Tis The Season

 In Western North Carolina, the coming of fall brings along with it numerous quilt shows to enjoy.  We just had our Asheville Quilt Show--which was great--and there

will be one in Hendersonville later this month.  There were several shows this past weekend and, since the weather was pretty on Saturday, we decided to trek to Concord, NC to see the show at the Carrabus Arena.  This was a very large facility with lots of Vendors and about 142 quilts.  This quilt was one that I liked.  It is a traditional pattern but I really liked the choice of fabrics.  I would say that the majority of quilts were traditional in nature and, surprisingly, it seemed that a majority were quilted on a longarm. (I've been trying to figure out if there is any significance to that).

Scott Murkin was one of the judges and he also had a display of his quilts there.  His earlier quilts were hand-quilted.  This is one of his more recent ones.











The interesting thing about this next quilt was that it was almost entirely machine embroidered.  For those of you who don't know what that entails, just let me say that it requires a LOT of accurate hooping.  I don't know how one would really compare it to traditionally constructed quilts but I don't suppose that there are enough of them to have their own category.

 This quilt was machine quilted but won the award for best handwork.  The appliques are wool, I think, and were attached with handwork.

 I guess this was one of the funkiest pieces that were there.

And I just liked the colors in this one.

And, finally, another quilt by Scott Murkin.


I wish I had taken a photo of the Raffle Quilt as it was quite lovely.  One thing that kind of threw me was that it had been entered into the show contest and won a blue ribbon--as also happened in the show in Charleston, SC this year.  Any opinions?  I don't know if there is some kind of protocol for this but it just struck me as not quite right.  I think it's fine to enter it in other shows--and maybe even bring some prize money into the show's coffers.  I don't know.
Anyway--down off the soapbox--since it was a 2 1/2 hour drive back home, we were needing to eat after we left the show.  We really don't like to eat at fast food places but, of course, knew nothing about the other restaurants in the area.  BUT, we had noticed a huge crowd at the Harrisburg Family House Restaurant (4429 Highway 49S, Harrisburg, NC) on the way to the show and there was still a huge crowd on the way back, so we decided to take a chance (knowing full well that large crowds are not always an indicator of quality).  I am very pleased to say that it was great.  Friendly, good service and excellent food--at least what we got (Gyro Platter).  So, in case you're in the area, give it a try.
And now I'm packing my quilts for a trunk show and quilting class in West Jefferson, NC tomorrow and Friday.  I've never been there so am looking forward to seeing it and, perhaps, some beautiful fall leaves.
I hope there are some where you, too, can see them.