WWQP Bulletin Board Chat

Jane, the gold medal is awsome, but you certainly didn't need to be laid up by it afterward.

Sarah, I grew up in the north (dad in the air force) and I don't miss the cold weather. The grandchildren will aclimate quickly, but anything you can do in the way of warm clothing for them will help. I really feel the cold when we get a stretch of bad weather in the winter; for myself, I can't imagine voluntarily moving up there. A lot of the people I go to church with say they miss the cold weather.

Lavinia, I'll certainly add you and your husband to my prayer list.

Now for the fun stuff: AQS show in Knoxville. We pulled out of the parking lot at 5:45 AM. I arrived right on time, so my friends were sitting together and I had to sit by myself in a vacant seat in the back. This actually was good, because I think I must have dozed a little bit on the bus, since the ride seemed shorter than it should have been. We arrived around 10:00, which was pretty good with the time change (we lost an hour). All of us went our separate ways, agreeing to meet for lunch at 12:00. I toured the quilts on display first, taking pictures as fast as I could to save the batteries on my camera. I got nearly 300 pictures before my batteries died, and I have already been enjoying them today. One of my friends went back and took pictures for me of the decorated bras (in honor and memory of breast cancer survivors). My battery died before I got to those.

Many of the quilts were "art quilts." My favorite, "Silverlight" won First Place in the "Quilter's Choice" category and is shown here.

There were a large number of bedsized quilts in the "Made by Machine Quilts" category.

You can see the winners at the website listed. Just paste the address in your browser. http://www.americanquilter.com/shows_contests/knoxville/2009/quilt_contest/quilt_winners.php

One of the displays was a group of quilts called "The Everchanging River Exhibit." It took up an entire wall; each panel connects with the next at the river. The following is from the directions "Each participating artist was given a common fabric and told the size of the river would enter and exit the quilt. A minimum of 14" and a maximum of 23" were set as the length. This variation in length created the undulating top and bottom line with the continuous, but Everchanging River. " You can see part of the river at http://www.flickr.com/photos/truvy57/3644953303/

This display was awsome. There were one or two that didn't "fit" with the others, in my opinion, but the overall effect is incredible. I wish my camera had a "panorama" stting, but it doesn't. I could only get 3 or 4 panels at a time. Here is one group of panels.

I have a question. Does anyone know if the sections in which photos are not allowed at AQS shows are due to copyright restrictions, or just the light damage from flash photography, or both? There was a section of quilts on display that were not that old (20-30 years), in which photos were forbidden, and then another section of brand new quilts directly across the aisle also had the "no photos" signs up.

If it's the flash photography issue, I think they should do what the Smithsonian does. They post no flash photography signs and enforce it, but other photography is allowed. I love to take the pictures home and study them in detail when my feet and back are not hurting from standing on the concrete floors.

Well, I seem to have written a book, so I'll close. Prayers for all in pain.

Laura