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- Mar 15, 2013

QuiltCon 2013 Recap, Part 2: More Eye Candy from Austin

I’ve enjoyed reading the feedback on Part 1 of my post on QuiltCon 2013. My brain is still on overload from all the inspiration it managed to absorb during my time in Austin last month for the first major quilt show and conference sponsored by the Modern Quilt Guild. Ideas for creative expression in fabric were not just confined to the quilts either.

Look up . . .

Looking up: The stained-glass dome at Austin’s Driskill Hotel

. . . look down:

Looking down: I see some interesting border possiblilties in this marble floor, also at the Driskill

Inspiration was everywhere!

This cool blue building was right across the street from our downtown hotel.

Ah, but the quilts! Here are more of my favorites from QuiltCon 2013..

Broken Cogs, made by Jacquie Gering, machine quilted by Angela Walters (QuiltCon 2013, category: Applique, Large)

Oodalolly, made and machine quilted by Rachel Hauser (QuiltCon 2013, category: Improvisation, Large)

Pointless, made and machine quilted by Laura Bisagna (QuiltCon 2013, category: Applique, Large)

Cool Blue Kona Modern, made and machine quilted by Terry Aske (QuiltCon 2013, category: Improvisation, Small)

Broken Diamonds, made and machine quilted by Kati Spencer, QuiltCon 2013, 2nd Place (category: Use of Negative Space, Large)

This next quilt was inspired by fabric the quiltmaker had used to reupholster an antique chair.

4 Birds, made and machine quilted by Trisch Price (QuiltCon 2013, category: Improvisation, Small)

4 Birds, detail

Some quilters created their own fabric. Kathy York used batik, bleach-discharging, and overdying techniques to create the fabrics for her quilt, Fresh Plus.

Fresh Plus, made, machine quilted, and hand stitched by Kathy York, QuiltCon 2013, Honorable Mention (category: Modern Traditionalism, Small)

Fresh Plus, detail

Colleen Wootten designed her quilt on the computer, had the design printed onto cloth, and then quilted the piece as you would a wholecloth quilt.

2 + 2, made and machine quilted by Colleen Wootton, QuiltCon 2013, 2nd Place (category: Minimalist Design, Large)

Some quilts sent a message. Elizabeth Hartman’s piece offered a friendly invitation.

Touch This Quilt, made and machine quilted by Elizabeth Hartman, QuiltCon 2013, for exhibit only

Touch This Quilt, detail

Some quilts made a statement. In his quilt, In Defense of Handmade, Thomas Knauer imaginatively replicates the UPC code for a mass-produced Martha Stewart quilt sold at Macy’s.

In Defense of Handmade, made by Thomas Knauer, machine quilted by Lisa Sipes (QuiltCon 2013, category: Piecing, Large)

There were group quilts . . .

Off the B. O. W., made and machine quilted by members of the Anchorage Modern Quilt Guild, QuiltCon 2013, 1st Place (category: Group or Bee Quilts)

. . . and challenge quilts. Given my on-going interest in small pieces, collage techniques, and the work of Paul Klee, this entry in the “Modern in Miniature Challenge” really appealed to me.

Ode to Paul Klee, made and machine quilted by Serena Brooks (QuiltCon 2013, category: Modern in Miniature Challenge)

Ode to Paul Klee, detail

After two full days on the show floor viewing quilts, shopping the vendors, sitting in on some of the free hourly demos, PLUS taking in the sights and sounds of vibrant downtown Austin, it’s little surprise that my buddy Mary and I returned stimulated and footsore to our hotel each evening. Happily, our lodgings featured a spacious, relaxing 10th-floor atrium where we could kick back and recap the day’s adventures. But wait! Even there, inspiration beckoned.