the Hoffman Challenge at my guild's quilt show when I first joined the Capital Quilters Guild.  It was an eye-opener for me.  I was still buying my fabric at local chain stores, and was not familiar with the gorgeous Hoffman line of fabrics.  The quilts were unlike anything I had seen in the quilting world.

There are four traveling exhibits each year, selected from the entries in the Hoffman Challenge.  One of them was at Hampton Roads for the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival.  The 2011 fabric was a lovely Oriental floral that produced some fabulous finished pieces.

You can actually see ALL of the 2011 Challenge winners at the Hoffman website.  Here are a few of my favorites from the Mid-Atlantic group.

In the appliqued quilt category, this was a blue ribbon winner.



"A Work In Progress", Nancy Dickey

 I thought the artwork in this piece was amazing.  What great perspective and dimensionality, not to mention a very clever idea.

 This lovely jacket ensemble won an Honorable Mention in the Clothing category.



"Forest Light,"  Nancy Dickey



Here is the same outfit from the back.

I really loved all the Hoffman entries.

Here is a table with some of the accessories.  Love the lampshade!

Here are a few more Hoffman entries for your enjoyment.

"Passion for Purple," Pat Dews 



We Have A Winner!

Congratulations to Lois McKoy, winner of the latest Elm Creek Quilt novel by Jennifer Chiaverini!  The publisher will be mailing Lois her copy of Sonoma Rose.  Thanks to everyone who visits my blog, and to The Penguin Group for offering this prize.

Alzheimer's Quilts at the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Fest

I showed a photo before leaving for the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival that depicted the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative exhibit.  Many visitors to the show found this display to be very emotional.  Hardly any families are spared the tragedy of a loved one becoming afflicted with this disease that robs one of their memory and personality.

The names of victims written on purple strips are made into vertical quilts that are quilted beautifully and sometimes embellished.



So much love went into the small quilts that poignantly depict various aspects of Alzheimer's.  It seems I did not record all the quiltmakers' names, but will show some of these quilts that I photographed and the stories that go with them.

The Alzheimer's Art Quilt Iniative was begun by quilter, author, and teacher Ami Sims, who lost her mother to Alzheimer's.  You can read about this fund-raising project on the website, and can bid on the donated quilts on E-Bay.  Here are instructions for making and donating a quilt for the cause.

I'm Ba-a-a-ck!

Jack, Sandy Curran

It was an amazing, inspiring, and tiring day at the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival in Hampton Roads, Virginia.  I left home at 6:00AM in a dark foggy morning straight out of Hound of the Baskervilles. I picked up two other Wake Forest quilters and drove to Louisburg, NC where we met up with Sharon and Mary.  The weather improved to a beautiful day for travelling, especially as we crossed the coastal waters and arrived at the show. 


I looked at quilts non-stop from about 10:30 AM to 3:15 PM, took a little snack break, and then looked and "made donations," as Mary calls shopping at the vendor booths.


At 5:00 we left and had a delicious dinner at Chili's, complete with a few adult beverages for restorative purposes. The first picture is me and Donna Sontag.

The second is Mary, Sharon, and Christie.

I am so glad that I had a chance to attend this show and see the glorious work that today's quilters are producing.  I took lots of photos.  I remember telling the other girls that I must have taken at least 200.  When I transferred them to my computer this morning, I found that I had 888 pictures from the show!

Don't worry, I won't show you that many!  I will show a few categories of quilts per day.  I did not photograph every quilt, but there are a lot of them!

I will start with a special exhibit that I mentioned in my last post.  I absolutely loved the Linda Fiedler Retrospective.  Her work often features her technique of "thread-painting,"  in which she completely covers a flower, leaf, or other shape with harmonious colors of thread.  Most of her quilts are "Naturescapes."



Sampler Gone Awry, Linda Fiedler

In addition to her original designs and settings, I was enchanted with Linda's machine quilting of flowers, ferns, and other natural objects.

I showed a photo of Shell Island in my last post, but you have to see it up close to appreciate its loveliness.

Shell Island, Linda Fiedler

Shell Island, detail

Shell Island, detail

Linda's next quilt is one of the prettiest I have ever seen.  The Enchanted Pond is enchanting, indeed.

 

The Enchanted Pond, Linda Fiedler

The use of silver metallic thread for some of the features such as stars and dragonflies is very effective.

  

The Enchanted Pond, detail

The Enchanted Pond, detail

The Enchanted Pond, detail

Either my computer or Blogger is having a hard time inserting photos and text today, so I will end with just a few more photos of Linda's quilts.



The Day the Fog Froze, Linda Fiedler




   

The Colors of Earth, Linda Fiedler





The Colors of Earth, detail