Bed Turning - PNW Quilt Museum

This was a free weekend for me.  No guy, no day plans, nothing but sunshine and a full tank of gas.  My only commitment was Sat evening, helping at the NW WA fair in Lynden, 25 minutes away.  It was also a Sew Day for our guild on Sunday and an old fashioned Bed Turning at the PNW Quilt and Textile Musuem in La Conner, WA which is just a bit over an hour south of me.  I decided I could fit both these events into my Sunday.
Here are some of the pieced quilts that I enjoyed.  Although is was a small venue and I could get up close, my camera just didn't capture the colors very well.  Double pink with a cream solid. 

The quilting on so many of the quilts I saw today was delightful. 

I tried to get some close ups for block construction and quilt motifs.

9 in a 9 patch.  Love that bright blue background.  

 And check the corners of the sashing.  If you struggle to get your blocks to all line up, forget about it.  These fabulous quilters from days gone by just rolled with it and I truly think it adds to the charm of the whole piece. 

 Don't get me wrong, I do value pointy points, flat borders, square blocks.  But seriously.  If you are making a gift or just trying out a new block in the center, do your best work and relax about some things.  Who knows, your quilt might end up in a museum in 2186 and someone will be commenting on how creative your work was.

This medallion was a delight to see. There was an eclectic mix of fabrics in the center, and the piecer made two types of blocks for the center block corners.

One side was a log cabin styled block

and the other sides were simple patchwork with triangles.

She (he) used a fun corner block and the top was wrapped to the back instead of using binding.

This fabulous log cabin was hanging up, and the variety of fabrics was amazing.

Another hanging quilt, I just loved how vibrant the colors were in this piece.  My photo looks dull, but trust me, the poison green in this was lovely.

If memory serves me, I believe this was the back of the log cabin shown above.  I loved the greens in the center star, and the ghost block in the center top right corner.  It's patchwork, but has faded.

This two color quilt was hanging and it was spectacular. There is just something about 2 color quilts that draws me to them

If you told someone you were making a 4 patch quilt, they would not expect something like this one.

Simple in it's piecing, but the scattered gold/yellow fabrics kept your eyes moving across this top.

Simple line quilting was done in the center, but the blue borders had lovely baptist fans.

Last in the patchwork selection is a triple irish chain with several shades of yellow/gold.

This quilter varied from the expected feathered wreath and stitched orange peels into the open centers.

It was finished with a piano key pieced border on the top and the bottom.

Most of these quilts had very narrow binding that had been cut on the bias. A few were finished with a knife edge and I recall one that had the back brought to the front and stitched down for binding.

If we look back, we can see many of the influences that are in the quilts being made today.  I had the opportunity to meet with several quilters who are very well versed in antique quilts, and I'm looking forward to spending some time with them in the future.  They have so much knowledge and when I see quilts like the ones I saw today, I'm motivated to get into my sewing studio. 
Next post will be appliqued quilts from the Bed Turning.

Keep stitching!
Sharon