Please join me in welcoming guest blogger Margery Newman as she shares with us the new Milwaukee Art Museum and quilts from the "American Quilts: Selections from the Winterthur Collection" exhibit. Thanks Margery for sharing this fabulous exhbit with us.

I had the great pleasure of leaving my home in what some people this summer are calling the Baked Apple (NYC) for a day, and heading out to Milwaukee where I visited the Milwaukee Art Museum and the exhibition "American Quilts: Selections from the Winterthur Collection". The show is on until September 6.

I was excited to see selections from one of the finest collections of early American quilts when my car pulled up to the Museum and I beheld the jaw-dropping futuristic architecture.

And inside, the museum was just as stunning! That’s Lake Michigan you see out the window.

In the Museum lobby, the signage for the exhibition shows a detail of an appliqué counterpane quilt by an unknown maker from around 1800-1825. It’s influenced by Indian palampores (a type of hand-painted and mordant-dyed bed cover made for export) and features birds and a butterfly cut from fabrics printed by John Hewson, a Philadelphia calico printer who learned his trade in London.

Here’s the quilt in its full vibrant glory depicting a tree in flower with curling branches and heart-shaped leaves. It’s so unique and feels to me like the tree of life. (Photo credit: Maker unknown, Appliqué counterpane, 1800–25. Cotton, 100 x 92 in. Courtesy, Winterthur, Museum purchase with funds provided by Mr. Samuel Pettit in memory of his wife, Sally Pettit)

Continue reading »

Discover the art of creative needlework at one of the finest juried textile exhibitions in Ontario; Threadworks 2010 showcases textile art from artists across Canada. Opening on April 24, Wellington County Museum & Archives is proud to host and support this special project of the Ontario Network of Needleworkers.

Held every three years, the 2010 theme "Trees" will showcase a range of interpretive works of the highest technical and artistic quality. Entries are as varied and spectacular as the techniques and material used to create them; ranging from dramatic wall hangings to small three dimensional sculptures. Each provokes a wide range of interpretations while exploring the theme and taking the viewer on a journey of discovery; from the subtle, to the very personal, humorous or the more serious environmental issues. Threadworks provides a wealth of opportunities for the young and old to embrace the experience of textile art at its best. With over 200 works submitted, only 65 pieces are chosen by the jurors, award-winning textile artists and academics Dianne Gibson, Judith Dingle and Susan Burke.

Formed in 1983, The Ontario Network of Needleworkers includes 1200 members and 23 guilds. The organization continues to share, promote and encourage the art of needlework in local communities across the Province through exhibitions, educational resources and intergenerational sharing of ideas, skills and love of the craft.

Please join us at the opening reception and awards ceremony on Sunday, May 2nd from 1:00 to 4:00 pm, at the Wellington County Museum & Archives. All are welcome to attend. The exhibit runs until June 13, 2010. Wellington County Museum & Archives is located on Wellington Road #18 between Fergus & Elora and it is opened weekdays – 9:30am to 4:30pm and weekends & holidays – 12:00pm to 4:00pm.

For more information please visit our website at www.wcm.on.ca or phone 519-846-0916.

Earlier this year, I told you about the “New from Old” quilt contest in support of the Alliance for American Quilts.

Quiltmakers are encouraged to think broadly and creatively about this opportunity to celebrate the past in the frame of the present. The rich array of prizes this year includes a Handi Quilter HQ Sixteen Quilting Machine for Sit-Down Use valued at $5,000.

The rules are simple: quilts must be 16″ x 16″ (including a 4″ sleeve and a label) and consist of three layers. Contest quilts must be sent to the AAQ by May 31, 2010. Entries will tour national venues and be displayed on the AAQ website, and later entered in the Quilt Index. The contest is also a fundraiser; all quilts become a donation to the organization and will be auctioned on eBay in November to benefit the AAQ and its mission to document, preserve and share the history of quilts and quiltmakers.

Special Prize for Quilting Gallery Fans

The AAQ would like to offer a special incentive to Quilting Gallery readers and bloggers. All Quilting Gallery fans who enter a quilt in the contest will have a chance to win a prize package that includes an assortment of Simplicity specialty scissors, EZ Quilting acrylic templates and an Alliance Collection for a Cause quilt kit by Moda (total retail value over $250).

Just be sure to write Quilting Gallery fan on your entry form under How did you find out about the New from Old contest?. A small panel of AAQ board and staff will jury this special prize and you’ll still qualify for all the other great prizes.

And remember only AAQ members are eligible to vote for the overall winners of the contest, so if you believe in the work of the AAQ, become a member when you enter the contest. Annual membership is as low as $25 and members enter the contest for only $5 per quilt.

Complete information and a downloadable entry form are available on the AAQ website. Questions about the contest should be sent to the AAQ directly.

See some of the first New from Old entries:

P.S. If you’ve already submitted your quilt for this contest, send an email to the AAQ indicating that you are a Quilting Gallery fan so you’ll be entered for the special prize too.

With less than two weeks until the Lancaster AQS quilt show, I’m getting really excited.

Lancaster is about an 8 hour drive from Ottawa, with a few quick rest stops. Definitely doable in one day, however, I’m planning to leave a day early, take my time and explore a few areas along the way, such as Scranton, Bethlehem, Allentown and Reading.

Here’s what I have booked:

• The Quilter’s Link Wednesday, March 24, 9:00 – 10:00 am
• Floral Delight (Course/Workshop), Thursday, March 25, 8:30 am – 4:00 pm
• The Quilt-As-You-Go Advantage (Lecture), Friday, March 26, 3:00 – 4:00 pm
• All Star Review Saturday, March 27, 1:00 – 3:00 pm

The Floral Delight class is with Linda M. Poole. Here’s what I’ll be making:

I have only been to one other large quilt show before: the Nashville AQS show in 2008. I had an absolutely fabulous time, and returned home loaded with goodies, new friendships and inspired like never before.

There are so many wonderful quilt shows throughout the United States (and even a few here in Canada). Do you have a favourite show? Best experience, worst experience? What show would you love to go to but haven’t yet? (For me that’s Road 2 California and Paducah!)

Join us at Quilter’s Daily Blog Along and share your quilt show experiences.

P.S. Anyone else coming to Lancaster? I’d love to meet-up.

The Parkinson’s Quilt Project is the first global quilt project to focus the world’s attention on the nearly one million people in the US and more than 4.1 million people worldwide living with Parkinson’s disease (PD). The project aims to raise awareness of the impact that the disease has on people living with Parkinson’s along with their families, caregivers and friends and on our continued urgency to find a cure.

The Quilt gives people all over the world the chance to express their support of people living with PD and highlight their connection to the disease by adding their own personalized panel. You do not need to be a sewing expert to create a panel for the quilt. You can use paint, needlework, iron-on transfers, fabric markers or even spray paint. If you are a poet, you can write a poem on the panel or even write it on a piece of firm paper and sew that paper to the panel.

The Quilt will consist of panels made by individuals and groups affected by Parkinson’s, in honor of the cause, of their group or in honor of their loved ones affected by PD. Each panel will be two feet tall and two feet wide, and will be sewn together in eight foot sections. There will be the opportunity for groups to create both panels and sections.

The Parkinson’s Quilt will be displayed for the first time at the 2nd World Parkinson Congress in Glasgow, Scotland from September 28th through October 1st, 2010. After this initial showing, blocks of the Quilt will be available through 2011 for rent to display at PD events. Details of this opportunity will be available in 2010.

The sky is the limit with this project and it is open to anyone touched by Parkinson’s or wants to honor those with Parkinson’s. The more creative the piece the more exciting it will make the final Quilt!

Registration to make a panel opened December 1, 2009 and will end June 1, 2010.

• How to get involved
• Help raise awareness

The fabulous ladies from the Fat Quarter Shop are organizing a silent auction to raise funds for charities helping the victims of the Haiti disaster.

They have 25 fabulous items that have been donated. Head over to the Jolly Jabber blog to see the items and place your bid. The auction ends Jan. 29th at noon (CST).

Here are a few photos of the gorgeous quilts available. You can click on each photo to go to the auction page.

Pennsylvania Dutch Sampler Quilt

Ice Cubes Baby Quilt

The Bunny Run Quilt

Dora S'mores Baby Quilt