Rainbow Quilts of the Vermont Quilt Festival 2015

"Circle of Life" earned Lisa McCarthy of East Kingston, NH an Exceptional Merit Purple Ribbon (that means the quilt earned 98, 99 or 100 points on the scale of 1 to 100). Lisa writes in her description, "I love the use of bright bold colors. When I saw this pattern by Jacqueline de Jonge, I added it to my 'must-do' list. I had fun playing with the color layout and it went together like a dream. Many thanks to  long-arm maching quilter Carrie Zizza, whose vision and artistic flare are amazing."

On the right is "Prism" by Linda Pearl of Nashua, NH. (I'm sorry that I did not get a better photo.) Here is Linda's description, "It is an interpretation of Flying Geese, with a modern layout and quilting scheme. This came from my desire to play with a bright palette. It is the second in a series I am currently working on. Quilted on a home machine."

Karen Viega's "Really? What was I thinking?" earned her a First Place Blue Ribbon.
From East Bridgewater, MA, Karen writes, "My quilt guild challenge for spring was Fall in Love with Color. We each chose a photo whose colors we wanted to work with, and then interpreted those colors into the design. I came up with this foundation pieced rainbow log cabin variation. 3700 pieced later, I thought to myself, "Really? What was I thinking?" Quilted on a home machine.

"Whoosh!" Deborah Rouse's Third Place Ribbon winning quilt caught my eye for not only the bargello factor, but also for the awesome antique buttons. She writes, "A fun bargello quilt using my stash of fabrics and new and vintage buttons! Inspired by a quilt designed by Nancy Altsman of Black Cat Creations. A class by Karen Dever at the Village Quilter in Mt. Holly, New Jersey. Quilted on a home machine."

Below is Margot Cohen of Cedarhurst, NY's "Field of Flowers." This Third Place Yellow Ribbon quilt is described by the maker in this way, "I fell in love with hexagons thirty years ago when I took my first quilting class. Since then I have made many hex quilts. My late husband told me I could have any quilt I wanted as long as "I made it." I saw a picture of this quilt and just had to have it, so I made it. It is hand quilted."

Below from the Instructor's Showcase comes Karen Eckmeier's "Random Rose Garden." She describes it like this, "Based on the words "finding center"-- this quilt was inspired by a hand drumming workshop. Each block was supposed to be an individual drum beat, but it turned into a garden instead!"

Instructor Kimberly Einmo's "Fire and Ice." She writes, "Fire and Ice is a variation of my original design called Lone Starburst. I wanted to create a vibrant, modern interpretation of the more traditional Lone Starburst pattern; giving it a fresh update with streamlined, simple techniques. There are no set-in seams used in the construction of this quilt! This quilt has won several national awards including Best Modern Quilt at AQS Quilt Week 2014 in Chattanooga, TN. Judi Madsen of Green Fairy Quilts did the exquisite machine quilting."

Finally, contestant Lee Sproull of Leeds, MA entered this "Cubic Kaleidoscope" and earned a Third Place Yellow Ribbon.  Lee writes, "Bright colors swirl around lively red centers. Quilted on a home machine."

Dedication:  In the middle of this year's Vermont Quilt Festival, as I was trying hard to absorb all the colors, all the people, all the techniques and all the gorgeous art in this amazing show, I learned that my sister and her girlfriend of many years will be married next June. I was then overwhelmed with joy to know that they too will have all the love, security, and legal benefits which come with marriage. Therefore, I dedicate this post to my sister Liz and to Jeanne in the name of LOVE, of support, and of all that is truly rainbow bright and beautiful!