Quilt Show

Here's my space quilt What's In A Name? on display at the planetarium. The lights are not good for pics there so - still not the best. I think I'll try to get one outside in sunshine after the show. My quilt was chosen to be the entry view one. And it looked very nice as you entered the show.

This show would better be described as a display. There are no contests or awards. This is the seventh year the planetarium has put quilts on display. The director is himself a quilter and this is his "baby." It is a relaxed, for any quilter, event. The only requirement to have a quilt in the show is that it must have at least one star in it - in design, fabric or quilting. This year he included a challenge which was to commemorate 50 years in space. I have no idea why but only one other quilt was made for the challenge. To the Stares Through Quilting was pieced and quilted by Cathy Skelton. I was surprised as I was looking forward to seeing what other quilters ideas were, but it was not to be. There were many quilts on display but only about the "star" theme. However, 80 people who put quilts in this display and their guests came to the open house before the show opened to the public. This whole "quilt show" (in several locations besides the planetarium) has been steadily getting smaller and smaller. Ten years ago it was a major event. This year the largest local quilting guild decided not to display at all. Instead they held their own show in the spring. I don't belong to any of the groups. I'm not much as a "joiner" and their meetings were held in the evenings at a location some distance from my home. When I started going to Florida for the winters, that really left me out. I wonder if quilting is declining all around the country but also wondering if it is just changing with Internet and hard economic times. My "guild" is my blogger friends.

Third pic I'm showing today is one I really liked. It is title Stained Glass Star and is pieced and quilted (by hand) by Gael Edmonds.

Another part of the quilt show that I always look forward to is the display by the Black Quilter Guild. It continued to be one I wouldn't miss.

I also went to the Art Institute display. These were small, wall pieces made by professional quilters and included items from outside the local area. For the most part they did not use paint but were fabric art. Many were "quilty" and some primitive. Most were also for sale and ranged from $250 to $600. I'm sure the artists had degrees in color, design and fabrics and the market for art is a hard one to make a living in. I certainly see equal work on many of your blogs.

The season is definitely changing here in Michigan. The leaves and nuts are falling into my driveway. I'm in transition too. I've finished a major quilting project and not sure where to go next. I'm finishing up home improvement projects, that have been going on all summer. Didn't get it all done but need to finish what is started. I've been trying to get through papers and such and need to stop jumping around with it and get something finished there. Time of year to think about going to Florida. What needs done before I go? Lots of yard work. I try to get all the medical appointments etc. done before I go, too. What to take, leave and get rid of. I need to think about all I accomplished this summer but not for too long. Got to move forward. My tummy upset has slowed me down. This illness is done but my sensitive GI is requiring TLC. This is not my favorite time of year anyway. I don't like the days getting shorter or the coming of the end of the growing season.

I'll show some more quilt show pics soon.