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For the past week, I’ve been in Houston. First, I had a visit with Rachel and Kristin, and then I was working with Clover in their booth, demonstrating the Kanzashi Makers at Fall Quilt Market.
Fall Quilt Market (a wholesale show) is unimaginably vast and more than a little overwhelming. Since I’m not a quilter myself, there was a fair amount of it that sailed over my head, but the firehose of gorgeous fabrics and quilts will have my head spinning for some time.
Quilt by Diane Whittier
What I’d like to write about instead is the giant quilt exhibit that accompanied the show. It was actually a whole bunch of smaller exhibits, representing regional quilt guilds and creative challenges, combined into one deeply inspiring space. Whether you quilt or not, you have to respect the artistry of these makers.
Quilt by Mary Pal
I loved the mix of quilting styles in this show. There were many traditional quilts, but I was more drawn to modern and art-quilt styles. Like this one. It’s hard to see in the photo, but this portrait of two homeless men is rendered in white thread. Goodness.
Quilt by Caryl Bryer Fallert
The intricacy of the quilting here boggles my mind.
Quilt by Emily Nie
Here’s a more traditional quilt. I love the way Emily Nie cut all those florals and re-arranged them slightly in a kaleidoscope style.
Quilt by Frances Holliday
This one caught my eye from across the room. When I got closer, I was intrigued by the fabrics and the contrast with the shiny metallic bands. Turns out, the artist printed these fabrics with Spoonflower! The imagery comes from her photos of beautiful old hardware on the Texas state capitol building.
Quilt by Kathy Johnson
I was also drawn to things with dimensional flowers (naturally). Loved the riot of shapes on this one.
Quilt by Keiko Morihiro
I realize that I ended up photographing mostly bold quilts, and that doesn’t represent the whole show at all. There were lots of elegant, subtle pieces like this one. Look at how precise the quilting patterns are within each section of this design! Gorgeous.
Quilt by Deborah Kemball
This is all applique, my friends.
This is a good moment to talk about something I talked about after Spring Quilt Market. I was again really impressed with the depth of the craftsmanship in all of these quilts. Seriously intricate and perfectly-executed work – the kind that requires many, many hours of practice to achieve.
I feel like, in our neck of the crafting woods, we’re less concerned with this level of expression and more concerned with simplicity and actually getting a project or two done amidst the swirl of our lives. That’s a totally valid approach to crafting, of course, but there’s no denying that being in the presence of deeply-accomplished crafting like this is both inspiring and transformative. And I can’t help noticing that this show was a rather perfect illustration of Elizabeth’s post about the creative value of limiting your internet time.
Image by Anne Michelle Settle
Then there’s this strip-pieced quilt – impressive in its intricacy, especially near the center, right?
…Well wait, there’s more! That quilt is about 12″ x 12″. Those fabric strips making up that design are about ¼” wide. Gotta respect the ninja-like skill there.
Quilt by Cathy Miller
Just because it blew my mind, here’s another tiny quilt, this time made of fabric hexies. I think they were about 3/8″ across. I cannot imagine working that small.
Back to macro, then, for a section of the show I especially enjoyed. Twelve by Twelve is an international art quilting group that’s based online. Every month, all twelve members make a small art quilt based on a designated theme or color palette. These small quilts were stunning in the breadth of different techniques they incorporated, and in the way they were displayed in groupings, so you could see how each person interpreted the theme.
Quilt by Maureen O’Doogan
Here’s more amazing applique. I just loved the subtlety of the curving leaf stems against the bold pop of the flowers. I’m getting bitten by the applique bug, hard. Maybe I should abandon my Gene Kelly plastic canvas project, which is giving me no end of grief, and applique something instead.
Quilt by Anna Faustino
Ack! This post is getting ridiculously long. I’m sorry – and rest assured, I haven’t shown you all of it! Here’s one last piece, which is made of woven fabrics and ribbons. I know, right?
If for some reason you haven’t had enough photos of amazing quilting, you can pop over to my Flickr set and see some more.
My mother-in-law quilts. I’ve made one 9 patch as a Girl Scout, and am currently sort-of working on a dresden plate…..not my cup of tea, but I’m determined to make it!!
o.0 that last quilt is amazing!
I followed the 12 by 12 project as they were interpreting each theme over the year and just watching it over the internet was mesmerizing, but to be able to see them in person, up close, was an amazing opportunity.
Speaking of ninja-like skills, did you see the strip pieced quilt in the Masters Exhibit that had a neutral, tonal, vertical 1/4″ strip alternating with bold colored, pieced 1/8″ strips? It was incredible!
Shoot! I missed that one. It was so hard to leave so many beautiful quilts unseen!
Thanks for a look at all these inspiring quilts! Most of the photos I’ve seen online so far are the various fabric designer’s booths, and not many of the quilts up close. :)
Great pictures. Wasn’t the Last Supper quilt mind-blowing!?!?
Dang, I missed that one, too!
Holy cow! This reminds me of the first quilt show I ever went to – I literally walked around with my mouth open for an hour and a half. I LOVE the flower ones, the hexie is amazing and that ribbon quilt actually made me exclaim out loud.
Thanks for another shout out. When I was reading the sentence, my jump-ahead mind started wondering who Elizabeth was before I got to the end. ;)
One more thing which I don’t think I’ve mentioned before. What you said back at Spring Quilt Market has stuck with me. The line “And I like thinking about the fact that it will last for years and years. I wonder how long many of the things I’ve made will last.” It hasn’t fully boiled over yet, but it’s been simmering in the back of my mind. I know it’s helped me focus and make some better project decisions. And I’m thinking it’s going to do that for my long-term crafting goals, too. :) So thank you.
Wow, those are awesome quilts. Thanks for sharing with those of us who can’t attend.
Loved this post!! Thank you for showing us these spectacular works as you saw them. It is wonderful to see what others can do, not just what one can buy.
Wow… they are stunning! My sister used to quilt a lot so I’ve luckily been given a matching bedspread and wall-hanging…. they really make a room :)
Thank you 1000 times for taking the time during “re-entry” to share these amazing and incredible and awe inspiring quilts. You are so right about the years and years of dedication, practice and learning it takes – totally focused on one discipline. A dabbler like myself can never hope to achieve this skill level in any artistic endeavor. But being a dabbler does give me the ability to truly appreciate the quality of these quilts.
I don’t know if Mary has had a chance to see these yet but i am sending them immediately!
I just love quilts! I think art quilts are extremely under-represented in the art world. I would love to learn how to quilt someday, it is on my To-Do list!
Wow, great pix, thanks for posting Sista Diane! – I didn’t make it this year (I have gone many years since 1985) but I expect to get to Spring Market… so it was GREAT to see your pix! I am glad you are enjoying yourself!
One year I timed how long it took me to see the whole show – not dawdling, but not running either – because I wanted to figure out how much time to allow in between teaching and other activities, etc. to see everything in future shows. At a pretty stiff clip, it took me a little over 17 hours to see every booth and quilt on exhibit. Yes it is huge, but hugely inspirational, too! (btw, there’s a typo in Caryl Bryer Fallert’s name in your post – that last letter is a “t”, not a “y.” Her website is bryerpatch.com – clever! ).
Have fun and I hope you post more pix!
Oh, goodness – thank you so much for the typo alert, Meryl!!
Thanks so much for taking us on a tour of the Quilt Market! So gorgeous! Thanks for sharing with us!
Can you believe I’ve never gone to the quilt exhibits (not even this time)- I know, I know… terrible of me.
All I have to say is that it was SO, so fun to finally meet you in person. You must come back again! :)
What gorgeous quilts! Thanks for posting so many photos. I’m just starting to get mildly interested in quilting (hey, what else am I going to do with all this fabric) and will never get to a quilt show like this. Great posting!
I love seeing all these pictures – mostly because I somehow missed most of these quilts! I keep saying, “How did I not see that one!?” but really … it makes sense. The exhibit and show floor were so massive. I know now how better to pace myself for next year. ;) It was so wonderful to spend time with you & see so many great crafty friends and such wonderful inspiration.
And I love, love, LOVE the bit about taking the time to work on projects of this depth. That has been on my mind so much lately & I didn’t realize how much seeing all these amazing pieces of art really drove it home until you mentioned it. So true. So so so true.
PS – I’m already ready for you to be back. ;)
Me, too! :-) And I’m thinking about taking on fewer, deeper projects these days as well. And, looking for bloggers who write about working this way!