The Pennsylvania National Quilt Extravaganza took place this past weekend and I was fortunate to be able to attend. I suddenly found myself with Saturday free after a colleague needed a schedule shift so I was able to take a drive to the Oaks Expo center. I was surprised that it was not as crowded as I would have expected so I was able to take my time at each of the exhibitions and the vendors who had all kinds of quilty stuff!  Below are some of my favorite quilts from the show. 
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Since our dog goes to doggy daycare, I loved this quilt! I only wish that Floppy could take a bus to get there. Look at all of the different breeds!

Keeping with the doggy theme is this sweet chocolate lab in an exhibit called Secret Garden. Imagine finding this bunny in your garden? This was done with wool that was felted into place. Just adorable! (detail below)

Marilyn Belford is an amazing portrait artist and the exhibit was her legends of the Bible.  Miriam's Dance and Joseph Wept were two of my favorites. 

The Cherrywood Challenge was Storytime. This is a challenge that requires using only the Cherrywood dyed fabrics which have wonderful textures and colors. See if you can guess the stories being told in these quilts.

The first is one of my favorite books as a former Spanish teacher. The book is Ferdinand who is a bull who only wants to smell the flowers not fight in the bullring. The second one is the fabric version of the fabulous movie "The Princess Bride". True Love!  And the last two are from my favorite E.B. White book Charlotte's Web. What a great idea!

The pictures below are just a grouping of my favorites. The first is an underground railroad quilt. Beautifully done. Read the explanation that is next to it. 

I had a pleasant surprise at the show as well. A student from one of my happy villages classes submitted a patriotic village for a 250th birthday of the USA exhibit. 

I hope that I was able to give you a little glimpse into the show. Maybe next year you will have a chance to visit too. There is a fab quilt shop only about an hour or less away in Intercourse, PA: The Old Country Store as well as some other shops in the area. 

Hope that your fall is bringing you lots of sewing time and creative juices are flowing for you. 

Piecefully yours,
Trisha

Here we are again in the autumn of the year. September is a lovely time for quilting as it is cooling down a bit and makes having a quilt in your lap a bit more comfortable. Here in southeastern PA it is just starting to have that fall feel to the air in the evenings. Great dog walking weather, garden watching, or really anything that you love to do. 
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I have been finishing my new fall village. It is the real world on the top but a gnome's world underneath the tree. I was thinking about gnomes and elfin creatures like the ones in fantasy books. So I decided to make a village to represent them both. If you look carefully in the photos below, you'll finds gnomes and some other surprises. I really had to do some searching to find the right size gnomes! To my delight, the sale rack at one of our local stores had some.

This village is slightly bigger than my other villages so that the two differently sized worlds would stand out a bit more. I am very happy with the way it turned out. 

I have also been working on a new jacket for my granddaughter. I am teaching the wavy wearable jacket class this fall and seeing all of the fall colors has inspired me! We received some Winnie the Pooh Halloween fabrics that jumped into my arms! These are the front panels, back with yoke and sleeves and I am still working on the construction. I need to measure the sleeves against her. The book is Wavy Wearables by Karen Eckmeier and is worth a look. 

This coming Wednesday, the PA National Quilt Extravaganza begins at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center near Valley Forge, PA. There are always great quilts, vendors, as well as specially exhibited quilts. If you are in the area, you might want to travel the extra 45 minutes to The Old Country Store Wednesday to Saturday. Great special on Riley Blake blenders at 8.99 per yard! I will be there!

I have finished my Cherrywood challenge for the MD Anderson Cancer center auction to raise funds for research. This is held each year and the quilts are 24 inches square. They will be displayed in Houston in November for the quilt show. Each one is made totally of Cherrywood fabrics on the front. It is acceptable to use other fabric on the back. This is the third year that I have participated, and a new friend here has done one too. Below you will see the photos. 

My donation is on the left. I used a pattern that I designed and made in the past. I could not use floral fussy cuts so I bought a coloring book on how to draw flowers and traced some different ones. Where there is a will, there is a way. I also created the look of variegated thread by piecing 3/4 inch strips of grey, dark grey and black. I slit the thread a little to be able to insert the "needle". My friend's has angels hovering in protection over beautifully pieced studio 180 blocks. If you get to Houston, please give them a peek.

Well, the Eagles are about to kick off as the NFL season is beginning! Hope that your fall quilting 
season has many bright spots! 

Till next time....

Piecefully yours,
Trisha