AQS Show Grand Rapids, Michigan, August 20-23, 2014
I have always loved the historical and tactile aspects of
fabric, and the needle arts in general. They
provide a calming and healing component to our lives. They bring such joy and fellowship. Perhaps that’s why I spent 34 years of my
career involved in textiles.
Yesterday I spent my day with a life-long friend at the
American Quilters Society show. We
volunteered to do bag check part of the day, but this left plenty of time to
see the wide range of quilts and shop the many vendors. Touching fabric became an integral part of
the day. I came home with three Kaffe
Fassett florals for a Broderie Perse class project I am teaching this fall.
Attendance was quite steady while we were there, a good sign
for the economy. Three words come to
mind to describe what is hot this year…..Swarovski Crystals, art quilts and
heavy machine quilting and taking a back
seat this year……traditional and hand quilting.
A special nod needs to go to the 120 foot long QUILT OF BELONGING, a moving tribute originating from our Canadian neighbors to the north. It’s inspiring to see the range of quilts, each of them a work of art
worthy of our attention. What inspired
them? What is their skill level? What’s their next project?
My heart still yearns for the sight of seeing ladies seated
around a quilt frame, their quilt sandwich careful stretched taut needles
threaded gliding lyrically in and out, over and under, painstakingly creating
those perfectly sized quilt stitches.
Those days are becoming foggy memories, replaced by women standing at
the massive long arm machine, working alone creating beautiful and perfectly
matched stitches. The support and
relationships built off those earlier frames are replaced by technology, where
the only relationship built is with the mechanization of the stitch, in many
cases carried thru a cord from a computer to the fabric.
Shoppers spent good money on the latest patterns, templates
and die cuts, speeding their process along in perfect harmony. This makes me pause…..I think of my
grandmother, cutting her templates from cereal boxes, hand piecing her perfection
from the irregularity of these rudimentary tools. How did these original quilters achieve such
incredible results with such primitive tools?
It’s the same feeling I get when I consider how the pyramids were
constructed. Pure amazement!
It’s been said that fabric heals. Yes, in the literal sense we have put
bandages on wounds throughout time. But
fabrics or quilts in this case heal our spiritual aliments. They sooth and comfort like nothing
else. When we tire we crawl into
bedding. When we’re cold we grab a blanket or quilt. When we are sick we return
to our bed and the comfort it provides.
I returned home filled with many ideas, quickly capturing
the essence of each in my sketch book.
My studio is settled now, so there should be ample time to quilt as this
fall and winter approach. I have
housework to attend to now, but afterwards I will settle in my studio chair, turn
on some nice music, grab a quilting magazine and most importantly, wrap up in a
nice quilt.
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