International Quilt Festival Fall 2014 in Photos - A Series; part 1

International Quilt Festival Ruby Jubilee Exhibit

Possibly the worst blog title ever! I love it. I know Festival happened at Halloween and it's now two months and a few days later, but I really wanted to share some of the quilts I saw there. It was hugely overwhelming and we only got there on the very last day. Next year I might go for two visits, so I can spend proper time with some of the more mind-blowing quilts. Mind-blowing to me anyway!

Christ in Gold by Laurie Tigner

This was my first ever quilt show. Way to start with a bang! The hall is enormous and I still don't fully understand the background to all the various exhibitions. Another reason why visiting over two days would be better next time, or a smaller show, or maybe I need to be more clued in to things? All three?? There are sections you cannot take pictures in, one was the traditional quilts section and it was amazing. Seriously amazing! And I have nothing to show you, I didn't spend half enough time wandering that part but I did see it all and I still, now while I write this, wish I could go back and see it again.

Mere Color by Julie Scribner
Machine pieced and quilted

I've been pondering lots this last year. The move to Houston has been more difficult than we expected, and every part of our lives has changed with it. Sewing has fallen aside a bit with all this and I've found it unappealing to just make things because I feel I need to keep up or should use that fabric. Even making for others became exhausting. So I've been thinking about sewing things too, why do I quilt, my aesthetic and style, and where do I fit in ,do I even want to fit in? I think the answers are I need a creative outlet, I'm still exploring, and essentially no.

Selfie by Kristin La Flamme
'...a portrait of the artist as her stash'

Festival was awesome for this, though not straight away because it's so overwhelming. There are so many styles and forms and representations of what you can do with some fabric and thread. It's all amazing. It's not all for me, it's not all something I want to try, but the scope is fantastic. And that's what I want to share here over the next several weeks. I'm going to have vague themes pulling things together (either by exhibit where I remembered or arbitrarily). Don't expect sterling commentary, my grounding is firmly in science but I'll attempt to rise above 'ooh the pretty colours' occasionally!

She's A Wildflower by Joanna Wilczynska
Graphic by Gracjana Zielinska
Raw-edge applique, painted, and free-motion quilted

The pictures scattered throughout here are tidbits from all categories, some you'll have seen a lot of already and others not so much. I recorded the quilters details when I took pictures, Paul however was snap happy and mostly went for the colours so I'll do my best to figure out attributions but I might fail. I'll try and link to more information about the quilters where I can, in case you get interested by a technique or piece. We'll see how it goes :)

Dizzy Miss Lizzy by Nysha O. Nelson
A wholecloth, painted, trapuntoed, and machine FMQ'd quilt from the
Inspired by the Beatles Exhibit

My plan is to post this each Friday between now and mid-February. You'll have the weekend to peruse the pics!