Each day of the Festival, I arrived a little early before opening to take a look at the quilt show beyond my exhibit area. I was so busy during the show hours, that there was little time for this. Star quilts always seem to grab my attention and there were several there that I found inspiring and admired. There were some Judy Niemeyer quilts resulting from classes sponsored by the quilt guild. I thought the ones shown below, made by Audrey Campbell, Charlotte Collier and Rayni Lambert were particularly attractive with pleasing color combinations.

Charlotte Collier also made this spectacular circular quilt. She took a foundation paper piecing class for Christmas Celebration, a Christmas tree skirt. She liked the pattern, but didn’t need a tree skirt and wanted to use different colors. It makes a beautiful wall hanging kept rigid and circular by the insertion of tent poles around the circumference. The machine quilting was by Marlene Oddie and really enhances the quilt.

Here are a couple more star quilts that I liked. On the left, a lovely backdrop for the musicians who played during the show – Eddie Walker made this quilt to test a new pattern designed by Colleen Blackwood. On the right, an attractive Lone Star medallion quilt with very nice black, grey, cream and orange coloration, Two + 2, designed and pieced by Jacqueline Mings, and machine quilted by Brie Clearwater.

My picks would not be complete without Jess Berry’s beautiful hand appliqued and hand quilted quilt, Purple Scrolls, which he designed. Jess has been quilting for over 30 years and typically spends three to four hours a day on his hand stitching. Another quilt he made was auctioned off as a Festival fundraiser.

These triangle quilts were fun, and how different they look in the chosen color pallets. The design is by Julie Herman and employs the use of the Hex n’ More ruler by Jaybird Quilts. Rhonda Lineberger pieced the purple one, Painted Toes, and it was quilted by Teresa Silva. Teresa also made the cream one, Toes in the Sand.