April 7 -- Cincinnati; quilt show

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There is, and has been, a lot of controversy over what is and is not a quilt.

Some feel that a quilt must be made of pieces of cotton cloth, sewn together into a larger flat piece of cloth, which becomes the top of a cloth/batting/cloth sandwich, which is then sewn together through all three layers (the quilting!), and then the edges finished.

Some feel that it is cheating if any of the sewing is done by machine.

Some use "fusible web" -- a fine plastic web that, when ironed, glues two pieces of fabric together, making sewing them together unnecessary.

Some put three layers of any old thing together and call it a quilt.

My own personal feeling is that a quilt is layers, stitched together, in a way that makes the stitching an integral part of the design.  The stitching is the QUILTING. That's why it's a QUILT. If it's not QUILTED, I don't think it's a quilt. If the stitching is perfunctory and does not add to the design, I also don't think it's a quilt. Some people paint cloth, layer it over something else, put a stitch here and there, and call it a quilt. No. If the stitching is there to fulfill a show-entry requirement, rather than to enhance what is already there, it's not a quilt.

(Note that there is a difference between a quilt and a comforter. A comforter may have its layers tacked together here and there, and often starts with the same sort of (pieced together, perhaps) large piece of cloth as a quilt, but if it's not quilted, it's not a quilt.)

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

Want to see some quilts?

Remember that the first big batch of quilts we came to were "no pics!" 


Here's a quilt I was allowed to photograph whose most visible surface may be all one piece of cloth with all the color painted on. I am sure that the pinky bits are painted, but am not sure about the red pointy bits. If it's all one piece of cloth, it's called "whole cloth." Whole cloth quilts were typically made to showcase the quilting (no distracting piecing to take the eye away from the stitching!).

This is "Majestic Bugs" by Irena Bluhm.

See what I mean about the quilting being a major factor in the design?

Here is something I just love.  This is "My Double Wedding Ring" by Keiko Goke.

Double Wedding Ring is a traditional pattern of overlapping circles.  This is a wonderful and modern take on the old pattern.  Love the colors, love the loose, free way it goes together.

Does the quilting enhance?  Oh my, yes.

Personally, I would have left off the feather stitching on the edges of the big sections, but then, it's not my quilt.

Love it.



And now for a surprise..........

Of course one does NOT touch the quilts.  Imagine what all those thousands of greasy fingers would do, over time............  [shudder....]

Quilt shows usually have people in white gloves wandering around, who will be glad to show you the back, if you ask.  Sometimes those people come up and ask you if you'd like to see the back.  If they do, by all means say "yes, please."

I would never in a million years have predicted this was on the back!!!!!

This would have been an interesting quilt all by itself!  I wonder if she printed those images herself, or if that is commercial fabric, or........  I've never seen commercial fabric that looked like that............   Very cool.  So glad to have seen the back!

The Studio Art Quilt Associates had an exhibit, including more than one piece I really wish I could have photographed. The design and construction of "Night Drawing #2" by Jayne Willoughby Scott were unique (to this show, anyway), and very interesting, and I wish I could show you, but I can't.  And probably won't even remember it, before long, since I couldn't record it...........  Ah well.

Update, April 13 -- I found an image of this work on her website. Since it's in the "recent work" section, who knows how long it will be there, and it's a small poor-quality image. You can get an idea of the composition (love that touch of red), but you can't see the construction. The black is extensively pieced, and the scribbly bits were also pieced, and slashed, and reassembled...... Lots of quilting as well. Wish I'd been allowed to try to capture some details that would show what is going on with this piece. It's very interesting.

Ah well.


SAQA is planning a benefit auction, which will feature 12"x12" pieces donated by its members. I got permission from the people in the SAQA booth to photograph this piece, which I love.

It was very dark right there, so I have lightened the image -- which has no doubt affected the color.......

It is by Kate Themel, and here is a much better image on the SAQA auction site.

Love her depiction of shadows, love the steam, love the surface of the coffee with reflections of the sides of the cup....... WOW.

Miriam Pet-Jacobs is a SAQA artist who had interesting work at Cincinnati and also has a piece in the auction. I was not allowed to photograph her large piece, but here is her auction piece. There are similarities between this and the large piece....

Lots of good stuff in that auction!



Ok.  Back to the things I found interesting that I was allowed to photograph.....

I haven't done any sketching in a long time, but I mean to get back to it, if I ever stay put for more than one week in a row!

Love the sketchbook quality of this.

Note that it is a whole-cloth quilt, and the stitches not only enhance, but are the whole story.  This is "Forgotten Cranberries," by Gillian B. Moss.  She turned one of her sketchbook pages into a quilt.....

Here's another quilt I love.  You will note that my favorites all tend to be bright warm colors, with a lot of contrast..... 

This is "Orphan Blossoms," by Timna Tarr, who bought old abandoned quilt blocks on eBay and turned them into this wonderful happy quilt.

I love the greens (which did not have such light areas, in person!), and I LOVE all the little circles!

And by then we were tired and hungry and input-overloaded, and left the show for the day.



In order to facilitate chronological traverse of these posts, a link to the next one is here.

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