The Quilt Show at Historic Cold Spring Village

I visit Historic Cold Spring Village at least once a year or so, usually for one of their weekly (in the summertime) special events. I blogged about the place back in 2011 right here, but today I'm focusing on the Quilt and Fiber Arts Show. We walked among the authentic Cape May County buildings brought to this location to form this little village and visited various vendors of fabric and fibers along the way. We saved the Country Store and its old-timey and handmade merchandise for last.

The Country Store is housed in the James Hathorn House (c. 1722/1780)

The Ice Cream Parlor was doing a brisk business this day...

The Ice Cream Parlor is located in the Ewing-Douglass House (c. 1850)

...and the Bakery offered some tempting treats.

The Ezra Norton House from Dias Creek (c. 1850) houses the Village Bakery

But we're here for fabrics and fibers, remember? Over at the Spicer-Leaming House (c.1817), a costumed interpreter was showing a visitor how the spinning wheel works. We watched.

Across the road at the Corson-Hand House (c. 1837), experts were demonstrating wool carding, and down around the corner my friends from Jersey Shore Alpacas had a tent set up where they were selling luxurious alpaca yarns and gorgeous soft things made from these fibers. This farm is right around the corner from Cold Spring, and Tish and Jim welcome visitors to their farm to visit the alpacas and browse through their store full of soft alpaca things. (Check the link above first, though.) They even offer workshops!

I like the crocheting and knitting, but quilting is my true medium of expression. The first bunch of quilts on display were hung in the 1894 Welcome Center. Visitors got to vote on their favorites on Saturday, and we got to see the winners in various categories when we were there on Sunday. As a person who has entered quilts in shows, I think they're all winners. It's not easy to put your creation out there for all to see and judge! Here are some samples:

There were quilt supply vendors at the Walter P. Taylor Octagon House (c. 1880 and formerly a chicken coop), and at the Dennisville Inn (c. 1836) where I got some red cotton velveteen for a crazy quilt I plan to tackle soon. I never seem to have enough cash for all the things I would like to buy (four or five hundred would be a good start), but that is just as well since I wouldn't have the time to actually stitch the stuff. Maybe this year I'll finish something and enter it in next year's show...but for now...more inspiration...

There were more quilts displayed by the Gazebo (see them at the top of this post) and that was also the site of the QUILT QUIZZO trivia game. Visitors were formed into groups by organizer Merry May, a respected and accomplished quilter from Tuckahoe, NJ. We answered questions on quilt history, quilting innovations, and famous quilters, for example, and after two rounds our Team C had pulled away from the pack. This was a good thing, as Round Three was all about anagrams, my Achilles Heel and my Waterloo. The scrambled words were names of classic quilt blocks, but it doesn't matter because my brain is missing the anagram figurer-outer synapse. But Oh Happy Day! We won!

Margie and Janet show off their Quilt Quizzo medals of fine gold plastic.