Stash Busting and a Quilt Show

First up a great stash busting report.  I finished several quilts in June so I used more than 14 yards of fabric.  WhooWhoo! (On the other hand I haven't finished any quilts this month but I still have time and fabric to at least finish one!) 

2022	Fabric In Month	Fabric In Year	Fabric Out  Month	Fabric Out Year	Total In or Out Year
July	8.875	59.25	14.75	69.75	10.50

Last Friday I attended Sacred Threads quilt show with a friend.  The quilts were amazing as were the artist statements.  Quilts were grouped in broad categories such as Spirituality, Grief, Joy, Inspiration and others.  Here is the link to the show's web page.  It's on until Friday, 7/24 in Herndon, Virginia, a suburb of Washington, DC.  It is well worth a trip to see some fabulous art quilts. I chose to photograph a few of the quilts and the artist's statement so I knew who made it and a little about what it meant to her/him. 

This one struck me because I agree completely with the statement. It was entered in the Grief section. 

"I began 1500 + the day after the Parkland shooting in Florida, February 14, 2018. There were approximately 1500 victims of mass shootings in the US at that time. I began the quilt in anger and needed to put it down for a time. By that time there were, of course, more shooting deaths, and I needed to add the + sign to the wording.This piece expresses my anger

and outrage that we as a country simply offer "thoughts and prayers"

instead of real solutions to the violence that is part of our way of life. Our children experience active shooter drills' every September asthey return to school. And women in the US are 21 times more likely to be killed with a gun than women in other high-income countries.When will we say enough?" Ann Bertorelli 

Heian Garden, Kyoto was entered in the Inspiration category. 

"Nature and, in particular, gardens are a huge inspiration in my life and my work as a textile artist. I find them peaceful and a wonderful antidote to the craziness of real life. On a trip to Japan, I was struck by the beauty and poetry of the gardens of Kyoto - even in the dead of winter. This view of the famous stone footbridge in the Garden of the Heian Shinto Shrine particularly resonated. The peaceful setting, simple design, the beautiful morning light proved to be the subject of many photographs, including this one captured in cloth. Printed cottons purchased in Japan frame my composition." Sally Wright

Joy in the Time of Covid 19 was entered in the Joy category.

"A posting in my Buy Nothing group offering two Cirque du Soleil shirts morphed into a project that brought me great joy after a long winter during the COVID-19 pandemic. My creativity had slumped, I had no

energy for art quilts, and I was only working on quilts from patterns. When I took a look at this shirt design, I remembered a technique I had learned many years ago to make lovely art from batik panels. It worked so well with this shirt, and I happened to have many fabrics in my stash that worked color and print-wise. I completed this project in just a few days, and it allowed me to get my creative groove back. I was also happy to recycle some textiles that would otherwise have ended up in the landfill." Gay Bitter 

Lake Life and Love was entered in the Healing category.

"I started this piece as the next fabric mosaic quilt in a series. Whitney Lake had been our summer home for over 30 years, a place of so much life and love. It's where my kids grew up. It's even where they were married. We spent many hours on this dock. Soon after this quilt took shape on my design wall, we found out my husband didn't have long to live. I worked on it as he continued to be my quilt business's shipping department and accountant. My progress stopped after he passed away, and there it hung. I walked past it almost every day. One year later, I slowly came back to it during the pandemic. Finishing it was cathartic. It's about grief, healing, and so many memories- two empty chairs." Cheryl Lynch 

And a close up:

And, now, why did I pick these particular quilts to share?  The first one speaks for me.  I don't see any reason anyone except the military should own assault rifles.  

Heian Garden, Kyoto is so peaceful and it amazed me that it could be portrayed so well in fabric. It spoke to me. 

Gay's Joy in the Time of Covid 19 is such a bright fun quilt and utilizes many traditional blocks in a piece that look so modern.   I hope I remember the way she used smaller blocks en mass. I want to try something like this. And, note, those borders are not even at all. 

Last is the mosaic Lake Life and Love.  I was surprised it was in the grief category until I read Cheryl's statement. Looking at these pictures don't really show how tiny the fabrics are.  I went to her website to read about her mosaics. The squares are 3/8th of an inch. I'll wait while you go back and read that again. Yep really small. It is a serene scene. 

I hope you enjoyed this little bit of the Sacred Threads quilt show for 2022.  It has been in the DC area for 12 years.  As stated on the web page "The team in Virginia would like to pass the baton to a new leadership team, in a new location, with new ideas and energy."  The last paragraph on the first page has the link to what the future may be for Sacred Threads.

I hope you enjoyed this mini quilt show. It's time for me to do a little clean up in the studio although I really need to do a massive clean up.  I'll keep you posted on any success I have.  I'm linking up to the following parties.  Please enjoy surfing the web starting with these blogs. 

Midweek Makers 

Wednesday Wait Loss

Needle and Thread Thursday

Finished or Not Friday

Beauties Pageant 

Happy Quilting All! Bonnie