My best friend quilts (she also sews other things, dyes yarn, spins yarn, knits, and lots of other beautiful things). I do not sew, and certainly don’t quilt. But I grew up with a true appreciation for handmade quilts created by my grandmother. I've loved them all my life. So, I was happy to tag along when my friend headed to Nashville, TN this past weekend for the annual QuiltCon in the downtown Music City Center. The event was presented by the Modern Quilt Guild (MQG). Hundreds of quilts on display had been juried and judged in specific categories, plus many others selected for display as part of the Charity Quilt Challenge.
I expected beautiful quilts. I was aware of and fascinated by the storytelling traditions in quilting and the personally artistic nature of creating quilts. What I underestimated was the impact of reading the stories in conjunction with viewing the quilts. (Detailed information sheets were posted beside each quilt.) I experienced chills in more than one instance. I was also not prepared to see the fantastic modern interpretations of this traditionally domestic art form. This experience was akin to visiting a modern art museum.
The conference's website confirmed that photographs of the quilts were allowed. (QuiltCon 2019 Pricing, Policies & Rules) These are certainly not the best "photographic" images, but I hope they convey the skill, texture, and beauty of the quilts. I'm getting to know my new camera, and a giant conference hall doesn't have the best lighting to make it any easier to produce good photographs.
Multiple posts will show quilts as I have personally grouped them. As a non-quilter with only bare bones art and textile knowledge, my groupings may certainly be based more upon personal connections or external connections (regional, topical, etc.). The captions, on the other hand, share details from the information sheets that accompanied each quilt, which include the collection in which the conference organizers placed the piece. It is most definitely worth reading these for the quilter(s)'s stories of their process or inspiration.
In this post, I have selected pieces that satisfied my love for quilted lines. Especially combinations of straight, crooked, or curved; stitches doing geometric gymnastics; repetition; converging and diverging rays; swirls confronting straight edges. These are not lines drawn on paper, though. There is texture created with each stitch, each time a needle pulls thread through layers of fabric, but some of these have taken texture further. Oh, how I wanted to touch these quilts.
Super Donut, Stephanie Skardal, @stephskardal (North Carolina, USA). American Patchwork & QuiltingTwo-Color Quilt Challenge. "This original design was inspired by my personal challenge of creating curves from my typical linear, geometric aesthetic. A graphic two-color palette bring focus to the piecing, and domestic machine quilting continues the theme of using lines to add curved quilty texture. A bright, coral, solid back (two tones) compliments the aqua. This quilt was designed in Photoshop, cut and pieced based on a paper template, and machine quilted with a walking foot."
(Techniques: hand appliquéd, machine pieced, machine quilted without a frame - the quilt moved under the stationary needle)
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Klem, Daisy Aschehoug, @warmfolk (Nesodden, Norway). American Patchwork & QuiltingTwo-Color Quilt Challenge. "There's no specific intent behind the shapes in this design. I experimented with the placement of lines and curves until I found something that seemed balanced enough to feel good but just enough "off" to be interesting. I'm drawn to patterns that are just shy of being completely consistent, and in this particular piece, I enjoyed the small bit of chaos in the relationship between the background and the foreground."
(Techniques: machine pieced, machine quilted on a frame - the needle moved over the stationary quilt, such as a long-arm machine)
Note: "Klem" is Norwegian for "hug"!
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Refraction, Megan M. Ellinger (Tennessee, USA). American Patchwork & QuiltingTwo-Color Quilt Challenge. "Inspired by the traditional Drunkard's Path block. I chose to play with scale and secondary designs to create this two-color quilt. The shapes are emphasized by the quilting lines which travel from some shapes into others, changing density as they bend."
(Techniques: machine pieced, machine quilted on a frame - the needled moved over the stationary quilt)
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