Thursday, August 30, 2012

Quilt Show at the Octagon House

While in Michigan last month, my mother and I went to a quilt show at the historic Octagon House in Romeo, MI.  I hadn't been to the house itself since I was in high school (field trip)so seeing the place again was a thrill.
The quilts were a bonus.
 
 
I wish I could tell you the name of the organization and the guilds that participated, but I am not that great of a reporter. ha!
I was too busy taking it all in to worry about documenting details.
Quilts were displayed inside the main house on beds, draped on quilt stands, hanging on the walls and one was even draped on a Victorian display easel, but the best part of the show was seen while walking the grounds and viewing quilts hanging in the barn.
As we walked the short distance from the house to the barn, my mom and I passed quilts hanging on lines strung between trees.
They billowed and flapped in the summer breeze, wafting an amazing domestic serenity.
Ah, bliss!
The open barn doors painted with a quilt design, beckoned us from a distance.
And oh my, what we found inside!
 
A rustic gallery.
I have never seen quilts displayed in better surroundings.
 
One of my very favorite quilts, entitled, "Dots Enough", was pieced from 99% polka dotted fabrics.  I loved it because it looked like something that could easily hang in the modern art wing of a museum.
 
 
Another of my favorites was part of their "Second Hand Rose" division (recycled materials). The main patches were cut from old t-shirts.  I loved the bright, bold colors, hip paisley patterned outer border, and how traditional quilt patterns like flying geese and checker boards were added around each main square. 
The quilt just made me happy when I looked at it! 
 
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This quilt was not part of the main exhibit, but advertised the possibilties for some of the fabrics one of the vendors sold.  I was naturally drawn to the ephemera prints and vintage colors. No surprise!
I didn't buy anything since I already had far too much stuff to ship back to Missouri.
At the quilt show I only walked away with photos and memories.
 
 
I'm not a fabric stashing, fanatical quilter, but I could relate to the humor in this quilt.
Personally, my husband's ashes would have to scattered at the local flea market...
ha!
 

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Summer's End


We are back from the Great Lakes State.
I'll be sharing photos from our Michigan trip in the next few blog posts.
For now, suffice to say, we had a wonderful time.
Cooler weather, large bodies of water, what's not to love?
I dreaded returning "home" to Missouri.
We came back to Missouri's blistering heat, drought and the reality of our summer ending.
Then the kids started school yesterday and I started my vacation!
Woohoo!
Too bad there isn't Lake Michigan nearby.


The Great Lakes are the next best thing to the Oceans.
Just no salt.