Chicago quilt show -- quilts!

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Finally!, you say.

Here we are at the quilt show.

It is Very Big.

We are looking at the Show part of the extravaganza, with just a slice of Vendors on the left. This is a Very Big Space Indeed, and the vendors have more than twice as much space as the Show part of things (which you can see most of, here, but not all).

We looked at quilts, on Thursday evening, until we reached input overload, at which time we retired to our room to rest and be ready for more on Friday.

I am so very glad to have someone compatible to go to these things with. We like to see the work, first, and the vendors, later.

Many people do things in the opposite order...........





This is a crummy pic, but I love the balance. The balance of colors, of values, of shapes.......

Polka Dot Eden, by Luella Morgenthaler






For me "a quilt" is not only "layers stitched together" (which is a definition some people accept). For me, the stitches must add significantly to the impact of the piece. Stitch just so you can say you stitched -- I'm not impressed. One sees a lot of stitched-over paintings in quilt shows these days. In some cases, the stitches do not add anything; the works are paintings. They show in quilt shows because they couldn't get anywhere in painting shows, I think. Thus taking slots from people who make actual quilts...........................

Boo, hiss.

There are, of course, people who paint, and then quilt, and the stitches are hugely important to the final work. Hollis Chatelain is in this category. Her astonishing Blue Men was in this show, but in one of the "do not photograph!" parts of the show, so I can't share with you the parts I love best. I seriously wish her gallery showed details; you can't appreciate the importance of stitch without closeups............


Here we see the work of someone else who understands that stitch is a critical component of a Real Quilt, and who uses stitch beautifully to add details to her work.

This is huge. Over six feet tall.

Las Flores, by Pat Rollie





Don't you love the individual flowers?

Nice, eh?







Another very nice floral piece. Now that I am a fan of hydrangeas, I'm enjoying it very much indeed.

My Hydrangeas, Up Close and Personal, by Margaret Wallace





Another Actual Quilt. Note stitching around individual petals/florets, and quilted leaves in background....





Swooning over bug-bit leaf. Nice.





Forces of Nature, by Martha Brown (from an image of the Canadian Museum of Civilization, in Hull, Quebec)

This reminds me very much of the Museum of the American Indian in Washington, DC. Totally loooooooove google -- I now know (as I did not know two minutes ago) that Douglas Cardinal is the architect for both of these impressive buildings.





A Year Under the Aspens, by David Taylor

There were spring, summer, and winter views up the aspens' skirts, to go with this fall one.





Lots of people attempt depictions of people in quilts. Not so many succeed. In my mind the more abstract versions generally work much better than most attempts nearer the "photographic realism" end of the scale.

Loooooooooooove this piece.

There is some serious foreshortening here, as well as lots going on with light and shadow.

Very nicely done. This is one of my favorite pieces in the whole show.

Fresh Outlook, by Joan Sowada





Critters, also, often benefit from an abstracted treatment.

Herd Mentality, by Ferret



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