by Mary Beth Krapil
Autumn is a really busy season for a quilter. Lots of shows and quilting events happen in the Fall before the Holiday Season takes up all our time. I’m done with my travels for 2018, so I finally got time to share some of the quilts I saw at Houston.
These portrait quilts were amazing! And I found it interesting to see the varied techniques used in creating the quilts. This first quilt, Ruby by Roxanne Nelson of Calgary, Alberta Canada was likely my favorite of the entire show. The colors were vibrant and Roxanne captured the inner light of her subject, Ruby. She used raw edge, fusible applique.
In contrast to the vibrant colors of Ruby, is A Bright Idea by Lynn Czaban of Eugene, Oregon. Lynn expertly used value in this monochromatic quilt that was created with fused applique and enhanced with thread, ink and water color pencil.
Carol Morrissey of Double Oak, Texas created Kora with fused applique of hand dyed cottons, using simple circles of differing sizes, multiple colors and values. It reminded me of the tests that optometrists use to check for color-blindness, but much more fun!
Our very own Handi Quilter International Ambassador, Helen Godden, created this portrait, Lindsey, completely with couched yarn! Helen developed the couching foot for Handi Quilter. She sure put it to great use stitching the yarn in directional layers as if it were paint for this amazing portrait.
Heidi Proffitty of Bridgewater, Massachusetts, created Is She Ready Yet? with a mosaic technique using a photograph. There are over 5000 digitally cut and fused pieces on this quilt.
Portraits don’t always have to be of people. It’s so easy to feel the emotion of Eternal Expectation. Lioudmila used machine applique, paint and thread painting to create the realistic depth in the fur.
Stay tuned for more quilts from the Houston International Quilt Festival!
While these types of quilts, whether they be portrait, landscapes, or other subjects, are interesting, I am very tired of them taking over the quilting world. Almost every quilt show has been highjacked by them while traditional quilting as been shoved into the back corner. In my opinion (and I don’t think I am alone in this opinion) fusing little pieces of fabric to a background then making them qualify as “quilts” by adding batting and backing is a cop-out. Yes, they are “quilted” and, yes, the quilting world is changing, but the more people gush over these types of “quilts”, the more ademant I become against them being the epitome of the the quilt world. Before you criticise my comments, know that I have taken some classes in this medium so I have some basis to my opinion.
Unfortunately, I know this new type of quilting is not going away. Solution might be to create a whole new quilt category for these types of “quilts” alone and have two completely different quilt shows.