Viewing the San Mateo County Fair Quilts

As I mentioned, I went to the county fair last week. When is yours? Have you gone? Have you entered?

I decided to take photos only of quilts I really liked or quilts which inspired me in some way. I still took about 100 photos total. I am not going to share all of them here, but my upload them to Flickr at some point.

Zebras at the Watering Hole by Elaine Lindsay, San Carlos
Zebras at the Watering Hole by Elaine Lindsay, San Carlos

One of the first quilts, after I found my winner, to catch my attention was a quilt with a round motif. I found out, from a fellow quiltmaker also looking at the quilts, that this was a class held at the Peninsula Quilters Guild and the technique was called Circle Pizazz. There is a book on the style by Judy Sisneros and she has templates for sale on her website to make the process easier. I got the impression that there was a bundle of the book and the templates, but I don’t see it anywhere.

There were a number of these quilts. I often get annoyed when I see duplicates, but I was intrigued this time by the differences in them. I was pleased to see the effect when different fabrics were used. This was an example of the power of quiltmaking: same pattern, completely different quilts.

Elaine Lindsay’s (above) was one of my favorites, if not my absolute favorite. The turquoise with the black on white and white on black fabrics is very striking.

Leila Sigler, Palomar Park
Circles, Leila Sigler, Palomar Park
Circles, Leila Sigler, Palomar Park
Circles, Leila Sigler, Palomar Park

The indigo version is wonderful as well. It looks like it is constructed slightly differently,  but it could be that the fabrics are so different that it just looks like it is constructed in a different way.

I admire the indigo fabrics for a lot of reasons, but have never wanted to collect them. I saw this quilt and immediately thought of TFQ and her collection of indigos. It also made me think that if I had a collection that would make this quilt, it would be a good use of the fabrics. However, it has been done, so why bother?

I have to say that part of the attraction of this quilt is that Sigler did not add a bunch of other fabrics in. She kept the choices simple and that creates an elegance.

The other thing I thought when I first saw these quilts is that they look like my Flowering Snowball.

I am also really glad to see people make quilts that have more difficult patterns. I think it is great and adds a lot more variety to quilt shows.

By Zan Murzelloe, San Jose
By Zan Murzelloe, San Jose

I thought this baking/kitchen applique’ quilt was quite whimsical. I also liked the colors. I thought they were nice and soft, but the red and orange add some punch to keep it from being boring.

I went straight to the quilts when we arrived and told the boys they could wander off, if they wanted. My nephew surprised me, and, I think, my son, by wanting to stay and look at the quilts for a bit. It was an interesting and enlightening experience. It was good to get an idea of what he likes, which was not at all what I thought he would like.

Lone Star by Rosalie Applebaum of Menlo Park
Lone Star by Rosalie Applebaum of Menlo Park

The black and white quilts attracted his attention. I think part of his interest may have been the pattern. One that interested him was a Stack-n-Whack in black and whites. He also liked the Lone Star by Rosalie Applebaum of Menlo Park. I guess when his turn comes up in the Niece-phews series, I’ll think about making him a black and white quilt.

There were a lot of great quilts at the show.  I encourage you to visit your local county fair and local quilt shows and see what people are making. There will be a lot more appreciation if we encourage each other in this way.