Machine Quilters Expo Show Review
March 2003
by Patricia Cummings
photos by James Cummings
The Machine Quilters Expo in Laconia, Hampshire was a welcome event after a long winter without quilt shows. On this almost spring day, we braved the winds and bitter cold to head out early, knowing that parking spaces near the building are at a premium. When we arrived at 10:30 a.m., all of the nearby parking had been taken. We wished we had thought of wearing our “winter woolies.”
"Lady in Red" by Sharyl Schlieckau
After paying admissions, the first quilt that greeted us was an exquisitely machine quilted, large red and white wall hanging in a traditional pattern. Going around the corner, four quilted items made by Diane Gaudynski were hanging from a display unit. Her work would stand out in any show, and it is no wonder that she has won prizes for her small, whole cloth wall hangings and vests which she does exquisitely in her trademark, muted tones of mustard and shaded green. Diane has a new book out, just published by the American Quilter’s Society. It is called Guide to Machine Quilting.
Most of the quilts in this show were made by long arm quilters. For the most part, they use huge, commercial machines to accomplish their final task of quilting the layers together. These machines have been around for awhile but it seems that they are “coming of age.” Folks are finding more sophisticated ways in which to use them.
The innovations we saw are quite striking.
I really liked the quilt “In the Jungle” by Mary Schilke of Wells River, Vermont. The jungle animals peeking out from behind leaves is an enchanting theme. She used a number of techniques including thread play on her Bernina, machine quilting with a Gammill Classic, and fused couching and bead work. The colors were lush and tropical and the quilt was very realistic.
Another shop stopper is the “Feathered Star” quilt by Linda McCuen of New Galilee, PA which has elaborate quilting and trapunto. The quilt is currently published in the Great American Quilts 2003 book and was quilted on a Gammill Classic.
“RFD #1, You’ve Got Mail,” is a quilt which has "ghost layers." It is very appealing to me, having grown up in a rural community. The quilt with its realistic images was made by Nancy Gagne Walton of Plainfield, Vermont and is an adaptation of a watercolor by Wyatt Waters that the quiltmaker saw in Watercolor Magazine.
These are just a few of my favorites in the show. The level of machine artistry is reaching new heights. The quilt world is light years beyond the point where I started quilting, eighteen years ago. Now, we use more beads, more threads, more embellishments and have more accessibility to quality fabrics of all kinds, including the hand painted ones.
We would like to thank the organizers of the show, Janet-Lee Santeusanio and Mary Schilke, and all those quilters and vendors who participated to make this first annual exposition, a tremendous success.
©Copyright 2003. Patricia and James Cummings, Quilter's Muse Publications, Concord, NH. pat@quiltersmuse.com
Note: We did not write a review this annual show in 2004. However, there is a review on this website for MQX 2005 and 2006. For more information, contact organizers: Janet-Lee Santeusanio in NH (603) 778-6994 or Mary Schilke in VT (802) 757-2200. e-mail: WMQ@comcast.net or MQXShow@comcast.net or visit www.MQXShow.com.