Last weekend, my wife and I made our annual trip to a fantastic quilt show held locally in Utah. The Home Machine Quilt Show has been a favorite excursion of ours for years. However this year, it was re-branded as the Utah Quilting and Sewing Marketplace. Same fantastic show, just a new name.
Shop ‘Til You Drop
This show is a great combination of a vendor mall and a “regular” quilt show…though it is not your grandmother’s quilt show. The vendor mall is a great way to be introduced to new quilting techniques, products and other fun “quilty” stuff.
For years I have admired quilts that were embellished with crystals. This year we took the plunge and we purchased a hot-fix applicator and sequins. I plan to use them on a Christmas quilt I have been wanting to make for quite a few years. Perhaps this year will be the year to make it a reality. 
My other favorite find was a new seam ripper. Stacy got one at last year’s show and it is wonderful. It has a hand-turned handle that just feels so nice in the had. My jealousy got the best of me and so this year I bought one for me. The unique finish is created with electricity. The artisan showed us a video of the process and it was so awesome to watch.
Inspiration Around Every Corner
After strolling through the many booths featuring fancy long-arms, rulers and accessories, it was time to stroll through the rows and rows of quilts. Each row provided a beautiful machine-quilted masterpieces. Each quilt has something to offer. Some are true works of art that I can appreciate, but would never want to attempt on my own. Others are also works of art, that inspire me to strive to be a better machine quilter and try something new. What follows are some of these quilts that struck a chord with me. Hopefully, they will inspire you as well. Enjoy.
What’s Old is New Again
Old quilts became new again in this first set of quilts. Vintage quilts were given a beautiful update by the machine quilters.
“Rescued Hexi” by Shelly Sieverkrop of Creston, WA
“Pure Vintage Joy” by Deborah Scott of Haslet, TX. This was her mama’s dresser scarf doily given new life as a quilt.
When is a quilt not a quilt? When it is a vintage, embroidered tablecloth. In days gone by, something like this would have been a staple in every bride-to-be’s trousseau. The quilted result is stunning.
Amazing “Art” Quilts
Quilting Technique Inspirations
This next group of quilts include quilting motifs and ideas that I would like to incorporate into future projects.
As I put this post together, I realized two things:
- Photographs don’t really show how truly spectacular these quilts were. Not to mention that this is a minute fraction of all of the amazing quilts that were on display. If you ever have a chance, visit a quilt show near you. I promise you will walk away inspired to try something new.
- I’m a much better quilter than photographer. This pictures aren’t too bad, but I definitely should have taken the time to do a bit of editing. But, I was way to excited to share them with you.
Uncle Paul's Quilting Company 