84" x 49"
This is our group quilt for Houston IQA this fall. It was juried in and apparently has won a cash award because we got the call from Houston last week! Hurray!
Kiwi and Fuschia win 2nd Place!!
The full name of our quilt is Kiwi and Fuschia Meet for Mojito's. Group members include: Frances Holliday Alford, Sherri McCauley, Connie Hudson, Leslie Jenison, Raewyn Khosla, and Kathy York. Apparently we are now the Austin Art Quilt Bee from Brooklyn, NY. What? Okay, really, one of our members just moved to NY, and since the quilt was entered under her name, somehow our group identity has been slightly altered. Oops! We really are based in Austin, but over the years our quilts have come to include members from other cities as well, including: San Antonio, TX, Portland OR, Portland, MA, and now Brooklyn, NY.
Our group members met weekly throughout the winter and spring to make fabric for this quilt. We were taking a class to learn some surface techniques and after the class was over, we picked a color palette, basically chartreuse and fuschia including everything in between when dyeing in successive layers. This quilt was an extension of our quilt from last year, Altered States. We decided to do our collaboration while making the fabric, instead of after the blocks were made. So... we would dye something and then exchange fabric. Then maybe add a layer of shibori, or batik, dye again, and exchange again, and on, and on, and on....We also decided to work with more than just cotton this time. We selected cottons, silks, organza sheers, and silks from old wedding dresses. After we made piles and piles of fabrics, we brought it all together, had a pizza party and then started dividing it up. Each member had a big stash to use when making blocks. After all the blocks were made (and quilted by the artist), we assembled them in a period of about 4 days. Whew!! The the finishing touches, border (satin stitch), label, hanging tube, photograph, and our entry was sent off to Houston. An intense labor of love, this quilt must be seen in person! It is absolutely beautiful!
