Paducah 2009

Today was the day I have been looking forward to for months - the Paducah Quilt Show! I will not be showing any photos of quilts apart from a background shot of Best in Show but hope these few photos will give you a flavour of it.
The first photo shows people coming into the venue - the large building in the background. All the white canopies you can see are outdoor food stalls!

Philippa Naylor won one of the four main awards with her quilt 'Flower Power'. I thought it was great that the winners had a chair so they could sit with their quilt. I never saw Philippa there though as she was teaching all day.

I was lucky enough to catch the 'Best of Show' winner posing for photos. She is pictured on the right - her name is Mariya Waters from Australia and the quilt is called 'Renaissance Revival'

It was a great day - tiring but very enjoyable. Very busy - Paducah is full of quilters and there is a great atmosphere in the whole town. There were not as many quilts as I was expecting - I would say a similar number to the NEC. There were lots of technically excellent quilts especially from Japan,
However the number of trade stands was staggering! I did spend lots of money although I had been saving up so I could have a spending spree. I have triedto buy things that are not easy to get in the UK.
It was interesting to look at what is trendy in the quilting world - needle punching is very popular - I have bought a needle to have a go - also chenille, and jacket making.
What I found most interesting is that traditional quilting seems much more popular than art quilting - both in quilts exhibited and merchandise.

Here I am after 9 hours at the show! Tomorrow we are going to investigate Paducah itself as there is lots to see - not least Hancocks of Paducah, then tomorrow evening we are going to see Ricky Tims!