Detail of a Jen Kingwell quilt

As per usual, Quilt Market was exciting and slightly overwhelming. Everywhere I looked, there were gorgeous fabrics, quilts, tools, books, and patterns. I saw things I knew I needed and things I never knew I needed...but now I do. The bottom line is that I came home inspired to sew, sew, sew.

Of the many things I saw at Market, one of the most noticeable was what I've decided to call "pointy things." (And while that doesn't refer to this tower on the rooftop of St. Louis's City Museum, home to tunnels, spiral slides, a giant preying mantis, tunnels, secret passages, and more...it was definitely worth a visit!)

But rather than setting blocks on the square, I espied numerous quilts made up of triangles, arrows, flying geese, and blocks set on point (or at least giving the illusion of being set on point). I think of these triangular and on-point quilts as being a little more adventurous, made by quilters willing to see the world from an unexpected angle. I don't know exactly what's driving the trend, but it makes for some beautiful quilts. For your viewing pleasure I present "Pointy Things Seen At Market" (with apologies for the yellow tones created by the convention center lighting).

Minick and Simpson's Lady of the Lake pattern in Ann Arbor fabrics

Cluck Cluck Sew's pattern, Cascade

Zen Chic's quilt Contrasting

A quilt made with Me and My Sister's Double Wide Dresden Ruler

Crystal Manning's Migration

A pointy border using Franny and Jane's Bloomsbury fabrics

Designer May Chappell's Crossing Paths quilt

American Jane's Cross Check quilt

Kristyne Czepuryk's Starling pattern

Stacey Iest Hsu's pointy-earred kitties

Lella Boutique's quilt, Chandelier

Sherri and Chelsi's Patchwork Garden quilt

Shannon Gillman Orr's Eugene quilt

From the book Modern Triangle Quilts by Rebecca Bryan

Corey Yoder's Rummage Sale quilt

Sandy Gervais's Fancy That quilt

Basic Grey's Biscuits and Gravy quilt

And just in case we start thinking that "pointy things" is something new in quilting, here's an antique quilt from the 1840s to remind us that everything old is new again!