Ogallalla Quilt Show

Yesterday a friend and I made a mad dash for the border...the Texas border... and immersed ourselves in a day of all things quilty. We left the house at 6 and three hours later we arrived at our destination...the booming metropolis that is Dimmit, Texas. Dimmit is one of those small (4,000), cozy farming towns in the Texas Panhandle and this weekend it was descended upon by a big crowd of quilt crazed women and a few tag-a-long hubbies who are REALLY good sports! I imagine that, today being Saturday, it'll be even more crowded so I'm glad we went yesterday. It was actually possible to enjoy the quilts and snap a few photos.

This little, sleepy town put on a good quilt show...about 250 quilts and oodles of inspiration. Quilters are the friendliest people and you can tell right away how passionate they are about quilting. I didn't see a grouch in the bunch and we enjoyed some delightful conversations with fellow quilt-addicts. While I browsed the booths, searching for that elusive piece of fabric I couldn't live without, Holly perused the offerings and every time I turned around, she was visiting with someone she knew, or striking up a conversation with a new face. She found the cutest sheep fabric and although I'm not a fan of sheep, these were adorable. She and I hadn't caught up with each other for probably almost a year and the lengthy drive gave us the perfect opportunity to visit.

The quilts were stunning and the pictures I took simply can not do them justice, but I'll share a few that caught my eye.



I've never jumped on the Batik bandwagon and I'm still holding off because I really don't need to start another stash...of anything! However, I really liked this. The background is all Batik squares and I think she did a wonderful job of dispersing the colors.

Here's one made my a man who said he wanted to spend more time with his wife so he took up quilting. How sweet is that?! I told DH about it and he just gave me that look. Somehow, I don't think he'll be joining me in this venture any time soon!


I liked this one made with patriotic colors. I've had a hankering to make a patriotic quilt...or two...or three. I have quite a stash of patriotic fabric and I really like the idea of making a quilt for the Quilts of Valor.
I'm not a purple person, but this one just had a lot of eye appeal. The colors were so rich and regal - so NOT me! LOL! Although my mom was once approached by a sheik on a flight to Europe and he inquired whether I could be part of his harem! I think I was 12. Sure am glad she wasn't mad at me that day! What a hoot! So if I ever make one like this, I guess it could be my Harem quilt! LOL!



Sometimes it's the stories behind the quilts that make them interesting. This one was designed after the floor in a vacation cabin's bathroom. OK. Just goes to show, you never know just where the inspiration for that next quilt will appear! LOL! I will admit that I have been a bit obsessed with quilting lately, but if I ever get to this stage, please stage an intervention! LOL!


I liked this one because DS is crazy about playing the guitar. I'm not going to show it to him though because he will want one just like it!
The quilt show's theme this year was "How Does Your Garden Grow" so I left there with a strong desire to dig in the dirt, especially after oogling over this one. This was my favorite quilt.
It's entitled Victory Garden and the detail in this piece is just amazing! The quilter used trapunto and it just made these veggies pop. The combination of this technique and the quilter's fabric selections gave everything such dimension and texture.




I'm the kind of gal that likes quilts with a lot of cuddleability and simplicity. And don't tell me that's not a word, even if it isn't. It should be! And this isn't a quilt to cuddle with, but good gravy! It's really something! It made me want to just pluck those vegetables right off the fabric!
I only picked up a couple of pieces of yardage that I knew would be perfect. Perfect for what, you ask? I haven't a clue, but I'm fairly certain they will be perfect in something down the line and everyone needs some barnwood in their stash!

I was thrilled to find this book. It's hard to find equine related ideas and the colts in this book are wonderful. I don't think I'll be putting a hat on one anytime soon, but this book gives you lots of options. Some of them are decked out a bit oddly, but I suppose that's what makes it versatile although I can pretty much guarantee that the ones that end up on my quilts will be au-natural although I'm not ruling out a little paisley colt.

Look at his darling little colt:

And there a whole herd of cute little colts:

I simply could not leave without this pattern. I think it will make the cutest baby quilts and the vendor had it made up for both a baby boy and a baby girl. Just way too cute!

I picked up this strange looking contraption too. It looks suspiciously like a math ruler; something that has close ties to Geometry.

Shudder. Eeewww, I think my hands are beginning to break out in a cold sweat.

I have unpleasant memories of High School Geometry class and I'm realizing that the good Lord is probably getting a chuckle (I'm certain he was chuckling while I was sitting in Geometry too since he knew this would happen!) out of the fact that I am now choosing to work with geometrics! I'm going to join in on a hexagon quilt-a-long online and this ruler is needed for the class. This should be interesting. You know, maybe Mr. Loller should have taught us geometry through quilting!

Come to think of it, that never would worked...I despised the thought of anything related to domesticity back then. Yes, God. I hear you chuckling.

Whew! Long Post...sorry, but what a fun day! However, the amazing weather is much too enticing to stay inside any longer. I am headed out to work in the yard and I promise to leave the quilting world behind in my next couple of posts! I'll probably still be quilting, but I just won't tell you about it! LOL!