I never knew! I never knew that quilts could be so gorgeous, and tell such wonderful stories. I always thought of quilting as an old-fashioned necessity (to make blankets for warmth at night). The idea of all that hand work was frankly somewhat boring to me. Oh my, have I learned differently!
The first bit about quilting that I learned was just a year or two ago … from a very good friend of mine who creates the most gorgeous quilts on the planet. I figured she had to be one in a billion, as far as quilters were concerned. You should see the quilts and other fabric art in their home … all of it is stunningly gorgeous.
But then more recently this quilter friend of mine told me about a quilt show close to where I live. She had hoped to attend the show (not to enter any of her quilts, but just to come to the show to see the ideas and work of other quilters). But in the end this friend of mine couldn’t come to see the show. So I went to the show by myself in order to see the work of other quilters and to take photos so my friend could see photos of the quilts even if she couldn’t be there in person. Oh my, I thought I was simply going to wander through this quilt show quickly and be done with it. I didn’t have a clue what I was in for.
It was an art show … an art show of fabric art, most of which were quilts. I thought I would spend an hour or even less there, but I ended up staying almost four hours. I loved it.
Don’t get me wrong, my friend’s quilts are still my favorites, bar none. But I can see now that she has some (minimal) competition.
I took hundreds of photos at the show. I won’t share all of them here … ack no not hundreds of photos here in the blog! While writing this blog post, I’ve been trying to decide which few photos to share with you. Boy is that a difficult decision. Do I share only my favorites? All 50 of them?! Or do I include a mix of styles? Ok, it’s my blog … I’m sharing my favorites. 🙂 But I will limit the number of photos so you don’t get overwhelmed.
For the show, the quilts were hung vertically (not spread on horizontally on a table), so we could walk right up to them. We were asked not to touch them, but we certainly could have, they were that close to all of us who were looking at them.
In addition to the two photos already included above, here below are a few more of my favorites. None of the quilts below are small … most of them took many years to complete. Please understand that these are not a sampling of what was at the show, but just a sampling of my favorites.
As always, click on photos to enlarge them. Also keep in mind that the photos here are small versions of my original photos. If you want to see any of these photos full-size in order to see more detail, please let me know.
Art Deco Ammonite
Love and Friendship
Garden Party #2
Kapow!
Octavia’s Garden
And Yet a Warm Heart
Stars of the Fairy Queen
(title unknown)
1870-1890 Hanging diamonds with lace print border.
Tulip Fields Forever, Skagit Valley, Washington State
Whether you are interested in quilting as a hobby for yourself or not, I highly recommend that you attend a quilt show in your area, just to see the beauty of them.
I do have one more quilt to show you, and it is my favorite of my favorites, although it wasn’t in the show.
First off, here’s a photo of the interior of my trailer, just to remind you of the color scheme … red and black and white … and that the shapes of things are fairly square and geometric. The trailer was built in Canada, by a company whose employees come from many backgrounds from all around the world. I live in the USA and have added my own things and my own touches to the trailer from my own life. The trailer is an eclectic mix of many cultures and heritages.
And (below) is a photo of my very favoritest quilt in the universe, made by my dear quilting Canadian friend, specifically made by her to complement the interior of the trailer. I assure you, the trailer does not rotate one wheel in any direction without this quilt on board. It’s a perfect fit.
When all is said and done, quilting can be fantastically intricate or it can be very simple. At its very basic level, quilting is simply sewing two (or three) layers of fabric together. You can even take a leather jacket and quilt it … just the leather. Here’s a wikipedia article about quilting.
The skill and art of women and men all over the world is so amazing. The quilts shown above are but a very few examples of the beauty and wonder that we humans can conceive of and that we can create.
Which quilt above is your favorite?
Oh, Ann, I am so tickled that you have had a chance to enjoy the breath-taking pleasures of art quilts! I do know what you mean!
If you have a chance to look at the “thread embroidery” art quilts of Hollis Chatelaine, please do. Her portraits are stunning and the detail extraordinary. She lived in Africa for many years and her work reflects that.
I also enjoy the sense of humor people display—not only in their quilts, but in their notes about the quilt-making and inspirations for them. One of the quilts made following Katrina in New Orleans featured the creatures from the zoo that had to be made safe for the hurricane—pink flamingoes stashed in a public women’s bathroom—beaks sticking out above the doors and scrawny legs protruding from below. Such a serious subject but presented in a very amusing way.
Anyway, thanks for the photos. You did a magnificent job of capturing the detail so we can do what you did at the show—look closely. Very enjoyable post. Thank you. Maria
Hi Maria. 🙂 I just jumped back online to change one little punctuation mark in this blog post, and found your wonderful comments. First off, for those who wish to see them, here is a link to the Hollis Chatelaine website. Wow! I never knew about that sort of art/work either. https://www.hollisart.com/
The pink flamingo quilt sounds hilarious. Yes, a good way to inject some joy and humor into a tragic event. People are so creative.
The breath-taking pleasures of art quilts … and of boating … and of RV-ing … what else will we find in this world to wonder over? 🙂 Thank you Maria.
PS—love your friend’s quilt for Towhee! Gorgeous! Lucky you.
🙂 Indeed.
My wife had two words to say “oh wow”! She had a hard time picking a favorite but ended up picking the Tulip Fields for what she calls the perspective of the distance. My favorite is the dragon. You can hear the deep throated roar just starting to ahppen! Thanks Ann. This did indeed make a topic that has always seemed boring to me actually be interesting.
I love the Tulip Fields, partly because the Skagit Valley is dear to my heart, but I too think the perspective is exquisite, and how those rows of tulips change as they disappear into the distance is perfect. Ah yes, that dragon … I thought I could smell its breath!
How welcome a diversion! It was so amazing to see all those spectacular quilts and also to learn that there are many, many more artists out there in the world creating.
The quilt you received and that you love was made just for you – that is known as being “quilt-worthy.”
Some quilts are made quickly, but most do take a lot of time, work and effort, but that is all worth it when the recipient is as appreciative as you are.
I now know that being “quilt-worthy” is about as high an honor as one can receive, and I’m not jesting. I’m humbled.
I didn’t know anything about quilting or any other thing like that. I heard the word as a kid but thought it was for grandmothers, little did I know! I like that “Ammonite” qujilt at the top. Am sure it’s not for a bed as it would probabl smother you from its weight from the looks of it but it’s really really cool looking. Would look great on my wall at home. Yep Towhee’s quilt might be the best tho.
You are right David, that Ammonite piece was very thick and very heavy. Maybe you could put it on the bed on top of a rascally kid to keep them in bed, would probably work perfectly! 🙂
They are so gorgeous! Just think of the effect Charlotte would have on them…. Sigh
No no no! Not Charlotte!
For you readers, Charlotte is a large female Bull Mastiff … she’s still a puppy right now even though she’s a monster. She would wreak havok! 🙂
I absolutely vote for Trailer Towhee’s hand made quilt for number 1! But number 2 is more difficult to decide. What art work they all are! Ok, I’m going with Kapow! simply because it is so simple being just two colors so it seems that the sewing shows more than on those more complicated quilts. I like that simple subject and simple execution. It’s sort of the same reason I like your trailer’s quilt the best too … it’s not so overly complicated that it overwhelms you with too much detail. Like you said Ann, it’s perfect. 🙂
I agree whole-heartedly JudyBee. Towhee the Trailer has the most perfect quilt in the universe. 🙂 And … that’s why Kapow! was one of my favorites too … the simplicity, and yet with a message.