Blast of Farms - a quilt show and a raffle quilt!

You know that our quilt show, Blast of Farms is coming up June 5-6-7.  But remember that our current raffle quilt, "Blast of Freedom", will find a winner on Saturday, June 6th!  That's when our ticket drawing will be and you will want to be sure that your name is on a ticket in that barrel! 

Look at this!

Blast of Freedom - Day 2 was full of fun!

Day 2 is over but what a day!  Lots of quilt appreciators came to see our show, and enjoyed the Blast from the Past street fair!  Did you know there are pony rides?  Gotta love a street fair with pony rides.

Both performances of our bed turning were SRO!  Londa and her committee put on a great show - we not only have vintage bed quilts to show you but DOLL QUILTS, too!  This town is full of great vintage pieces and we are so grateful that their owners share the quilts with us.  Two more showings tomorrow - 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.  Come a little early to get a seat!

 

Our beautiful raffle quilt, "Grandmother's Charm" (shown here as the bed header) was WON at the 4 p.m. drawing!  Photos to follow. 

Our visitors and vendors from out of town have been commenting on what fun we have together here in Sedro-Woolley!  It's true.  The street fair was bustling with folks and the contests at Hammer Heritage Square had lots of fans and competitors.  David Bricka (Country Meadow Village activities director) is once again the overall champion in the adult jump rope division.  He says that his secret to success is bacon!  Well, he had it for breakfast today.  And the competitor who had a protein smoothie for breakfast did not win.  Just think about it.

Lots of plants from Thompson's Nursery were purchased today - saw folks walking by with arms full.  And our own Heather Rogers from Machine Quilting Experience bought a massive fuchsia hanging basket. 

The Blast of Freedom quilt show member boutique is still full of great quilted items for you to consider.  Looking for a small quilt for a favorite little one?  

We have also unveiled the new WFQ raffle quilt - which will be WON in June 2015!  At our next quilt show!  We plan ahead.  Come and see it and get your tickets early!

Tomorrow - Sunday - is the Blast from the Past vintage car show.  If you love vintage cars, this will be the place for you!  Weather will be perfect.  And if you love quilts, we're right here to welcome you to Blast of Freedom!

Blast of Freedom - Day 1 comes to a close

What a great day at the quilt show!  We opened early - about 10 minutes to 10 a.m.  And we had quilt appreciators waiting to get in!  Thanks for the huge enthusiasm we experienced for our show today.  Some said it was our "best show ever"!  Well, we think they're all good!  But with 300+ quilts to show you, we are really proud of this one.

Here are some more "snippets" to whet your quilting appetite.  Start planning to visit us tomorrow!

D-Day commemoration at Blast from the Past

Charlotte Furchert's beautiful quilt was featured in the procession during Blast from the Past's D-Day commemoration today.  Thanks to the veterans who gave us so much, thanks to those who serve today, and thanks to those who recognize them.

Blast of Freedom - Special exhibit of art quilts representing Skagit County

Here is only ONE of the special exhibits we have for you to enjoy - a great multi-artist piece representing Skagit County and our Skagit River!  So much to see in this piece and its companion piece.  Be sure to find it at the 810 Metcalf building!!

Blast of Freedom - news release

Members of the Woolley Fiber Quilters are preparing for the upcoming “Blast of Freedom” quilt show, June 6-7-8 in downtown Sedro-Woolley.  At this fifth annual show, local quilters expect to exhibit 300 quilts, including quilts made to be donated to local veterans’ quilt organizations. 

The popular “bed turning” presentation will return, which highlights vintage quilts in both bed size and doll size. 

The show also features quilt supply vendors, a member boutique, demonstrations, a raffle quilt, and a large variety of quilts for viewing and inspiration.

“This is a quilting town,” said Judy Johnson, WFQ president.  “There are lots of quilting groups in Sedro-Woolley and lots of individual quilters.  We love to come together once a year and show what we have been creating!”

One of only four non-juried quilt shows in Skagit, Whatcom, Island, and Snohomish counties during 2014, the Woolley Fiber Quilters show strives to be a true “community” quilt show with fun for everyone. 

From its inception in 2010, the quilt show was specifically paired with Sedro-Woolley’s premier summer kickoff event, “Blast from the Past”.  “It’s a great match in terms of traditional activities and in making sure that there is something for everyone during the event weekend,” said Johnson.  “We always have visitors from all over Washington state, Lower BC, and beyond.” 

The group selects a theme for each year, and so far has used the “Blast of” tag for each show.  “Blast of Freedom” will celebrate citizenship and everything red, white, and blue.  Quilts associated with the theme will be assigned to the “theme” category; other categories are determined by quilt size and age of the quilter.  As in previous years, attendees are invited to vote for their favorites in each category and the most popular quilts will be awarded ribbons on Saturday afternoon. 

Some local quilters have made quilts specifically to donate to local chapters of the Quilts of Valor or American Hero Quilts organizations.  These quilts will be displayed in the “theme” category and then will go on to be awarded to a veteran. More information about both organizations will be available at the show. 

Quilting is one of the most popular pastimes in the USA; New Track Media, a publisher of several quilting magazines, commissions an annual study called Quilting In America.  Most recently, the survey identified 21.3 million US quilters who spend about $3.5 billion annually on their hobby. 

“Blast of Freedom” coincides with festival hours:  Friday and Saturday, 10 – 6 and Sunday, 10 – 4.  Locations this year are at 903A Metcalf Street (formerly Curves) and 810 Metcalf Street (formerly Holland Drug).  “We are extremely grateful to Pat Farrell and Jerry Willins, who have made a downtown show possible again this year by allowing us to use their buildings,” emphasized Johnson.  “We are also indebted to Bobi Kelley, as she allows Cascade Fabrics to be the hub for show activities.”  Other major sponsors are Country Meadow Village, Machine Quilting Experience, Threadmongers, and the family of Dean and Barbara Gregory. 

Bed-Turning - one of the highlights of Blast of Freedom!

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. we will host our popular bed-turning exhibit.

Delicious vintage quilts in bed size and doll bed size will be presented for your viewing, complete with provenance and block history.  Have you ever seen a bed-turning at a quilt show?  It's time to experience one!

See you at 810 Metcalf in Downtown Sedro-Woolley!

Blast of Freedom - retrieving and setting up the quilt stands!

We rent our quilt stands from the Fidalgo Island Quilters and we retrieve them from storage in Anacortes on the day before set-up day.  One of the nice things about having five years of experience with quilt shows is that we have a plan!  And we have process improvements! 

These fine WFQ members and fine recruits loaded up the stands in Anacortes and brought them to Sedro-Woolley on Wednesday.  And assembled everything!  There were actually more workers than this on the receiving end.  Thanks to everyone!

 

 

Time to register your quilts for "Blast of Freedom"!

May 16 is the deadline for registering your quilts for the show!  Registration forms are available at Cascade Fabrics or from pretty much any member of Woolley Fiber Quilters!  If you're sitting at home, late at night in your pajamas, reading this, and want a form, leave a comment on this post and we'll e'mail one to you (MS Word format)!

ALL local quilters are invited to show quilts - and "local" has a broad definition.  Join in the fun!  We regularly get exhibitors from Skagit, Whatcom, and Snohomish counties.  Although most of the quilts shown are from the Sedro-Woolley area.  We're a quilting town, in case you didn't know! 

We especially invite YOUNG quilters to show their work.  We love to see it!

Every Large, Medium, and Small (see form for official dimensions) quilt needs a hanging sleeve attached to the top, in the back, that has at least 4" of open space.  The easiest way to do this is to cut a piece of fabric 9" wide by the length of your quilt and sew it into a long tube.  Baste it securely to the back of your quilt.  ASK if you have questions about this.  Samples at Cascade Fabrics.

You also need to submit a photo of your quilt with the registration form.  The easiest way is to print your form, then feed it back through your printer to print the photo on the back.  But you can submit a photo in a lot of ways.

The preregistration serves several purposes - it tells us how many quilt display stands to rent, it tells us how many quilts of each size to plan for (and we do a LOT of planning), we print the information about the quilt on a card for show attendees to read, and we use the information to ensure that each quilt gets back to its owner.

So send in your forms!  Earlier is better.  But the deadline is May 16th.  Quilt drop-off day for the show will be June 3 at Cascade Fabrics.  That means you can enter a quilt now, and finish it before June 3!