Maine Quilts - Augusta - 2018 Show

We were thrilled to discover that there was a wonderful exhibit of  Susan Carlson's quilts at the 2018 Maine Quilts show in Augusta.  I have seen photos of her work in magazines and on an episode of The Quilt Show (Episode# 801), but seeing them in person and up close was spectacular. This photo shows only the head of "Crocodylus Smylus"; the whole quilt was 21feet 6 inches by 5 feet 10 inches. As you can imagine, it makes quite an impact!!! In the show booklet, Susan Carlson said that she was inspired by the sheer size of saltwater crocodiles which at an average of twenty feet makes it the largest reptile on earth. She also said that she nicknamed the crocodile, Stevie, after Australian wildlife conservationist Steve Irwin. He would have loved that.

There were eleven of her quilts on display including "Tickled Pink," her rhinoceros, and this delightful quilt below.

You may see more of her amazing quilts on her Susan Carlson Quilts Website , sign up for her blog,  purchase patterns, and learn about upcoming classes that she is teaching.

Another quilt which totally amazed me was "Judgement of Osiris" by Georgia S. Pierce from Seattle, WA. The judges felt the same way as it received a number of ribbons including a Judge's Choice.

According to the maker, this "quilt represents art found on tomb walls and monuments in ancient Egypt and Egyptian hieroglyphs."

 

Be sure to click on this close up below to view the remarkable stitching in this piece. Motifs were quilted throughout the piece and the micro stippling between the blocks was absolutely unbelievable.  This was perhaps one of the most amazing quilt that I have ever seen. It was " hand appliqued, machine pieced, paper pieced, hand embroidered, embellished, and machine quilted.

I know this will sound crazy to non-quilters but perfectly sensible to fellow quilters; after attending the quilt show and visiting the vendors, we stopped at a quilt shop. :-() Mystic Maine Quilt Shop was not too far away in Chelsea, so we decided to check it out.

As we got out of the car, I repeated my mantra, "I'm not going to buy anything. I already have way too much in my stash. I'll just look." Edith and Laurel laughed as they had at all our previous stops as they knew that not one of us had left any shop without at least a small bag of purchases. I was doing okay until a magnetic force stronger than my willpower pulled me over to the batik section. The fabric third from the left caught my eye. (This photo doesn't do it justice.) The colors were unusual, so I told myself that I could not buy any yardage unless I was able to find fabrics to coordinate with it. As you can see, I did!!!

Remember: Support local quilts shops no matter what state they are in . . .