Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Innovative Quilts at Pacific International Quilt Festival XX

DSC06846 A Simple Touch - Pat Rollie cropped


As promised, here are a few of my favorite innovative quilts that competed at the Pacific International Quilt Festival XX last month. With over eight hundred works of textile art showing, it was difficult to choose.


The quilters drew inspiration from boundless sources. Roberta Deluz did not have to go far to let her imagination go wild. She designed It Came from Beneath the Sea as a tribute to her father who instilled a love for classic monster movies in her.

DSC06783 It Came From Beneath the Sea

I will never be able to look at the clock of the San Francisco Ferry Building without wondering what might ooze up the tower from the bay below.

DSC06784 It Came From Beneath the Sea - detail


I can related to Janet Fogg's Magic in Times Square, her interpretation of her first cab ride in New York City .


Other quilters were inspired from faraway continents. Pat Rollie's thirty years of quilting experience is evidenced in her original design depicting a tender scene from the Serengeti. As I saw this quilt, I longed to go back to Africa and encounter a mother giraffe and her calf once again.

DSC07002 A Simple Touch


My 85-year-old mother made a small wall quilt for an Indian friend featuring the Taj Mahal...



...and exotic creatures.

DSC06984 Alligator detail  - Oma


Nancy S. Brown deservedly won the best hand workmanship ribbon for her wonderfully composed penguins of South Georgia in Antarctica.

DSC06810 Georgia On My Mind - Nancy S Brown

It wasn't until I took a closer look that I noticed that the penguins were navigating between mounds of  elephant seals.

DSC06812 Georgia On My Mind - Nancy S Brown detail


In contrast to the cold of the South Pole, Hilda Koning-Bastiaan chose to depict the warm hues of a blooming desert.



Sherry Reynolds honored her beloved Wyoming with this cowboy quilt. She made five variations of the traditional Wyoming Valley block pattern in the upper right.

DSC06848 My Wyoming - Sherry Reynolds


In another warm desert scene, Kathleen Malvern of Colorado celebrated the majestic saguaro cactus...


... while Kimberly Buzolich celebrated the Sierra Tiger Lily. I like how she produced the soft-focus feeling of the background with the pools of greens and the swirled quilting.




Pat Durbin used every scrap of  her twenty years of quilting experience to render the larger-than-life interpretation of Begonia Picotee Lace...

DSC06813 Begonia Picotee Lace  - Pat Durbin

,,,  in exquisite detail.

DSC06814 Begonia Picotee Lace - Pat Durbin detail


While Pat Durbin zoomed in on her subject, Jo Bauer took a panoramic view in Reflections of  Mt. Shuksan.

DSC06991 Reflections of Mt Shuksan - Jo Baner


Other quilters turned to fine art for inspiration. Megan Farkas mimicked a Japanese woodblock print...

DSC06992 - The Tsar's Decree


...and Kim Butterworth's Cherry Blossoms reminded me of Van Gogh's almond blossoms.

DSC06806 Cherry Blossoms - Kim Butterworth


Ellen Wong embraced abstract art by piecing together strips of commercial fabrics...


...and quilting a grid pattern that gives the work a pleasing uniformity.

DSC06794 Orange Rhyme - Ellen Wong, detail


Kathleen Collins's fascination with 18th century European court paintings of women in headdresses inspired her to create original paintings on cotton cloth...

DSC07038 kLTranquility II  - Kathleen Collins

... which she then incorporated into a pair of elegant quilts.

DSC07036 Reflections - Kathleen Collins cropped


Nancy S. Brown had productive year. In addition to the penguin and seal quilt above, she finished this poignant quilt of a grandmother at the San Francisco Zoo.

DSC06781 Nancy S Brown


Sue Anthony found a wonderful way to preserve her grandmother's dress...

DSC06816 Maranantha - Sue Anthony

... and Giny Dixon showcased her father's silk ties...

DSC07034 Ties That Bind - Giny Dixon

... set in wool flannel pinstripe resulting in a true work of art.

DSC07035 Ties That Bind - Giny Dixon


Congratulations to all the quilters here. I am inspired by your creativity and sewing artistry.
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