quiltology...

Lucky us...we have two wonderful quilt shows this weekend!

The first weekend in November...as the air turns chilly and the leaves glow with their golden autumn hues--you know it's time for the annual Fine Art of Fiber show at the Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe.

FAOF is one of the oldest and most prestigious needle art shows in the Midwest and features the efforts of some of the top local guilds including IQI (Illinois Quilters,) the North Suburban NeedleArts Guild and the Weavers Guild of the North Shore.  The show runs Friday through Sunday (Nov 2 – 4) from 10a to 5p.

If you’ve never experienced the AIDS MEMORIAL QUILT project, you may want to head north to the UW’s Parkside Fine Arts Gallery in Kenosha where you’ll find an exhibit featuring 12 of the quilts amazing panels.

The AIDS MEMORIAL QUILT is commemorating its 30^th anniversary this year with traveling exhibits across the country.  This global art project is now composed over more than 48,000 panels created by friends, family and lovers of more than 94,000 individuals who have died or are living with AIDS.

The Kenosha exhibit concludes with the AIDS Quilt Songbook Performance on Sunday Nov 4 at 3:30p in Bedford Concert Hall.

Fabric of a New Nation: American Needlework and Textiles, 1776 through 1840

The Art Institute of Chicago ... now through November 11, 2012 

It just came to my attention that there's a wonderful textile exhibit at the Art Institute that's on for just one more month.

This exhibit explores the evolution of the American textile tradition between the years 1776 and 1840 with over 45 bedcovers, coverlets, needlework, printed handkerchiefs, and other household textiles pulled from the museum’s permanent textile collection.   While some needlework and textiles during this period were born out of necessity, others evoke refinement and sophistication, reflecting the overall growth, ingenuity, and prosperity of a new nation.

Traditionally textiles, whether made in the home or commercially, were considered prized possessions, but their value was not merely monetary--they often held special significance for the makers and their descendants. Many such textiles bear the maker’s name, and as treasured heirlooms were passed from one generation to the next serving as family record.

The sewing of textiles was also vital to the maintenance of a household. This important female skill not only provided the necessities of clothing and bedding but also a socially acceptable activity for women. The sewn and embroidered textiles in this exhibition represent the work of schoolgirls and women who had the means and time to pursue the needle arts. The works’ highly skilled execution and complex designs are evidence of the artistic and personal expression they provided.

A bridge from home to commercial production can be seen in the exhibition’s woven coverlets. Coverlet weavers in homes and separate workshops formed a cottage industry that would eventually grow into a full-scale commercial business by the mid-19th century. Printed textiles, on the other hand, were a product of the innovations and technological advancements of the Industrial Revolution, part of the commercial manufacturing industry that disseminated affordable textiles to a wider audience. With the mechanization of production and printing, textiles were able to keep pace with fashion and current events.

Whether sewn, woven, or printed, the textiles in this exhibition trace the development of an American textile tradition—one in which industrialization played a dominant role transforming raw materials into finished products but one that was also impacted by changes in the American home from creation out of necessity to a burgeoning consumer economy. Within these diverse textiles and their development, one can witness the innovation and progress of an early but thriving new United States.

In honor of President’s Day, I thought I’d post some information on a wonderful quilt exhibit currently on display at The DuSable Musuem. 

Journey of Hope

The works range from the poignantly abstract to the grippingly realistic and feature techniques including piecing, painting, appliqué, embroidery, dyeing, beading, and more. Filled with the spirit of renewal and change that fueled the Obama campaign, Journey of Hope is a celebration of our patchwork heritage and the quilter’s art. 

The DuSable Musuem is located at--

740 East 56th Place, Chicago, IL 60637

The museum's hours are--

Tuesday through Saturday 10a to 5p

Sunday noon to 5p

(closed on Mondays)

This exhibit runs through May 9th.

To us mere mortals who struggle with matching seams and maintaining crisp points in our patchwork, the very idea of entering an international quilt competition is quite daunting. 

But if you want to see how the pros do it, you might want to check out a free screening of the new documentary film Stitched on Sunday afternoon Sept 18^th. 

Filmmaker Jena Moreno followed three big time quilters who’ve each created some controversy in the past, as they completed their entries for last fall’s International Quilt Festival in Houston.   

Quilting legend Caryl Bryer Fallert was the first quilter who won a major prize with a quilt made on a sewing machine (gasp!)  She mentored Hollis Chatelain who caused a stir when she won an award with a painted quilt!  Hollis in turn mentored Randall Cook who caused quite a sensation with a quilt of a male nude (oh the quilt ladies' tongues were wagging over this one!) 

Here’s the info… 

Stitched

Sunday Sept 18 @ 2pm

National Museum of Mexican Art

1852 W 19^th Street, Chicago, IL 60608

(Damen-Cermak Pink Line station) 

Can’t make it?  Buy the DVD at http://www.stitchedfilm.com/dvd/

Blink—and its August!  Wow, where has the summer gone?

I’ve been really busy the past few months and my poor blog space has been neglected.  It’s time to play a little catch up here.  Life is good—even if my poor Cubbies are out of contention—and there’s much to share. 

I’ve been on the road again—hitting all the hot spots across the Midwest—Milwaukee,    St Louis, Des Moines, Kansas and Nebraska!  Are you jealous?  If you’re not, maybe you should be.  Why?  Because there’s lots of wonderful quilt shows out there and I’ve been dropping in to check them out.

Here’s my list…

The Milwaukee Art Museum is the last stop on the tour of the Winterthur Museum's Quilts in a Material World.  The show features rare textiles from the late 1700s and early 1800s.  The show is up through September 6^th. 

The University of Nebraska in Lincoln is home to the International Quilt Study Center and Museum.  You might want to bookmark their web site because it really is something special with lots of historical information on quilts and their makers.

I had an opportunity to see the current show South Asian Seams: Quilts from India, Pakistan, & Bangladesh (which is up through November 7^th) and I highly recommend it.  The strong graphic elements, color and hand work reminds me of our own Amish quilts.

If you do find yourself in Lincoln, you might want to drive down to Lawrence Kansas—home to the University of Kansas—and just 50 minutes west of Kansas City.  There the  Spencer Museum of Art has a show of their quilts called Quilting Time and Space through August 29th. Curated by University student interns, the exhibit "explores cross-cultural connections through the art of quilting," using antique and contemporary quilts to represent "confluences of tradition and place."

Continue west on I-70 to Manhattan, Kansas where Kansas State University has its first show of their quilts at the Marianna Kistler Beach Museum.  Pieces of Time: Quilts from K-State's Historic Costume and Textile Museum will be on display through September 12th.

If you can't visit in person--check out these shows online.  There's always something special to see.  Happy travels to you…