A awhile back I wrote a post about how I felt like I wasn't in step with the rest of the world. I don't read Harry Potter or see the movies, I don't watch the latest network TV shows. I am really not with the rest of the world when it comes to trends.
Sadly, I found as far as quilting goes, I think that has passed me by as well. The great white hunter and I zipped to Tucson yesterday for a quick visit to their great quilt show. This is the third year we have gone and we both enjoy it.
Let me say that the quilts shown there were wonderful, the skill these ladies have is something that I aspire to. The vendors were fun and I found a couple of things I had been wanting to add to my quilting things. All and all, we enjoyed ourselves.
I will say I was a little disappointed in the selection of quilts on display. They were pretty much "current" trends and fabric lines. Designer names were all over the place. This was good if you are familiar with these names but to some it was in a language that not everyone might speak. Most all were heavily machine quilted, amazing in itself but not something available to everyone. Again that is not my taste, I like the more traditional quilt it to hold it together outlook.
So, where were the Log Cabins, the Dresden plates, or other more traditional quilts? Where were the quilts that were meant to put on a bed and keep someone warm? Where were the quilts that a beginner could look at and say, "I could do that!" Many of these were display only quilts which is OK but I think there should be a mix of both. (yeah, I know, who asked me? LOL).
My other observation is one I have had before. I have a LONG, LONG way to go on this quilting thing. Just looking at the applique stitching up close makes me aware that I need to really practice on making those stitches disappear. I need to work more on placement and piecing things. So that was good. I am self taught and seeing good work helps me know what my goals are.
So, next week we are off to California to the Road To California quilt show. This one is huge and I am really in hopes that I will see more of "my" kind of quilts there. (and that I can find more of the things on my "list". The great white hunter was amazed that we drove all that way so I could buy a little tool that cost $3.98!).
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Quilt Show Observations
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5 comments:
I know exactly what you mean...I am into the older (like my age) style of quilting. That is why I prefer to hand quilt all my quilts. But this is just me..."to each it own" as the old saying goes. I never have been that much on the cutting edge of anything new.
Hope your up coming show has some quilts that inspire you!
I agree too. I was at a local quilt show last year and while very impressed with the magnificent quilts, wallhangings, fabric art, and all the rest, I too wondered where the more traditional pieces were. Most things were machine quilted, some of the "art" pieces weren't quilted at all. It would be great to have some traditional and hand-quilted items in shows. I wonder if it's just that people aren't making such quilts anymore, or if the show organizers are passing them by because they aren't modern.
I do read Harry Potter and keep up with some of the current trends, but boy, not in quilting. I look at the pictures of quilts that have won major prizes and they all leave me cold. They're all made with perfection, but not heart.
Hi Norma, I too, know just what you mean about quilt shows. Being YOUR kind of quilter is just FINE!
Make up your mind if you are a 'comfort' quilter or a 'competative' quilter and knowing will save you lots of grief. I just don't care to waste time competing with anyone out there. I make the quilts I want to make, with patterns that I know and love and trust me, they are ONE OF A KIND. I wouldn't have it any other way!!
Just be you, that's plenty!!! Big hugs, Finn who doesn't follow the trends
You must create what YOU like. Admire what others do, but know it's what THEY do, and you don't have to be another "sheep." Everything in life changes, and quilting styles change as well. That's not to say the "old" stuff is bad. But many of us want to see what's new, so we can be inspired and get ideas we might want to incorporate into our own projects, even if we prefer the traditional quilts. And it's the same thing with clothing styles. You know we aren't going to see fashions from five years ago on the runways this year--same with quilt shows. But then again, most of us aren't going to wear the stuff we see in this year's fashion shows either! LOL! The best thing you can do if you're able to and haven't already is to join a quilt guild or go to monthly quilt group meetings of some sort. Then you can see what us "average" quilters are doing and realize you're doing great!
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