Cocheco Quilters Guild's 25th Annual Show
October 21-22, 2006
by Patricia Cummings
photos by James Cummings
The weather was with us on the sunny, breezy morning that we got on the road to travel to the eastern part of the state to Rochester, NH with the purpose of seeing some quilts at the Cocheco Quilters Guild Show. After paying our admission fees and having our hands stamped with red ink, in a heart shape, we entered the large hall at the Rochester Community Center.
As soon as we arrived, there was an announcement over an intercom that Mary Furber of the Little Lamb Quilt Shop would be providing a free demonstration about photo transfers. This activity drew a lot of interest and Mary gave lots of great tips, especially for those people who are new to the process.
Other demonstrations
were on the schedule, for both weekend days, including hand quilting
(Mary Hillyer); hand appliqué (Rainy Stevens); quilt binding
(Linda Clark); Crazy Quilting (Deb Fournier-Johnstone), and Needle
Punching (Camille Arnone).
Vendors filled the outside
perimeter of the hall. At a quick glance, the fabrics for sale appeared to be muted autumn colors of mustard, browns, and grays.
Many of the quilts in the show reflected this same palette. We
wondered if this was because Halloween will be here shortly, or if
the colors were pre-coordinated to reflect an autumnal theme.
Above is the "Red and Green Whig Rose Quilt" by Gladi Porsche
CHALLENGE QUILTS
My favorite quilts in the entire show were actually two of the challenge quilts. Apparently, the judges agree with my taste because both of the quilts had been given blue ribbons. #408, a 25” x 25” quilt called, “Red and Green Whig Rose,” was made by Gladi Porsche. The quilt is machine pieced, hand appliquéd, hand quilted, and also features embroidery. The quilter made it to hang in her “newly renovated powder room.”
Click on the small image above to see a larger version of the beautiful quilt by Brenda Pergerson, described below.
#407 is a 25” x 25” challenge quilt made by Brenda Pergerson who calls the quilt, “If It Could – It Did,” (meaning that everything that could go wrong, did). Brenda Pergerson reports having been frustrated in trying to assemble a design of her own making. She utilized 9” blocks from Marcia Hohn's web site www.quilterscache.com that she reduced to just 3” square. I love the use of color in this quilt and particularly appreciated the fact that she worked in the color orange.
OTHER FUN QUILTS
The great dog portrait above was the first dog quilt made by Betty Jo Quinn.
#234, “Sam – My Loyal, Loving Companion,” a 35” x 36” wall hanging by Betty Jo Quinn is a memorial tribute quilt to her dog, who passed away suddenly and unexpectedly. This was her first portrait quilt and she has since created others. She is available to do commissioned pet quilts.
The whimsical quilt above caught our attention. See the description below, and remember to click on the image for a larger view.
A just for fun project that was not judged is #218, “Hot Cat,” by Susan Foster. The 52” x 55” quilt began with Linda Sullivan's pattern, and utilizes bright, contemporary fabrics. Patience Dixon bound the quilt which is to be a gift to the quiltmaker's son's nephew, Casey.
Jim spotted another quilt by Brenda Pergerson which she calls, “Erica's Pride and Joy.” The description of the 39” x 60” quilt in the show bulletin identifies the design as a “Block of the Month” pattern from HGTV. The quilter states: “This was an adverture for me: new techniques, new fabrics, and a style not my own.” This is a valuable statement and we could all take a lesson from it. As quilters, we need to try new techniques, work in color palettes to which we are not accustomed, and try different styles of quilting, if we are to grow.
MEETING THE PRESIDENT
Brenda Pergerson is the president of the Cocheco Guild this year. She caught Jim taking both the Challenge Quilt picture, and a few minutes before that, a photo of her quilt just mentioned. We all had a good chuckle because he had chosen to photograph the first one, and I had asked him to photograph the second one! We did not know Brenda, nor any of the quilters who had show entries. We are happy that Brenda introduced herself. She travels all over New England and New York, to teach quilting. We were so pleased to meet this talented and friendly lady!
OTHER QUILTS OF NOTE
#367, “Sparkles in the Garden” by Marcia Rowell, is a fine example of Bethany Reynold's “Stack 'n Whack” method. The 70” x 70” quilt uses a very interesting color palette. Linda Bevins machine quilted the piece.
Above: A close up of "Black Holes of Africa" -
Please click on the thumbnail photo to see the fine quilting details.
Jim and I both agreed that we really like #327, a 73” x 84” quilt called, “Black Holes of Africa,” by Marilyn Follansbee. The quilter was inspired by the book Quilt Africa by Jenny Williamson and Pat Parker. The quilter raided her stash of African fabrics and did some fussy cutting to achieve the desired look. Sue Foster machine quilted it, using meaningful African symbols, and Patience Dixon bound the quilt. The quilter reports that the quilt was fun to make, and one can readily see this joy in the finished product.
There were more than two hundred quilts in this show. The president said that it is surprising that none of them had shown up at “Show and Tell” at monthly meetings. A wide variety of themes, colors, and sizes of quilts were on hand. We congratulate all who made this show a success. May you enjoy making many more quilts in the future!
The Cocheco Guild meets on the third Tuesday of each month (except December) at the Greek Orthodox Church of the Annuciation (Locust Street, Dover, NH – near the library). For more information, visit the guild's website: www.CochecoQuilters.org
©Copyright 2006. Patricia and James Cummings, Quilter's Muse Publications, Concord, NH.
Comments? Questions about this file? Write to: pat@quiltersmuse.com