Symposium Report #3: Quilt Show

The North Carolina Quilt Symposium last weekend is continuing to provide plenty of blog material. Today I will show some photographs from the Quilt Show, whose theme was Raleigh, City of Oaks. They are in no particular order. More to come in later posts!

Here is the raffle quilt, designed by Mary Corcoran, pieced and appliqued by members of Capital Quilters Guild, and quilted by Cathy Kirk.

I can't determine the name or maker of this delightful quilt. Can anyone help me?

Favorite Flowers in My Garden, by Kim Skelding, 58 x 72

Carolina Girl, by Elizabeth Kelbaugh, 35.25 x 36.5

Burning Oranges, by Carolyn Sweet, 45 x 46.5

Angel's Trumpets, by Roxanne Lessa, 33 x 24, Honorable Mention Studio Art Quilt.

Ancient Beauty, by Patricia Powers, 12 x 12, 3rd place Studio Art Quilt.

African Rhythms, by Kathy Hefner, Jane Hall, Mary Corcoran, Tama Brooks, Marlene Royce, Sonja LaBorde, and Margaret Jordan, 56 x 70, Second Place, Mixed/Other Group Quilt

Circles I, by Kim Frisk, 34 x 44, Best Machine Quilting and 3rd Place, Studio Art Quilt

Hidden Depths, by Darlene Silverman, quilted by Cathy Kirk, 87 x 96, Honorable Mention, Duet Quilts, and Viewer's Choice Award

Lots of great talent represented here!

Symposium Report #2- Purse-onality Challenge

At the last few shows that Capital Quilters' Guild has hosted, Roberta Morgan has organized a fun challenge to raise money for charity. We've done Artful Bras and Boxers. This year's challenge is called "Purse-onality," and the challenge was to make a purse out of an usual object. During the quilt show last weekend, viewers could bid on the purses in a silent auction. The designated charity this year is Interact, an organization to prevent spouse abuse. We raised several hundred dollars for Interact through this entertaining challenge. The purses were not listed in the show catalog, so I do not remember all the names of the bags and their makers. Roberta Morgan made quite a few, including this lady's face sticking out like a figurehead, and the decoupage box purses.

UNC Championship Purse

Diva purse

Necktie Purse

Bag-uette

Coffee Filter purse by Natalie Rand



Black Purse
Flirty Skirt Purse
My "Trash Bag", which I am proud to say, sold for more than thirty dollars!

Bright fabric bagCD Bag

Chicken Wire Bag- a popular favorite

Baby Doll BagGlove Bag

Bag Lady
Mardi Gras bag
Button Bag
Strawberry Bag

And-drumroll, please...Viewer's Choice Winner...Hand Bag!
Hope you enjoyed our Purse-onality Challenge!

Catching Up...and Symposium Report #1

It has been a hectic week and weekend. At school we are still giving End-of-Grade tests. Since I do not have my own homeroom classes that have to be "covered," I have been pulled to administer tests, make-up tests, and re-tests for the last two weeks. I would much rather be working with my groups. It continues tomorrow and at least through Wednesday.

Last Tuesday we had a whirlwind visit from my son and two grandchildren. My sons went to see the Carolina Hurricanes in their playoff game in Raleigh, and we babysat. We kept the kids overnight, and then Bryson took them home the next day. Then both kids got sick. Lily had pneumonia, ear infection, and eye infection. Sure am glad that did not happen while she was here. She was just starting to cough a little. Charlie got them light-up sticks that they were wearing in these pictures.

Friday was our 38th anniversary. We had a wonderful celebration at The Melting Pot in Raleigh, a fabulous fondue restaurant. We had a four-course meal of cheese fondue, salad, lobster, shrimp, chicken, pork, and beef fondued in a citrus flavored oil, and finally, white chocolate fondue with Amaretto added. Oh my my! Charlie got us a beautiful bottle of French champagne for a gift, and I got him new wine glasses. We must be made for each other!

This is how Charlie looked in our engagement picture. Lots of glossy dark hair!

Then, on Saturday, I had my first opportunity to attend the North Carolina Quilt Symposium show. Symposium is held once a year and hosted by various guilds in North Carolina. This year, the Capital Quilters Guild were hosts for the conference at Peace College in downtown Raleigh. I spent all day Saturday gazing at the quilts and shopping from the fabulous vendors.

I only entered one quilt in the show, my Carolina Woodland Spring trapunto quilt. I have written about it before, so you could search my blog for it and see how I made it. This won a first place in the North Carolina State Fair last fall.

It did not place in the Small Wall Hanging category at this show, but it did win a wonderful award! Look at the nice big Judge's Choice ribbon! There were three judges in the show, and they each got to award one special ribbon. Mine is courtesy of Cindy Brick.

Today when I was heading to my class, I met the quilt symposium chair in the stairwell. She said to wait a minute, and then she fumbled through her bag and fished out a nice check that was a monetary award for winning the judge's choice! What a great surprise!

Unfortunately, it did not cover the expenses of the fun things that I purchased from the vendors. But every little bit helps! Here are some of my purchases.

A Symposium T-shirt, a new 6" x 24" ruler that was on special sale at a great price, and a straight ruler to use with the longarm. This one has a plexiglass handle to hold on to while using the ruler. Maybe it will help my stitch-in-the-ditch.

Some fun fat quarters of fabric just right for some little girl quilts.Two adorable patterns for little girl's clothes. Maybe if I get busy, Lily will have a new little dress for her birthday in a couple weeks.Some beautiful bead assortments and beading thread.Misty Fuse and printable fabric sheets in lawn and organza.More girly fabrics in softer shades, and a pattern for all kinds of bags for phones, etc.Gorgeous hand-dyed vintage linens and fibers from Artistic Artifacts.Some nice buttons and charms.

Here is the quilt that won three major awards, including the Carolina Longarm Association ribbon. Isn't it a beauty? It was quilted by Linda James with lots of feathers, pebbling, and McTavishing.

It was a wonderful quilt show with fabulous quilts of all descriptions. I will report on the show tomorrow, and eventually on my class with quilter, beader, and author Larkin Van Horn. She is from Whidbey Island near Seattle, a place I visited when we were out there on Camano Island to visit my brother's family. Lots of fun and I learned a lot.

Trash Bag Purse finished

My "Trash Bag" purse is finished and ready to turn in tonight at the Capital Quilters Guild Meeting. I am meeting friends for dinner at a Mexican restaurant before the meeting, then turning in my quilt, purse, and donations for Symposium.

I decided not to add a strap, as I think the clutch purse is just right for this fancy fabric. I used three hand-sewn pieces of Velcro the flap to make it stay closed. The inside is a shiny pink moire satin

that I have gobs of for some reason. Maybe it was to line a pair of curtains that never got made.

If you would like to see more of how this purse was made, just search my blog for Creative Challenge or Trash-to-Treasure.