My mother and I went to the Pacific International Quilt Festival in Santa Clara this morning. It is the largest quilt show on the west coast featuring over 800 quilts, wearable art, and textiles. They also have 300 vendors who sell anything having to do with quilting or home sewing. Plus they offer workshops and lectures all weekend long. We spent just under two hours there, but most spend many more hours than that. This was the first quilt that "wowed" me:
I am not a quilter, my mother is, so please forgive me if I'm not using the proper terminology. I love white-on-white art of any kind because it emphasizes texture, form, and shadows. In quilting, it showcases the mastery of technique. This quilt is completely hand-quilted! Here are some close-ups:
I am not a quilter, my mother is, so please forgive me if I'm not using the proper terminology. I love white-on-white art of any kind because it emphasizes texture, form, and shadows. In quilting, it showcases the mastery of technique. This quilt is completely hand-quilted! Here are some close-ups: 
When I showed these photos to my fourteen-year-old son, he asked for clarification on the term hand-quilted. "You mean there's no machine involved at all? That's retarded! That doesn't even look like fun". Ah, youth! I do have to admit, this quilter is scary good. As in, if she was living in Salem three hundred years ago, they might have burned her at the stake.
Here's some examples of some great innovative, non-traditional quilts:
"Moon Garden" by Judy Coates Perez
Best of Country Award: "Moonrise", Betty Busby, United States
I have more photos to show you but this is all the time I have for now. If any of you are within striking distance of Santa Clara, California, and you are even remotely interested in quilting or textiles, this show is worth attending. You can find more information here. More photos at Flickr here.
7 comments:
I can just hear him now.
But those white quilts especially are gorgeous. I'm glad you had such a wonderful outing with your mom!
wow these women are artisans of the highest caliber aren't they?! the white is stunning but the others are otherworldly... one would have some very wonderful or terrible dreams as a result of sleeping beneath those stories.
xo
YES!!!!! So glad you are back! The whitework quilt is astounding. So beautiful it could make you cry. They were all amazing, but that graphic black and white one with the red bird? Oh, please tell me it won something.
Hey tangobaby,
I know you can hear him. Why does his cynicism make me smile? I think it's the dead-pan way he delivers these lines. I give him credit for at least knowing that some quilting may actually be fun.
Dear robin bird,
This quilt show is highly competitive and only the best of the best are shown here.
I never considered the dreams these quilts would conjure. It would be an interesting premise for a poem. Anyone care to take up the challenge?
Dear relyn,
Of course we love the same quilts! Twins, born at least a decade apart, separated at birth?
Sadly, no, the graphic quilt did not win a ribbon. But really, being chosen at all is a very high honor.
My favourites are the white on white. Simply stunning!
Thanks for the great photos, specially loved the details in the mushrooms.
Betty Busby
Dear paris,
Oh dear, I see that I never responded to your comment all these months.
I agree that the white on white quilts are the most impressive.
Dear Betty,
Thank you for making such a beautiful quilt. I will update the post with attribution to your quilt.
Is the mushroom quilt yours also?
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