Life's a Stitch x 4

If you live in or near Northern Virginia, you can visit the "Life's a Stitch" exhibit at the Lorton Workhouse Arts Center through October 13 in the McGuire Woods Gallery.  Four quilt artists show 4 different ways they use stitch and fiber sculpture to express themselves showing both humorous and serious topics. 

The Workhouse is housed in the renovated campus of the former Lorton Reformatory which was set up as an agricultural work camp and housed prisoners from Washington DC beginning in 1910 through 2001. It was sold to Fairfax County (Virginia) and approved for use as a cultural arts center; it opened with this new mission in 2008.

The current exhibit features work by Holly Cole, Susan Lapham, Susan Callahan, and Linda Strowbridge. Each has their own distinctive approach to fiber art. Holy Cole uses her background in theater and costume design to create 2D and 3D pieces reflecting her love for animals, particularly endangered species.  Using upcycled canvas army tarps as a foundation for her drawing and painting skills she creates amazing animal portraits and sculptures.

Susan Lapham's approach is abstract and intuitive, reflecting memories of family and fun.  Some pieces are precisely pieced angular compositions while others consist of more organic and playful shapes. 

Susan Callahan's pieces draw on her experience as a chef and reflect a lifetime of feeding people that are both humorous and reflective.  She uses painting, printing and fabric collage in her compositions. Who knew that stove top burners could create such interesting patterns?

Linda Strowbridge's architectural approach uses abstract expressionism and collage to explore her love of old buildings. Her skillful use of line, color and shape make for unique compositions.

This is just a sampling of what you will see in the exhibit - each artist brings their own unique perspective to their work.  It is an hour or more well spent, do try to see this exhibit if you are near the Virginia suburbs of Washington DC.  If you have more time to spend, you can also visit the working studios of the artists who have space at the workhouse.   They encompass all aspects of artistic endeavor, not just fiber art.  Check out the Workhouse Arts Center!

SAQA Benefit Auction

It's time once again for SAQA's annual Benefit Auction. (SAQA = Studio Art Quilt Associates) Members have donated 12" square art quilts that go up for auction as the organization's main fund-raising effort.  Funds raised support SAQA's exhibitions, publications, and educational outreach.  The auction opens on September 13 and runs through October 6.  It is a reverse auction format.  On opening day, all artworks are available for $1000 each.  For the following 3 weeks, the quilts are divided into 3 groups with 1 group available each week at decreasing prices.  Read more about the auction here and view the quilts here.

You do need to create an account on Handbid in order to bid on quilts.

Sue has donated a quilt again this year, a screen printed and hand stitched piece called "Hope".

Do take a look at all the beautiful artworks available and bid if you are so inclined.  It's an opportunity to own a small artwork by well-known and upcoming artists in the world of art quilts.

Etsy Shop Open and Discount

 Our Etsy shop is open again after a few months break due to problems with our Thermofax machine.  

Since these machines are "old technology" (think 1960s!), finding repair services is not the easiest task. Initially, the lamp that provides the flash to burn the screens stopped working so a replacement lamp was needed.  The first challenge was finding the correct replacement and installing it.  That took some time.  The installation was also a challenge, and after installing the new lamp and putting things back together, it ran but no flash.  All this took several weeks.  

Then the task became finding someone who might be able to fix it.  After some internet searching and inquiries to various online groups who might have resources, we contacted a repair service in Florida. After some messaging it was determined that it would be necessary to send the machine off for repair.  A few weeks later it has returned and we were able to open the Etsy shop again.  

To thank our customers for their patience, we are offering a 10% discount through the month of August on everything in the Etsy shop.  Use code SAVE10 at checkout for the discount.  We also added 3 new screens shown below.  Visit the shop for photos of prints of these screens which include a bird seen from above, wisteria, and a tickseed (coreopsis) flower in 3 sizes.  

We also are happy to make your custom screens and hope you will visit the shop soon!

Sacred Threads

 "Sacred Threads is an exhibition of quilts exploring themes of joy, inspiration, spirituality, healing, grief and peace/brotherhood. This biennial exhibition was established to provide a safe venue for quilters who see their work as a connection to the sacred and/or as an expression of their spiritual journey."

This biennial exhibit has most recently been held in the Virginia suburbs of Washington DC but has now moved to Indianapolis due to a change in leadership.  Sue has had quilts juried into this show several times and her 2022 quilt is part of the traveling exhibit from that show.  Due to the change in location, the next exhibit will be in 2025, but the traveling exhibit will debut this fall at the Houston International Quilt Festival and will travel for 3 years.  Sue found out recently that her submission titled "Insight" was accepted to the traveling exhibit.  How exciting!  

This quilt tells the personal story of her healing journey through an autoimmune disorder that has affected her eyes.  It has caused chronic inflammation, severe photophobia and scar tissue and resulted in numerous eyelid surgeries to prevent eyelashes from scratching corneas.  Visual acuity has also suffered, but through it all, she has continued to make quilts and pursue creative endeavors whenever possible, which is as much a part of the healing process as the medical treatments.  

The raw edge strips represent the rawness of emotions, and the screen prints are from photos at various stages over the last 2 years.  The story is written with Fabrico fabric markers.  Hand stitching over the words on darker backgrounds helps with legibility.  Cross stitch embroidery was used in areas where the strips didn't overlap enough.

After 2 years things finally seem to be on a good path and getting back to "normal" seems more possible. Making this quilt was very much part of the therapy on the road to healing.

I'm a Cover Girl!

Exciting news!  Sue here.  I'm honored and thrilled to announce that my quilt, "Red Bird and Berries", is on the cover of the summer issue of Quilting Arts magazine!  

It is a detail of the full quilt which appears in the Invitational Readers Challenge published in this issue.  Below is an image of the full quilt.

The Invitational Challenge was a special challenge to artists who have been published in Reader Challenges in the last 2 years.  There was no particular theme, just submit your best work.  The piece includes cyanotype prints, indigo dyeing using shibori techniques, thermofax printing, machine and hand stitching.  I was thrilled to be selected to be published; never in my wildest dreams did I anticipate being selected for the cover!  

There is a page up on the Quilting Daily website with more info about the summer issue and there is also a video interview I did with Kristine Lundblad, Managing Editor of Quilting Arts.  Digital copies of the magazine are available now at the link above or print copies will be available on newsstands June 18.  If you have a subscription, your copy should arrive about mid-month.  Looks like lots of great articles to dive into.  Enjoy!

Pattern and Paradox: The Quilts of Amish Women

If you are a quilter, or quilt lover, RUN, don't walk to the Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM) to see the current exhibit "Pattern and Paradox: The Quilts of Amish Women".  The exhibit continues through August 26; if you are in or plan to visit DC this summer, make sure to put this exhibit on your agenda.  The 50 quilts on display are part of a collection of 130 Amish quilts donated to the museum by Faith and Stephen Brown who started the collection in 1973.  

The Broken Star quilt above, circa 1930, is from Holmes County, Ohio by an unidentified maker.  The quilts in the collection are from Amish communities in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Illinois and Iowa. The Amish are plain people whose religious beliefs bind them to communal groups. There are many sects, from the strictest Amish in their solid color clothing who eschew electricity and choose horse & buggy for transportation to Mennonites who blend in with the general population, and many levels in between.  The quilts in the collection were made between the 1880s and late 1940s.  The Amish adopted quilt making in the late 19th century, creating them as bed coverings; they were never intended to be viewed as art.  But their quilts combine the plain with the spectacular, and tradition with innovation.  It was a way that the women of the community could express individuality and showcase elaborate stitching as well as original designs and color choices.

The 2 quilts above are Tumbling Blocks, a pattern using 3 diamonds to create a hexagon, but as you can see here, color placement makes a huge difference!  The quilt on the left is by an unidentified maker from Holmes County Ohio, made about 1940-1950.  The quilt on the right is a Stairway to Heaven variation also from Ohio, made about 1935 by an unknown maker.

Bar quilts are common in Amish culture; the quilt on the right shows 9-patch blocks in the bars.  Both are from Lancaster County, PA by unknown makers, the left from about 1930, the right made about 1915.

This distinctive Lone Star quilt is from the Lapp family in Lancaster County, PA, made about 1935-45.  Even without formal training in color theory, careful color placement creates eye popping designs.  The border here is certainly unique and took careful planning of color placement in the 9-patch blocks.

Another unique quilt is this original design that at first glance resembles an Oriental carpet, but upon closer inspection, you'll find the 9-patch and Monkey Wrench blocks that create the pattern along with 8 pointed stars at the sashing intersections.  From Holmes County, Ohio by an unknown maker it was made about 1920 of cotton and silk. 

    

This 1920 Ocean Waves quilt is two-sided, with concentric rectangles on the back.  It is from Holmes County, Ohio, again an unidentified maker.

These two Center Diamond quilts are both from Lancaster County, PA.  The one on the left by Barbara Fisher about 1920, the other by an unknown maker about 1930.

A unique (to me) design is the 16-patch quilt, also known as Tartan.  It is from Mifflin County, PA, 1930, by an unknown maker.

Finally, this Trip Around the World quilt (for which I neglected to get the source information).  A one-patch quilt, the design is created though careful color placement.  

Now, you may think you've seen enough and don't need to visit the exhibit in person - BUT - this post included only 12 of the 50 quilts on exhibit!  And the impact is so much greater when seen in person. One thing is very clear to me for those of you who are quilters - document your quilt by putting a label on the back, so those who see your work in the future will know who made it, when, and where you lived at the time.  It is so important for those who will study these textiles in the future!  I hope you thoroughly enjoy this exhibit, and we would love to see your comments afterward.

Swartz Creek Scrap Quilt with Pepper Cory

Sue's second day class was the complete opposite of the first day - the replication of a vintage scrap quilt.  This was a quilt that teacher Pepper Cory found in Pennsylvania which she dubbed the Swartz Creek Scrap Quilt.  Below is Pepper showing the original quilt.

Below are some additional versions of the quilt, some with larger blocks.

We spent part of the time choosing our fabrics, making half square triangles and 4-patches, and then beginning to assemble rows. 

Of course, we didn't get a whole top done in a 6-hour class!  Sue managed to get enough pieces together for 2 rows.  There may be some changes to this plan as one fabric may be too overpowering for the solid squares.  All the fabrics are Civil War reproduction fabrics.

Here are some other students' works in progress.

Both of the above are using 6" blocks instead of 4" blocks as in the original.  Though Sue does mostly art quilts these days, it is still fun to go back to traditional piecing.

Paint on Fabric with Kevin Womack

 Sue's first day class was Improv Paining on Fabric with Kevin Womack.  This was a "play day" to transform fabric with various surface design techniques.  We had various items like old kitchen utensils that could be used to create designs, stencils, bubble wrap and other items to create texture, objects that could be placed under the fabric and painted over for design & texture.  We also used color washes of diluted paint to transform a background.  Most students worked on white "new" fabric, but Sue used pieces that were previously dyed.  These were mostly pieces that didn't turn out well - too much white and/or blah colors, so this class was an attempt to make them more interesting.

work space

Image printed with a thermofax screen

Designs added with various mark making objects, a light blue wash colored in white areas

Design printed with a thermofax screen; original design is from a spiral masher/mixer (kitchen utensil)

 

This texture is from a length of cording placed under the fabric, and then flicking the paint brush over the raised area

Paint over a stencil created these images

It is fun and freeing to work improvisationally without thinking too much about what you are doing - just create!

Celebration Show & Tell & Challenge

Every Celebration starts off with a Show & Tell of projects from past Celebrations that participants have finished and brought along to show.  It's always fun to see the finished quilts, and some folks are very good about finishing the projects from the last event, while others may get to the finishing a little more slowly.  Here are some of the show & tell quilts from night 1, all from 2022 classes.

Left - Brimfield Block (Taught by Brimfield Awakening) 

Right - Kisses & Hugs (Taught by Barbara Black)

Glorified Nine Patch (Taught by Gyleen Fitzgerald)

Modern Improv (Taught by Heather Kojan)

Over and Under Rainbow (Taught by Gyleen Fitzgerald)

In addition to participant show & tell, there is a preview by the teachers of the projects they will be teaching over the next 2 days.

Here is Paula Golden with her Feathered Star quilt.

This year also featured a Ruby Challenge in honor of VCQ/s 40th anniversary.  There was an overwhelming amount of participation with members submitting red & white quilts for a viewer's choice vote.  Here are a few pictures of the ruby quilts.

Karen Brewster, VCQ president, also shared a red & white family heirloom quilt.  What a lot of eye candy!