Catching up after Quilt National

Solveig, 46 x 69, 2011. Detail

Got back very late last night from Quilt National and was glad to be home and in my own bed, despite the comforts of the University Inn.

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My photos of the show, taken during artist/VIP times when photos were allowed: I didn’t take a huge number of photos of individual quilts, since I would rather you support the Dairy Barn and buy the catalogue – there you can get all the details. There were some quilts that the book didn’t really show enough detail of so if you have a chance to see these quilts in person I encourage you to do that. No photos will ever replace that experience. (my apologies re artists names – mobileme has some size limits re titles and descriptions)

These are my non-show related photos, including my new Birkies. I did do some exploring of the area (made it to West Virginia) and managed to get lost every single time coming back LOL. The University itself was a nice place to be lost although it puzzles me how easily one can get into a place like that and how hard it is to find a reasonable exit.

I had some really good conversations with some folks while there about what’s going on in the quilting world. Nice to know your thoughts are shared or pondered by others. There were some quilts there that were predominantly pieced, including mine and two of three jurors’ quilts and a few others. Some were predominantly appliqued. Some were massively quilted, others very minimally. There were only a couple that made me wonder how far you can get from some definition of “quilt” before it just isn’t a quilt anymore. That’s of course a very on-going discussion! It would be possible to view quite a different exhibit by lining these same quilts up from “most easily recognized as a quilt” to “least recognizable as a quilt”. So I have to say that QN sticks to their guns on meeting their purpose and exhibit description – and kudos to them for that.

Some of the whole experience made me think that spending a lot of time alone piecing little pieces of fabric together and quilting the heck out of them has altered my ideas about the whole deal LOL. It was 99.5% fun times though and I appreciated the folks who were so friendly and enthusiastic and the folks who run Quilt National. As I told them, they make it look easy and I know from experience that it’s not always easy. They were always glad to answer a question, resolve a problem etc.

Went to the Friends of Fiber Art International breakfast yesterday morning and they seem like an interesting and supportive group too – been around almost 20 years.

It seemed strange to be away from the sewing machine for a stretch of time and I’m itching to get back at, and might even have a couple new ideas hanging around. And as a bonus, some photos I took today of Kinderhook Lane on the edge of summer.

Couple other blogs re Quilt National:

• Judy Martin
• Tanya Brown
• Deirdre Adams