Thursday, November 1, 2007

Quilt Market Report 5: Some Favorite Quilts

I wasn't razzle dazzled by the quilts this time around, although there were plenty of truly superlative pieces. But nothing that seemed brand new jumped out at me and blew my mind....I think all the revolutionary ideas of the mid 1990's in the quilt world are still playing themselves out. Or maybe the judges just had somewhat boring tastes.
But the Houston show does have a "Nature" category, and as an old landscape quiltmaker, I was drawn to them the most. Again, I only managed to get the name and title for one of the quilts...the rest presented here are images with no names or titles. Sorry!

I loved the treatment of the pine needles in this one. My friend Tracey Brookshier, who was with me as I looked over the show, said she recognized this location in Hawaii.

This was heavily quilted, I think to make it really flat and read more photographically.
Anytime a quilter can successfully depict a source of light and shadow, she is ahead of the game. It is so unexpected to see that in cloth, after all. The border was unfortunate, however.
(In my opinion, that is...I get extremely opinionated at quilt shows, but usually keep my critiques to myself.)

What a great snow scene! And that ice cold blue stream works well, too. But why oh why did was the sky left so puffy? That brings it right to the foreground and it should be wayyyy in the background! Wonder Under would have been good for that sky....flat, flat, flat.

Very nice treatment of the water here, isn't it? That is SO hard to do.
The quilted sky somehow works here, I think, because the quilting lines are close and consistent, and follow the contours of the clouds.

I loved the ribbon work in the tree here.

The quiltmaker must have really had fun creating this dreamworld. I especially like the upper section of leaves and glimmering nightsky.
Ha! I just noticed the Ent-like figure in the tree opposite the fairy. They are having a discussion about something.....

If this quilt didn't win a prize I will be shocked. The description said it took the quiltmaker 17,000 hours over a four year period. My mathhead friend Tracey figured that out to be 12 hours a day, 7 days a week....so maybe it wasn't quite that much time...but wow is it spectacular!

Here is a detail of it. Utter perfection.

OK, so were there any crazy quilts? Aside from the one that was part of the Amish exhibit (and which was given center stage as you walked into the show), and Debra Spincic's brilliant winner for "Best Handworkmanship" in the Hoffman Challenge, Little Flower Urchins, I could spot only one in competition, in the Mixed Techniques category. (At least at Quilt Festival they have a place for crazy quilts. None of the American Quilter Society shows do, nor do the Mancuso shows.)

Here is the description of it....

And here is the quilt....

...and a detail.
Now technically, this is almost not a crazy quilt in my book, because the quilting is such an integral part of its design. It is like a sane quilt with crazy quilt inserts, and even those were quilted.
But it is an example of a hybrid between crazy and sane quilts, and that interests me. This one doesn't necessarily combine the genres in the way that is most effective (again, only my opinion; it was all cotton and therefore a bit dull), but it was very well executed and an interesting concept.
We definitely need more large sized crazy quilts entered in the shows!

I am recovered now from my trip to Market...I've slept great here at home, and my many discoveries are starting to sink in....
Any time any of you can wangle a way to go to Market I encourage you to do so. It was fascinating to see the quilt industry from the inside out...and I am left with great memories of truly lovely people, too.

9 comments :

Jo in NZ said...

What a great post Allie (all your show one have been). I really enjoyed you insightful assessment of the quilts you choose to show us, and I learnt a thing or two, which isn't hard as I have little knowledge of the technical/design side of things, but you share it in an easily understood way.
I thought the not quite crazy Crazy was lovely. I never would of thought of "quilting" a CQ, but then I have never thought of quilting at all!! LOL

Granny Fran said...

Thank you for your in depth reports! I love seeing the Houston show through your eyes. So much to think about. Loved mixing the traditional and CQ and also using that Baltimore design as a frame for a photo transfer. I love mixing the old and new into something right now! I just recently discovered Misty Fuse and will save those instructions for lettering. The flowers are too scrumptious!

Kay said...

I have to confess that until I started hanging around your blog I never thought much about crazy quilts, and I didn't realize they don't get much respect from the big shows. How strange. Why? I hope this will change. $100,000 Challenge is doing a good deed by calling attention to crazy quilting.

Marty52 said...

Such beautiful quilts? I love the snowy landscape one and I can see what you mean about the sky. The fairy one is pretty cool too. Wish I could have seen it in person... I need continuing inspiration for my CQ quilt. Is 42" x 62" considered a large size crazy quilt?? ;0)

Possibilities, Etc. said...

This entry is an eye opener for me - I had no idea that CQ isn't recognized as much in the "quilt world," so am now REALLY glad I put your quote on the difference, and your explanation into my current magazine article (needlepoint). Hopefully, some of them will understand and take a closer look - many needlepointers also quilt.

Anonymous said...

That applique quilt is unbelievable! I hope the quilter enters it in othee contests coz its a winner. Enjoyed all your reports and pics from the Market.

atet said...

Wow -- what a fantastic trip to market. I've been away from the computer for a bit and am just now catching up on what everyone's been up to -- boy, what I time I chose to not check in. Thanks so much for the wonderful posts!

Susan said...

I love the sailing ship, the fairy, and the crazy quilt at the end. Thank you so much for sharing these pictures!

Unknown said...

I found this very interesting indeed Allie. I love your posts. I would like to know please, when entering a crazy quilt does it have to be tied rather than quilted and does it have to have batting in between the top and the backing. In South Africa I am told, it is a requirement. Many thanks.