Final Quilts from Empty Spools 04-25-24

 This is the last of the quilts on view at Empty Spools last week.  

On the bulletin boards behind my table I changed the quilts several times.

On the left is "Is This Me?"  Bodil Gardner - Denmark  2020

Machine and hand applique.  Machine quilted.

On the right is one of my quilts, I always take one or two just to prove I do make quilts!  "Palms" Del Thomas - CA  2023 Fused, machine  quilting. 

On another day I hung  these two quilts.

"Lowanda Does Hollywood"  Jean Ray Laury - CA  2000

Machine Pieced, silk screened, foiling, hand colored, and lots more techniques.

  Someone always asks if I was the model!  No, she did this before we met.  

"Rooster at Freddy's"  Ruth B. McDowell - Minnesota   2009

Machine Pieced, Machine Quilted

Ruth visited Freddy Moran's home in CA and based this design on a 2-1/2 foot rooster on the coffee table.  Only the real thing was all white, unusual for Freddy.

A glorious tribute to Asilomar, Empty Spools, and Pacific Grove. 

"Asilomar/Pacific Grove"  Mary Lou Weidman - CA  2013

Machine pieced, Machine quilted, hand and machine applique, hand embroidery.

All the places quilters know and love when they attend Empty Spools. 

"Cataclysm"  Judith Content  2009

Hand dyed (arashi shibori) silk fabric, Machine pieced and quilted. 

When Judith was working on this quilt her husband was reading "Krakatoa" about the Pacific island that erupted in 1883 and made the loudest noise ever heard at that time and also affected the weather around the world for several years. Mr. Content kept reading sections of the book outloud to her and she created this image.  The silk gives a shimmering effect that is lovely. 

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New quilt in TCQC 12-17-23

This past year I have gone overboard with quilts for the Collection.  But each one has been special.  This quilt was part of a traveling SAQA exhibit that ended recently.  Several years  ago when the exhibit first started I cut out a picture and pinned it on my wall. So, when I saw the actual quilt was now available, how could I resist?  

  "Can This Be Me?"  Bodil Gardner - Denmark  1999?

Cotton fabric, batting, thread, metallic net.  Machine applique, machine quilting

The appliques are sewn down with zigzag on the background.  After sandwiching the quilting is done with straight stitch on top of the zig-zag.

Two places have metallic net applied.

Lots of information, but no date or size.  I'll have to add that information. 

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12X12 quilts from TCQC 07-30-23

There are many 12X12 quilts in the Thomas Contemporary Quilt Collection and most came from the SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Associates) online auctions over as many years as they have been holding these  events.  The  quilts are donated by members and the offerings increase every year.  This year I believe there are over 400 of these charming little quilts listed. You can see them all at https://www.saqa.com/auctionview  More info at  saqa.com/auction

The auction opens on September 14th and until then every Sunday I will post 12X12s from  the Collection.  There are many birds, but I will start with a few quilts that show people.

"Lady with a Mug"  Bodil Gardner - Denmark  12"x12"  2007

Mostly cotton fabric.  Machine appliqued and quilted

She did not title the quilt, so I added my choice.

"Jane Goodall -  Portrait Study" 12" x 12" Mary Pal - Ottawa, Ontario, Canada 2011

Cheesecloth, PVA adhesive, buckram.  FMQ using monofilament thread.

This portrait study of Jane Goodall by Mary Pal was part of SAQA's 2011 online auction.  Mary Pal has invented her unique technique using gauze and a stiffener to define the features in her portraits. Being an admirer of Jane I was immediately drawn to this quilt.   

 

"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.

"Pink Purses in Rome"  Joan Sowada - Gillette, WY  2007  12" x 12"

This is one of the first quilts I purchased at a SAQA auction. I had been interested in Joan Sowada's work since her quilt, the amazing "Cosmic Bicycle" was in Visions 2006 where it won the Cathy Rasmussen Emerging Artist Memorial Award. I don't know how 'emerging' she was at the time, but I had not heard of her then.

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Re-visiting a Bodil Gardner quilt from 10 years ago 12-03-17

I always enjoy Bodil's quilts and have previously posted several that have been shown at PIQF (check the sidebar for her name). She has such a sense of whimsy and an great eye for color.  This quilt came from the SAQA 2007 online auction.

 

"Lady with a Mug"  Bodil Gardner - Denmark  12"x12"  2007

Mostly cotton fabric.  Machine appliqued and quilted

She did not title the quilt, so I added my choice.

 

 

The dress fabric appears to be a recycle.

 

                            Bodil often includes a mug in her quilts - seems to fit almost anywhere.

She covers every edge with satin stitch.

A very sparse label, but it at least has her e-mail address.

There are two short "sleeves" instead of one that goes the width. 

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Quilt Festival - LBeach '13 08-05-13

I'm still house bound - taking pills, using an inhaler, drinking plenty of fluids, sleeping a lot.   I plan to repeat this for the next few days to be sure that I am really over it before I resume my "normal" life.  Fortunately I have adequate groceries, books yet to read, and, as is to be expected, piles and piles of unfinished projects and paperwork.  I'd like to be able to go to VAM in San Diego to a special program they are offering on Saturday.
  http://visionsartmuseum.org/calendar-dtl.asp?calID=146

Below are all the pictures I took at Long Beach.  As usual, I look at quilts and then go back to photograph, but that didn't work for me this year.  I only looked at maybe half the quilts and developed this bronchial thing so couldn't go back to take pictures.  Bummer!


Betty Busby is so talented, she covers so many techniques and styles it is always a surprise and a delight to see her work.  For some years I thought there were two Betty Busby's.  The work that I saw was so varied that I was continually surprised - still am!
 
This quilt has such gentleness and grace, it made me stop, admire, and photograph, even though I was just walking through the exhibit area en route to somewhere else.

   

There is love there.

On the same walk through I came to this wall of quilts which I found appealing and stopped to look, read and photograph.  The two on the right are by two of my favorite artists and the one on the left is a pattern I have thought about making for many years. 

 

Just the name "Endless Chain" is intriguing.  As a child visiting the quilting ladies at the Grange I thought it was "Endless Change" because the Grange ladies made only scrap quilts and the scraps were endlessly changing.  The colors here appeal to me and make me smile.
 

 

Bodil's work is so distinctive - always colorful and filled with fun bits that one must search to discover - the little sheep roaming the hills, the tiny mug on the ground.  She is represented in Thomas Contemporary Quilt Collection and I always hope to add another of her works.  The words written in the border are:   "I arise from dreams of thee in the first sweet sleep of night when the winds are blowing low and the stars are shining bright."

Every edge is applied with zig-zag stitching.
 

http://www.ruthpowersartquilts.com/

 
This dear little guy was created by Ruth Powers who makes realistic images, but with the feeling of a painting rather than a photograph.  Look at the wonderful "cloudy" background made of soft flowers and the graceful leaves with their quilted veins.  She has a good eye for color and chooses her fabric prints carefully.  And notice the FMQ on the background - Ruth is a pro on a home machine. 

Quilt Festival - Long Beach '12 07-30-12

More pictures from QFestival - Long Beach.  There were about 500 quilts there and I only photographed a tiny part of the show.   Mostly they are quilts that I find interesting or admire, but I also take quilts that I think some friends will enjoy seeing.
The placards are all wonky because I tried to get an angle that eliminated the bright light so that they could be read.  Some pictures have a plastic strip near the bottom - these strips are to keep viewers from getting too close to the quilts.  They aren't used in front of every quilt, just most - I don't understand the criteria used.


 

I do love Bodil's work - she has such an different take on everything. 

Her machine applique is done with satin stitch.   

 

http://janelloydtextiles.co.uk

I admire Jane Lloyd's work and posted one of her quilts previously (check for her name on the sidebar).
 
 She fuses and then stitches, but sometimes not, as in the little "sticks".

 

This is a great quilt, though this picture isn't so great.  See how the leaves lead the eye from corner to corner and all is safely contained in the symmetrical border.  

 

 
I've looked admiringly at Beatrice's quilts for years - such patience she has.

 
And it takes a lot of patience to photograph one at a quilt show, because there is always someone looking closely at it.  At least this lady has a nice hat -wish I had asked her where she bought it!  Having someone in the picture gives you an idea how small the squares are - awesome.

 

 

 
Kathy York made this in 2006 and has gone on to explore the theme of cities and towns and houses in many different styles - usually wonderful bright colors.  It was in the display of quilts made in the last 25 years and appears in the new book "Lone Stars III" the third and final part of a trilogy on Texas quilts.   

 

 
I think the name says it all!

 

 
Lovely images of three seasons (autumn, winter, spring).  What?  No summer?  This reminded me of the cross stitch bell pulls made in the 1980s (and other times, of course).  I haven't seen appliqued or pieced bell pulls, but why not?   Might be an up and coming direction for quilting.

 

 
Many of you know I am a poodle nanny, which is rather strange because for the first fifty or so years of my life I never liked poodles - too yippy, too nervous, always clicking around with their painted toenails.  But then I met Corky, the Poodle Prince, and fell in love.  This beautifully made quilt is just a reminder of my previous aversion and it has no connection or resemblance to the Prince.