A Proper Bostonian Kind of Weekend!

I read a very interesting article about weather.  In every section of the lower 48 States there was some form of severe weather formation close at hand.  The South-East was dealing with a tropical storm, South-West had extreme heat and fires, and the midsection was generally getting dumped on with snow.  Today (Oct. 6, 2013) was the first day in modern, recorded history that this had ever happened.  There wasn't a single area not at risk for miserable weather.  (Whether or not that bad weather happened is a different story...)

New England was no exception.  It was a cold and rainy mess and generally the kind of weather that makes me want to stay in bed, safe and tight under my covers.  The next best thing in my book - a good quilt show!

I am part of a local quilt guild, The Proper Bostonian Quilters (http://www.properbostonianquilters.org/).  These ladies are the highlight of my month.  About 80 women get together twice a month to share their talents, serve their community and just laugh until it hurts.  I have gained some very dear friends and learned so much more than quilting techniques.

This past weekend was their biennial Quilt Show at St. Theresa's School in West Roxbury, MA and it was a great success.  This was my first show being involved in the set up.  When I signed up, I mistakenly thought - how hard could this be?  Set up a few racks, hang the quilts on top and BAM!  You're done!!  I have never been more wrong in my life!!  Eight hours later, after going up and down 10' ladders all day, I felt like I had just run a marathon.

 But let me tell ya, it was so worth it!!

I always love to see others works and I was very much impressed by, not only the level of talent, but also the number of completed works these quilters create.  And by volunteering for the set up, I got to chat with them and learn the stories behind many of the quilts.  This came in very handy as on Saturday I was a "White Glover" (the person wearing the white polyester gloves who can handle the quilts for guests) and was able to share the tid-bits I learned with others.


For instance, I had a great conversation with P, who is rather new to quilting but I wouldn't have been able to tell that by looking at her work.  The piece below, "Peppermint Swirls," was her first submission to a major quilt show and she came in 3rd in her category!  Granted she has a very strong creative background from working in construction and knows how to make things fit and work, when it comes to quilting she is simply a natural.  Her piece to me is so bright and happy and abstract in a way that I wish I could be.

I am not a very brave person when it comes to colors and love seeing how people pair colors and patterns.  It gives me courage!

I'm loving all the Kaffe quilts!!

There was one wall of bed quilts, that included these:

In addition to quilts, there were flags.  After the bombings of the Boston Marathon, a collection of hand crafted flags began through the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.  Thousands of flags of all different designs and colors, filled with messages of love and healing came in from all over the world.  Many of the local guild members created flags.  All of them were on exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts and are now part of a permanent collection.  A few hundred loaned to our Guild for the show.  I wish I had taken pictures of the backs of these, as well as their fronts.  People wrote messages of love and hope to a city that is still trying to close it's wounds.  Complete strangers giving unconditional friendship and support all while creating a beautiful place in the world for others.  It was very touching and I can only hope you can get a sense of it through my poor photography:

Overall, it was such a beautiful show and I give a solid round of applause to all who participated!  It was fun and quite the motivator!

And if anyone in the Boston area is interested in learning more about the Proper Bostonian Quilters, please feel free to contact me or follow the link posted earlier.  They take anyone with even the slightest interest in quilting - no experience necessary and the only prerequisites are a sense of humor and an open mind!  I can promise you a fun and inspirational evening!


Mood: Inspired
Music: "Another Day on the Terrace" by Sunlounger