QuiltCon Raleigh, Part 1

Attending QuiltCon for the ninth time, I knew what to expect. But it's the people one encounters, and the quilts that make each show special and different. 

As you may know, I hate flying. Though I usually fly a couple times a year, it's always with consternation and uncertainty because I'm afraid. I've learned that it helps immensely to fly with someone I know - someone who can distract me from the odd sounds and turbulence that remind me I'm way up high in the air!

This year I flew with friend Karen who was also my QC roommate. We traveled on Southwest Airlines, on a brand new plane. Given that Southwest now assigns seats, imagine our surprise to learn that three other members of Central Florida Modern Quilt Guild were on our flight, and seated near us! 

L-R: Linda, Karen, Cindy, Donna

Also, you'll note that the plane wasn't even close to being full! None of us could recall flying out of Orlando on a plane that wasn't packed to capacity. 

When in Raleigh on Wednesday evening, a few Central Florida MQG members lined up outdoors in front of the Raleigh Convention Center to check-in and get our QC badges. 

L-R: me, Karen, Donna, Cindy, Mel and Janice

The weather was mostly overcast and occasionally rainy, but the atmosphere was welcoming.

We attended the Wednesday evening awards ceremony. Rather than reshare all the winning quilts, here's a link to them on the MQG website.

From Thursday through Sunday (February 19 through 22) it was quilts, quilts, quilts, and vendors. 

What I appreciate about the Raleigh Convention Center is the ability to view the entire show/vendor floor from above. Quilts are on the left; vendors on the right.

I think Carolyn McKibbin's @quiltergardner Best in Show, Mom's Jeans, deserved to win.

I had a chance to congratulate Carolyn and have a nice chat. Believe it or not, she entered Mom's Jeans into QuiltCon 2025 and it was a QuiltCon REJECT! The lesson in that is to try again!

Carolyn domestic machine quilted.

Another award winning quilt that astounded me was Midnight & Noon by Lauren Klementz-Harte @creativelifesampler who won Best Hand Quilting. This is the quilt front.

This is the quilt back. Basically, she made two quilts and then hand quilted in areas determined by the shapes either on the back or on the front.

A QC volunteer and I spent at least ten minutes trying to work out how Lauren created her quilting designs. We decided she quilted from the back for a while, and then quilted from the front for a while. She quilted the sleeve too! How did she do that? It would have been nice to talk with Lauren about her process. Quite impressive!

I managed to catch a photo of Kelly Spell @kellyspell with her award-winning quilt, Racing Stripes. She won the MQG Excellence Award and deservedly so. Her precision workmanship was evident. Fabrics in this quilt were hand-dyed by Kelly. 

Another Central Florida MQG member's quilt was in the show.

Shown in the Appliqué category, this is In Search of Peace by Jane Grant @gonequiltinginflorida. She also has precision workmanship. Jane big stitch hand quilted peace symbols across the quilt. 

I like to see quilts in their context. On the right is my quilt, Turnabout in the Appliqué category. On the left is Slices of Joy in a Sea of Despair by Karen Duling. That quilt appears in QuiltCon Magazine.

The Turnabout surface is covered with big stitch hand quilting. 

This is Infrastructure in the Modern Traditionalism category. 

It's domestic machine quilted and enhanced with big stitch hand quilting. By the way, Infrastructure was a 2025 QuiltCon reject too. 

The QuiltCon Community Outreach Challenge Quilts were displayed in a separate room (apart from the quilt show area) near the lecture hall. 

 

On the left is Fins, Feathers, and Fronds, our Central Florida MQG submission made by about a dozen members and quilted by Karen (in the photos above) and me. 

Fifteen of our 45 members attended QuiltCon this year.

Each year we give our Community Outreach Challenge Quilt to the church that allows us to meet monthly in their fellowship area. The church then raffles the quilt to raise monies to support Rapha International.

More pictures of quilts in QuiltCon Raleigh, Part 2! Linda

Boca Raton with SFMQG, and Improv

It's been two weeks since I posted. I know. That's very unlike me. But it's also a statement about how on-the-go I've been. First it was QuiltCon; then there were houseguests; then it was giving a program and workshop to South Florida MQG in Boca Raton; followed by a quick visit to Orlando to see our Kansas City daughter who was attending a conference. Whew. The time has flown by, albeit in an extremely happy way!

Where to begin? 

I'll start with last weekend's (February 27-28) trip to Boca Raton. I spent Friday night in a hotel, and then all day Saturday with members of South Florida MQG. 

The South Florida chapter of the MQG offers hybrid programs and workshops - on Zoom and in-person. No doubt that's one of several reasons they have 88 members. Another is that they're simply a great group of people, many of whom are already friends that I came to know when I was a 2020 virtual member of their chapter.

Saturday's meeting was at the Boca Raton Community Center. Members were in-person and on Zoom.

At their request, I created a presentation for them about me and my quilts. 

Honestly, when I began putting this together I hadn't realized that this year marks 50 years of quiltmaking for me. The process of going through pictures of old quilts, many that I no longer possess, and documenting my journey including earning a journalism degree, writing for quilting magazines, learning to teach through my Stitchin' Mission ministry, and writing the First Time Quiltmaking book, followed by embracing modern, was enlightening. I've told hubs that when I die, all he need do as a memorial is play this slideshow! 

I added a few funnies and quilting tips to the program, so it wasn't totally boring. This is a 2000 magazine ad promoting Fiskar scissors with a not-to-be-overlooked hunky guy. Effective advertising, I'd say!

I followed the presentation with a trunk show of Snowflake Medallion quilt (an award-winner) that concluded my traditional journey and 21 other, more modern quilts that have been my efforts to make quilts that would be accepted into QuiltCon - thus far, 19 acceptances in 9 shows. No winners.

After a nice pizza lunch... 

... and cake... (Wasn't that nice of them?)

...I led quilters in a Kawandi-making workshop. 

I still adore making Kawandi myself, and for teaching purposes have begun two of them. 

More (pink) icing on the cake 😀 was receiving this certificate... complimentary membership in South Florida Modern Quilt Guild, for one year!

I'm delighted! I will happily attend their twice-monthly Zoom Sip 'n Sew evenings where conversation is mostly about quilting or books read, and attend as many virtual meetings as possible. This is such a genius gift idea. A free guild membership could certainly incentivize a chapter's members to give a program or workshop.

By the way, Cindy Grisdella's new book was recently released - Freehand Curve Quilts. I recently received my complimentary copy and am delighted to share my Party Time! quilt on page 85.

It's on the page after Candi Lennox's quilt on page 83. 

Candi (a member of the Jacksonville MQG) is excellent at improv having four quilts accepted into QuiltCon, and participating in the making of two group quilts at QuiltCon! Here's Candi with the group quilts.

The first is We Come in Piece and earned my vote for People's Choice (it didn't win). 

This is Heard of Turtles.

My next post will be a brief overview of QuiltCon followed by a couple posts with more pictures of QC quilts. Linda

What I've Worked On

I haven't taken time to write a blog post, wanting to be sure I have everything ready in the run-up to QuiltCon. I also thought I didn't have anything to post about, but then I realized... I have continued to create in between other pre-QuiltCon obligations.  

As happens to many makers, I had a squirrel moment about a week ago when I saw a foundation paper-pieced hexagon made by Canadian quiltmaker, Cristina @shipsandviolins.

(At left) Cristina's Good Morning, Mom! quilt hanging at QuiltCon 2025 in Phoenix is how I found Cristina, and first started following her on Instagram. She made this quilt after seeing her infant son smile at her one morning. 

Good Morning, Mom! got my vote for "People's Choice" (it didn't win) mostly because it made me smile too. It's now among those in the QuiltCon traveling show. 

Anyway, Cristina's Scrappy FPP Hexagon block pattern is being sold by her guild - Toronto MQG - as a fundraiser. 

Scrappy FPP Hexagon, 12" X 12"

For just $5, I got to "torture" myself sorting through bins of print and solid scraps to create color and value gradations, and sew lots of narrow seams. 

First I pieced the gradated aqua to green hexagon half. 

Then I pieced the gradated orange to yellow (and back to orange) hexagon half. 

The template makes a 15" square block that can be sewn into anything you wish, or follow pattern instructions to mount it on a 12" X 12" canvas. 

I'm pleased with this finish, and recommend the pattern to anyone who likes foundation paper piecing. Removing the ¼" pieces of paper (I used newsprint as foundation paper) was a bit tedious, but the result is worth it. 

On the round loom knitting scene, I'm making another Tiny Doll - doll #7 to add to the collection I will donate.

Pretty in pink. Her cap is in the works; then eyes and a nose. 

I've joined a newly-formed monthly knitting group, and already got a new-to-me pattern for a Waffle Knit Dishcloth using size 6 needles. The pattern is a freebie from a 2007 blog post by Homespun Living.

I knitted with "Loops & Threads" cotton yarn from Michael's, and struggled a little with the P2, K1 row. It seems that purling by the Continental method is awkward for me, perhaps because I've been using old aluminum needles from my Mother's knitting supplies. I'll be watching for a chance to buy bamboo needles. 

For those of you following along on my braided rag rug progress, here's the latest. Don't see much progress? Well, it's slow-going now that it's 47" X 60". On Saturday I stopped at a thrift store and shopped for color from the $1 men's t-shirt clearance rack. The lime and yellow shirts have been washed and are ready for cutting and braiding.

Will I see you at QuiltCon next week? Linda