HMQS...

...and a 200th post giveaway!

My mom and I went to the HMQS (Home Machine Quilting Show) in Salt Lake City, Utah last weekend.  What was the best part?  Meeting Val from Val's Quilting Studio and having lunch together.  We both agree that meeting in real life makes our blogging quilt guild seem so much more real.  :)

It was also fun to see some absolutely amazing quilts in person.  Here are just a couple of my favorites.

The Complex Irish Chain pieced by Beth Nufer and quilted by Joann Hoffman.

I love the rainbow and the quilting.

And the applique added so much.

The next quilt was Irish Stone Creek pieced by Rosemary Kurtz and quilted by Barb Maurer.

The quilting is absolutely beautiful.

This is probably not surprising, because last year my favorite quilt was Irish Lass by Judi Madsen.

But I must say that I love the colors in Irish Stone Creek.  Looks like I really enjoyed the Irish Chains this year.

Another fun part of the HMQS was the shopping at the vendor's mall.  This is my anniversary, Mother's Day, birthday month, so my husband gave me some extra money to spend.  :D  While my mom bought lots of thread from Superior Threads, I found some cute fabric at Daine's Cotton Shop.  (Monkey has practically claimed all of this.)

I also found patterns for the Sew Together Bag and the Beatle Bag.

Because this is my 200th post, I thought it would be fun to give away something I purchased at the show.  I bought some Rainbow Clover Wonder Clips for me to try them out, and some for one of my readers.

Anyone can enter, just leave me a comment telling me what you would use them for.  (I think I will be using them on my Sew Together bag.)  My followers can leave a second comment telling me how they follow me.  I am leaving this giveaway open through Sunday, May 17.  On Monday I will contact the winner through email, so make sure I have your email address.  Then I will update this post with the name of the winner.

This giveaway is now closed.  Congratulations to PK_Sews!  I hope you enjoy using them on your bag and bindings.

XX,
Jasmine

P.S.  I will be linking up with some of the fun parties on my sidebar, including Val's Tuesday Archives for Quilt Shows.  Pretty convenient timing, huh?

A Quilt Display and Show

I was volunteered by one of my church leaders to have a display at our Stake Arts Festival last Saturday night.  It was a professional talent night with live performances and displays.  I was humbled that people thought of me as a professional quilter, because I don't feel like I am one.  Other displays included professional photographers, painters, a saddle maker, and another quilter. 

Even though it was stressful, I enjoyed the experience talking about quilting to lots of people.  As part of my display I showed what the three layers of a quilt looked like.

 I made the doll quilt out of scraps on Friday afternoon.  I look forward to quilting it using one of my long arm rulers.  I really enjoy trying out new quilting designs on small projects. 

I also had a basket of fun, smaller projects.  There were wall hangings, table runners, and doll quilts in my basket (Some were hiding in the back). 

It was nice to have a few examples of quilting with the walking foot.  I showed them to someone thinking about making a quilt without free motion quilting.  She said, "But I don't think I could quilt that straight." 

It was fun to pull out this table runner telling her that she doesn't have to quilt straight.  I loved hearing her say, "Okay.  I could do that." 

Knowing that one of my friends (who has only made two quilts before) wants help making a larger quilt made all the effort worth it! 

This fun evening came after an amazing day spent in the Salt Lake City area with my family.  After visiting an aquarium together, my sweet husband dropped me off at the Home Machine Quilting Show.  He then took the boys to the Lego Store. 

I didn't have much time to spend there, but I was able to do what I really wanted.  I visited booths for some of my favorite quilt shops, purchased items for Princess from Handi Quilter, and bought thread from Superior Threads. 

I only had twenty-five minutes to rush through the quilt display.  I am totally in awe of the talent other quilts have and received much inspiration from their quilts.  I especially loved Judi Madsen's trunk show.  Here are some pictures of my favorite quilt she displayed. 

Knowing I love simple quilts, is it any wonder that one of my favorite quilts was this chevron? 

Next year I hope that my mother will be able to go with me to the HMQS.  I sure could have spent more than one and a half hours there.  But, it was still worth going even for such a short amount of time.  :) 

As a side note, I just joined Bloglovin and added the button to my side bar.  Now I have to claim my blog, so here goes...

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

XX,
Jasmine

P.S.  I will be linking up at Let's Bee Social this week.