I will just start with a picture show and tell.... I do have to say that I am an Aussie at heart. Kathy's lecture on blending cultures and how that inspires art and quilting was quite interesting.
BUT, what I loved most was her show and tell... and chatting with her and her quilting friends after the lecture... AND touching and looking at all those lovely quilts up close. (above is "the tree of life")
Each one was so vivid and unique,
She and her cohorts are adventurous...
and prolific...
They LOVE to hand quilt with perle cotton.... sometimes with as much as 7 strands at once!
The back of voile.... so soft and Carolyn said it quilts "like butter".
I was so enchanted to hear about Kathy's adventures in classes. (she still takes them and has wonderful time!) This piece is a raw-edged art quilt, she said that the other students in the class all pulled out their solids/batiks/marbled cottons to work with and then were all SHOCKED when they saw her stack of patterned color. (LOVE THAT PATTERN-- LOVE THAT COLOR!)
My new obsession... the deconstructed dresden plate! The design opportunities are ENDLESS!
Color-- color-- color---- I need to do one of these color studies! WE should have a challenge!! Kelly? Cyndy?
A beautiful quilt, made from all of her UFOs-- I love it! (I have been saying that a LOT today!)
This one, I wish you could see it up close--- it has all of the things that are wonderful about traditional quilts... the layout, the complexity, the traditional motifs COMBINED with that GORGEOUS knack for combining pattern and color in a TOTALLY unexpected way!
Kathy is also a big proponent of take-along projects. She has three active boys, so when I asked how she did the stems in this piece she replied "Chain stitch--I mean Trumpet practice" A mommy mentor! It can be done!
Some close up shots of the dresden-esque quilt... I love the knots of the perle cotton on the front, it added a shine and texture (and then you don't have to pull that big knot through!)
More!
More large stitch! LOVE IT!
The gorgeous fussy cutting! LOVE IT!I am going to go and have a rest now... I still have Gee's Bend stuff to share and I am worn!
--Jessica
