April 20, 2024: Quilt Expo photos!; Earthly Delights

Greetings dear readers! Today’s post is photo heavy because I attended the New England Quilt Expo in Manchester, NH last week. We used to regularly get national/international level shows at this venue – MQX (Machine Quilting Expo) and Mancuso shows – but that all disappeared during the pandemic. Last year a local organization stepped up to try to fill in the gap and put on a regional show. I didn’t get to that show, but heard it was marginally OK. The organizers learned from the experience and I heard this year’s was quite a bit better. I thought it was good! No jurying, judging, or quilts from out of the region, but there was some good local talent on display! My own “Sweet Journeys” was there 🙂. The vendors were decent, but, of course, not what you’d get at a larger show. Martelli was there and I treated myself to a badly needed new cutting mat – I love their mats and my old one was over 15 years old! They are relatively expensive, but very sturdy and last a long time.
Here we go with photos of some of my favorites- Enjoy!

Indigo Birds by Ramona Bateman – love the fabrics and the quilting!

2 quilts by Donna Viau: Under the Snow and Star of Fire:

2 quilts by Barbara Bergantz: Fade to Purple and Cottage Clover- Night Fancy (the second one is a Victoria Finley Wolf pattern that I love):

I really love this next one – the colors were gorgeous! Fire, Water, Earth by Donna Paxton:

It’s All About the Background by Jacqueline Soper – some day I’d like to make something like this because I love appliquéing circles!

This next one was a really unique color interpretation of this popular pattern by Edyta Sitar: “Spontaneous Alaska Sew Fun” by Nicole Merriam and Adam Rateliff:

I love the subtle colors in this next quilt and the piecing and quilting are amazing! Coral Reef by Norma Otero:

I have a few more to share in a future post, but that’s enough to absorb for now because I want to share photos from 2 recent lovely walks. We’ve had a lot of wet weather so the 2 nearby rivers are high and rushing. This one is the Oyster River:

The moss covering this stump looks like a tablecloth!🙂:

Tree down on the path to the river – from the recent snow storm:

On this walk to another section of the Lamprey River, my friend and I saw about 30 turtles sunning on trees that had fallen into the water! Hard to get good photos because the turtles slide into the water if they hear you coming:

Can you find them in the above photo?🙂. And here’s a typical forest “monument” – decay always coexisting with growth:

Have a great weekend! Hope you find time for stitching or whatever you like to do creatively.

Be kind, be grateful, and cherish each day, Gladi