My dear friend, Karen Ashton shared a ticket to the Garden of Quilts with me and I enjoyed spending the day wandering in the gardens and listening to special guest speakers. Last night several of us came to hear Lori Holt speak and show her quilts. I’ve made a couple of quilts designed by her (Snowmen and Christmas Trees). I like the way she publishes her patterns with the same block in 3 different sizes, so you can choose or mix and match blocks.
This morning I came to hear Amy Smart and then Sandy Klopp, two of my favorites.
This is Amy Smart, a local quilter and friend. I really enjoyed listening to her and seeing all the quilts she brought to show. I’ve just finished making a quilt she inspired (Red and White Irish Chain).
I really love this one!
These next quilts are from Sandy Klop, designer and owner of American Jane Patterns and Fabric in California. I LOVE her work. In fact, I’ve been working on her Americana Album Quilt for 10 years now! Here’s a pic of the last block I’m finishing now:
Sandy was here with her son. It sadly became apparent that Sandy has suffered a stroke or something that has slowed her speech and her mind. She was able to speak slowly and read words, but her son did most of the talking for her. She leaves an incredible quilting legacy as you will see below.
Sandy’s quilts are breathtaking. Her legacy will live on through her patterns.
Next I went to listen to a very interesting presentation about Jane Austen by Cindy Cloward, owner of Riley Blake Fabric Company. Cindy showed us a new pattern for a 250th Anniversary Quilt commemorating Jane Austin, designed by Lori Holt with a wonderful line of Jane Austin reproduction fabrics. Cindy described the process they went through to reproduce the fabrics. It took about 10 years! You can hear her talk about this quilt in a really fun video found here.
I spent the rest of the afternoon wandering and enjoying the gardens and the quilts.
I spent the rest of the day wandering. There were readings in The Secret Garden (by a descendant of Frances Hodgson Burnett.
I ended up in the Bard where all the vendors were and happily ran into my dear friend, Nina Caldwell, from Vernal. She and her husband are serving as the President and Matron of the Vernal Temple right now. What a gloriously fun day!
