Carol Taylor Quilt from Thomas Contemporary Quilt Collection 03-12-23

This is a "reprint" from a blog post done on October 26, 2008.   I cannot find a current website for Carol and  her old site has been taken over by somebody else.  I came across a post done by a lady who a year ago went to an estate sale of Carol's fabric and quilts and read that Carol had a stroke which caused her to move to Florida and clean out her studio.   I wish I had known about the sale and might have added one of her prize winning quilts to the Collection.  I will try to find a way of contacting her, there is always the possibility!

                       "Ripples on the Pond" Carol Taylor 2000 35.5"W x 18.5"L

I know, it doesn't look like what Carol is doing now, but eight years ago she was experimenting with dyeing and discharging and used the fabrics to make a few quilts. I saw "Ripples in the Pond" in a special exhibit at PIQF and contacted Carol to see if it was for sale. I think she was a little startled to have an e-mail from an unknown lady in California, but she was happy to sell the quilt to me. I like the way the ripples, flames and crossing lines go in all different directions between the calm flat hand-dyed pieces. They give the quilt dynamic action. I like a lot of the quilts Carol has made in the last eight years and took a class with her at Asilomar to see how she goes about her quilt making. I hope some day soon I will be "in the money" again and be able to add another Carol Taylor quilt to the TCQC.

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More PIQF Looks familiar 10-20-10

Sometimes I look through a quilt show and make connections with other quilts or with quilts from the past - it is a challenge to try to guess who made the quilt based on those quilts from the past. Sometimes I'm right and sometimes I am wrong - I think of it as brain exercise.

This is a triptych, a form that seems to be used more in Europe than the U.S. I guessed wrong on this one. But blue and yellow always speak to me and I think this quilt is gorgeous.

I can sometimes pick out a Carol Taylor quilt, but I would not have thought this was hers except that I had seen it before. I admire Carol's flexibility - she continues to explore and try new directions. She is amazingly productive considering that she teaches all over the world and also serves as a member of the Board for Studio Art Quilt Associates.

See what I mean about Carol? Here is an entirely different style and technique. She has gone in many directions with piecing strips and this one is a knockout. Apparently there was some discussion among some viewers about whether this quilt was pieced or appliqued - don't they read the signs?

I was wrong on this one also. But I excuse myself because it is a basic design that has been explored by many quiltmakers over the last (at least) twenty years. I like this quilt because it is RED and because it is free cut, giving it a texture not found in a symmetrical version.

PIQF #3 Some Pieced Quilts 10-17-09

Apologies for this late post - we had computer gremlins last night. Del

Some of my friends enjoy seeing pieced quilts, so today's post shows three pieced quilts of varying design aspects.

I have lived in SCalifornia for over fifty years, but I have not forgotten the long grey, drizzly winters outside of Portland, Oregon, so I can appreciate Mary-Margaret's desire to have a little Springtime in her quilt.

Her quilt is nicely square, but sometimes it is just not possible to stand exactly in front of a quilt to take a picture that shows off all its fine points. Mary-Margaret does very nice work.

I took two detail shots, one with flash and this one without. The flash completely wiped out the detail of the feather stitching, so I show you this photo which is not correct in color, but shows the free motion feathers.

Rebecca Rohrkaste's quilts are always a little bit different and usually bright colors. I appreciate her whimsical look at the back side of a brick wall - sort of like 'Toys in the Attic" that come alive in the night to assume a "human" life.

Notice that the sashing changes from orange to pink.

Carol defies the "rules" by experimenting with different techniques and combinations of those techniques.

Be sure to click on the picture to enlarge. It appears that she has couched yarns to fabric before cutting squares, giving a different texture to the surface of her quilt. Notice that she has used thread in different values or hues to stitch down the smallest squares and circles.

Quilts from TCQC 10-26-08

Quilts have been added to the Thomas Contemporary Quilt Collection in many different ways. The first one was purchased at auction - the first auction at which I had ever made a bid. It was exciting and I was, and still am, thrilled to have that quilt. But I wasn't really collecting quilts. Then I bought a quilt at a quilt show and had two. Next I bought one from an exhibit and had three. Someone told me that two makes a pair and three makes a collection and the TCQC began. I have purchased quilts from artist's websites, from quilt shows and exhibits, from eBay, from live auctions, from estate sales, from teachers whose class I was in, from speakers at guild programs, and from seeing work in progress on a blog. This is just to show you how accessible quilts can be. Not just contemporary (art) quilts, but traditional quilts of the present era and antique quilts. There is no theme to the Collection, I just buy what I like, what I can afford and what I have room to store! The current production of so many small quilts, especially for auctions, allows many people who are interested in textiles to have a collection of small, medium or large pieces - or some of each. There are two online auctions coming up in early November that offer some outstanding work by known and yet-to-be-know artists. The Alliance for American Quilts auction begins on October 30 - http://www.allianceforamericanquilts.org/myquilts/

The auction for Studio Art Quilt Associates starts on November 10 http://www.saqa.com/newsebulletins/Squares08_1a.aspx

"Ripples on the Pond" Carol Taylor 2000 35.5" x 18.5"

I know, it doesn't look like what Carol is doing now, but eight years ago she was experimenting with dyeing and discharging and used the fabrics to make a few quilts. I saw "Ripples in the Pond" in a special exhibit at PIQF and contacted Carol to see if it was for sale. I think she was a little startled to have an e-mail from an unknown lady in California, but she was happy to sell the quilt to me. I like the way the ripples, flames and crossing lines go in all different directions between the calm flat hand-dyed pieces. They give the quilt dynamic action. I like a lot of the quilts Carol has made in the last eight years and took a class with her at Asilomar to see how she goes about her quilt making. I hope some day soon I will be "in the money" again and be able to add another Carol Taylor quilt to the TCQC.

http://www.caroltaylorquilts.com/