From TCQC 02-17-25

"Early Birds" Ruth Powers - Carbondale, KS 2005 49"W x 38"L

Cotton fabrics, thread, batting.  Machine pieced and quilted.

Here is an older quilt from the Thomas Contemporary Quilt Collection added in 2007. This is "Early Birds" (40"W x 38"L) a quilt made by Ruth Powers of Carbondale, KS. It is entirely machine pieced and quilted and won the Best of Show in the "Think Spring" catagory at IQA in Chicago in 2006.It is now part of the Thomas Contemporary Quilt Collection and is shown here on a grey wall. 

I first saw a Ruth Powers quilt in 1998 at the Autry Museum in Los Angeles and asked about availability, but they had no information. No pictures were allowed, but I stored the image of "Vireya" in my brain somewhere and didn't forget it. In early 2010 a friend heard about a new group "Kansas Art Quilters" and sent me the URL for their website. I was so impressed that they had a great website up so soon after they formed that I sent a query about membership. They replied that I could be a member, so I sent my check. When I looked at the membership list I found that Ruth Powers was a member and we exchanged the first of years of e-mails. I was so glad that I could purchase this quilt in 2006, although it is hard to choose a favorite among Ruth's many masterpiece quilts this one in particular 'spoke to me'. KAQ was a group that I enjoyed very much, even though I live so many miles away.

"Early Birds"  Best Of Show at Celebrate Spring! IQF, Rosemont, IL 2006 and was in the Celebrate Spring! Special Exhibit at Houston in 2006. Published in Fons and Porter’s ”Love of Quilting” May/June 2007 and the SAQA Journal Vol. 17 - #2 Spring 2007" Ruth machine pieces EVERYTHING using commercial fabrics almost exclusively and FMQs her quilts on her home machine. She also does exquisite thread painting on some of her work. The texture of the fabrics she selected for this quilt give the illusion of depth and the one that shows the distant trees is an inspired choice. This quilt is one that requires many close viewings to see all the details. Ruth has a commercial pattern business, INNOVATIONS, where she sells designs that are just a little different than others on the market. http://www.ruthpowersartquilts.com/patterns.php 

Look at Ruth's work at: http://www.ruthpowersartquilts.com/ Her blog is www.ruthpowersartquilts.com/weblog

12"X12" quilt from Thomas Contemporary Quilt Collection 06-09-24

Here another of the 12X12 quilts in the  Collection, purchased in 2012 from the Visions Quilt Museum in San Diego, CA.   I follow Carol Larson online and enjoy her work and her flower photos from her daily walks.    This Blogger post is a repeat from 01-13-13.

"Currents #18" Carol Larson - Petaluma, CA  2012  12.5" x 12.25" 

Carol's statement on the auction site:  "Linen dinner napkin, hand-dyed and screen-printed with embellishment of silk remnant (hand-dyed, screen-printed, foiled), African and Japanese batiks."
www.live2dye.com
 

Some of the edges are stitched with zig-zag and some are not. 

This is copper colored paint - it doesn't photograph well, but it is beautiful. 
 

Nice Nancy Crow fabric on the back.

I added the size and year on the label.

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12X12 quilt from Thomas Contemporary Quilt Collection 05-26-24

 

"Don't Piss Off the Fairies" Ruth Powers 2008 12" square

Cotton Fabric, thread, batting.  Machine pieced and quilted.

This was one of the SAQA 12" X 12" auction quilts in 2009. I am so happy that I was able to add it to the Thomas Contemporary Quilt Collection. Besides the priceless look on this fairy's face, Ruth Powers technical skills are outstanding

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Quilt from TCQC 05-19-24

Here is another 12X12 quilt from the SAQA online auction -  Purchased in 2012, a long 12 years before  I took her six day printing class in February this year.  This was before she started using her own printed fabric almost exclusively.  I learned a lot in her class this year,  primarily that printing fabric takes a lot of stamina and hard work.  I did print some pieces that I like very much, but doubt if I will do much more printing.   However, I am more than willing to buy what she prints and maybe  another of her fascinating quilts.     www.patpauly.com

Pat Pauly quilt from SAQA online auction      01-06-13

I was so taken with Pat Pauly's "Pink Leaf 2" in the Quilt National exhibit at San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles last spring that I went home and looked up her website.  I'm impressed with her work and hope to add a large quilt to the Collection.  Meanwhile I am enjoying this 12"x12" piece - a great combination of colors and textures.  


"Petite Mummy 2"  Pat Pauly - New York  2012  12"x12"
Commercial and hand-dyed fabrics are stamped, foiled and machine quilted.
www.patpauly.com

I asked Pat about the title - what does the quilt have to do with mummies?  She replied that "The form of the mummy bag, just like the one that is used to sleep in while camping, is a stand-in for a person or personality.  So, they become 'figures' so to speak." 

 
This type of foiling, like it has weathered away, is pleasing to my eye.
 

 
A commercial batik and a nice hand-dye with yellow scribbles on the red.
 

 
Pat has machine stitched her last name and the year on the lower right corner of the front. 

 
A nice "pebbled" batik on the back. 

 
But no label!  Instead she has attached a business card.  I haven't decided how to deal with this.  Maybe sew a little net pouch on the back to encase the card.  I have written the size (and it really is 12 inches square) and the year.

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Yvonne Porcella quilt added to TCQC 05-15-16

Eight  years ago (05-15-16) I posted this quilt by Yvonne Porcella, who is sort of the instigator of "art quilting"  and one of the founders of Studio Art Quilt Associates.

Below is that original post.

Yvonne Porcella quilt added to TCQC 05-15-16

Yvonne Porcella's last exhibit was at Visions Art Museum in San Diego, it was a room full of color and some slightly whacky motifs.  I went back to see it several times before deciding that this quilt had to come home with me.  There was a row of about seven quilts the same size, all brilliantly colored, but the flowers on this one really speak to me.  It is now part of the Thomas Contemporary Quilt Collection - number 314.

 

"Arnold Marathon"  Yvonne Porcella 2006 15" x 60"

Cotton and silk, Fused, machine pieced and quilted.

 

The quilt is the same measurement all the way down, but my camera makes it look smaller at the bottom.  So here is an image of just the bottom.  Note the traditional Yvonne striped binding and the wonderful back and white flower stems.  She has used different widths of stripes.  The little nine-patches are cut from checkered fabric - I imagine they hark back to the earlier traditions of quiltmaking.

 

The petals of this flower are strictly fused with the quilting overlapping slightly in a few places.

 

Yvonne included Calla Lilies in quite a few of her quilts.

 

This one has silk petals which are stitched down very well.

 

A handwritten label with all the basic information.

The back is a solid blue which shows off the quilting.  Notice that Yvonne has written "Do Not Fold", although there are fold lines, so someone can't read.  Fortunately, the lines steamed out well, if not entirely. 

!@"X12" quilts from TCQC 05-05-24

The first SAQA auction I participated in was in 2007, not knowing that I would buy at least one little 12"X12" quilt every year; setting aside a certain amount of money for this purpose.  Sometimes it wasn't enough to meet bids by others, but sometimes I paid the $1000 for a quilt I particularly liked.  As more artists participate there are so many more quilts available and the choosing is more difficult.  I look for certain makers, but also for originality, techniques, and good design.  It takes some time to look closely at over 300 quilts, but it is worth it and there are some gems in the Collection.   

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

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

2010 SAQA Auction

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."

I posted this just last year for the third time.  I am not attracted to uneven quilts, but some are just so purposely uneven, like this one.   K. Grace  was so thrilled to have her quilt sold at the auction that she contacted me to tell me so!  I do occasionally  hear from artists, but she was so enthusiastic that I remember it still.  I like having this "hot" quilt on my wall in the gloom of winter, it warms me up.

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Some 12"X12" from TCQC 04-28-24

The many 12"X12" quilts in the Collection get short shift in my Sunday  postings.  So, I will feature them for the next month.  There are some different techniques featured and a few special stories.

 "Lake in the Woods" by Sandra Hart - Los Gatos, CA.   2011 12" x 12" 

Created digitally with Photoshop Elements.  Cotton fabric, beads.

This is a whole cloth quilt, printed on fabric with the row of stitched beads to indicate the water line. I almost didn't believe it until the quilt came in the mail.  The color in this image is off - it should be more green. 

Big label.  But no contact information.  

There is another Sandra Hart quilt on my Blog, one she showed in 2009 at Quilt Festival - Long Beach. 
http://www.delquilts.blogspot.com/2009/07/quilt-festival-lbeach-2-posted-07-28-09.html

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Even more quilts from Empty Spools 04-24-24

As I said last evening I didn't take as many pictures as I thought I had, or as I should have taken.  Perhaps someone  who reads this will  contact me and share pictures they took, especially the 12"X12" Bird quilts. Anyway, I will continue to  post the pictures I have. 

These two 12"X12" by Terry Grant of Beaverton, Oregon, were hanging on a separate bulletin board from the others.

Cotton fabrics, cotton batting. Fused, machine applique, machine quilting. 

"Making Quite an Entrance"  Yvonne Porcella - CA  

Commercial cotton fabrics, hand-dyes.

Machine appliqued, pieced, and quilted. About 45" square.

One day I posted three crows and three owls, all 12"X12"

"The Raven - Nevermore"   Pamela Burns  2019

"Another Collector"  Diane Wright - CT  2012

"Everyone Loves a Party"  Diane Wright  CT  2015

"Borrowing Owl"  Linda Frost - KS  2019

"The Sentinel"  Judy Warren-Tippets - CA 2013

"Night Owl"  Judith Roderick  2011

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More quilts from Empty Spools 04-23-24

Not many tonight, I am still just sooo tired.  I did not take as many photos as I thought. I guess I was too busy answering questions and talking quilts. These two quilts were on the stage.

"A Rash of Flamingos"   Ruth B. McDowell  - Minnesota  2000

Using her unique piecing technique Ruth created this fabulous flock.  It seems to be the most popular quilt in TCQC.

Cotton fabric, thread, batting.  Machine pieced and quilted.  52"LX100"W

"Oregon Rain"  Pat Pauly - NY 2023

Printed using silk screen, rubbing, masking, scrappers, etc..

Machine pieced, machine quilted.  52"X104"

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Quilts at Empty Spools/Asilomar 04-22-24

I took about 30 quilts to show as Collector in Residence.  At the last minute before leaving home, I decided to add a few more very large pieces that would show well in the large space of Merrill Hall.  Some of the smaller quilts I changed out daily, including the 12"X12" bird quilts.  These are the pieces hung from the balcony at the back of Merrill Hall.   More tomorrow night.

     "Not Even Solomon" (Eucalyptus bloom)  Ruth de Vos  Australia  2009                   This is entirely machine pieced and quilted. 

L  to  R   "Through the Lens"  Marianne Burr - WA  2012  

"Copper Tree" Joan Colvin - WA   2003

"An Exaltation of Larks"  Mary Quinn  CO  2010

"Purple Reign"  Deb Cashatt   CA  2024  Machine pieced and quilted.

L to R   "Arnold Marathon"  Yvonne Porcella  CA  2006

"Getting My Ducks in a Row"  Pamela Allen  Canada 2005 

"Desert Nights"  Terry Grant   OR 2014

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Newest quilt in Thomas Contemporary Quilt Collection 03-31-24

I am not a basketball fan, nor a fan of any sport, but the color, workwomanship, and movement in Deb's quilt are so wonderful I couldn't resist.

"Purple Reign"  2024   Deb Cashatt - California  50"W X 60"L

Cotton fabric, Machine pieced and quilted on domestic machine.

Her desgn technique is called Symbograph.

This is all machine piecing, every tiny piece!

And such even, close quilting. 

https://debcashatt.com

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Lisa Jenni quilt in TCQC 01-28-24

  This is a repost from June 1, 2012.  The Association of Pacific West Quilters is sadly nolonger in operation.

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When I first saw this quilt in-the-fabric in the 2008 display of the Living Color exhibit of quilts at the Association of Pacific West Quilters show in Tacoma, it almost leapt off the wall at me.  It is such a striking image and the color is wonderful.  So, for nine months I thought about bidding in the online auction - which was last week.  As always with auctionsbout  I thought about the organization and, like every non-profit these days, the need for funds.  So, I stayed on top of the bidding and this quilt is now a part of the Thomas Contemporary Quilt Collection.  So, I stayed on top of the bidding and this 

 

"Nature's Lace" 2008  Lisa Jenni - Sammamish, WA  36"W x 24"L

Hand dyed cotton fabrics, Misty Fuse, cotton thread. 

 Machine and hand appliqued. Machine quilted.

A postcard from her daughter in north Australia inspired this quilt.  Lisa said, "....a beautiful rainforest palm tree canopy.  The 'gazillion' shades of green in the picture manifest Living Colour for me.  What could be more living than a green forest?"   Lisa's website:   www.thinkquilts.com

The stems were stuffed and then hand appliqued to the quilt.

 

Lisa calls this machine quilt pattern "McTavishing".  Notice that the corner miter is stitched down - something that makes quilt judges very happy. 

 

This garish label was provided by the organization.  As you see they anticipated that the quilts would be auctioned at a special event in 2010, but somehow that didn't work out.  So, two years later they auctioned the quilts online. 



Great fabric on the back and an appropriate choice for the subject on the front.

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Terese May quilt from the SAQA online 2023 Auction 11-26-23

 

I won the bid on six quilts at the online SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Associates) auction.  One I gave to a friend who had admired it and who loves cats and  cat  images.  I did not photograph it before I  gave  it to her, so I copied  this from the  SAQA website.  Therese May is an art  quilter of long standing and lives  in the  Bay Area of California.  She started  using  paint on her  quilts before most artists  had thought of it.    Her  work is very individual  and unique in the quilt world.  

"Mental Health Cats"   Therese May -  California  12"X12"

Various fabrics, cotton batting and back.  Painted, Pieced, machine quilted. 

Therese's  Artist's Statement: "I truly believe that if we all could just pay attention to our mental health, there could be peace on earth."

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Cynthia Corbin quilt (1994) from TCQC 11-19-23

Still having problems with the space bar which is too frustrating for me.  Eight or more strokes to make a space!   So, here is a rerun from  August 2021.

Sunday, August 22, 2021

Sunday again and here is another quilt from TCQC.   This is one of twelve that I purchased in the last century.  Doesn't that sound odd?  I started collecting contemporary quilts (now called art quilts) in 1985 but didn't have a lot of extra money and then life got in the way for about a decade.  So, all but twelve quilts have been added since 2000.  This piece is one of the very early additions and I am still glad I bought it and enjoy having it hanging some times.

                          

"Absolutes"  Cynthia Corbin  1994  35"W x 56"L

Machine pieced and quilted.  Cotton fabric, thread, batting.

www.CynthiaCorbin.com

 

I met Cynthia Corbin at Empty Spools Seminars at Asilomar.  We were in a couple Ruth McDowell classes together in the early 1990s.  I admired her work then and still do today, but have never added another of her quilts to the Collection. I believe this was started in one of Ruth's Symmetry classes and the "border" was added after Cynthia was home in her studio.  I love the addition of brown in the border and those swirling "ribbons" pop out the center panel and add a lot of motion to the composition.  Cynthia lives in the Seattle area.

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Sue Benner quilt from Thomas Contemporary Quilt Collection 11-12-23

Sue Benner has just returned home from teaching at Art Quilt  Tahoe and has been posting pictures  of the landscape and of her students work. I am in love with this photo of a sunset  over the lake.  It made me hang one of her quilts that is in  TCQC.  Such amazing photos and quilts she creates. 

I haven't  posted this quilt  since Sep 2019 and this is a "reprint" of that long ago post. 

"Marsh #22" quilt by Sue Benner 09-22-19

This is one of the newer quilts in the Thomas Contemporary Quilt Collection.  I bought it from Sue last year after she showed it unfinished to her class at Tanque Verde Ranch in Tucson, AZ.   I thought I had already posted it here, but cannot find it anywhere. 

It is part of her series "Marsh" and joins "Marsh #11" which I added to the Collection in 2001.  Odd that I should have both #11 and #22.  Guess I'll have to watch for #33!

"Marsh #22" Sue Benner - Texas  2018  46"W x 15"L

Hand painted fabrics by the artist, fused, cotton batting, machine quilted. 

The color in these pictures is brighter than the actual quilt, but I can't seem to adjust it very much; it is more misty and mysterious.  I have enjoyed having it hanging on the wall in the family room where I see it off and on all day.  And I see different things in it at different times.  Sometimes it does indeed resemble marshes, but also cities on water, sunset or sunrise on the ocean, views in the mesas and valleys of the desert....  I find it very peaceful, very calming.  

Detail of left side.

Detail of right side.

Title and signature on back.  Always in gold paint. 

www.subenner.com

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