Just 'stuff'

"Little Brown Bird" by Angie Witting; 86"x86" Hand Applique/Machine Piecing

Without a doubt, this was the single most breathtaking piece at the quilt show happening this weekend in Detroit. There was a lovely vintage Grandma's Flower Garden which also blew me away, but this applique quilt was phenomenal (to say the least)!

Looking at Ms. Witting's applique work had two affects on me: 1) I just want to start learning and practicing the art of applique right now; and the other is to 2) completely forget about giving it a go, for fear of never being able to get close to her level of expertise.

The quilt guild putting on the event is the Detroit guild my friend Maria took up with more than a year ago, and they've since brought her to a new level of quilt excitement. It was very easy to see why.

There were quilts by individuals as well as quilts from several members representing a class the guild had sponsored. It was interesting to see different interpretations and color schemes of similar patterns and/or guidelines (like making your quilt from one or two materials only).

We had fun walking the zig zag path of quilts (at least 200 of them) and the astounding assortment of vendors.

There was an intricate PVC display system assembled for the display of the quilts, and I just had to study that, too.

I was completely in awe of the sizes of some of the entries, and I felt dwarfed by many of them. Then I found myself wondering how they managed to stretch and sandwich the largest quilts - what sort of rack would allow for such a huge quilt?!?

At any rate, there were a large number of absolutely gorgeous pieces on display, so it was thrilling to see that - even in the big city - the art of quiltmaking is not disappearing any time soon.

We spent hours walking and talking, observing and studying, and collecting inspiration (and dismissing those quilts that were not pleasing). It was a great way to point out things to keep in mind when choosing thread color and quilting stencils or patterns for the topstitching.

Despite the need to get other more pressing tasks done, first, I am so geeked to quilt today that I can hardly figure where to begin!