Overview
On Saturday April 25, 2026 I went with my husband to the Amador Valley Quilters 2026 show, which promised a display of over 300 quilts. There were 241 uniquely numbered entries and 96 other smaller quilts gathered under communal group numbers. I took 121 photos from the individually numbered group of 241, but half those photos were of the associated labels. In this post I show a subset of those quilts I photographed, selected for a variety of reasons: ideas for future community quilts, comparisons to some themes I've made, appealing patterns that I might want to pursue, general admiration for the amount of skill and work involved, or — last, but not least — merely causing me to smile. My own quilt entries are described in a separate post following this post.
Community Quilt Ideas.
The use of jelly rolls and layer cakes gave me inspiration for community quilts to be made by small quilt group, the Cut Ups. I like the pinwheel secondary pattern of the first quilt by Lynda Smith in the lobby as we entered. I thought the end squares of the second quilt, Daylight by Nancy Hom, added interest and a commonality. The third quilt, Beautiful Christmas by Ann Narciso, inspired me to use some of my layer cakes
Community quilt at entry to show
Daylight by Nancy Hom (#134)
with Daylight pattern by Gourmet Quilter
Beautiful Christmas by Ann Narciso (#175)
with Beautifully Done pattern by Anna Fournelle
Potency of Color
Three fellow quilters — Carlen Colgett, Willi Haslam, and Mary Dexheimer — challenged themselves to complete a Missouri Star All Star Block of the Month challenge using only the fabric in their stash. I was impressed with the different interpretations. I have a pretty big stash, but I doubt if mine is so coordinated. I enjoyed the various interpretations.
All Stars by Carlen Colgett (#64)
from Missouri Star All Stars Block of the Month
All Stars by Willi Haslam (#66)
from Missouri Star All Stars Block of the Month
All Stars by Mary Dexheimer (#65)
from Missouri Star All Stars Block of the Month
These next two appliquéd quilts are very bold and striking. I think what impressed me a lot though, was that Lori Korch made them as Secret Santa gifts. If I had a Santa so generous with his time, material, and talent, I certainly would not keep it a secret.
These next two photos are of my forays into the Ghastlies; one a quilt, and one a set of figures. Both were fun to do. Amazing that the Ghastlies play well with both a modern interpretation and a whimsical approach.
Thimbleberries has a bit of interesting history for us. Back in 2007 I noticed a quilt called Hometown Christmas (With All the Trimmings) in a magazine. I fell in love with the intricate and varied pieced blocks. I normally gravitate to bright colors but this quilt was calling to me and would draw me out of my comfort zone. I was going to splurge and by the kit but they were all sold out. Apparently they had been first sold in 2004. I was so disappointed but I bought a set of the four volume instructions, thinking I could pick out my own colors. But would I be brave enough to do so? Back in 2007, online shopping was nowhere near as common as it is today. Unbeknownst to me, my husband got on the phone and called quilt shops all along the west coast (post for 7/24/18), asking if they still had one of those kits. He found one in Oregon and had it shipped to me. Here is the completed quilt and my label in it. Following is the Thimbleberries December Table Topper which was the first project where I got up the nerve to use my newly acquired HandiQuilter Sweet Sixteen (post for 2/13/15).
I suspect many quilters out there own at least one book by Lynette Jensen. Do you see one you own in the next photo? I just bought what I think my be her final book, New Attitude. It takes her designs and branches out into new fabrics and color palettes.
I purchased two items at the ThimbleCreek Quilts vendor. Enjoying this show with me was my husband. Frank liked this pattern Winter Wonderland a lot, called it to my attention, and urged me to get it. I, too, liked its bold simplicity and so bought the pattern. Once home I realized it was the "A" word, i.e., appliqué !!! But, the wall hanging finishes at 45" square so those appliqué pieces are pretty large and there are not many of them. Also I have been collecting solids and can put them to good use in this pattern. Making this quilt will be good for my soul. I also bought some fine line mechanical pencils mainly because their exterior was so quilt-like looking; they will have a greater probability of staying in my sewing room.
A Rose for Belle by Lori Korch (#34)
Secret Santa gift for Melanie
Tinkerbell with Attitude by Lori Korch (#58)
Secret Santa gift for Curt
Modern Vibe
I just returned earlier this year from Quilt Con in North Carolina and reviewed my experience in my 3/7/26 blog post. I can honestly say that I liked the next three quilts by Sarah Kealy Roberts, Elizabeth Taylor, and Kathy Pedrini far more that the majority of the quilts I viewed at Quilt Con. I admit that modern is not my genre of preference, but each of these had such a happy tonality they made me smile. The quilting enhanced each, rather than detracting from the piecing. Breeze is so carefree and I am actually considering getting the pattern for Apparrotly It's a Party for myself.
This ghoulish crew made their initial appearance on the fabric scene around 2011 and here we are still enjoying them fifteen years later. Per my post dated 6/2/20
Hexibore by Sarah Kealy Roberts
from online class by Jenny Haynes (#20)
A Set of Four Doors by Elizabeth Taylor
from improv class with Sarah Goer at PIQF (#99B)
Breeze by Patricia Lindsey (#19B)
Parrot Party by Kathy Pedrini
with Apparrotly It's a Party pattern by Love Sew Modern
with Apparrotly It's a Party pattern by Love Sew Modern
Effectiveness of Background Color
The next three quilts grabbed my attention because of the bold choice of background color. So often the background of quilts is white, cream, off-white, or beige with and occasional foray lately into pale gray. The charcola behind the flower blooms make them stand out. The blue behind the swans is just strong enough to represent water and not be wimpy. The equally primary elements of the green, red, and blue ladybug quilt is a balanced trio that truly is a loveliness of ladybugs.
Walk in the Park by Kathy Pedrini (#4)
with Walk in the Park pattern by Vanessa Christenson
Swan Lake by Dierdre Campbell (#155)
with Swan Island pattern by Elizabeth Hartman
A Loveliness of Ladybugs by Becca Bishop (#143)
with Coulourbug pattern by Linda Sullivan of Colourwerx
The Ghastlies
Hawthorne Threads attributed the character inspiration to the writer/illustrator/poet Edward Gorey. He is quoted as saying, "If you're doing nonsense it has to be rather awful, because there'd be no point. I'm trying to think if there's sunny nonsense. Sunny, funny nonsense for children—oh, how boring, boring, boring."
Ghastlie Modern Maze by Michelle Garrison (#145)
Freemotion on Ghastlies and piano key quilting on black/white
Ghastlies quilt (not in show) by me, Diane Chambers
no pattern, self designed, gifted in 2014, described in my 3/17/14 blog post
Ghastlies figures stuffed by me, Diane Chambers
from a panel, see Ghastlies history in my post dated 6/2/20
Thimbleberries
Thimbleberries by Lynnette Jensen is another theme and style that has lasted the trends of time. Over 20 years ago, internationally Lynette Jensen created Thimbleberries®. It emerged as a worldwide leader in quilting, sewing, and home decorating. Thimbleberries Quilt Club, founded by designer Lynette Jensen, was a highly popular quilting program boasting over 100,000 members and 1,000+ local shops, featuring monthly, themed, high-quality fabric designs and quilt patterns. RJR Fabrics produced the fabric lines. Born in 1945, she is now 80 years old. I noted two quilts of that style in this show.
Karen Loughrige's entry Pin and Rose (#84) has the associated Thimbleberries color palette. She made it from a kit she bought at an AVQ sale. The draw of that muted color palette, not usually my favorite, is what lured me into my first Thimbleberries quilt. I like how the name Pine and Rose reflects the unique block piecing sequence.
Bridal Path (# 119) by Laurie May was designed by Lynn Wilder, not Lynnette Jensen but it sure evoked Thimbleberries memories. I found it displays the typical Thimbleberries color palette with a bit of added blue. The log cabins on a diagonal are not immediately obvious, and therefore even more delightful when discovered. My husband was the first to notice them. Both he and I thought it was a Thimbleberries.
Awesome Craftsmanship
These next two quilts stand out to me because of all the effort and precision that went into creating them. Fracture (#169) by MaryAnn Soby has an exorbitant amount of hand work. Fracture is a Dutch word which translates to mean an exact duplication on two side, a symmetry around the vertical axis. Look closely and you will see that. Escher Christmas Tree (#11) by Rebecca Buzsaki required an extremely high level of concentration. She claims that they keep this quilt up all year long, not just at Christmas. All that effort definitely deserves maximizing the time on display.
Social Aspects
My husband attended the show with me. His shirt that he wears at every show when he goes with me certainly very popular, receiving many comments from strangers. A few even asked to take his photograph. Here is Frank, a back view of his shirt, and a view of the embroidered logo above his front pocket. Wearing this special shirt only to quilt shows with me, he wore out the first shirt. This shirt is his second one.
I ran into many friends at this show that I had not seen in quite a while so it was fun catching up. Quilt shows can be a real social gathering, even when the topics extend beyond the quilts. I estimate about 20% of my time spent at the show was this communal gabbing in addition to quilt gazing. The scattered conversations reminded me of the Pick-a-Little song from the the musical The Music Man.
Purchases
