It's been a busy few weeks of traveling, which means I am a little backlogged on my blog posts. But it also means that I have quite a few adventures to share. So I will start with
Pacific International Quilt Festival (PIQF)--which was a bit of a blur for me as I flew to
NYC to teach/lecture for most of the week. But luckily I was able to see most of the show during Preview Night and after landing in San Jose on Sunday afternoon for a few more hours until the show closed.
This year, I had four quilts accepted into the juried competition (clockwise, top left to right)
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| My Quilts on Display |
PIQF changed their judging sheets, so I received more feedback from the judges than in past years. I was curious about how the judges would respond to seeing computer parts stitched onto my quilt and was pleasantly surprised by their comment "Innovative use of computer components" and letting me know this quilt held up well against stiff competition--and encouraging me to enter it into more competitions! Although I had to laugh when a different set of judges said "more exciting color combination" under areas that need improvement for Peace by Piece! I am very curious what is more exciting than neon pink, blue and yellow against black strips?!?
The Cherrywood Dutch collection was also on display, which meant I had a 5th quilt on display at the Santa Clara Convention Center!! What a fun treat to see this vibrant collection in person!
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| Van Gogh Hues & Blues on Display with Cherrywood Van Gogh Dutch Collection |
Here are some of the fabulous quilts that really intrigued me for a variety of reasons.
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| Claudia Pfeil, In Full Bloom (83" x 69" |
I was mezmerized by Claudia's gorgeous floral quilt and took lots of pictures of my favorite details: the lustrous silk fabrics, stunning free-motion quilting and improvisational design!!
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| Kelly Spell, Flower Hat Jelly (40" x 43") |
Kelly made this as part of the Pantone Color of the Year challenge and I just love her brilliant abstraction of these jellyfish and the wonderful quilting motif that radiates out from the center!
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| Jenn Hexton and Long Arm Quilted by Debbie Schulze, Raspberry Delight (60" x 60" |
Not only am I impressed by Jenn's monochromatic palette, but check out all that fabulous quilting! Debbie sure had fun with a variety of quilting motifs!!
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| Christine Yi, Composition I (60" x 42"), Best Use of Negative Space |
Initially the striking black and white composition drew me in closer where I noticed all the musical terms stitched into the background!
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| Therese May, Comfort (58" x 67") |
Therese May quilts have always intrigued me, but I am loving all the fun she has with the quilting, especially now that she has really taken up longarm quilting!! Look at all the layers of interest and texture including parallel lines layered with dense river rocks/pebble quilting. It took a lot of restraint not to touch all these fabulous textures!!
The next few quilts speak to craftivism and our current political climate, plus they have some really spectacular details!
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| Josie Willis, Piece Rally (62" x 78") |
Not only do I love the Peace/Piece message, but I was impressed that this intricate design was completely pieced!
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| Michelle Boyd, With These Words We Can Build Each Other Up |
I love how Michelle created a wall built on respect, kindness and love. I especially loved the variety of stick figures holding hands stitched throughout the background!
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| Chloe Gorski (and quilted by Colleen Haraden-Gorski), Protect and Serve: EVERYONE, 2019 (60" x 74") |
This is the third time that I have seen an exhibit mounted by the Social Justic Sewing Academy and I am always in awe at how youth participants communicate such powerful ideas through their quilt designs. This time around, I was especially struck by Chloe's quilt and the tags representing victims of lethal force by the police.
Two last quilts to round out my favorites from this year's PIQF show both for overall design, color and texture:
- Julie Haddrick, Configuration: Kasuri with Five Lines (79" x 40")--World Quilt Competition, Australia
- Mary Landon, That's Life (69" x 51")--Best Long Arm Machine Worksmanship
I can't wait to see all the amazing quilt entries for PIQF 2019 so I am marking my calendar now for October 17-20, 2019!
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