Quiltfest, and "Fabric Larry" still remembered

To celebrate National Quilting Day, my friend Sherry, from the Choo Choo Quilters guild, and I made a one-day road trip to A Mountain Quiltfest in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. This is the 19th year of the show, and the caliber of quilts, class instructors, special displays and the vendor mall has expanded and becomes better each year.

Detail of "Many Masions" by J. Graber.

Here are a few highlights from the show.

Best of Show: "Circle of Curiosity" by A. Armour
quilted by A. Armour and D. Parks

"Circle of Curiosity" won the Best of Show. The quilting plays a major role in supporting the composition's center of interest in this raw-edge appliquéd quilt, as well as the quilt's theme. 

More quilts and ribbon winners...

The 2013 Mountain Heritage Challenge was entitled, "The Blue and the Grey: Quilting America's Great Divide." These small wall quilts had powerful connotations and were quite thought-provoking. No doubt, this theme spoke to many quiltmakers and exhibit attendees.

The Challenge packet included these four fabrics. There were over 25 quilts in this special display.

Incidentally, this is the quilt festival at which, during its 10th anniversary year, my quilt, "The Chef's Dilemma" [fondly referred to as "Fabric Larry"] was honored with the Best of Show ribbon—the first time a non-bed-size quilt won this prestigious prize. Surprisingly, two show attendees and one staff associate recognized me, asked if I had entered something this year, and mentioned they remembered "the quilt she did of her husband cooking"—aka The Chef's Dilemma. It's still a humbling experience.

So here he is once again, the 2004 A Mountain Quiltfest Best of Show, Fabric Larry.

"The Chef's Dilemma"
2004 Best of Show, A Mountain Quiltfest