New England Quilt Museum

On Thursday we took a day trip to Lowell, Mass., to the New England Quilt Museum.  We started off the day with breakfast at Cup & Crumb, just a few miles down the road on the way to the interstate.  We got there just in time; when we left, the line was out the door!

Since Elizabeth's sister Becky was not with us in Maine when we shopped at the LLBean store, we made a stop in Concord at the outlet.

The quilt museum is located in a complex of buildings that were former cotton mills at the height of the industrial revolution, and is now a National Historic Park.  These mill stone planters graced the entrance from the parking lot.

We always like to stop in at the visitor center.  They have informative displays and a film about the textile mills, as well as a gift shop. 

Then it was on to the museum to see the Threads of Resistance quilt exhibit. They also are featuring a Summer Celebration of New England Quilts made by members of the region's quilt guilds, and admission is free for the month of August.  There are a few smaller shows around town as well.

Elizabeth had been to the opening reception for TOR with some of the artists but was happy to make a return visit so that Sue and Becky could see the exhibit.  The museum does allow photos, but does not allow them to be shared on social media.  Below is a photo of the cover of the exhibit catalog, to give you a taste of some of the quilts.  You can see all in the traveling exhibit, as well as all 500+ entries on the TOR website, but nothing compares to seeing them in person.  Apart from the subject matter, there is such variety of technique in these quilts.  In fact, not all entries are by quilters.  Some are collage or digital artists, one is completely felted, one is done with rug hooking; they are all amazing.  We strongly recommend seeing this exhibit if it travels anywhere near you.

A bonus on this trip to the museum was finding out about 2 other small exhibits in the National Park complex.  One was an exhibit of Japanese influenced quilts by Allison Wilbur, a Rhode Island quilter who incorporates Japanese textile traditions in her work.

The other show at The Brush Art Gallery & Studios in the park complex was called "Little Black Dress".  "Quilts reflect where artists wore their little black dress, where they would like to wear their little black dress, what adventures await wearing their little black dress, or what fabrics their favorite little black dress was made of."

Though not scheduled to open till August 5, the quilts were hung and we were able to see them all.  This mosaic was one of Sue's favorites, though it was hard to choose just one picture to post.

We had lunch outdoors at a wonderful restaurant that was across the street from an old fire station built in 1889, though it is no longer used as such, there is now a restaurant on the ground floor.

And since we spent a few hours in the car, Sue and Elizabeth both took advantage of the time to do some shibori stitching for indigo dyeing.  That is on the agenda for today, so look for results in subsequent posts. 

It was a very full day, and of course included a stop for ice cream on the way home!

Quilt Camp, Day 3, 4, 5

Catching up on our last 3 days, we've spent some time on the business aspects of PGFiber2Art - blog, Facebook, newsletter, and listing new screens in the Etsy shop - and have tried to get back into the creative side of things.  So we don't have quite as much fun stuff to share as we'd like, but here's a glimpse of what we've been up to.

Elizabeth has been busy dyeing - both tie dyeing and ice dyeing.

She also did a sun print with some ferns and Queen Ann's lace.

Sue started off with some gelli plate printing.

And screen printing to test some screens.

She put together a nine-patch to show off some new screens we've added to the Etsy shop (more in another post).

And has also being experimenting with deColourant discharge which takes color out of fabric.

Wednesday we made a trip to Center Harbor and Keepsake Quilting, so that took time away from the "studio".

What else is in store?  More dyeing, of course.  The indigo pot is on the agenda for Friday.  Thursday we are taking a day trip to Lowell, Mass, to the New England Quilt Museum to see the Threads of Resistance exhibit.  Stay tuned for more of our daily quilt camp adventures.

Fall Classes

We are back on the calendar for teaching our thermofax classes this fall.  Printing with Thermofax Screens is scheduled for Oct. 14 at Artistic Artifacts.  Join us from 10 AM to 3:30 PM for a fun day of printing with our extensive collection of original screens.  Many images are elements of nature based on photos we have taken.  Others are more graphic designs.  We will work with textile paints, discharge products and thickened dye.  Bring as much fabric as you like (commercial fabrics, hand dyes, solids, prints) and build your stash of custom printed fabric!  You will also go home with a small screen of your choice, and learn to tape the edges for ease of use.  Go to the AA site for more information and registration.  Below are samples of our work.

And here are some pics of student work from previous classes.

 Come join us and learn to create your own unique fabric!

We are also teaching Photos to Thermofax Screens at Artistic Artifacts on Nov. 4 from 10 AM -1 PM.  We will show you how to use Photoshop Elements to convert a photo to a black and white image suitable for creating a thermofax screen that can then be used in your art quilts or mixed media work.  You will practice with some of our images first and then work with your own to see how you can incorporate your own unique imagery into your work without any concerns about copyright.  We'll also give you tips for taking photographs to make this process easier.  Soon you'll be looking at things with screen images in mind.  If you will be in the metropolitan DC area, come join us on Nov. 4!

Note: While your own laptop and copy of Photoshop Elements are most beneficial, you can share one of our laptops if you don't have one, and/or download a trial copy of Photoshop Elements to try for 30 days before purchasing. (Scroll all the way to the bottom of the page for the free trial links.)  Send us an email at pgfiber2art  @ gmail dot com.

Quilt Camp Day 2

Day two of our Quilt Camp arrived on a Sunday and found us still enjoying the state of Maine.  We had decided to stay over night since Sue had been on the road three days straight and we wanted to check out the town of Freeport, home of LL Bean, many outlets, and Cotton Weeds Quilt Shop. Elizabeth sure is glad that she doesn't wear shoes or a backpack this big and she sure would like to win this circular Yurt that LL Bean is giving away.

Two years ago we had stopped in Freeport at Cotton Weeds when we were Row by Row shopping and decided to pay it another visit.  They have changed locations and are now located very close to the downtown area.

Sunday hours at Cotton Weeds are 11-4 so we had some time to walk around town and shop before stopping by the quilt store.  It is a pleasant space with parking located adjacent to the building and worth the visit if you are planning to be in Freeport.  They are participating in Row by Row On the Go this summer and here is a photo of their license plate.

One nice part of travel is that we can look with a eye towards finding new textures to turn into new screens.  These may have some possibilities.  They must first be manipulated in PhotoShop to be certain they are pure black and white images. Sometimes it is an interesting shape we would like to remember and create a hand drawn image based on the photo such as these "comfy" stone lounge chairs!

We were back to New Hampshire for dinner and to enjoy some time on the shores of Lake Winnipesaukee.

Quilt Camp 2017 - Maine Quilts

Sue made it to New Hampshire on Friday for the 2017 iteration of quilt camp (meaning there's no specific plan so we'll see what inspires us!)  We started off on Day 1 by heading over to Maine for the Maine Quilts show.  We'd been there 2 years ago on a road trip for row-by-row and enjoyed it, so thought it worth a return trip.  It was also the 40th anniversary year of the show.

 This show is very traditional, for the most part, though there were some art quilts. 

What you're seeing are Sue's selection of favorite quilts in the show.  Above is Grandma's Scrap made by Lauraine Doyon, quilted by Diane Dixon.  If you enlarge the photo you'll see that it uses a lot of shirting stripes and plaids, and the quilting complements it very nicely for a soft, subtle effect.

This quilt is by Sarah Ann Smith (untitled) and won Best of Judged quilts.  Again, enlarge to see detail.

Calm Seas, and it's mini version, are made by Dan Perkins.  Quilting is by Carol Perkins.  The design is by Michelle Renee Hiatt of Sew on the Go.  That's a lot of piecing, especially the mini version!

Wallagrass Buckwheat and Barley is by Nancy Thibodeau and won a second place ribbon.

This 3rd place winner in the modern section is called Bosque Del Apache and is by Diane Dixon.  This one has really amazing quilting.

Another art quilt is this one called The Shack by Carol MacDougall.

In the very large section of red and white quilts on display, this one caught Sue's eye.  It is called Scarlet Letter by Merry Harkins, quilted by Linda Carey.  Design credit goes to Tara Darr of Sew Unique Creations. 

Among the many vendors, we spotted a number of pop-ups "in the wild" (various sizes of the Fat-Quarter Pop-up designed by the Fat Quarter Gypsy, our friend Joanne Hillstead.)

Though we didn't feel there were as many inspirational quilts as 2 years ago, we still enjoyed the show and vendors and visiting with a few of the vendors we know from attending the Creative Arts Business Summit.  And the weather in Maine was gorgeous!

Yvonne Porcella - Live Your Brightest Life

One more special exhibit at Sacred Threads was a tribute to Yvonne Porcella, a quilting legend who passed away in February of 2016.  Yvonne was an art quilter who was the founder of Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA).  In 1998, she was inducted into the Quilters Hall of Fame.  Her work was colorful and vibrant, often incorporating red or pink with a black and white element.  Yvonne fought stage 4 cancer for 6 years, but that didn't slow her down one bit.  This exhibit was curated by Pokey Bolton inviting quilters to celebrate this icon of the quilt world and interpret what living a bright life means to them.  You can read more about Yvonne on the Quilt Alliance Blog and on her website.  Here are some photos of the vibrant quilts in the exhibit.

And some individual favorites...

Above is one of 2 quilts made by Libby Williamson of Villa Park, CA.

The above quilt is by Teri Lucas of New York, NY.  Look closely at all that quilting!

This bright life quilt was made by Victoria Findlay Wolfe of New York, NY.

You can also see a brief video of the exhibit on the Sacred Threads Facebook page.

Postcards at Sacred Threads

One of the features of the Sacred Threads exhibit this year was a display of postcards contributed by artists across the country.  The cards were to reflect the artist's hopes and dreams and were anonymous, with a message about their hopes and dreams on the back.

The cards were hung from bicycle rims making for a novel (and space saving) display.

Sue contributed 2 postcards to the show, which are shown in the pictures below.  Both include the words Hope, Peace, and Joy.

Have you ever tried your hand at making postcards?  It's a great way to try out new techniques on a small scale.