QuiltCon wrap-up
So, QuiltCon. Wow. What can I say that hasn't been said already? What can I show you that you haven't already seen? I'll tell you what. Let's keep it simple. Here are some of my favorite moments:
Walking down Sixth Street in Austin with Kim, Faith, and a quilt. These two ladies are a riot. I couldn't have asked for better companions for a walk down Austin's weirdest street. (If only Katie and Sukie had been there!) Stop by Kim's blog to read about our adventure. : )
"Quilting the Negative Space" with Angela Walters. Although I need a lot of practice at most of the designs Angela taught us, I'm looking forward to renting the long-arm at my local quilt shop and trying out some of my new skills.
Katie and I running into Jay McCarroll at the elevators of the hotel. I'm a huge Project Runway fan, and nothing can ever top Season 1 in my book, so chatting with Jay like he was "just" another blogger was surreal and kind of a blast. It was all I could do not to be a fangirl and accost him for a picture, but I'm glad we opted for a chat about Katie's quilt instead. : )
Top left: zigzigzag by Allison Chambers; Top right: 2+2 by Colleen Wooten; Bottom left: Neutral and Neon by Latifah Saafir; Bottom right: Big Love by Nova Seals
Taking in the quilts at the show by myself, and just thinking about design. The Modern Traditionalism category might always be what feels like my "home," but the graphic designer in me was bowled over by many of the more minimalist quilts in the show. My biggest take-away from QuiltCon is that I want to work on combining the Modern Traditionalism genre that I love with a more minimalist, pure-design aesthetic that appeals to me so much on a visual level.
Hand-quilted Single Girl quilt by Denyse Schmidt
Seeing Denyse Schmidt's quilts, listening to her keynote speech, and thinking about how much her creative journey has affected my own. Would I have found my way to quilting without her? Hard to say. About ten years ago, I had never sewn a stitch in my life and had given exactly zero thoughts to quilting, when I saw a spot about Denyse on Martha Stewart Living. The moment I saw Denyse's bold, graphic quilts, it hit me like a ton of bricks: I have to learn how to do that. Almost at the exact moment I had that thought, another emotion crept in: Who are you kidding? You will never learn how to do that. You don't know the first thing about sewing. Figuring it all out would be a monumental task. But this weekend, I found myself face to face with the very quilts that inspired me to take up this hobby—and my own quilts were hanging just a few rows away, in the same show.
So QuiltCon reminded me that nothing is too monumental. Just ask the Modern Quilt Guild board members who for months poured their hearts and souls into planning this incredible event. Ask the attendees, who came from all over the country and the world just for this. The excitement and inspiration was palpable in Austin last weekend. I feel like modern quilting is truly on the verge of something big, and I'm just so very happy to be a part of it.Thank you to all of the organizers and volunteers for putting on such an amazing event! And thank you to my wonderful husband for holding down the fort while I was gone. I can't wait for 2015.