The Hanging Party

There was a huge conflict of interests this Friday.

1. Matthew needed to do a very important computer lab for his Information Technology coursework in Concord, New Hampshire.

2. Felix needed to load his Mountaineer and set up his sales booth at the Manchester, New Hampshire Gun Show.

3. I needed to help all day from 9 to 5 with the hanging party at the Belknap Mill Quilter's Guild 35th Annual Harvest of Quilts.

The logistics of getting everybody everywhere they needed to be was challenging but it all worked out perfectly! I spent much time and energy working the physical labor of hanging so many quilts that I have only a few raw pictures to share with you.

Here is the empty hall with "pipe & drape" booths for vendors and a large bank of potted chrysanthemums waiting to be placed all about the show for decoration. We rent the pipe & drape and it is very useful, not only for defining spaces, but also for a surface for pinning wall hangings and small quilts onto for display. Those concrete floors are very hard on your feet and legs as you are racing around.

That is my Husband Wonderful, Felix, resting from having carried in these two big rockers from the Mountaineer in the rain. All of the props you see in the background here are temporarily in this hallway while the quilts are being brought in by their respective owners to be hung. We hang the quilts that is, not the owners. Well, unless they forgot to put sleeves onto their quilts, maybe. Then we hang both the quilts and their owners!

We are blessed with a few very helpful and loyal husbands who work so very hard setting up our white-painted wooden standards for the quilt racks.

Above you can see the rolling gondola carrying the white pieces to be assembled into quilt racks. Most modern guilds use manufactured PVC pipes. We voted to keep our wooden ones for the aesthetics, the economy, and the ecology. The bases, when assembled, are the perfect place to nestle a potted mum beside the start of a row.

That's a shot of my quilt, "Humble Pie" hanging just before other quilts were hung in the row in front of it. We try to keep spacing such that the quilts can all be viewed well, but it is challenging!

These two doubled up work tables hold quilt pairs that are waiting to be hung, front and back on either side of a rack. Once cleared, the tables will become the demonstration area.

Here are Diane, Marie-Louise, and Debby at the props check-in where you are given a receipt with your insurance coverage estimate for your treasures brought in to help decorate the show. We had many rockers, several antique doll cribs and cradles, a basket/bentwood highchair, some raggedy Ann and Andy pairs, a cloth scarecrow and witch, even a stuffed patchwork turkey!

As for me, I'm glad to be home in a fetal crouch with my ibuprofin gel caps. My muscles hurt already! I will post more photos Sunday night.

The Belknap Mill Quilter's Guild 35th Annual Harvest of Quilts show is on both Saturday & Sunday, 10 to 5 at the Conference Center at Lake Opechee Inn, in Lakeport, a section of Laconia, New Hampshire. Admission is $5 for an adult, $3 for a student, and veteran's are welcomed free of charge.
If you are planning on coming on Saturday, you might like to bring your grandmother's old family quilt with you to have Julie Crossland appraise it for you. I think that last year she charged $45 per quilt and you get her appraisal value in writing.

Home made soups and simple sandwiches with coffee and muffins are available both days. It is a great little show, we hope you'll come to enjoy it with us!