Saturday, May 26, 2012

Quilt Market Take Two

Elizabeth Hartman of Oh, Fransson! shares quilts from her new book
Can't believe it's been nearly a week since we left KC and Quilt Market. I spent some of the time writing a post for Etsy about a quilting icon I had the good fortune to meet at Market and it should be posted sometime late next week.

Until then, here are a few more shots from Market. Have a great Memorial Day weekend!
Dear Stella reps take lots of orders
Echino creations
Codi pauses to soak up a bit of that Montana vibe
A bit of embroidery at Anna Maria Horner's booth
Denyse Schmidt talks at Schoolhouse about the quilts in her new book
Moda's Ducky with the quilt she whipped up (appliqué and embroidery) just before Market
Love this Creative Sewlutions pattern (left) using David Butler's Parson Gray fabrics

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Quilt Market round-up

Quilt Market was a real joy, for many reasons, and its location in Kansas City was certainly one of them. My traveling companions and I loved the old buildings with intricate stone and metal work, as well as the new public art interspersed amongst them.
Jacquie Gering of Tallgrass Prairie Studios signs her new book. Such a treat to finally meet Jacquie in person!

Former architect Carolyn Friedlander & her amazing quilt
Market also was a pleasure because I got to see so many old friends, as well as meet face-to-face some of the people I've had an email relationship with this year. And my traveling companions, Codi of Home Ec and Greta, a new designer for Marcus fabrics, were delightful, as well.

So here are a few random photos of KC and QM. I'll post a few more next time around.
Detail of Carolyn Friedlander's quilt
Love Cluck, Cluck, Sew's crisp patterns in clear colors

So great to meet Vanessa Christenson in person. She's showing off her gorgeous new fabric, Simply Color
Denyse Schmidt shares quilts from her new book at Schoolhouse
Tiles in a KC park
Anna Maria Horner talks about her new fabric, inspired by birds' migration routes & a moth infestation
Weeks Ringle surrounded by modern quilts that use unexpected fabrics
Weeks' and Bill's quilt mixes David Butler and Jo Morton fabrics

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Feed Sacks, redux

Feed sack crazy quilt
At the same time as the Kalona Quilt Show is Michael Zahs' feed sack show at the Ainsworth Opera House. I learned about feed sacks just last year, and they proved to be the perfect topic for an Etsy post. Mike told me that in some homes every piece of fabric was once a feed sack, and that sack manufacturers realized the value of making their sacks of decorative fabrics—it took three sacks to make a typical dress and women often encouraged their husbands to buy more feed, in order to complete a frock.

Here are a few photos from this year's show. Mike had some new purchases he was especially pleased to share, including the feed sack crazy quilt (top photo) he had hanging by the entrance. Feast your eyes on a few of the this year's offerings.

Tablecloth with feed sack appliqué, plus blocks and pieces for Grandmother's flower garden stacked in a shoe box
Dresser scarf crocheted from the strings that held feed sacks shut
Bias-tape cardinals adorn a feed sack towel—one of my favorites
Feed sack fan quilt
Examples of embroidery patterns stamped on feed sacks
Beacon feed sack circa 1948
One small part of the display
Back of a paper-pieced feed sack quilt with the paper still intact
A few of the Zahs' feed sacks
I'm off to Quilt Market in Kansas City this week and the next post or two will be from there. Looking forward to all the eye candy and an opportunity to see some of my Market buddies, to boot. Cheers!

Monday, May 7, 2012

Antique quilts from Kalona

I managed to fill the last couple of weeks with a big ol' project that put blogging, sewing, knitting, etc. on hold. However, one of my regular assignments was due at the same time as the big one and required that I go to the annual Kalona Quilt Show, so not only did I get a break, but I got to look at quilts.
Norwegian Girl 1930-40s. We thought some of them looked a bit demonic

Delectable Mountain
My friend Holly and I went out one evening after a meeting and because I was shooting photos for a magazine story, Brenda Herrington, one of the organizers of the show, the owner of the Kalona Antique Company, and a long-time friend, let me go up top and shoot some photos of the whole thing. Compared to many sales, the Kalona show has a "rustic" feel, as quilts are strung in somewhat haphazard rows from clotheslines tightly strung above the gymnasium floor. As they sell, they're taken down and another quilt takes its place, so attending more than once means you'll see something new each time. Every single quilt, old and new, is hand-quilted.

Amazing hand quilting. This quilt was purchased for Kalona's Quilt Museum
While all the quilts are lovely, the old quilts truly are my favorite. They ranged in price from several thousand dollars for Amish crib quilts (people are willing to pay so much because they can use them as art on a wall, as opposed to bigger quilts) to a couple of quilts for less than $200.

Holly's quilt and her kitty, Primo
As happened last year, I managed to buy a quilt, even without Marilyn Woodin there to encourage me. Holly got the best one, a postage stamp Irish chain done in sweet feedsack tones that are punched up with a red border and keystones. She sent me this picture of her kitty, Primo, enjoying it the very next morning.

My starry quilt—1930s-40s feed sacks
Mine is quite different from the graphic, dark-toned one I got last year. But it's orangey shades go well with the walls in the room where I write. I'm planning to use it in the summertime and the other in winter. (Last year's was stitched in the 1880s, this year's in the 1930s-40s.)

Iowa-made Log Cabin 1880-1910
 Last year Marilyn told me that the quilt I bought was the perfect one to start my antique quilt collection. I told her I didn't intend to start such a collection, but I may have been wrong. Brenda assured me that it's not a collection until there are three. So I'm safe, unless I decide that bed also needs quilts for both fall and spring.
Love the border on this Dresden Plate