La Carrefour Europeen du Patchwork - Day 1

We had a breakfast of breads, jams, meats and pastries.  I think I am going to gain weight on this trip.
(I actually did gain 5 lbs.)

Please click on the photos to make them larger as you read through.





This is the 24th annual European Quilt Meeting held in 4 villages in Alsace, France.  There were 39 exhibitions throughout 19 sites  in these villages.


While we walked through the village streets we would see the banners where the exhibitions were hung in the old churches, public buildings.  We really felt like we were in touch with the town and the people as we walked between exhibits.


The river that runs through the town is the Liepvrette.

The first village we were in, and the main center for the event, was Sainte Marie aux Mines.  Even though my French is non-existent, I can tell you that Mines is pronounced Means.  That notwithstanding, I think that it was a city built near the silver mines that seem to be in the area.  The entire valley is called Val 'Argent or Silver Valley.

Ah yes,, the Romans mined this area in the 2nd century.  Monks exploited the mines in the 13th century.  

The Duke of Lorraine ruled the area until Gerard d'Alsace took it from him.....because of the mines, of course.  

The town also has the unfortunate stigma of executing the only US soldier for desertion in either WWI or WWII, poor Eddie Slovik.




 Ok, some quilts.

First, the way the exhibits are set up is so different from the way we do it in the US.  They have an artist show a body of work in one area.  The maker stays in their area and you can ask questions and compliment them and talk about the quilts.

The first person we saw was the incredible Danny Amazonas.  You know him, I read his
article in the last Quilting Arts Magazine!

You really need to get up close and personal with these pics of his stuff.  They are made from a million tiny pieces of Kaffe Fasset fabrics.  He must have a ton of it to get all these colors.

 Then there was this.  Look at the RUST.

I have a piece that looks just like that one in the above photo!

And hand embroidered letters on the Rust Piece.  Yes.  And paint.

 

 And there were some pretty creative names on the quilts.  Uta is from Denmark and she is counting!

 There were some kimonos!  Where is Michael Young?  These were definitely unique.  The fiber, which I think is Tyvek, is laid upon a grid.  Grids were popular with a number of the artists.