"Beyond the Bed, The American Quilt Evolution"

A fantastic quilt show has just opened at the Katonah Museum of Art, located in Westchester County, NY. The exhibit is appropriately named, Beyond the Bed, The American Quilt Evolution, as it spans two hundred years of American quilt making. I was lucky enough to show up in time for an awesome tour with Nikki Alexander who walked us through the highlights of the exhibit. The show is divided into two parts: examples of historical quilts on one side of the museum and modern art quilts on the other.

Some of the traditional quilts include: a detailed crazy quilted coffin cover (upper right), a meticulous Baltimore album quilt, an intricately quilted Amish quilt, and a Hawaiian flag quilt.

The art quilt portion of the show features works by some of today’s finest art quilters, many of which are included in the collection, “One of the Top 100 Quilts of the Twentieth Century”.

There was a beautiful kaleidoscope quilt (upper right) by one of my favorite quilt artists, Paula Nadelstern.  Her amazing geometry is enhanced by pieces of silk that shimmer and make her quilt look like glass.

 Nancy Crow’s quilt is a brilliant interpretation of a traditional double wedding ring design.

One of the most unique “quilts” was an enchanting, three dimensional, free standing installation (upper right) by Dominique Ehrmann. The piece is constructed of four quilted layers and is like an illustrated, tunnel book.

These are just a few of the many incredible quilts in the show. If you live anywhere near Katonah, NY, I recommend that you stop by and enjoy the exhibit.

ORBIT Quilt Along

Lindsey Rhodes of LR Stitched is hosting a Quit Along starting this week.  Lindsey has designed a lovely quilt named Orbit and will be sewing along using Cold Spring Dreams fabrics. 

The free pattern is now available for download at her website. Detailed weekly instructions will be posted through the end of March. You can submit your finished quilts or tops, and on April 1st a winner will be randomly selected to win a fat quarter bundle of Cold Spring Dreams. Details are available at lrstitched.com/orbit-quilt-along.

Quilted Valentines

Valentine’s Day is fast approaching, so it’s time I gather my pink and red fabrics, collect my beads & ribbons and create quilted valentines. I keep them uncomplicated, in fact they are a bit crude but my main objective is to keep them simple, make them fast and have fun in the process.

Each valentine is made using a couple of techniques such as, appliqué, embroidery, beading, rouching, whatever it takes. I write a message on the back and include the date, which makes them nice if your valentine intends to collect them.

If you are interested in making one yourself, I have put together a free downloadable PDF file, which includes a heart template and easy instructions to get you started. Just remember, keep it simple and enjoy the process.