Quilt by in TCQC 01-29-23

This is such a subtle little quilt.  I look at it with amazement every time.  It is just so WINTER!  When first seeing it I didn't recognize that it was a snow covered fallow field with some tire tracks and in the distance a stand of leafless winter trees.  

"Winter" E. Vereycken - Belgium  2010  12" X 12"

White cotton fabric, black thread, white thread, may have flannel for batting.. 

 Monoprint (I think), machine quilting with loose tension on top, edges turned to back for binding.

I have posted this quilt a couple times in the past.  Look under the "E"s on the side bar to see what I previously said and also to see another of Els (Elizabeth) quilts in the Collection.  I still do not find a website or blog for her.   

TCQC - Amidst the Fire - K. Grace Howes

This is a quilt from the SAQA online auction 2010.  Sometimes I find that that my attraction to the auction quilts is  not so much when I have them hanging on my wall.  But this one still "speaks" to me and I enjoy it whenever it is hanging.  

"Amidst the Fire"  K. Grace Howe - Huntersville, NC   2009  12"W x 13"L

Hand-dyed cottons, fusing, beading, machine appliqued and pieced and machine quilted.

The artist's statement was:  "There's a constant burning in my brain to produce, produce, produce. I can only do so much in the time given and yet, wonderfully, there is always another spark of creativity ready to be ignited. Much like an eternal flame, passion for the job never wanes."

 

A simple label giving the necessary details.  I removed the phone number because one artist asked me to go back and remove her number from the picture.  I hadn't thought of that causing a problem, but I can see that it might.  So, I TRY to remember to always do it.  If I don't, please let me know.  

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"Amidst the Fire" K. Grace Howes 02-27-11

Here is one of the quilts from the SAQA 2010 online auction last fall.  I cannot tell you exactly what "spoke to me" in this quilt.  Probably the color first, such a nice combination of red, acid green, yellow, purple and the tiny wedge of turquoise/green at the bottom.  Also, I find the vertical quilting lines done with variegated thread make a texture that is pleasing and that stack of acid green squares on purple, with three tiny dark blue beads in the center of each square, is very graphic and appealing.  This image is a little bright making the green so intense it almost hurts!  The piece of green fabric on the label is more realistic.

"Amidst the Fire"  K. Grace Howe - Huntersville, NC   2009  12"W x 13"L

Hand-dyed cottons, fusing, beading, machine appliqued and pieced and machine quilted.

The artist's statement was:  "There's a constant burning in my brain to produce, produce, produce. I can only do so much in the time given and yet, wonderfully, there is always another spark of creativity ready to be ignited. Much like an eternal flame, passion for the job never wanes."

The back is a colorful commercial batik.

There is an unusual sleeve which is very long and open on the bottom.  There are three inch openings near the top to insert a slat and then the sides are sewn down from there to the bottom of the sleeve.  

 

A simple label giving the necessary details.  I removed the phone number because one artist asked me to go back and remove her number from the picture.  I hadn't thought of that causing a problem, but I can see that it might.  So, I TRY to remember to always do it.  If I don't, please let me know.  http://www.redbarn-studios.com/

Quilt from TCQC by Els Vereycken 02-13-11

This is the last of the quilts that I added to the TCQC during the Studio Art Quilt Associates online auction last autumn. 

"Winter"  Els Vereycken  2010  12" x 12"

Gray ink/paint on white cotton with black stitching.

 

A very plain back.  I suspect Els used a fabric from her "fabric library" that she didn't think she would ever use on the front of a quilt.  Notice that she turned up the bottom half inch of the image on the front of the quilt.

I was attracted to this piece because of the simplicity of the design and execution.  It is one of those works that is so striking from a distance and pulls me in closer to see the detail. 

Els lives in Belgium, but doesn't have a website that I can find. But here are a few websites that show some of her quilts.  http://www.quiltingdaily.com/media/p/15682.aspx  http://www.howoriginal.net/Snowflakes/artist_pages/els_vereycken.htm  http://www.quiltingdaily.com/media/p/2836.aspx

Linda Colsh tells me Els is in the group  http://www.q-art.be/  with her - check it out.

"Calla Lily" by Aileyn Ecob part of TCQC 01-30-11

This quilt was part of the Studio Art Quilt Associates 2010 online auction.

"Calla Lily" Aileyn Ecob - Walnut Creek, CA 2010 12" x 12"

Hand appliqued, Hand quilted, Shaded with Tsukeniko Inks.


Aileyn explains Why Calla Lilies?  "Calla lilies are one of my favorite flowers - I grow them, photograph them and use their elegant image in my quilts."


I know Aileyn from classes at Empty Spools at Asilomar in Pacific Grove, CA. One year it was a class with Jane Sassaman teaching us how to stylize motifs. It was a great class and the calla lily that Aileyn did was a gorgeous shape, still identifiable as a calla lily, but so elegant and smooth.  I have always coveted that piece. And then in 2008 I walked into Pacific International Quilt Festival and the very first quilt I saw was the one below, , not the one started in Jane's class, but another sophisticated design.

Isn't that a beautiful piece of work? I'm pretty certain there was a ribbon hanging on the quilt, as there are on so many of Aileyn's quilts. Her designs are always elegant and her technical skills are fabulous. I am so proud to have one of her quilts in the Collection.
See Aileyn's work at http://www.fiberonthewall.com/

"Tillamook Rooster" by Terry Grant 01-23-11

At the Studio Art Quilt Associates 2010 online auction in October I purchased six of the quilts, but I have only posted half of them.  I definitely need to spend some time on the Thomas Contemporary Quilt Collection records and files to be sure everything is up to date.


"Tillamook Rooster"  Terry Grant - Beaverton, OR  2010 12" X 12"
Cotton Fabrics.  Raw edge machine applique, machine quilting.

Tillamook on the coast of Oregon is a place dear to my heart, with fond memories of visits when I was a child.  I don't remember any chickens from those trips, just the Pacific Ocean, cows and cheese!   Terry is a versatile quilt maker who is inspired by the many things she sees in her life and her travels - there are a number of her quilts in the Collection and I'm sure there will be more in the future.  Read Terry's Blog at  http://andsewitgoes.blogspot.com/

Monday - 01-24-11  Terry sent some more information about this quilt:
I saw this chicken at the Blue Heron Cheese company, a smaller cheese company than the Tillamook Cheese place, but very near it and the Latimer Quilt and Textile Center. They make excellent blue cheese. The lunches at the Blue Heron are good and there are beautiful chickens and other animals wandering around the grounds.

Quilt by Deborah Boschert from SAQA Auciton 2010

"Possibilities" Deborah Boschert 2010 12" X 12"

Cotton fabric, newspaper, paint, beads, sequins, embroidery thread. Raw edge applique, embroidery stitches, beading, printing, air brush (?), fusing, hand and machine stitching. If you focus on the background in the center you will see a bird (dove?) flying there.
This is another purchase from SAQA Auction 2010. I have seen Deborah's work many times and always admired it, but this quilt truly 'spoke' to me. She told me via e-mail that she worked on it when their family was preparing to move to another state. She said, "There are subtle and not-so-subtle images of growth, adventure, flight, communication, order and stability in the quilt. Life (and art) is always a balance of all these ideas."

The calligraphy is on a newspaper that Deborah picked up at an Asian grocery when she lived in Dallas. She adhered it to muslin with gel medium and stitched it as though it were fabric.

The stones give a strong base to this piece and Deborah has hand stitched across the binding to make the base even stronger - it is one of the touches that makes her quilts uniquely hers.

The back is covered with a layer of fabric, so the stitching is not visible from the back. I've known several quilters who do this, but I don't understand why.

Deborah is one of the "Twelves" - twelve quilters from around the world have an ongoing project that challenges their creativity and helps them grow in their work. See Deborah's work at http://deborahsjournal.blogspot.com/ or at http://twelveby12.blogspot.com/

Parrots on the TCQC 12-12-10

Here is another purchase from the SAQA online 2010 auction. It caught my eye immediately - the images are so crisp and the color is perfectly 'parrot-y'. Sherry likes to watch the large flock of parrots that live in her area, as I like to watch those that live in the city of Orange.

"Treetop Parrots of the Palisades" Sherry Kleinman 2010 12" x 12"

Painted, machine pieced, machine quilted.

Sherry says about her piece: "Treetop Parrots of the Palisades" was inspired by the many free flying parrots (former pets) flying around my neighborhood here in Pacific Palisades. My piece is painted with water-soluble media (crayons and pencils) on raw canvas and then machine stitched."

The tiny red buttons add texture and color.

But I'm not so sure about the lady bug and bee buttons. I find them distracting.

Sherry has done dense quilting over the entire design and the piece is very flat.

The backing fabric appears to be a handdye, but it might be a batik - I can't tell for sure.

This is a great addition to the Collection. I am a bird lover and have made a number of bird quilts in the past. However, I haven't found a lot of bird quilts to add to the Collection, I hope this is the first of many.

Sorry, no posts 09-23-10

Guess I will have to take a break from Blogging. It seems my computer problems continue - I know it is hard to believe. This is typed on the Fujitsu with a few things missing from my main page, I don't know why. The Surfside QGuild newsletter is due to be posted on Tuesday and I have very little completed, so my time will be spent doing that. I will try to post a quilt from TCQC on Sunday - I'm just not sure it will be possible.

You can see lots of interesting quilts that are up for bids in the SAQA online auction by going to: http://www.saqa.com/news.php?ID=1423

There are three weeks of auctions - a different set of quilts for each week. Check it out.

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