A special exhibit I particularly enjoyed, was In the American Tradition. This is an annual exhibit which seeks to honor the country’s rich quiltmaking heritage. All the quilts displayed are clearly based on a documented 20th century or earlier American design or pattern. These wonderful traditional patterns have stood the test of time and are still absolutely beautiful. I find myself returning to them again and again, especially the star patterns. Here’s a selection.

A gorgeous Lone Star, Texas Gold by Vickie Owen from Texas,was made using a pattern reproduced from an antique quilt in an old quilt magazine. The navy and black in combination with the cheddar orange makes this star striking.

Feathers and Stars Abound by Zvia Strahilevitz-Klein from Israel is lovely combination of stars in such pretty soft colors. Her design source was Judy Rothermel’s Ohio Star Medallion quilt and Marsha McCloskey’s Feathered Stars. She resized the blocks and center Feathered Star to fit into this medallion.

Last Summer’s Leftovers is a beautiful hand-quilted scrappy quilt made by Rahna Summerlin from Florida. The design source is a Railroad Crossing quilt in Sharon Newman’s Treasures from Yesteryear Book 2. Rahna writes, “I am constantly inspired by antique quilts and am infatuated with scrap quilts from the early mid 1900’s.” This quilt was made with leftover triangles from a prior project.

Grandmother Eulah’s Flower Garden was hand pieced by Nancy Davis-Altman from Washington and machine quilted by Lin Clark. Nancy’s grandmother, Eulah Davis was her inspiration. She gave Nancy a quilt for a wedding present and it was always a favorite. Nancy’s grandfather used to call Eulah his “Little Petunia”, so the Grandmothers Flower Garden seemed a fitting pattern for this quilt made to honor her.

Connecticut comes to Spring made by Minay Sirois of Spring, Texas is amazing in its simplicity and beauty. The design source is Chinz One Patch (c1820-1840) made by the Hollister Family of Washington, Connecticut. Minay saw a picture of this quilt in the book Quilts and Quiltmakers: Covering Connecticut. What makes this simple one-patch quilt with sashing so stunning is the fabric choices. It took Minay seven years to find just the right fabrics to recreate the effect. It is very successful and an absolutely gorgeous hand quilted quilt.

Every year Hoffman Fabrics organizes a challenge with a theme fabric. Contestants make small quilts or dolls using the fabric in any way they like as long as it is recognizable. It’s always fun to see the creativity and the different ways people are inspired by the theme fabric. The fabric is shown on the edge of the sign. Here’s the doll collection too.

I love the variety of interpretations as shown by the examples below. The Hoffman Challenge exhibit travels extensively and you can make arrangements with Hoffman to display their quilts at your local quilt show.

Willow II by Gayle Shelton, TX is a beautiful tree nicely set with loops around the outer edge of the quilt. Hexifun by Shirlee Carter, FL is a mini One-block Wonder – such pretty hexagons created from the theme fabric and the attractive addition of ribbon around the edges.

Paradise Cove by Benita Goodheart, OR, was awarded Best First Time Entry Applique. It reminds of a Vincent van Gogh impressionistic painting. The King and I by Anna Macaluso, NJ won First Place Mixed. The king’s face was beautifully shaded and quilted creating great perspective. It was stunning.

The Roswells from the Planet Quiltron by Alice Zimmerman, NY, made me laugh. It was such a different take on the fabric and pure fun. Ribbon Candy by Cyndi McChesney, CO was beautifully executed. Cyndi’s color gradations in the Twisted Log Cabin blocks give the quilt depth and a wonderful three dimensional quality.