I've closed my eyes for a bit and am ready to share Part 2 of the quilts that caught my eye while in Houston at the International Quilt Festival. If you didn't see Part 1, here is your
LINK. I didn't mention in the previous part, but my friends and I are all decked out in Sapphire clothing to honor the anniversary this year and we are having a blast. So much love --- Fabric, friends, fun --- all we need is food and it's perfect.
Today we'll start with this wonderful piece. As I've said before, I struggle with these types of quilts personally, but am awestruck by the talent of others. This is another one that you REALLY need to zoom in tight on. Honest. "Being and Time" by Natalia Lashko of the Ukraine is hand quilted, hand pieced, hand appliqued, and hand embroidered using straw thread. It gives a truly woven appearance. Natalia writes, "How time flies! Time is irreversible. The past is given in memory, and the future -- in expectation. The world exists in an infinite variety of manifestations and forms. Progress facilitates a fuller and deeper understanding of the world around us and the use of this knowledge. In our generation, numerous recent crises have caused common striving for change, a strong desire to understand the meaning, expressions being a vivid manifestation of moods."
I almost walked right by this next one, but it reminds me so much of my parents wedding picture so I took a closer look and I'm oh so glad I did. I am so bowing down. Truly. It comprised solely of squares but . . . (I'll give info below and the smaller you view this, the better. Kind of like standing back further at a show in order to get the overall intent.)
"A Lifetime of Memories" by Karen Swiech of Asland, MA writes, "I created this mosaic to celebrate the 60th anniversary of my parent's wedding of April 27, 1957 using 5,184 family photos. The back has a quarter of the pictures from the front, but in two-inch squares and in full color. The front is what it's all about for me, but my family loves to examine the pictures on the back and reminisce . . . and, well, find themselves." It is machine quilted with a walking foot and utilizes professional fabric printing and a mosaic creation by computer. Here is a close up for you so you can see all the color that is still in there. Simply amazing.
I've always enjoyed black and white photographs that place just a bit of color for emphasis. I'm sure that is what grabbed me first in the next entry. "David Cutting Stumps" by Mary Haukom of Colorado Springs, CO is machine quilted (free-motion, walking foot), machined and fused appliqued, and involves painting and inking. She says, "I was inspired by a Black and White challenge in my local quilt guild. I designed this quilt using a photo of my amazing husband, David, during or annual mitigation of our property in Black Forest, Colorado. This quilt was enjoyable to create, while documenting one of the routine activities in our lives." The fabrics are PERFECT!!!
While I was at the beach this past fall, my friend Sharron was working on a Broderie Perse project and I had never heard of it before. That's exactly what stopped me here. According to Wikipedia, "Broderie perse (French for "Persian embroidery" is a style of applique which uses printed elements to create a scene on the background fabric. It was most popular in Europe in the 17th century, and probably traveled from India, as there are some earlier findings there. The techinique could be considered an early form of puzzle piecing." Did that clear it all up for you? Yeah, me either. However, I did stop and stare for awhile at "What is this thing called 'Broderie Perse'?" by Shelley W. Landon of Casper, WY and quilted by Yongttui Torske. Shelley says, "This was an exercise in making a Broderie Perse quilt. I was attending The Applique Academy under Elly Sienkiewics and had signed up for a class by Judy Severson and one by Sharon Schamber. This was the result of taking two very different techniques, both of which were new to me and the delving into the blended look of Marsha McCloskey." I think I still need to do more research but look closely at the center as that is not a whole piece.
Rounding the next corner, my eyes are so, so happy. Just look at these magnificent colors. It is so fun and happy, right? "Cody's Cubes" by Beth Nufer of Brookings, Oregon and helped by Clem Buzick uses machine quilting (free-motion), machine piecing and hand applique. She says, "I love geometrics and 3-D effects. Cubes seem to work out well fo me. It was a fun quilt to make and challenging to make it asymmetric."
Up close and personal ---- I had to close my mouth. The quilting is PERFECT for this pattern.
Ahhhh, another blue and white and with a modern feel to it. I likey. "Blue Ice on Denali" (By the way Denali is definitely on my bucket list) is by Karen Lambdin and Vickie Owen of San Antonio, TX. It involves machine quilting (free-motion), machine piecing, and trapunto. Karen says, "We loved our time in Alaska, and this will bring sweet memories. Vickie and Karen collaborated to make this quilt. Vickie used her piecing expertise to design a quilt with lots of room for Karen's free motion quilting. This will be Vickie's quilt, and soon they will begin work on Karen's quilt."
I've had a Dear Jane quilt on my list for quite some time albeit way down on the list. So far down that it has yet to sprout BUT this one has me thinking a bit. I love the use of two fabrics in this one. "Jane at the End of the Rainbow" by Frances Ledenbach of Round Rock, TX with Margarita Wilcox. It is all hand pieced, appliqued and quilted. That alone gives crazy kudos to it. Frances says, "Margarita started this quilt in 2009 and picked two fabrics, a white one and a bold, multi-colored one. It was completely hand pieced and appliqued. She cut out each block to place the colors where she wanted them. She quilted all but seven of the center blocks before she died. I quilted the last seven squares and the border, made the scallops, and did the binding."
This next entry literally caused me to stop in my tracks and wait to get closer. And closer. And closer. What a wonderful, textural piece. Not only is it blue and white, which I appear to be in love with right now, but it screams of a different age -- one I grew up in. "Snowflowers" by Allison Aller of Washougal, WA is machine quilted (free-motion), machine pieced, hand and machine appliqued, hand and machine embellished, and hand and machine embroidered. The materials include cotton and silk fabrics, vintage doilies, beads, buttons, pearls, sequins, trim, silk, ribbon, lace, vintage quilt blocks, and various hand embroidery threads. I am honest and up front when I say that I'm not a bit fan of all the embellished quilts. But this one . . . . I am in love. Allison says that her "goal was to create an enchanted quilt that would give any child who slept under it fairy-tale dreams. The starry, snowy night depicted uses glittery embellishments and ethereal doilies to create the mood. Each separate snowflower was hand embellished, and each one is different, just like snowflakes in real life. Each sequin was quilted on one at a time during the overall free-motion machine quilting process."
More pictures trying to show you all the great textures. To me, it says "Grandma."
Another burst of color comes my way and again, I am fascinated by the tiny pieces and loving the way it comes together, although I'm stumped by it. Entitled "Fireworks" it is by Peter Hayward of Javea, Alicante, Spain. Peter says, "I wanted to adapt and extend Jinny Beyer's concept of hand-sewn diamonds to my fused interwoven strip technique and use tulle shading and color degradation to enhance the 3-D effect as the fireworks explode, expand, and dissipate into the night. In all, there are well over 25,000 patches." It uses machine quilting (walking foot), fused applique, turned-edge fabric fused onto strips of interfacing (which were triaxially interwoven.). So very sublime.
Here's your close up
Whole cloth quilting takes me back to my roots. It is how I started and I will be working on one this week as a new grandchild gets closer to making an appearance, only mine will be hand quilted following a pattern I have stenciled on. This one is just so beautiful. "Hagia Sofia" by Isabel Colilles of Spain used free motion machine quilting to create this masterpiece. She says, "I was inspired by Istanbul's (another bucket list item) Santa Sofia Mosque as a fusion between East and West cultures. With a simple cotton fabric and two colors of thread, I tried to capture the magic, elegance, and delicacy of the building." I would call it a screaming success. Free motion, y'all. Wow.
I have been sooooo good at not peeking ahead and we have finally made it to the BEST IN SHOW area. I'm just going to share the photo first. Is this not simply wonderful? From the tabs on the border to the detailed "wool" work --- it is scrumptious. Many times, I look at something like this and think it's pretty cool and beyond my ability. Waaaay beyond my ability. However, this time I am stunned. Why? Read on.
"Crazy For Ewe" was created by Janet Stone of Overland Park, KS and involves machine quilting (free motion, walking foot), machine piecing, machine applique, fused applique and hand embellishment. She says, "This quilt was inspired by Crazy Quilts, wool applique, and my love of the alphabet. Instead of wools for the applique, I used flannel fabrics. There really are four ewes in there and a surprise on the back."
Are you ready? Did you look close at the front? As Sherri and I were standing there, we were totally stumped at the quilting. The piecing and applique are divine, but we didn't really see the quilting that was on the back. Finally, Sherri asked if it was quilted before the applique was added and Janet's husband's face lit up. Bingo! Now, check out this FREE MOTION and walking foot quilting. This award is just soooooo deserved.
It's hard to follow that, but on we go. I spot this next one and instantly am reminded of Georges Seurat and his pointillist technique. Google that one --- you'll love it. At any rate, "Serendipity" brings that forward to me. I get the sense of matte paints on a black wall and love it so much. It is by Krya Reps of Northwood, IA and is all hand appliqued with machine quilting. Kyra writes, "This quilt was inspired by acrylic paint dotting, also called Pointillism. I've created my Mandala by using circles in various sizes. Each dot was hand-turned and each was individually hand sewn."
She even took it one step further and created a matching outfit to wear while talking about her piece. How fun is this? My applause does not wish to stop.
Heather Pregger of Fort Worth, TX is a blue-ribbon winner again this year with "Shock Melt." Using machine quilting (free-motion), machine piecing and hand dyeing, she has created another burst of beauty. Y'all know I'm not a huge fan of modern quilts, but I have always loved her work. Heather writes, "When a meteorite hits the earth, the shock of the collision results in the re-crystallization of the impacted rock from a liquid state and is called a shock melt. The resulting fractured texture can be observed under the microscope." Isn't it wonderful how quilting can even teach us about other areas of study --- such as science. I've spotlighted several quilts in this post and in Part 1 that have done just that.
Oooooooh! Not only is it blue and white, but the origami style birds are wonderful. Drawing me closer, I am shocked to discover that this is a pieced quilt background - not appliqued. OMG. "Yes, A flock of Cranes" by Jim Smith and Andy Brunhammer of Tampa, FL is machine pieced and quilted. They write, "
Yes, A Flock of Cranes was one of the first of our crane quilts. We were beginning the work of our 1,000 crane blocks, which turned into 1,361. We designed and created four individually-sized dies, which we used to create all the crane quilts for the Hope Project.
Yes, A Flock of Cranes presents the combination of all four sizes, which in composition gives a sense of perspective and flight movement."
Fall leaves in Montana hold a special place in my heart and is one of the thing about fall that I miss most. The crunch and joy of throwing colors into the air cannot be replaced. I can feel it as I look at this beautiful piece. "Automne" by Angela Minaudo of Gignod, Italy brings each of those leaves to life through hand applique. She says, "One afternoon in October, during a walk in the woods, my son Carlo could not resist the temptation to throw the piles of fallen leaves into the air. It's a festive dance. The poem by Maurice Careme, read a few days before, comes to my mind: 'L'automne au coin du bois joue de l'harmonica . . . Quelle joie chez les feuilles. On dit qu'elles sont mortes mais personne n'y crois.'" Translated, this is 'Autumn in the woods plays the harmonica . . . What a joy in the leaves. They say they are dead but no one believes'. Perfectly fitting.
I usually spot one or two quilts that would speak to my sweetheart. This is one of those. He adores all of these colors and has much more of a modern love than I. This one is for him. "Late October" by Monika Von Hoerde of Darmstadt, Germany says, "During a three year stay in the New England area of the United States, each fall I got more and more fascinated by the change and intensity of colors during the Indian Summer. Fall became my favorite season. In late October, after the peak, slowly the foliage colors are turning more subtle. In this piece I express this by using hand-dyed fabric plus the embellisher to get a slightly decaying effect."
Who doesn't love little felt balls? Hahahahaha. They are just so fun in this piece. I had to stop and take a closer look. The coolest part of this one is that it is several mini quilts attached together via the felt balls. So, so creative. "Harvest by Marianne Burr of Couperville, WA is based on the gourd harvest. "Gourd harvest is a busy season. I designed and hand finished mini quilts to represent the fields and wetlands of the farms. They are pieced by machine and enhanced with hand stitching. Ladder stitches connect the quilts. The gourds already harvested are represented by handmade felt balls."
Up close. See the bound edges of the mini quilts?
From across the aisle, "Church of the Bread of Life" by Amy Munson of Bismarck, ND is calling me. And Sherri. At the exact same time. Based on a historic photo taken in 1882, this machine quilted, hand and machine pieced, machined and raw-edge applique beauty has a calm about it. With the hexie background, I am once again seeing a possibility for these units and liking it. I almost feel as though I could hop right into the picture, like in Mary Poppins. Amy states, "In 1879 the Episcopal congregation of Bismarck, North Dakota began construction on the Church of the Bread of Life. In 1961, the building was donated to the State Historical Society and relocated to Camp Hancock State Historic Site. With its Gothic-styled windows, wood timbers, and ornate carved details, it is a charming mix of Stick Style and Gothic Revival architecture. It is the oldest standing church building in Bismarck." See, now some history and architecture lessons thrown in as well. I want to go and see this.
So, I almost walked past this one and at the very last minute, the man caught my eye. He is painting the scene we see!! Wow. A painting within a painting within a quilt. What a great concept. This is "Artistic License" by Kathy McNeil of Tulalip, WA and involves machine quilting, hand applique, and actual painting. She says, "This quilt represents an intriguing look into the eye and interpretation of an artist. It was inspired by a visit to Colmar, France."
Blue and white --- grab me please. Ethereal! That's the first word that comes to mind here. Then my mind wonders what is in the mind of the person depicted? This is "Quietude" by Maria Stoller of Zurich, Switzerland and includes machine quilting and painting. She states that her design sources are a face and winter. Perfect. Maria shares that she "loves the deep silence of winter. In its stillness, one can rest and mend. The quiet is precious, the peace transcendent." What this picture really doesn't show is that there is an overlay of voile and the painting takes place there.
A special exhibit entitled "Remember Me" contains the next item. It is by Carol Mesimer of Boones Mill, VA and uses hand quilting, embellishment, and inking. It is an original design and she says, "This pentagon shaped quilt has the names of the victims of the terrorist attacks on 9/11/2011. The images are hand inked. The images of trees are from the Shanksville, PA impact site. The Twin Towers are ghost images quilted into the Manhattan skyline and kept to scale." Another placard near the quilt states, "Carol Mesimer was inspired to create this quilt after seeing footage of papers fluttering down from the World Trade Center buildings on September 11, 2011. For her, each paper represented a life lost, and the void it then left for the victims' families. This quilt will be part of the permanent collection of the National September 11 Memorial Museum in New York City." This is impact! How can one look at this and not have tears? I do.
We are nearing the end of the show and I go to check out this diamond delight. Is that ribbon? By golly. I love it. "Suspended Diamonds" by Michele Lea of Oxford, OH applies machine piecing, applique, quilting, and embellishing to create the look. She shares, "After a class with Maria Shell, I wanted to explore the use of solid colored fabric and a simple shape. My use of mixing different colored thread, ribbon and decorative stitches is a reflection of me and enriches my visual and tactile senses which fuels my desire to create."
Up close and personal. Super fun.
A quick peek at the Sapphire clad figures on display ---
As we are about to call it done, an Aurifil Chart quilt catches our attention. Called "270 Colors" and created by Sheri Cifaldi-Morrill of Woodbridge, CT, it is machine pieced and quilted. I had to go way up close to see if fabric or thread was used to create the colors. It is both. Sheri writes, "I designed and created a quilt for the Italian thread company, Aurifil, to commemorate and celebrate their tenth anniversary in the United States. The quilt features all 270 current colors of Aurifil's 50wt thread." I have to tell y'all --- hunting down those swatches must have taken some time.
So, it's back to the beginning for us. The IQF people are gathering us for a picture together in front of the quilts --- wanna see?
What a fun day!!!! So much that has fed my soul. I'll leave you with two more pictures of the beautiful blue and white display started these posts and while we are not attending next year, I won't say that it will never happen again. Be on the lookout for ladies clad in gold five years from now. The blue dresses? Well they will make another appearance on a cruise this summer for our formal dinner. We're not finished with them yet.
No comments:
Post a Comment