AQS Grand Rapids 2015: Quilts By Friends, Real and Virtual

It was cool to see quilts at the AQS Grand Rapids show made by people I actually am friends with, or have meet, or who are virtual friends.

Theresa Nielson is a local quilter in my guild and weekly quilt group. Her embellished quilt was in the Quilt Alliance Contest, Animals We Love.

Theresa is a prolific quilter who loves crazy quilts. She is also an author and mother to a houseful of birds, dogs, and cats.

Virtual friend Tim Latimer had two quilts in Animals We Love--based on his beloved companion Teddy.

If you don't follow Tim's blog you have to check it out. Tim is a hand quilter, restorer of unloved vintage quilts, and master gardener. What better way to spend a few minutes than seeing quilts, gardens, and Teddy?

Tim's contest entry was Reindeer-Go-Round, his original hand cut paper snowflake pattern brought to wall quilt size, quilted by hand with trapunto.

Two years ago Tim won best in show for hand quilted wall hanging at AQS Grand Rapids. I was able to meet him at that time. He also has an Etsy store where you can buy the pattern for the Reindeer Snowflake Quilt.

I reviewed Mary Kerr's book Recycled Hexie Quilts earlier this year. Her Quilt Alliance entry was adorable, incorporating vintage embroidery and hexie quilt.

See all the Animals We Love quilts at the Quilt Alliance website here. They will be auction online in November 2015.

We lived for ten months in Norton Shores, MI. I met three great ladies at church who were part of a weekly quilt group and they invited me to join them. The group was founded by Pat Holly. One member was Lynne Osborn whose Caribbean Sangria was in the show. It is a BOM designed by Pat Holly and Sue Nickels.

Abstract Art... More Quilts from Grand Rapids

I loved the variety of abstract quilt art at the show last month! They are just amazing. By the awards given, it I evident that the judges were also impressed.

The non-representational Allegretto by Katie Pasquini Masopust was so unlike her Fractured Landscape quilts, which I had seen many years ago at a Lansing, MI quilt guild presentation.

Light and Shadow- Colors of Ghana by Carol Fleming Chenoweth used batiks from Ghana, West Africa.

Night Glow by Linda Bachman. I just love the broad areas of vibrant color.

Michigan quilter Deanna Gaudaur's New Beauty is a whole cloth quilt colored with threads and machine quilted designs.

Maria Reuter of Germany's Digital World depicts the digital transmission between the elements fire and water.

Chartreuse, Celadon, Kelly, Fern by Panela Zave explores yellow green.

Prize winning quilt Escuchame by Beth Markel of Michigan represents 'noise' and 'quiet' (dark areas) and how few real connections are made.

Six Fifteen by Tina McCann was so interesting with its layers of silk and wool, a very three-dimensional and textured quilt. The layers represent the layers of time.

Suddenly... by Pan Beal of Michigan started with 3/4 inch squares. it is hand quilted.

AQS Grand Rapids V: Portraits

Here are some quilts from the AQS Grand Rapids show that are portraits of various kinds.

Jan Berg-Rezmer, another Michigan gal, made Ask the Cowboys with photo transfer, fabric paint, and raw edge applique.

 I was in love with this quilt! Little Girl and Dog by Hiroko Miyama of Japan based it on a photo of her granddaughter.

 Ode to Inspiration by Melissa Sobotka was inspired by Pre-Raphaelite paintings.

Alice Aukeman, another Michigander, did this portrait of her daughter Renee.

I really enjoyed the ultimate Guild Challenge quilts. Wish I belonged to a guild! Gone Fishin' by Anita Gogerty was made for the Des Moines Area Quilters Guild challenge of A Small Blessing.

A nice mad working the show let me go inside the rope to be photographed with my quilt, I Will Lift My Voice Like a Trumpet. 

AQS Grand Rapids IV: Traditional Quilts

Here are some of the traditional quilts I saw at the show.

A Woman's Journey by Marsha Molly was inspired by a historical quilt made in 1841 by women convicts on their way to Australia's penal colonies.

The medallion quilt, Spring Time in the Rockies by Patty Girvan, was designed by Susan Garman.

Look at this the HUGE Amazon Star by Jane Reents!

Sedona Sunset by Terri Doyle was designed on EQ6.

A detail of the quilting

The machine quilting award winning Andrew by Kathi Carter has amazing quilting.

Another award winner was Visions of Peppermints by Ruth Ann Henry, another Michigan gal. The quilting was by Beverly Heyworth.

Sadly I can not read all the labels to identify all the quilts. I only had five hours at the show and was not as diligent as I should have been. This was pretty amazing.

Sample the Fruitcake by Sue Hawkes incorporated embroidery, crystals, beads, and coded tab edging!

The detail in this quilt was awesome.

I had to love a quilt that incorporated a handkerchief!!Golden Wedding quilt by Claudia Pfeil .

 In Orbit by Evelyn Evers was so interesting to see. Traditional pushed to Modern!

AQS Grand Rapids Quilt Show, III: Natural Beauty

I am back in Pentwater and getting caught up. I am deluged with great produce and am making soups, sauces, and freezing for winter use.

Here are some more quilts from the Grand Rapids, MI American Quilt Guild Show. Today I am focusing on nature themed quilts.

I so enjoyed seeing the MasterPieces Quilts of Inspiration! Many of these quilts I had seen in photos, and it was so great to see them in real life. I had seen Velda Newman's Sunflower State, and it remains a favorite quilt.

Piece and Quiet by Cynthia England was another show stopper. I couldn't get a good pic of it until close to the end of the day!

This winning quilt was so interesting. Ann Horton's Bandelier National Monument was very innovative.

The first prize award went to Tim Latimer  for his hand quilted Tree of Life. This whole cloth quilt showcases his amazing talent in hand quilting.

Laura Fogg's Zucchini Quilt caught the eye of my friend who came along with me to see the show. Perhaps because her husband is a gardener!

I loved the rendition of water in Wolf River by Mary Ann Van Soest.

This Ultimate Guild Challenge quilt from the Tall Pine Quilters was so cute.

Lynn Randall offered Bees. A Small Blessing was the theme chosen by the Des Moines Area Quilters Guild for the Ultimate Guild Challenge.

Color Wheel Opposites was the theme the Milwaukee Art Quilters were challenged with. Gotta love blue and orange!

Claudia Pfeil's Silk Road Tour included this quilt, Parrot's Island,  that made me smile when I turned the corner and saw it.

Pfeil also offered The Magical Mermaid's Castle. Well, perhaps not really natural at all! But what nature's sea looks like in our dreams.