Monday, April 8, 2013

Dimmit Quilt Show

This weekend I pulled my arm, loaded up, and crossed state lines to a quilt show. This little Texas town of 4,000 pulls out all the stops for a big quilt show. It's actually put on by the Ogallala Quilters Society. I planned on meeting up with my friend M, but she was feeling poorly (Missed you, and hope you're back to feeling like a spring chicken soon!) , so I went in search of adventure on my own...always a gamble and usually leads to trouble. :)

My Nano and "Killing Lincoln" came a long for the ride so I was completely immersed in the Civil War on the 3 hr drive, and had the urge to scout out Civil War fabric while I was there.

I took a few pictures to share with y'all. Be forewarned - many of them are of a western nature. Gee, I'll bet that's a surprise. :)

This was the Best of Show Quilt:


 I was completely charmed by these tiny houses although the thought of so many houses crammed so closely together made me want to hyperventilate.


Each block measures just 3" :


And each little home had a fussy cut image centered in the window:

                                     

This was a quilt made by a local man, Charles. He took a class with Michelle Watts, who is our local quilting celebrity, using the 9° Circle Wedge Ruler:





And this one looks familiar!


I need to make one of these. Yep! Deanna, from Wedding Dress Blue made an appearance:


And what would a quilt show be without a Texas quilt? Those of you who are Texans, know how passionate we are about our state, and yes, I know I wasn't born there, but they adopted me. I'm an Aggie, and that makes me a Texan. :)


 Our LQS has this fabric, and I've looked at it numerous times, but wasn't sure how to use it. I really like it here:



I haven't seen these embroidery patterns before. The quilt was called "Raised on the Ranch" so of course, it called my name:


I've got a Texas Wildflower quilt dancing around in my head and I've got yards and yards of this fabric:



This center block is darling:



And even when I wander off the ranch, I've got bovines on my mind:


  I've got a bit more to share, but this post is already picture heavy so I'll save it for the next round.

And of course, the venders are always a treat. I loved being able to wander and visit with some of the nicest people you'll ever want to meet. I came home with a few odds and ends:


I've been wanting a cone thread holder and I found a cast iron one so that came home with me, as well as a few cuts of fabric. I'm working on the Granny Square blocks and these will fit in nicely. I found 2 nice towels for embroidery - love the feel of these and will be picking up more when they get some neutral colors in, but the rust and turquoise were fun. Then there is a kit for a grocery bag. I want to make lots of these and I liked the heavy canvas straps on this one. I also picked up a few pretty cards. Dear Sir, I'm sorry I made you tear up, and thank you kindly for the extra card. and I brought home a couple of vintage calendar towels from a lovely elderly couple who I wanted to adopt.  

Remember those towels? My mom had them, often they would arrive in packages from Europe. This couple and I visited for a good hour and I was so charmed by them so I came home with one towel from the year I was born.I had to get it when I saw this little cowboy sheriff and his little woman. They made me laugh:


And then the dear lady wanted to give me the one from the year we were married:


I loved the recipe for a happy family. You know, I love the feel of these old fabrics. They just have such a pretty weight to them. I wonder if the fact that I am reminiscing like this has anything to do with my age. Nah. Me neither. :)

12 comments:

Michigan Gal said...

Oh my. Thanks for sharing all the lovely things you saw and found. There is so much inspiration there--I love it all. Somehow, I'm not surprised you were a hit with the vendors. They probably wanted to adopt you too. :)

I love the idea of one house a day. It's doable, but I love the idea of it being a stashbuster too. Fun little surprises in the windows! The other ones make me go "hmmm . . . " how can I adapt them to my state . . . .

Enjoy!

Mountain Home Quilts said...

Well, this is just my opinion but you can never share TOO many pictures from a great quilt show! Love "Raised on the Ranch" :)

carol fun said...

WOW what great quilts! I'm not from Texas but I love their spirit. The Best of Show with the little houses knocks my socks off (and you know that's not easy -LOL). I love the little guys in the windows. I made a similar quilt years ago (lots less houses) and put a cat in every window (this was before my chicken conversion) So much to look at! Glad you had a good time...but then is it possible to have a bad time at a quilt show???

Darlene said...

Ahhhh Dimmit, Texas! They do put on a fabulous quilt show - I'm in awe.

Love your purchases. Those towels bring back so many memories.

juliehallfeldhaus said...

Love a good quilt show and venders of course. If you feel like coming to one the 2nd week of Sept try the Hill City quilt show in Hill city SD!! it's a good one:)

Nancy said...

There are some seriously creative quilters in your area!

My goodness, the houses are tiny.

I made lined shopping bags out of my mother's linen towels. It is fun to hear clerks talk about their memories of similar towels.

Doniene said...

Awesome trip!!! I love those quilts!!!! Raised on the Ranch will just HAVE to go on my list!!!

Blessings

Judy Laquidara said...

You make me want to shop! Thanks for the pictures . . look forward to more of them. Yep, Texas gets a hold on you pretty quickly. Love all the things you bought and the pictures of the quilts that caught your eye.

Vickie said...

LOL I made the same quilt, but mine is called Growing up on the Ranch. I'm entering it in the Heart of Texas Quilt show. There was lots of pretty ones there !

Deanna said...

Eeep! She makes my quilt look good! Thanks for sharing (and the other quilts, too).

Karin said...

Quiltshows always look like alot of fun. Maybe someday I have the chance to visit one too. Thanks for sharing your fun day with us.

Mary E. Stephens said...

Nice. I think I prefer the smaller quilt shows to the big ones. I've been to a local quilt show in Georgetown, TX and I was at Quiltcon. Quiltcon was fascinating, but the Georgetown one...well, there's just something about the smaller town shows. :-) Looks like you got some good inspiration.

That tiny house quilt was an amazing amount of work. I feel the overwhelming "crowdedness" of it too. ;-) Guess it's a country girl thing. :-)

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