Trends Observed

This is the final installment of my three part report on Mid Atlantic Quilt Festival 2007.

Today's post will cover cover trends I observed in quiltmaking through studying both finished quilts and what was flying out of vendor booths.

I want to kick off this post with a photo of "Fall Into Spring" by Cheryl See of Ashburn, VA. It is hand quilted! Fewer and fewer entries are hand quilted anymore; I wanted to celebrate the fact that some still are. This is a stunning quilt in every aspect; color, design and workmanship.

(detail:)

Yes, I would definitely say that fine machine quilting, and amazing examples of such, are at an all-time high right now. Quilting skillfully executed by both domestic machine-quilters and long-armers dominated the show. This was evidenced by the popularity of quilting threads being sold, variegated beauties and dazzling solid colors were being snatched up by the baskets-full in the YLI and Superior booths, as well as in the shop booths. I'm not sure that I have seen such a thread presence in prior years. Embellishments for surface design are hot, too.

Kits are big business. Entire fabric lines, cut and bundled together with a pattern, are popular choices for busy quiltmakers who prefer one-stop shopping. I find these of interest but am not normally tempted to buy them. I like the hunt, the chase to find "go-withs" and make up my own fabric palette for a given project. I am aware that I am in the dwindling minority here. The most popular fabric line this year? I'd have to say "Dick and Jane" by Michael Miller fabrics, they were spotted everywhere in and around the festival! Batiks and Ethnic fabrics continue to be exceedingly popular. Block-of-the-month programs are still huge, many of the shop booths displayed their own BOM quilts and offered subscription programs and pre-packaged fabric kits for purchase. I do one of these at my LQS and find I must draw the line there! I have participated in mail-order BOM's but find that I lack the motivation to keep up... aha, another post for another day!

There were fewer knitting and weaving booths than in past years displaying their sumptious yarns. This would lead me to think that the number of quilting-knitters has fallen off. I can't say that I even saw one eyelash-yarn scarf being worn this year, not that long-ago it was the accessory!

The least visited booths? Ironing board cover vendors. I counted four. The booths selling permanent lipstick and paint-on embroidery seemed to have idle clerks and few, if any, customers.

Lunch time at the convention center was a learning experience. This year the organizers added another option to the in-house meal offerings. A short-order grill was opened up in the back of the convention space for hot dogs, hamburgers, and submarine sandwiches. Lots of big, round tables and chairs were placed strategically to accomodate the lunch crowd. Great idea. In theory. Grilling was handled on an as-you-order basis. Imagine: hundreds of ladies in line, a hot-dog placed on the grill only WHEN it was ordered... customer steps aside to wait... next order: hamburger, placed on the grill WHEN it was ordered... you get the picture. "Grab and go" outside the show was quick and efficient, lesson learned. Over-all there seemed to be too little staff in the hotels and restaurants to serve the number of attendees. Staffing issues should be of concern in these service areas. They could take a page from the book of the shuttle-bus service which was well-run, omnipresent and easily available. The drivers were friendly and courteous.

So, there you go. What's Hot, What's Not, What Worked and What Didn't... my observations. In conclusion, a few more of my favorite quilts from the show, they speak for themselves:
(click on any quilt to enlarge)

Life is Good!
... and some days, oh-so-quilty!