Where have I been? Where all of you have been. Watching the Olympics. For those of us Stateside, “Happy and glorious” is a phrase from the British National Anthem, “God Save the Queen [King]” but wouldn’t you just love to have this patch? My hand’s raised. I’ve also been washing sheets and towels after all my company and writing my syllabus, but the quilts from Long Beach deserve some attention, too.
As I said to a friend, the quilt show has really improved from the last time I saw it. And as she said, Well, it only had one way to go. . . and that was up. It’s a different kind of show from Road to California, which is all about crystals, glitz, flash, heavy quilting for the winners (so-called “Show Quilts), but this show is quieter, with multiple points of focus.
The one that for me was the most intriguing was the display by twelve quilt artists in an international offering titled “Twelve by Twelve.” Their website, Twelve by Twelve, can give more information about each of them, and I must admit, better pictures. (This quilt show is held in a cavernous hall, partially underground with high contrast lighting.) I started into this exhibit in a rush, then forced myself to slow down, slow waaay down and appreciate what I was seeing. The above is Orange.
Each collection is made by one of the artists in the collaborative, with different techniques, materials, designs. Each hanging is twelve different ways of interpreting a theme. Each has twelve little quilts–and it took me a while to figure out that I could really learn from them if I took the time.
This is BrownSageBlue. They had three exhibits here: Themes, Colors and Numbers.
So what would you design, if the theme was BrownSageBlue? Would you remember how landscapes look from an airplane? Neither would I.
Three squares from Chairs. Above is the first, the other two follow.
Yum! Chocolate!
And a woman posing with the God of Chocolate? Maybe she’s a quilter. No, she’s a nursing Mom, according to the blog post about this piece.
This piece is from the theme Community.
Window. Already you can see all the different ideas playing around in this piece. A lot of these “quilts” in this theme have zig-zagged edges for a finish.
Introspection is the title of this piece from Windows. It’s a photo from her optometrist visit.
Rainbows and Sun Breaks from the Water grouping.
Twelve is the theme here.
Twelfth of Twelve, a mandala that contains references to her other pieces in the series.
Spice. Are you tired of these yet? I hope not, because I wish I had a group like this who would make little art quilts with me. That’s the effect it had on me–I realized it was at once collaborative, yet individual. And it would force you to work in quick succession–no getting bogged down or tired of a quilt. They found each other via their blogs, and many of them have met each other. They reveal their creations every two months after receiving their theme.
A piece from Rusty. A star within a star and then embellished with a swath of rusty-colored beads and textiles across the top.
Shelter.
Who can resist these planted birdhouses? I love the background of patched greens.
Simple, yet effective rendition of Shelter.
from PurpleYellow.
PurpleYellow group.
Mathematics.
Teensy little square illustrating the principle of randomness. Or not.
I took this shot to show that they had affixed their squares to a piece of black felt. I saw this technique for joining small pieces also in Road to California, as typically a quilter is only allowed to enter one piece–even if that is composed of multiple parts. The tree in the upper left is Fractals. Fascinating. I loved it.
How did you first learn to count?
Last one: Pink.
St. Rose and her Pinking Shears, by Terry Grant.
She writes: “St Rose came to me in a dream with her PINKing shears. Later I discovered the real St. Rose of Lima was patroness of embroiderers and lacemakers and supported her family as a teenager with her exquisite needlework.”
I’m moving on in the next post, but am still thinking about these twelve artists and their accomplishments.
OccasionalPiece--Quilt! 
I am in awe, simply in awe! Thanks so much for sharing the photos.
too cool. that planted birdhouse block is my favorite, just perfect.
I would make little quilts with you! I bet lots of other people would, too. Thanks for sharing all the very inspiring quilts.
I should have slowed down! You saw things that I missed. Thanks, Del Thomas, for sponsoring the Twelve by Twelve exhibit. (Note for next year: slow…)
Creative needle and thread paintings extraordinaire (thinking of something no one else has). What a display. Thanks.