International Quilt Festival Visit

Sue and I visited the Chicago International Quilt Festival in Rosemont, Illinois on the last day of the three day show.  Although it was the final day, vendors were still energetic, friendly and happy to see us.  The show opened at 10:00 a.m. and we were there with plenty of time to spare – our usual modus operandi.  As we waited for the doors to open, we stood in line behind some women who were visiting from Michigan.  Their local quilt shop offered a bus trip to the show for the day.  I thought that was a lovely way to spend a Saturday!  Here was our first article about the quilt festival if you want to read more specific details about the show.

As we entered the show arena, there was a 25′ woodland scene made into a quilt.  Can you even imagine that?!!  TWENTY-FIVE FEET long.  It was amazing.  The pictures do not do it justice at all.  The piece is called Northwood Awakening by Ann and Steve.  They were both sitting at a table near the piece, and were able to answer questions and take the offered praise from just about all attendees.  ~smile~

Next up was about 120 or more quilts that were on display for judging.  Pictures were not allowed for the most part in the this area, but the themes ranged from valor quilts to modern to self portraits (those were absolutely amazing – it was just like looking at a photo of a person!) to more traditional patterns.  It was inspirational to see all the great talent on display, and the quilting techniques they used.

We were not aware that there would be so many vendors offering their wares for sale.  Oh the fabric, notions, sewing machines we saw.  Anything sewing or quilting related – it was there.  There was also a booth that offered painting, another than had antique thimbles, and a third that had specialized buttons!  We picked up a layer cake for the table runner pattern Sue found in our Madison road trip (more info found here) that she had been wanting to find.

The quilt festival offered Open Studios, which are two hour drop-in sessions where a skill was demonstrated.  We caught a stitch/sew demonstration offered by Judy Tucker of Lake House Quilts called “No Measure Borders.”   She will be sharing a tutorial of her demonstration at some point.  Also found on her website are the announced winners from the quilt festival, if you are interested in seeing them.  Other Open Sessions included Embellish/Paint, Knit/Crochet, and Quilt – they all offered a variety of topics.

Let me leave you with the dates for the 2018 International Quilt Festival in Chicago on April 12-14, 2018, if you would like to mark your calendars.  I will also be writing a few other articles about our experiences from the show to share with you soon.