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New Favorites

1.  Going to market.  Quilt Market was quieter and less hectic than I thought it would be.  I was really worried that the environment would automatically trigger a crazy migraine (big places with noises bouncing around are a problem for me), but my head stayed pretty normal, so I was happy.
Quilt Market 2012
I was able to get through my to do list: that list had a couple of categories: manufacturing needs for my etsy shop and networking needs related to the blog and getting more of my quilts into magazines. While it was fun to see the fabric designers’ booths in person and sometimes even get to chat with the designers, I tried not to fangirl.

2.  I made an exception to my “no fangirling” rule for Carolyn Friedlander.  You may have seen (and gotten wanty over) previews of her fabric line Architextures (due out soon).
Architextures Sample
But her quilts and her quilting are so awesome it makes me swear and pull out my hair.
 Carolyn Friedlander's quilting
quiltmarket2012-142
I want her to teach me all of the things!
I may have told her as much and done a little dance for her.  🙂
 

3. Meeting quilters in person. It’s nice to put faces (real, 3-dimensional faces!) to blogs and flickr-streams.  It’s also amazing how honest and open people are in person.  I’ve always felt myself a bit at odds with the SUPER NICEY NICE culture of online quilters, probably because my RealJob is one where giving someone criticism = doing them a favor.  And I have a personal and professional disposition towards making distinctions.  Anyway, I find that I’m much better able to have the type of conversations I want in person–honest, respectful, but tricky conversations.  I found myself talking with a lot of people about how weird it was to see so many things trying to brand themselves as “modern” or for “modern quilters” and (a) completely missing the boat, (b) commercializing the “modern quilt” space to the point of ickiness, and (c) making useless, divisive distinctions. 

4.  Eating this dish:
Butternut Squash Salad
I can’t even describe how good it is!  Get the recipe here: Butternut Squash Salad with Farro and Pepitas (I used barley in place of farro and toasted pumpkin seeds instead of pepitas).

5.  Seeing quilts in person.  This of course includes seeing my very own Kelp Quilt hanging in the Modern Quilt Guild showcase. It was the only bee quilt that was hanging, so I was really glad it was there, because bees and collaboration are really important and should be celebrated and displayed.
The Kelp Quilt

If you are new to this quilt, check out this post for a tutorial explaining how to make your own:
Kelp Quilt Tutorial
And check out these posts to watch the Kelp Quilt grow over time:
the proposal
getting blocks back from bee members
pieced but not quilted
finished
Kelp Quilt Credits
(All bee members are listed, sorry that the names aren’t easily read in this photo).

I really enjoyed seeing all the quilts hanging in the showcase and in the festival more generally.  It was so cool to get up close and see the stitching and amazing craftsmanship.  I also liked cruising by the show at different times to see how busy the show was and which quilts were getting attention.  To see more of the quilts, check out my friend Lynn’s blog post here: The Little Red Hen
and/or the Modern Quilt Guild’s post here: The Modern Quilt Guild.

This Post Has 17 Comments

  1. i love this post. Thanks for keeping is real Rossie. I like why you went to market. Glad you only fangirled at Carolyn's stuff! I love that her quilts/quilting make you want to pull your hair out and swear. :))))

  2. Now I'm really sad that I wasn't there to meet you or see your (our) quilt in person.
    I totally get what you mean about Carolyn. She is incredible, and so damn nice too. I've talked to her more since we met in Houston last year and she is amazing.

  3. Oh I would have loved to meet you both. I hope you come to Portland.
    I really love Quilts/Quilting and am also really bothered by the weird vibe right now surrounding "Modern". ive been kinda bummed by it lately to be honest. Im just going to keep creating a body of work I'm proud of, crafting stuff I love and working with artists and craftsmen I respect.
    have a look at some of my quilting and see if its a fit for you.. I love to collaborate with people.

    1. I am hoping to make it to Portland! We've all got to hang out!
      I've decided not to get bummed out, but just create what I want and tune out the chatter.
      I know your quilts, Rachel, and I love them! What kind of collaboration do you have in mind? Maybe some small scale bee (back-and-forth travelling quilt?) would be fun?

    1. I know! I'm sorry that we didn't get a chance to chat much as we seemed to have downtime at opposing times. QuiltCon is going to be amazeballs. We will hang out for reals!

  4. Perhaps quilters are giving birth to this new baby called Modern. Once it's born, it'll be obvious what the baby looks like and what makes her unique. I've been trying to put my finger on her too and the picture is getting a bit clearer. Everyone who tries honestly to describe Modern will be helping. I understand how you don't want to start a storm, but it sounds like you're uniquely qualified to speak about this difficult topic. Honesty in blogging could be seen as blogging's new baby.

    1. Well, I have attempted to describe what it means:
      here: http://r0ssie.blogspot.com/2010/05/mutant-quilting.html
      and here: http://r0ssie.blogspot.com/2010/09/modern-quilting-lecture.html

      I think it is just troubling at the moment because so many people are chatting and trying to claim special rights to defining it (because they were their first, because they run x, y, or z company/magazine/website/organization) and (A) those aren't rights that can be given to some people and not others and (B) there's no democratically elected anything in the modern quilt world, so it rubs me the wrong way when people claim to speak for anyone more than themselves.

  5. I really enjoyed seeing the Kelp quilt alive and in person at Quilt Festival.

    The recipe looks great, too. I've added it to my recipe list on pepperplate–an app on which I've personally become entirely too dependent upon for cooking and shopping and menu planning). I have to tell you that "pepitas" is the Spanish cooking word for toasted pumpkin seeds, so your substitution was really a translation.

    1. Thanks, Sophie!
      When I looked up pepitas it said "pumpkin or squash seeds" and I was wondering if maybe they had some seasoning on them that made them special? Anyway, thanks for the clarification!

  6. I'm really glad I got the chance to meet you. Woot! And your bee quilt was fabulous. It was super awesome to see it in person!

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