Daily Blog

  0

fShare

Tweet

Hope for Our World, by Hollis Chatalain from Greensboro, NC has won Best of Show at the International Quilt Festival in Houston, TX. Hollis is now a two time winner of this prestigeous $10,000 prize.

Here is Hollis' Artist Statment:

In February 2002, I dreamed “Hope For our World”. The dream was in purple and Archbishop Tutu was standing in a field. Children from all over the world were approaching him like he was a Pied Piper. The dream seemed to be speaking about World Peace and the Future of our Children. Desmond Tutu represented Hope.

In May of 2005 I was honored to have a meeting with Archbishop Tutu to discuss my dream.

“Hope For Our World” was finished April 16^th and I sent an image of it to my daughter. Her response was:

"How ironic that the piece is finally done on a day like today where you can’t help feel sad about the world we live in, a world where massacres like the one at Virginia Tech this morning still happen.It makes me think that this piece is there to remind us that even when we wonder what this world is coming to, when we think that there can’t possibly be hope in a world with such tragedies, we are reminded of people like Desmond Tutu. People that will fight for peace and never give up…we realize that there still is hope after all.”

See other quilts by Hollis Chatalain by visiting her website here.

A complete list of all the winners is posted here. 

  0

fShare

Tweet

    "Transformation" by imararefind

Do you have a quilt you are especially proud of?  Are you thinking of entering it in a quilt show or contest?  Beware; contest rules for entering a quilt can be very confusing.  It is very important to read and re-read all of the instructions for entering.  Rules can change every year and even within the same organization. 

This quilt made by imararefind was ineligible as it was 1 1/2" too small.  What a shame.  Don't let your hard work keep you out of the running.  By the way, the quilt did win Best Pictorial Quilt at the Mid Atlantic Quilt Show in 2006.

  0

fShare

Tweet

Washington, DC, USA, now through January 21, 2008 - The Smithsonian American Art Museum is exhibiting a collection of quilts entitled Going West! Quilts and Community which reveals the essential role that quilts and the making of quilts played in the lives of women on the frontier. The Great Platte River Road was the principal route for America's westward expansion as early as the 1830's. Pioneers headed for a new life in te Nebraska Territory packed their wagons with necessities that almost always included quilts. Quilts served an important purpose along the difficult journey, whether used as sturdy domestic bedding along the trail or packed tenderly in the trunk as a tie to all that had been left behind. Independent curator Sandi Fox is the guest curator for the exhibition, which will feature more than 50 quilts.

  0

fShare

Tweet

Housetop Variation
by Katie Mae Pettway, 2002

Tacoma, Washington, USA - September 22-December 9, 2007

Tacoma Art Museum is currently exhibiting extraordinary quilts made by the women of Gee's Bend, an isolated community in rural Alabama. For four generations, the women of Gee's Bend have been creating quilts of exceptional artistry, revealing a remarkable command of design and a painterly approach to a traditional art form. The exhibition will explore in depth the impact of architecture, environment, and traditional quilting motifs upon the Gee's Bend distinctive aesthetic. The exhibition will further explore examples of family quilting lineages and improvisational interpretations of traditional motifs.

  0

fShare

Tweet

      "Dad's Quilt" by AuntSewsie 

Is your fabric stash getting out of control?  Are you wanting to thin it out but just not sure where to begin?  How about making a quick lap quilt for a family member or friend?   All you need is the pattern, as you have plenty of fabric to choose from.  The quilt featured was a stash slasher made using the funky curvy rail pattern from the book Stack A New Deck.  And remember, the more you slash your stash the more room for new fun fabric!

  0

fShare

Tweet

Many of us have friends and family in the Southern CA area which is being ravaged by fires. One such person is my friend, Jan Krentz. I was more than relieved to hear from her this morning - via the internet (You got to love this medium of communication!). She directed me to her site where she is keeping an on line diary. I asked for her permission to blog regarding her efforts and here was her response:

Thanks, Alex - Sure, Please feel free to link folks to my newsletter.

I wanted to provide active links to local news stations for folks outside our area who need info for family & friends, particularly those who are evacuated and have no contact with family.

I am updating it daily during the crisis.

I am moving earlier entries to individual linked pages.

www.jankrentz.com/newsletter.php

Thank you Jan!

  0

fShare

Tweet

     "Under the Gian Coneflowers" by Ann Fahl

Ann Fahl, art quilter, teacher and cat fancier will be our guest artist in "Featured Guest" chat room Thursday October 25, 2007 at 6:00pm Pacific/9:00pm Eastern.  Even if you aren't a cat lover it's sure to be an hour filled with creative ideas for your own whimsical quilt.

  0

fShare

Tweet

     "Surf's Up" by TQSWizard 

When was the last time you read a quilt pattern all the way through before beginning the project?  Are you like most of us, so excited about the project that you just dive right in imagining that you will understand it all as you go along?  Sometimes this strategy works and everything turns out just fine.  On other occasions it may be another story.

Take the quilt pictured.  It was intended as a baby quilt, but the maker was too anxious to get started before noticing that the surfboard appliques were quite large.  Once the top was sewn together the quilt was large enough to fit a twin bed.  What was a project that would require just a couple of weekends to complete actually involved several months.  Lesson learned.  Next time you purchase a pattern and are ready to begin working, be sure to stop and thoroughly read ALL of the directions.  It may just save you lots of extra hours of sewing.

  0

fShare

Tweet

     "Chile Peppas" by EllenG

When was the last time you spend a while working hard to get that machine quilting on your project done just right only to find that there are "dimples" in some areas? What to do? A quilt teacher once said there are no mistakes just embellishment opportunities.  EllenG was learning to machine quilt on this project when she discovered some areas that needed embellishment.  Not one to let a little thing like that stop her, she just added some more chile peppers to the design.  Not all of the peppers are hiding little dimples.  Can you tell which the cover ups are?

The next time one of your projects has a few imperfections why not add some embellishements to disguise those areas that are noticeable?  No one will be the wiser if you make it look as though they were planned all along.

  0

fShare

Tweet

The 'Three Sisters' news blog from yesterday has raised some questions from several of you regarding the symbolism within the quilt.  Here is the Tri-Nation Tale as it appears on the back of the quilt to complete the story.

The Three Sisters
A Mythic Collaboration of Epic Proportions

Once upon a time, so the tale is told, there was a cunning coyote and an amazing dragon who was able to shift shape magically. The coyote called out to the dragon, daring it to change its form. “Can you change into an elephant?” the coyote challenged. Instantly the dragon transformed into the large beast. “Can you change into a rabbit?” The dragon did so without effort. Finally the coyote taunted, “I bet you can’t change into an itty-bitty dragonfly.” Without hesitation, and with no thought to the consequences, the dragon transformed itself into a dragonfly. To the dragon’s great shock, the last metamorphosis was instant, complete, and irreversible, and the dragon has remained in this form to this very day.

This myth is woven throughout this collaborative story quilt crafted by three artists from three different countries: Australia, Canada, and the United States. Each artist incorporated her own image as well as her animal totem, identified in the story. Thus the quilt includes the blue-gray-eyed Canadian with her blue-eyed dragon, the American with her howling green-eyed coyote symbol, and the Australian, whose blue-green eyes are mirrored in her companion dragonfly. Mailing the quilt from country to country, they worked together stage by stage, weaving this tale of magic and myth, and watching the metamorphosis unfold.