I just returned home from Austin Texas, before the blizzard hit here in Colorado, and gosh I am so glad I bumped up my flight from afternoon to early morning! I got home just as the big snow and wind started to whip up. They predicted 1"-2" of snow per hour and that is exactly what's happening outside right now.
Yesterday (Friday) I walked the QuiltCon quilt exhibits, and went to a few power point lectures. I had dinner with an Austin quilter who is an old friend of Libby Lehman (and used to go to Libby's mother's quilt shop!) and we toasted our dear friend who is making some huge strides in her recovery from the stroke.
I heard art-quilt-superstar Luke Haynes lecture about his development as a contemporary artist. I saw a presentation by Bill Volckening about his vintage quilt collection. Lots of eQuilter customers found me and came to say hello, have a chat and a hug. You guys are great!
The consensus among those who came to QuiltCon 2 years ago, and now, is that the workmanship of the quilts was at a much higher level. The quilt exhibit attracted another whole (higher) echelon of creative quilters, who obviously had a lot of fun exploring what it is to make a Modern Quilt! Well-known art quilter Kathy York took the Best of Show with her "i-Quilt" and she was just tickled pink! (She is a local Austin quilter.)
I am adding some more quilts from the New Zealand show, and then will be uploading images from QuiltCon on my Flickr Album pages this weekend. There is a lot of creative whimsy, and exploration of unusual colors in the QuiltCon exhibit. Clearly the Modern Quilt Guild is growing up – growing beyond some of the perceived restrictions of the Modern theme – and expanding into the inevitable variations on a theme that come when artists are attracted to a new design movement.
Next week I am at the quilt festival in Mexico City! I am so excited! I started out giving my "International Quilt Trends" presentation, then was asked to judge the Fashion Show, and now I am also giving a power point on Wearable Art to help kickstart this category for those who are curious about how to apply creative techniques to fashion and costume sewing.
I am thinking that it is about time for Wearable Art sewing to make a comeback. What do you think? We sure miss the Fairfield Fashion Show and Bernina Fashion Show. Wouldn't it be great if we could restart this category in the next couple years?
My other big news is that I'll be giving my "International Quilt Trends" presentation at the Birmingham UK Festival of Quilts in August! So I hope to see our European friends at this show in 6 months. I am bringing Sophie, and we'll be attending the Shakespeare outing to Avon, so perhaps we can enjoy an evening of theater together also.
We have removed Sophie from the toxic Casey Middle School and now people are finally starting to wake up to the severity of the situation. Feel free to pass on the link to this guest opinion article that came out today.
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