Monday, February 23, 2015

Flying home

i am in the Austin airport flying home in this horrible weather.  At least I will stay South, Patty the Quilt Lady has to fly North.  So far the flights are running, however those originating from Dallas all have been cancelled.  Luckily ours are still flying, at least on the first leg!

I really have some things to say about QuiltCon.  And not all are going to be complimentary.  So if you are totally in love with it and don't want to hear my evaluation, cover your ears.  Don't get me wrong, there was a lot good.  Some beautiful quilts, some great teachers.  But there were some really negative things as well.

I saw a lot of quilts that really should not have hung in a quilt show.  There was one that was so off kilter that I would not have shown it to my guild.  And here it was, hanging in a juried show.  There were a lot of quilts by the big names in Modern Quilting.  They each had multiple quilts in the show.  There were also lots of quilts for those who had books out.  If someone had made a quilt from those big name books, it hung.  The uniqueness was missing in many of the quilts.  The same one I have seen over and over again won best this, or best that.  I could tell you the name and you could tell me what they won, it was that predictable.

If you attended a lecture it cost $15 prepaid through your registration.  And they changed them willy billy so you might not be on the one on your initial registration.  The first two I had were such poor speakers that I could barely stand to listen to the uhs and ups and you knows.  It was creative exercises to enhance quilt design.  Interesting?  You bet.  She talked about herself and how she got started and how her mother got started.  I took notes.......my page was blank except for the word IDEAS.  45 minutes about her and not one exercise....creative or otherwise.

But then again, I may have expected too much.  I will tell you about my dye workshop later.  It deserves its own full post!  Oye!  We were lucky to not have been mugged.


7 comments:

  1. Can't wait to hear more.... this is pretty much what I expected...I'm happy that the "modern" quilt movement is attracting younger quilters but there is an aspect of it that drives me crazy -- lots of what is classified as "modern" is some of the same stuff we did eons ago because we didnt'have access to all the lovely fabrics of today - (can you tell I have an issue with all solid fabric quilts?) Just because these new quilters are unfamiliar with a design and it is new to them doesn't make it new and modern.And workmanship takes a back seat to "design" and "creativity" instead of being an intregal part of the quilt. And the commercial aspect looms over all of it -- okay getting off the soapbox - hope you have a safe trip home!

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  2. Thank you for the candid review - I'm not surprised as well - I agree with carol fun although I have seen some great quilting on some modern quilts. I like the whole negative space concept as long as the maker is doing the quilting. I am glad more people are getting into quilting though . Safe travels to you and your hand dyes - now hand dyes I can get jiggy with :-)

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  3. Personally, the patchwork/piecing and the quilting should work together. In my book, the quilting should enhance the overall composition, not demand to be the star. I'll be interested to hear more of your review . . . and if more of us want lesser known names to have quilts hanging, I guess more of us need to enter (ditto for any show).

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  4. I agree with all. I'm thrilled more people are quilting but the commercialization drives me crazy. Seems like no one uses their own imagination anymore when piecing or quilting. The quilts I see are basically from books on the market. I'm guilty of buying quilting books myself and making many of the quilts featured but I ALWAYS add my own twist and make it my quilt. I get tired of seeing folks make the same quilts over and over again. Commercialization, I believe makes quilters lazy in their minds and especially in their imagination and creativity...okay...I'm get off my soapbox now too. Looking forward to reading more of your review!

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  5. you are only expecting what you should from a national show. I don't like this kind of surprise. I don't like a lack of professionalism It's a turn off. LeeAnna

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  6. The quilt community is a creative and wonderful group but there are and will always be cliques! Some have the need to talk about themselves and enter contests to validate their work. Where is the joy in that? I don't give a rat's patoot about who likes or doesn't like my work. The only person to please is myself or the recipient of my handiwork. :o) I like small town shows...maybe not the grandest of work but they celebrate the maker's work. No prizes. On the other hand I do like shows that also celebrate amazing work and inspire others. Does that sound a wee bit like fence sitting? I like the celebration of the "unsung" quilters and get bored and so tired of all of the BIG names. They can wipe jelly on fabric, call it a quilt and have fans clambering to buy it just because of their name. They are sheep. Oh now I shall step down from my soapbox! :o0

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