Minnesota Quilter’s Show

6:15 am !  Being a night person, I would never dream of getting up at that ungodly hour in the summer —- unless of course it was for a quilt outing. So I was on time to Adele’s house ready and anxious to head “up north” with three of my quilting buddies: Adele and Cindy and Mary.

We got on 35W for the drive to Duluth in the Silver Bullet.

We stopped at Toby’s in Hinckley, which as all Minnesotans know, is the famous halfway stop to Duluth.  They have the best caramel rolls, which we all passed on.  Too much sugar and fat.  Instead we had bismarks and muffins, which was much better!

When we arrived at the Convention Center, construction had messed up the parking situation.  An attendant told us to park at a lot down the street and a shuttle would take us to the center.  Well, I think we’d still be standing there waiting for our ride if we hadn’t decided to walk it.

We rushed into the show with much anticipation and headed straight for the vendors.  They did not disappoint.  There were so many wonderful projects, fabric and quilting stuff.  Lots of candy for the eye.

Around noon, we required a break from all the power shopping.  We sat down for lunch and a review of what each of us had gotten so far.  Just what we needed to power up for the afternoon.

Although we did do more shopping (duh), we also took some time to view the quilts on display.  My favorite, for conversation sake at least, was this gigantic Obama quilt.

Late in the afternoon, tote bags of goodies in hand, we stopped at the booth of one of our favorite quilt shops, Quilted Treasures of Rogers.  We got a photo of all of us with Mary, one of our favorite quilt shop owners.

After another stop in Hinckley for a light dinner it was back to Minneapolis. Finally we were home again, home again, jiggety jig.

Maple Grove Quilter’s Show

I headed over to Maple Grove Saturday to take a look at the Maple Grove Quilter’s Show.  

There were many wonderful quilts.  I’m posting my favorites for you.  Cllick on the labels to enlarge them and read the name of quilters.

The first is Stars and Kittens in My Mother’s Garden:

 

Flower Garden:  I especially liked the large pieces that showed off the fantastic floral prints.  The black is a perfect frame.

 

Sampler:  UFO quilt project, pattern from Keepsake Quilting.

 

Miniature Tumbling Blocks:

 

Folk Art Vine:

 

Tulips in the Park:  Love the black background, and there’s polka dots in every block!

 

I bought a chance to win this quilt, planned a wonderful spot to display it and everything, but never got a phone call.  Darn.  Hope the winner is loving it.

Clothesline Club Show

The Four Season’s Quilt Shop is having another show.  This time it’s cute little 30’s quilts.  Click on the link to their newsletter and then on Clothesline Club to see the quilts.

Four Season’s Newsletter

Jan

Jo’s Little Women Club Quilt Show

I go to Jo’s Little Women Club at Four Seasons Quilt Shop (Plymouth, MN) once a month. We make little reproduction quilts designed by Jo Morton and using mostly her fabric. The shop has a show right now of many of the quilts made during 2008. Attend a virtual quilt show right now:

http://www.fourseasonsquiltsmn.com/JLW2009/index.htm

Chaska Quilt Show

My quilting friends, Karen and Mary, attended the Chaska Quilt Show. Here are some pictures they shared with all of us. Thanks for the inspiration.

MQ Annual Show

Each summer the Minnesota Quilters host a quilt show in one of the major cities. This year it was held in Rochester. I took a road trip down there with some quilting friends. They were nice enough to let me squeeze into “the quilt bus” so I didn’t have to travel alone.

Once we arrived I headed straight for the vendors. I love to see what new things I can find to inspire my quilting. I had a few missions in mind. First of all, I wanted to get some pantographs for the new long-arm machine I bought. I found some great ones at Golden Threads. It was only the second day of the show, but many of the newer and more popular patterns were already gone. Not to worry – I didn’t have any yet – so to me, they all were new. For those who are interested I bought Winding Plume, Feather Me, and Whatever.

Each year, I scope out the whole show, and then buy my favorite kit. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to do that this year, since I had just spent a lot of money on my machine – and – I know you’ll find this hard to believe – I have a few unfinished projects in my closet. I found one kit I really, really liked at Grubers booth though. It was Market Square by Whirligig Designs. I hemmed and hawed. I walked around some more. Then I ran into my friend Karen. Guess what? She liked the quilt too and bought it. That was all it took. I had to have it too. Mine is still nicely folded in the plastic bag it came in. Karen’s top is finished. We were right. It’s a beautiful quilt. Here are some photos to prove it.

Jan's Quilt Kit

Karen's Quilt Top

I also took some time to admire the many quilts entered in the show. I was delighted to see many Glad Creation quilts. Several friends have taken the mystery classes there each spring and fall. I’ve joined them a few times and had a marvelous time. The patterns are always intricate and scrappy. One really nice feature is that usually the borders are part of the blocks and not an add on later.

We stopped at Cannon Falls on our way home for dinner at a restaurant that will remain undisclosed. We waited for our food for quite a long time. When others who arrived much later than we did finished eating we inquired. Our order had been “dropped.” Our food finally did come, although not at the same time. All of our food was on the house, but we agreed we would have rather had a better experience.

Next year’s show will be in Duluth, my favorite spot. The dates are June 11-13, 2009. I’m going for sure. Check out the MQ website for more information. Maybe I’ll see you there. Free food anyone?