The invitation said three things: come as your favorite icon, bring a finished block for the swap and practice your resting stitch face in the mirror beforehand. The Resting Stitch Face Collection is the photo album from that night, with the famous faces who showed up in character, the guests who came as themselves and a few who wandered in from the snack table.
The famous faces
The best costumes arrived early. Mona Sewsa sat for her portrait at a sewing machine in a gilded frame, wearing that famous half smile that says the seam is perfect and she will not be taking questions. Rosie the Binder came in her red polka dot bandana, flexing one arm and holding a patchwork quilt in the other, ready to bind anything you put in front of her. Marie FabCakes-Nette swept in wearing powdered curls and blue silk, carrying a rotary cutter and a cake stacked from folded fabric. And an artist in a crown of roses settled into a corner with a bright patchwork quilt pooled in her lap, looking entirely unimpressed by everyone else's effort.
The guests who came as themselves
Some quilters skipped the costume and wore the face instead. Stitchy Face is a pastel cat face pieced from soft wedges of pink, mint and yellow, with one skeptical eyebrow. Tongue is a patchwork flower with big blue eyes, sticking out its tongue at the judges. Twisted is a spool wound tall with rainbow thread, loops spilling everywhere, which is exactly how the craft room looked by ten o'clock. The crow from F-CAW-F, I'm Quilting spread his wings over a pile of patchwork and refused to leave the machine for the group photo.
Near the snack table
Every party has its regulars. A golden retriever and a German shepherd each sat for the I Like Quilting and My Dog designs, a little vintage machine drawn over their heads, while Puppy Companion sat under a sunburst of art deco waves. Exploding Patches sent a spool bursting into confetti squares of every color, Quilting Is My Cardio ran laps in a spiral of spools, and Stitchin' in Maryland brought a state map dotted with crabs and little sailboats for anyone feeling homesick.
For the quilter with her own signature look
These are for the friend who could win a costume contest with just an eyebrow, the one who has perfected looking regal while ripping out a row and the guild member everyone quietly watches to see if the block passed inspection. You know exactly which icon she would choose. Let her pick her portrait, and save her a seat by the fabric cake. The swap starts after the judging, and nobody is getting that rotary cutter away from Marie.
Written by Jacqueline. Thanks for reading.
