It's a compact show with only a handful of vendors, but I managed to take a couple hundred photos anyway–though that number includes photos of the labels so I could identify the quilts and photos of the ribbons so I could remember which ones were judged as best in their category.
The theme of the fiesta was Traditions Transformed: The Artistry of Quilting. This is a detail from an unassuming little quilt in the show that I loved for it's transformation of a traditional bow tie block.The quilt, named We Used to Go Dancing, was made by Esther Milnes of Santa Fe in memory of a gentleman, using his ties and pieces of his favorite tuxedo jacket.
I loved the cleverness of it ... and apparently one of the judge's did too. It didn't win a ribbon in its category, but had a Judge's Award ribbon.
It's interesting to go to a guild show if you're from out of town or newly arrived but haven't yet met anyone from the guild or joined it. You may not know the story of 4 or 5 quilts made from the same pattern–in this case, it was Edyta Sitar's appliqué quilt, Hop-to-It–but there's usually one or two patterns/workshops that seem to have been popular. This version was named, Thumper's Garden and was made by Toni Bolton of Santa Fe and quilted by Lynne Horpedahl.
As you walk through the show and read the labels, you quickly learn the names of the Long Armer's who quilt for others and notice overall how many quilters quilt their own quilts ... or not.
You might get a feel for the balance of traditional quilters/modern quilters/ art quilters in the guild or in the area (you don't have to be a member to enter quilts in this particular show). Art quilts were well represented here. This one, a color study by Gretchen Garnand of Santa Fe, is called Finding Balance.
I don't know if the trend to print photos on fabric and stitch over them to create thread paintings is growing or dying, but I especially liked an example of the technique in the show named Larry is a Quilt of Larry, by Jennifer Day of Santa Fe. Here is a detail:
Just inside the entrance of the show were examples of work from the three small groups within the guild: Crazy Quilters, Art Quilters and Appliquérs. This small 2-color appliqué quilt by Barbara Bogart seemed very timely.
Just inside the entrance of the show were examples of work from the three small groups within the guild: Crazy Quilters, Art Quilters and Appliquérs. This small 2-color appliqué quilt by Barbara Bogart seemed very timely.
Did this show help me make an informed decision about joining the guild? I think so. Although half their meetings and 2 of 3 of their small groups meet during week days and so my participation will be limited, I plan to check them out at their next evening meeting.
If you'd like to check out some (many) of the rest of the quilts from Quilt Fiesta 2012, here's the link to the slide show version of my photo set on Flickr:
2 comments:
Incredible talent in those quilts. The Larry one stopped me dead in my tracks (how DO they DO that!), but I really enjoyed the whimsey of the tuxedo quilt. Definitely join the guild; if you find it isn't a good fit you can move on. This comes from someone who doesn't [currently] belong to a guild. But who belongs to two golf clubs AND a league...
What kind of camera do you use?
Boy, you really are tempting me to head up to Santa Fe and see the show. I really need to get some stuff done at home though, after being gone for a week. Great quilts and photos. I recognized some of the quilter's names from the longarm guild.
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