Long Beach International Quilt Festival 2012

          The Long Beach Convention Center has always been a perfect choice of venue for the Long Beach International Quilt Festival. The pretty flags that decorate the front of the building are so festive and welcoming.

          The front entry hall is spacious and elegant.

          What a fantastic place to display some very beautiful quilts! It was difficult to select which ones I would share on my blog since there were so many good ones. I tried to pick a variety from the different collections at the show.

          This one caught my eye from across the hall. It was part of the exhibit called West Coast Wonders 2012 and was an awesome seascape featuring a very realistic sea anemone by Carla Stehr. Entitled Moonglow Anemone, the artist did an excellent job of representing the translucence of the anemone's tentacles with silk organza. The texture she creates with her free motion machine quilting of the background is also exquisite.

          Dixie Dingo Dreaming by Susan E. Carlson certainly deserved to win the 2011 International Quilt Festival’s “Good For You” Special Exhibit.

          The composition speaks to the benefits that pets bestow upon our physical and emotional health. Below is a detail shot:

          This is an excellent example of the fact that most any color or colors can be used to represent something as long as the values are correct.

          On a more traditional note, Purple Poetry by Theresa Caselman, was a beautifully pieced and hand quilted work in the Hoffman Challenge collection.

          And of course, there were many more lovely quilts to be seen but never enough room on a blog to put them. The show is still open today, however, so there is time to buzz down there and see them for yourself.

          After all that viewing, and a little shopping, it was time to have lunch with some dear friends. Yummy lasagna and salad!

          A good time was had by all.