Austin Area Quilt Guild Biennial QuiltFest

Austin Area Quilt Guild Biennial QuiltFest

Sept 23 - 25, 2022

I meant to post about this last year, but I have gotten a bit lost in home repair projects that were not supposed to take so long. I am hoping to start posting more regularly again this year, as most of the projects and the related stress are now behind me. 

My entries, folded and stacked, waiting to be delivered in person to the show!

I submitted 3 quilts. The show is not juried, so if they have room, then all 3 will be shown.  I requested to have both sides shown of my two-sided quilts, hoping that they would have the space, but not expecting it.  I was incredibly pleased that they were able to honor my request! I mean over-the-moon happy about seeing both sides of my two-sided quilts displayed! Fantastic!!!

I was delighted to be able to attend the awards ceremony.  I did not help hang the quilts this year, as I was having some problems with my back, so I was anxious to see all the quilts. And after the awards ceremony, the show is open to members to get to see all the quilts before the crowds come in during normal show hours. Irresistable! 

I saw a lot of great quilts, very inspiring. And, I was planning to share them here, but I cannot for the life of me find them on my camera. Nuts!

seeing the show with friends: Andrea Brokenshire, Sherri McCauley, me, Pat Romohr

Even more surprising, I won a LOT of awards.  I never know what to expect of my quilts in this regard. Sometimes I look at them for so long, I get tired of them, and then I am surprised when someone else enjoys them. So, I am usually authentically surprised when a judge likes my quilts enough to select it for an award.

The following photos of the show were taken by Pat Romohr, and I am so grateful that she shared them with me. 

Plenty to Go Around/Scarcity won a 3rd place and the Quilt Show Chair's Award! Here I am with my super squinty smile, and in the second one, mouth open surprise, perhaps about the color of the ribbon both matching my quilt, and looking good with my outfit! Almost as if, it was made for me!

Plenty to Go Around

Scarcity (the other side)

A note about this quilt. It got extremely high marks on my judging sheet. I got one negative comment: "dark shadows show through light fabric".  It was intentional.  It needed to be that way to illustrate the contrast of the story of the two sides.  The quilt NEEDED some transparency, as it is about the relationship to white privilege and racism. Because the quilt is hanging at a quilt show, and has back lighting, you can see hints of the other side regardless of the side you are standing on. It was a conceptual choice that did not go over well with the judges, or perhaps was misunderstood? 

Another note: this quilt is currently on display at AQS Paducah.  It did not win any awards there and it will not be displayed with both sides showing. I was very content to have it juried into the show and have an opportunity for it to be seen. And though I have not been to that show, I suspect the competition is fierce. I had also planned to enter it into the Houston Quilt Show this year, but sadly it is now too old.  I missed my chance to enter it last year because I was a judge.  And so it goes...

 

Next up my quilt Caterpillars/Butterflies. It also won two awards! It got a 1st Place and a Design Award. The Design Award is extra special to me.  It is one of the things that I value most about a great quilt.

Caterpillars

The two awards, and a close up of my super dense matchstick quilting with every line sewn with a different color of thread.

Last up, my quilt Seeds/Bloom.  It did not win an award. Although, I have to laugh at myself because of my three entries, this one is perhaps my favorite.

Seeds

Bloom

Quiltfolk Magazine

Quiltfolk

I have had photos of my quilts in magazines before, but I always had to send my own photographs for those. This was the first time someone came to me to photograph my work. In fact, they sent two people. Azuree Wiitala was the photographer, and she spent most of the time running around my house and yard taking photos. Trevor Holloway took my quilts, one at a time, and very respectfully and gently styled them for the photos. He also did a great job of light-shifting, which mean that he held up big reflectors to help move the light to a better position during some of the photographs. I ran back and forth from being the subject of the photo to consulting with the quilts and assisting Trevor.  It was kind of mind boggling, the number of photos and the number of quilts, just to get a handful of really great ones that made it into the magazine. And it was fun!

Azuree Witala, I managed to snap a photo of her in my studio while she was photographing me.

Trevor Holloway, holding up my quilt, One Earth, on my deck and hiding behind it so that he won't be in the photo.

Me in front of my newly completed quilt top, Rainbow Gardens.

Here are a few more of my favorite out-takes. The first three are the required "have the quilter pointing at something" shots.  Although the pointing thing may be interesting, to me it is significant and special because the artists hands are what make the quilts. Love these shots!

My absolutely favorite part of making these batik panels (aside from the colors) were the painting of the hot wax to make the white dots.  From my quilt, Butterflies.

Again, this dotted fabric was made in my batik studio.  I drew every white dot with hot wax.  Very contemplative experience, and I like the way it looks, and I 'needed' it for this part of the quilt, Caterpillars.

A random stack of my journal quilts, which helped me in my journey to become an art quilter. 

There is a picture of my cat, Pumpkin Pi, in the last few pages of this issue, but I like this one better.  The little photo bomber is standing on his cat shelf, next to the little cat quilt, Innocence. 

The antique desk just under the little quilt was a gift from my neighbor, Lucy Milliron. She was also an artist and made the most exquisite watercolors of the natural world.  When she died, it broke my heart. We were very close friends and she had become a part of our family. She was 88 and her husband had died a full 10 years before her. They used to travel a lot and I used to keep a watchful eye on their house while they are gone.  I am still doing that even though they don't live there anymore. 

There is another part of Lucy that stays in my studio, also captured by Azuree. This photo is significant to me because it captures so much in one small photo:

When Lucy died, I kept her paint brushes.  They are sitting in yellow wooden blocks that her husband Walter made for her by drilling in holes of different sizes for her brushes.  Such a sweet gesture, one of love and support.  And, though you can't quite see, there is a framed photo sitting between the rows of them on one of their fishing trips to Rockport, TX.  I think of them both every time I grab a brush.  

In the very front is a framed postcard made by my good friend Frances Holiday Alford. She invited me to join the Art Quilt Bee.  Our bee members used to meet at her house (until she moved to Vermont) and make group quilts together. So many fond memories of our times together! And, it was a nice surprise to see her quilt in the same issue.  She has a quilt in the section on the Texas Quilt Museum. 

The paper figure of a girl was an exercise from a class I took called Lifebook.  I learned a lot about mixed media in that class and have gone on to continue making mixed media pieces to play with design.  After I get a thick stack of pages, I bind them together into books.  Now, I also love making books!

I also like this staged photo of me using a tjanting tool.  It is a batik tool that allows me to put fine lines of liquid wax on a piece.  It is very different than stamping designs with a tool.  It is much harder to control and requires a lot of patience.  It is more fickle to things like temperature control and composition of the wax. In the picture below, I would never use this tool on the piece that is front of me (that one is made by stamping with an object, in this case, a piece of cardboard packing material from something that was shipped to me). I am holding a folded paper towel to catch the drips.  It is THICK with many many drops of wax. 

This tool was used to make the next two quilts.

A Few of My Favorite Things

And, though this one was an outtake, I have seen it in a promotional spot with several other quilt artists on Facebook. The Heron, the Kayak, and the Grebes: Part I

This next set I like because the light, color and angles were so very good!

Diverging Distractions

Just Around the Corner

Two Halves

And, last is a photo of my quilt, Bloom.  It was hanging on the zip line outside when the sun peeked through.  All afternoon we had been chasing the light.  A great photograph is made with a good photographer, a good subject, and perfect lighting.  That afternoon we were fighting intense glaring sunlight.  It finally paid off for this one because it backlit the quilt.  And, we can see the other side which is my quilt, Seeds! Perfection!!

Bloom

That's about it for the photoshoot.  You can see more photos on my Instagram and Facebook accounts. I will say that working with Quiltfolk was a dream.  They were so incredibly professional and the process of putting together a story was seamless.  I really like that they did copy checks/fact checking with me about both the stories and the photos. I have had that go wrong on many occasions with other publishers who skipped this essential step.  I also like that I was included in the social media promotion.  And, I liked that they sent me a free copy of the magazine.  This used to be an industry standard. However, the world is changing, and this kindness and respect is rarely offered to artists. My hat is off to you Quiltfolk! Respect and appreciation!

You can get a discount in April, May, and June if you use the code below! Cheers!

Both Sides Now

International Quilt Festival Houston

Both Sides Now

photo by Sherri McCauley

photo by Karen Alexander

I am so proud and thrilled that my exhibit, Both Sides Now, was so well received in Houston this year! And it wouldn't have been possible without the support of Becky Navarro at International Quilt Festival and my sponsor Juki America. I did not go, but had asked for photos of the exhibit from friends. I was overwhelmed with the response I got!!  Christi Carew and Suzin Stern took photos of almost every side of all the quilts!  Becky Navarro, Sherri McCauley, Susan Tennison, Frances Ledenbach, Karen Alexander, Cheryl Dagan, Deborah Boschert, and Carol Jones Morrisey took photos of the exhibit, many of which were showing people looking at my quilts!  And Andrea Brokenshire and Sarah Ann Smith took videos of the exhibit so that I could see what it looked like if you were walking around! Sarah's video included her commentary of my work which was quite lovely and gave it a very professional vibe that I LOVED! I am overwhelmed and so thankful for all the kindnesses! A big thank you to all so that I could share photos here with you!! It was almost like being there!

You can see both sides of every quilt in the exhibit, along with artist statement for the quilts, and links to the quilts while I was making them, in the new tab at the top of my blog, Both Sides Now. 

Turn the Dial (left), Flow (right)
photo by Susan Tennison

Neurodiversity (left); His and Hers (right)
photo by Carol Jones Morrissey

Bloom (left), Butterflies (right)
photo by Karen Alexander

Caterpillars
Photo by Christi Carew

Diverging Distractions
photo by Suzin Stern

There were some unexpected surprises as well!  If you stood in the right place the lighting went through some of the quilts, showing both sides at the same time!  

Scarcity
photo by Deborah Boschert

The front side of Scarcity, Plenty to Go Around.

Plenty to Go Around
photo by Cheryl Dagan

Seeds
photo by Deborah Boschert

The Bloom side:

Bloom
photo by Suzin Stern

No Earth, slightly more subtle in the lighting effects, but also looks amazing from the back especially when you can see references of the front side.

No Earth
photo by Suzin Stern

The front side of One Earth:

One Earth
photo by Suzin Stern

I have been asked the following questions. So I thought I would answer that here.

Q: "Why make two-sided quilts?"

A: 1. I always wonder while I am working, WHAT am I going to put on the back of this quilt??? Sometimes my brain starts brainstorming ideas that relate to the work that I am currently making for the front.  It is like expanding an idea to include another perspective of it.  Like working in a series, albeit, a limited series of only two.

2.  I really enjoy designing quilts more than quilting them (now that I am older).  This gives me an opportunity to design TWO quilts for each quilt I have to quilt.

3. Storage space for my work is getting smaller and smaller the older I get and the longer I make quilts.  This is a somewhat futile attempt to have two quilts fit into the space in my closet of ONE quilt.

4. I love, love, love the challenge of making a two-sided quilt, where the meanings or stories connect with both sides.  Even better, is when the quilting motif ties the two together. 

Q: How do I line them up so well?

A: It is really difficult to line them up.  The back side gets smoothed and taped to the floor, front side down.  Then I put a layer of batting on top of that.  Now I can't see anything of the back side, and I have to lay the front side on top of all of these, top side up.  

1. Sometimes you can fold the quilts into quarters and put a safety pin on the folds at the very edges.  Then you have 4 points you can line up.  

2. I also found that you can FEEL the seams of the back side of the quilt through the quilt sandwich and make subtle adjustments to line up the front with the way that the seam feels. 

3. Sometimes the actual design of the two sides does not have to line up perfectly for it to work.

4. For the quilt, Turn the Dial, I used the same pattern for the front as the back, and tried to sew accurately.  That one got off about 1/2" in some places, but it is not noticeable. 

If you have more questions, please ask in the comments section.  I will be happy to try answer your questions.  I am not sure if the Blogger platform will notify you that I have posted a response, but I try to answer every comment I receive, so check back!

Two Halves
photo by Suzin Stern

the other side:

Overlap
photo by Suzin Stern

I also had a few comments about the hanging tubes.  Those were dreamed up for each quilt, BEFORE the backs were made.  Especially in the quilt above, I had to make sure when I was batiking the two panels that were sewn together to make Overlap (above) that I made enough to include an extra piece with the correctly spaced and dyed stripes to add the hanging tube! And it worked!!

I don't think anyone commented about my labels....

I sewed those INSIDE the hanging sleeves, as per request from the exhibit curator and coordinator, Becky Navarro at IQF.  The labels usually go on the back side of a quilt.  If these were indeed two-sided quilts, with no front or back, then the label would need to be hidden from view.  Done!

Last, there is a giveaway on my Facebook page for free two-sided postcards from the exhibit.  I was planning to hand most of these out at the festival, but then didn't go.  I will send them internationally too, so if you want one, sign up there.  Posting has been delayed, because I have run out of envelopes.  They have been re-ordered and I am hoping a Nov 15 post date. 

Thank you for stopping by!

Caterpillars/Butterflies

Caterpillars/Butterflies

64" x 62"

Whoot hoo!  Finally finished with this one! 

Caterpillar side:

Butterfly side:

This quilt for me is all about the similarities and differences between the four panels.  They each have things in common with each other, but also differences.  And, from my previous post... I love the way the tops of the butterfly panels flow together in a continuous arc.  It is a metaphor for the differences in individuals and yet they all belong to the same family or community. It is a feeling of belonging, like a safety net, or a protective arc, like an umbrella, helping us weather the storm.

You may notice that the white fabric on the back looks a bit less than white? Each panel has a slight color cast because there are so very many threads of different colors used for the quilting.

Quilting:

Even though I pin basted the quilt, I wanted absolutely no shifting between the layers.  I started in the middle and worked my way out by removing the pins, and replacing with hand basting every 2 inches or so.  Then I filled in with some machine quilting.  Then I went back in for the close spaced machine quilted lines.

You can see the front (the green and orange), with the rolled up section of the back (the blue butterfly).

The caterpillar side of the blue panel with all the quilting lines going through the tiny pieced "humps".

The same section of the quilt from the butterfly side showing the quilting lines and thread colors

. 

Quilt Textures:

You may remember from the previous post, my concerns about doing this matchstick densely spaced quilting over all the tiny pieces sections with lots of seam bulk? Well, I opted to put in the carefully trimmed batting.  In some sections, I even put in the extra batting just to add another element of texture design.  It is kind of cool how the circles show up on the other side, just from the extra individual circles of batting that are inside the quilt, and how they allude to the design on the opposite side of the quilt.

This side is the caterpillar side.  I inserted a circle of batting under the white circle.

This is the butterfly side of the same panel.  Can you see the evidence of the extra circle shaped batting?

It is a subtle effect but really quite interesting!

Two-sided binding:

The very top photos show the quilt photographed on a grey back board.  If you look closely, you can see that the binding does not distract from the design.  I pieced it to match the different colored sections, and I made it two-sided.  That way, it could be white on one side of the quilt, and black on the other.  This required a "knife-edge" binding, which was not at all easy.

Also, on the butterfly side of the quilt, I tried to match the black binding to the section of the wings that were going off the edge of the quilt.  I made a design decision to just use a solid black, even though there were more colors on the edge. 

Hanging tube:

The quilt was so heavily quilted, that a simple white tube (the same color as the background fabric), would have stuck out and not blended in. I made the painstaking decision to top stitch the tube with all the same colors.  Yeah, I did that!

One color at a time, I went down the tube and traced where it should go. This is the mostly empty sleeve on top of the back of the quilt.

Nearly there, I am almost finished with this blue section and ready to move on to the warmer section on the right.

Here is the tube sewn with a tuck and pinned to the back.

The photo of the butterfly side of the quilt at the top has the hanging sleeve already sewn on it.  Can't see it? Yep, that was the point!  Success!!!