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J OURNAL
OF
T HE I NTERNATIONAL Q UILT A SSOCIATION
SUMMER 2013
The 2012 IQA JUDGED SHOW
First Place–Merit Quilting, Machine
Bernina of America
Photo by Mike McCormick
Category sponsored by
SUPER STAR (77"
X
77")
by M ARILYN B ADGER of St. George, Utah, USA. Original design.
con
tents
J OURNAL OF T HE
I NTERNATIONAL
Q UILT A SSOCIATION
V
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letter from the president
It’s the dog days of summer, but Stevii Graves
says you can keep cool (and keep connected)
with all your quilting friends and the fabric
world on social media and the internet.
3
the 2014 iqa teacher’s
directory form
4
the iqa files:
gilbert muñiz
10
R
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2013 judged show sponsors
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winners gallery:
traditional appliqué
Are you an IQA member and a teacher? Let our
members know!
Gilbert Muñiz became interested in fashion and
design at an early age. Today, he is a fast rising
star in wearable arts. Find out about his creative
journey and how – on the sly – he’s simply mad
about “sad patterns.”
the making of
touching stars
Find out how delicate finger injuries did not stop
Helen Young Frost and a group of friends from
completing this year’s raffle quilt.
32
The $95,250 in cash, non-purchase prizes being
given away at this year’s judged show could not
be possible without corporate sponsors.
Combing two of quilting’s most storied styles
and techniques, winners in this category
from last year’s judged show put their own
contemporary spin on their works.
winners gallery:
miniature quilts
Sometimes, smaller quilts can take just as much
planning, skill, and work as their larger
counterparts! Find how good things come in
small packages from the winners in this
category of last year’s judged show.
on the cover
T O U C H I N G S T A R S ( 90" x 90"). The 2013 IQA
Raffle Quilt. Machine Pieced by H ELEN Y OUNG F ROST;
Hand quilted by H ELEN Y OUNG F ROST, C AROLE
C OLLINS , M ARIANNA D ODSON , D EBORAH G ORDON ,
A NN M AVKO , WANDA P INTER , C ATHERINE S KOW,
and C ONNIE S TEPHENS ; and Machine quilted by K RIS
N EIFELD . Photo by Mike McCormick.
L E T T E R
board of
directors
president
Stevii Graves
vice president
education
Pokey Bolton
vice president
finance
Brenda Groelz
vice president
membership
Linda Pumphrey
vice president
public service
Susan Brubaker Knapp
secretary
Pat Sloan
treasurer
Marti Michell
founders
Jewel Patterson (1910-2002)
Helen O’Bryant (1914-2005)
Karey Bresenhan
Nancy O’Bryant
journal
staff
F R O M
T H E
P R E S I D E N T
Dear members,
It seems like most of the world has been hot, hot, hot this summer! If
it hasn’t been hot, it has been raining. Unless we are working against
a show entry deadline, no one wants to be sitting under a quilt doing
handwork. So what’s a fabric obsessed person to do?
Cruising the internet is a great summertime activity. My husband
just got a new keyboard with fans on either side, so his hands don’t overheat while playing
games. How cool is that? (Pun intended!)
Reading blogs is addictive. I started reading a blog written by one of my favorite quilt
artists. Then I looked on her blog page to see what blogs she was reading, then checked to
see what they were reading. Pretty soon I had a huge list of blogs I was following!
Pinterest is great for finding inspiration for future quilts. Looking at images for design and
color ideas can be productive. Look at quilts to figure out what you like and dislike about
them. It can help you define your own personal style.
If I didn’t read Facebook, I would never know such important things like how many times
my grandson breaks up and gets back together with the same girl. More importantly,
Facebook has given me a connection to many people who share my interests. I love
meeting up with FB friends at Quilt Festival. Some of these people have become real
friends, and I value how much they enhance my life.
If Apple would design a waterproof iPad, I could float in my neighbor’s pool while cruising
the internet. Really cool idea!
If you get cabin fever and are willing to put on shoes and proper foundation garments,
head off to a Museum. I’m lucky to live close to Washington, D.C., which is loaded with
museums. Delightfully cool museums. Cool in temperature and cool in content.
editorial
director
Nancy O’Bryant
As I walk in the door, I re-name each museum so they all become “The Museum of My
Creative Inspirations.”
editor
Bob Ruggiero
Stay quilting, my friends!
writer
Rhianna Griffin
design and
production
Hunter-McMain, Inc.
Stevii Graves,
President
The International Quilt Association
IQA’s Facebook Page!
www.facebook.com/internationalquiltassociation
Attention Teachers!
Sign up now to be included in the 2014 IQA Teacher Directory in the fall 2013 issue of Quilts. . . A World of Beauty!
You must be an IQA member to be listed. There is a $10 charge for this listing.
Name ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Address ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Phone ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Website or E-Mail __________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Check the box that most accurately describes you or what you teach (LIMIT 4):
❏ MACHINE QUILTING
❏ HAND QUILTING
❏ FABRIC PAINTING OR DYEING
❏ HAND APPLIQUÉ
❏ EMBELLISHMENTS
❏ AUTHOR
❏ QUILT DESIGNER
❏ MINIATURES
❏ BARGELLO
❏ CRAZY QUILTS
❏ OTHER (PLEASE SPECIFY): __________________________________________________________
IQA membership renewal: $25.
$______
Teacher Directory Listing
$10.00
TOTAL
$______
Payment Method:
❏ Check in U.S. dollars drawn on U.S. Bank
❏ Visa
❏ MasterCard
❏ American Express
❏ Discover
Card Number ______________________________________________________________________ Expiration Date __________________________
Name on Card (please block print) __________________________________________________________________________________________
Signature ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Must be received by September 15, 2013. Clip this or make a photocopy and mail to: IQA Teacher Directory, 7660 Woodway, Suite 550, Houston, TX 77063 USA
INSTRUcTIONS FOR VIEwINg THE IQA DIgITAL JOURNAL ON A TABLET OR SMARTPHONE:
For iPad/iPhone:
•Both devices can now read direct pdf files.
•Adobe Reader X is available in the app store for iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch.
http://www.adobe.com/products/reader-mobile.html
•The pdf can be sent as an attachment on an e-mail.
•Once the recipient receives the e-mail, he/she can download the attachment, then click it to open in the iBooks app.
•iBooks is a free app for the iPad/iPhone that is available through the App Store for the iPad/iPhone.
•The pdf can be added to the library in the iBooks app, then viewed on either the iPad/iPhone.
For Android/Blackberry:
•There are several apps available for devices that use the Android operating system.
•Adobe Reader X is available in the app store for Android. http://www.adobe.com/products/reader-mobile.html
•Aldiko Book Reader can be used for an Android device, www.aldiko.com
•Kobo for Android, Sony Reader for Android, Amazon Kindle Reader for Android, Barnes and Noble Nook for
Android are also available.
•Mobipocket Reader 5 is available for Blackberry users. www.mobipocket.com
www.goodereader.com contains many of these apps that can be downloaded for devices other than the iPad/iPhone.
3
iqa files:
gilbert muñiz
o f
h o u s t o n ,
t e x a s
IQA Journal: First, please tell us a
bit about your personal and
professional background.
Muñiz: I was born in Houston, Texas,
and I come from a long line of sewists.
My grandmother was a professional
sample maker for various designers in
Houston, and my mother sewed custom
clothes for clients when I was a kid.
I earned an associate’s degree in
fashion design from Houston
Community College where, upon
graduation, I taught patternmaking
and draping for five years.
IQA Journal: At what point in
your life did you begin sewing,
and what prompted that?
Muñiz: It was actually my sister that
was initially interested in fashion
design. I would casually look through
her Vogue magazines whenever she
got them.
Back of one of Muñiz’s jackets
4
But then one day, while on summer
vacation during high school, I watched
Funny Face with Fred Astaire and
Audrey Hepburn, and the rest is
history. The glamour and spectacle of
creating a garment from just an idea
absolutely fascinated me from that
point forward.
IQA Journal: What types of
sewing projects did you create
prior to wearable art and
couture? And how did you
transition into creating
garments and ensembles?
Muñiz: My initial training was in
women’s ready-to-wear. I tended to
focus on evening wear in school,
because I found it way more
interesting than daywear. It was
more fun for me to spend hours
treating the surface of a dress with
beads and sequins than topstitching
a pair of jeans.
I did custom design work during
and after school for years, including
wedding dresses, costumes,
and accessories.
My first official piece of wearable art
was probably for the now defunct Air
France competition in 1999. It was
an international competition that
focused on unconventional materials
and cuts.
My jacket was made of hundreds of
strips of acetate, which were covered
in multiple colors of pressuresensitive vinyl. I found it terribly
freeing to create a garment without
the confines of commercial appeal
and marketability.
Making the look was a weird
amalgamation of using my tailoring
skills, while at the same time, having
to navigate surface treatments
and embellishments.
To this date, I find that struggle the
driving force behind my designs.
After that experience, I really started
to focus on more couture pieces and
one-off looks.
IQA Journal: What, would you
say, most inspires the overall
form and design elements of
your pieces?
Muñiz: I love looking at irregular
lines in various designs, whether
they are in fashion, architecture, or
art. Rarely am I inspired by the
natural world around me. I’ve always
leaned towards the darker aspects of
life for my inspiration.
COMPOSITION
(First Place winner in the
Wearable Art category of the
2012 IQA Judged Show)
5
gilbert Muñiz
Imagine looking at something when
the lights are on. You don’t have to
think about it, because you can see
all the details. With the lights out,
you have to feel the object to get a
sense of what it is. A simple pattern
of sequins seen during the day could
be the scales of an exotic reptile
when touched and your imagination
is allowed to run wild in the dark.
I love the idea that nothing I make
looks like anything else I’ve ever
made. I like not having a signature
style. I suppose the one thing you
can be assured of with my work is
its unpredictability.
IQA Journal: Do you have a
favorite piece or ensemble
among your creations?
Muñiz: No, not at all. My favorite
piece is the one I haven’t designed
yet. It’s still waiting to be created in
the back of my mind.
RUMORS
6
I think there are elements to each
thing I have created in the past that
I like—a collar here, an embellishment there—but ultimately, it’s more
exciting to focus on the new than to
dwell on the past.
IQA Journal: And which would
you say is the most interesting
or eccentric?
Muñiz: I think the one look that I’ve
done that got people questioning my
sanity was my first entry in the
Bernina Fashion Show in 2007.
My garment was called Revelations,
and was inspired by the idea that
the horseman of the apocalypse,
War, had a daughter that would follow
him through the bloody battlefields.
Needless to say, I got some interesting
feedback from that look!
The following year, at the 2008
Bernina Fashion Show, I had one of
the organizers stop me and ask,
“What was going through your life to
make you design that garment with
that kind of story behind it?” I just
kind of smiled and said, “Nothing
really. That’s just how I think!”
IQA FILES
IQA Journal: What keeps you
interested in fashion? And how do
you incorporate or translate the
ideas you see in high fashion or on
the runway into your own works?
Muñiz: I think the constant changes
that occur in the fashion industry are
what keep me interested in it. It’s the
perfect industry to be in if you like
deadlines and constant renovations,
both of which, I seem to thrive on.
I think it is vitally important for
any designer to look at what is
happening on the runways of the
fashion capitals; I consider it
research. I love pouring over
hundreds of images every season to
look for one or two design elements
that I can diffuse and mutate into
my own work. Having said that, I
feel it is just as important to study
fashion history. What we see on the
runways today was built on the
hems of the past.
R E V E L AT I O N S
7
Gilbert Muñiz
IQA Journal: You have a sewing
blog (MunizCouture), but you
also have a hilarious blog titled
“Sad Patterns.” Can you please
tell our readers a bit about that
and just where you find the
patterns to feature (some
completely insane!)?
Muñiz: I collect vintage patterns.
I have more than one human being
should own. A friend of mine, who
shares my obsession, was browsing
vintage patterns online one day
and sent me a link to a beautiful
dress pattern.
I don’t remember the site, but I just
started browsing the main pattern
page and ran across a pattern I
couldn’t believe existed. I started
laughing and just for kicks, wrote
down a caption I thought was funny.
I was in between posts on my
MunizCouture blog, so I thought it
would be silly to post a terrible
pattern in the meantime. I found a
few more stinkers and wrote up a big
post, then posted the link to my
personal Facebook page.
8
RETINAL BURN
IQA FILES
I got about 10 emails from my
friends telling me that they were
dying laughing and wanted more.
I think I started Sad Patterns a
couple of days later, and the
nonsense hasn’t stopped. Just when
I think I’ve found the worst pattern
imaginable, here come five more that
completely trump it!
I own some of the patterns that are
featured and I have friends that
send me links or pictures of others;
however, I get most of them through
random image searches online.
Through divine intervention or luck,
I have run across several sewing gems
at various garage and rummage sales.
I don’t go looking for them; they just
seem to find me somehow!
IQA Journal: Finally, for the
general quilter who has never
thought of venturing into
wearables—what would you
say to encourage them to try
their hand at even a small
wearable project?
Muñiz: Challenge yourself. Don’t
be afraid to learn new techniques.
And above all else, don’t make
something that looks like anything
you’ve seen before.
Also, remember this: wearable art
designers have to do just as much
work as the average quilter, but they
have the added challenges of cutting
it apart, molding it to a body, and
hiding seams!
I really think the best part of doing
the blog is when people tell me that
they owned the featured patterns,
made them, and wore them at one
point in their lives! Let’s face it—
we’ve all been there.
( TOP ) R O J A K U
( BOTTOM ) R E Q U I E M V E R D E
(First Place winner in the Wearable
Art category of the 2010 IQA
Judged Show)
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the making of
touching stars
Helen Young Frost is no stranger to
making raffle quilts for the International Quilt Association. In fact, when
she first started making them in the
early ‘80s – sometimes with her
mother, Blanche Young – it was still
the South/Southwest Quilt Association!
Frost – along with a number of friends
she called in to help when her thumb
went awry (more on that later) – came
out of Raffle Quilt Retirement to
create the 2013 effort, Touching Stars.
She spoke with The IQA Journal
about the process of designing and
making the quilt, and about that
issue with her thumb.
What made you decide to
volunteer to make the quilt?
My mother and I did the quilt in
1980, and then she did it the next
year, and then we both did it the next
year after that. She also did another
one in 1988, and I’ve done raffle quilts
for other organizations. I just believe
in doing raffle quilts to help out!
What was your design inspiration?
It was based on an 1845 Touching
Stars quilt. It was in the book The
10
Quilt Engagement Calendar Treasury
by Cyril Nelson and Carter Houck. I
told the Board I wanted to hand quilt
it, and they jumped on it. I feel like I
was taking [our organization] back to
its roots.
What about the fabrics? Did you
have to search for them?
No. I looked at the original photos and
pulled out any fabric I had that
seemed to look the closest and used it
even if I didn’t like it. And they were
all 1900’s reproduction fabrics. I
wanted it to look antique.
The background fabric is a Moda
fabric that’s mottled. And what I
found out since photos of it have
come out is that people think it is an
antique quilt! I even followed what
[the original artist] did for quilting.
I understand you had to call in
some reinforcements when the
project got to be a bit much?
Oh yes, I spent about 500 hours on
the quilting, and making it was
another 100 hours. Last August, I
slammed my thumb in a car door and
crushed it. And I use my left thumb to
quilt! So I couldn’t do anything for
Helen Young Frost working on Touching
Stars. Not sure what the status of her
thumb was in this picture!
about two months, and I got behind.
Then my fingernail fell off, and it
grew back, and then it fell off again!
It was awful!
So I had to learn to quilt with
different fingers. I did all of the
background areas and some of the
stars, but my friends helped me with
most of the stars. We realized that the
hand quilting was not showing up in
the borders at all, and so I had a
friend machine quilt those.
the 2013 raffle quilt
Raffle Tickets are $1 each, and the winner will be drawn at the end of Houston Festival
on November 3, 2013 (winner need not be present). Prices are 1 for $1, 6 for $5, and 25 for $20.
E-mail Crystal Battarbee at iqa@quilts.com for details on ordering.
[Editor’s Note: Those friends were
Carole Collins, Marianna Dodson,
Deborah Gordon, Ann Mavko, Wanda
Pinter, Catherine Skow, and Connie
Stephens. Young also machine pieced
it, and the machine quilting on the
border was done by Kris Neifield.]
So when you finally saw the
completed quilt, what did
you think?
I was just so glad it was square,
because there wasn’t time to block it!
And that the amount of quilting –
even though the background areas
are quilted more than the stars –
balanced. My friend even did more
machine quilting in the border.
I wanted it to lay flat, that was a
big concern.
Carole Collins helped the most with
the hand quilting, and she said the
same thing.
One thing I’m proud of is that all of
the background was needlemarked,
which means you just scratch a
needle along the fabric. And all of
those marks held up to the end. I
never had to remark it. I didn’t use
any blue markers or anything like
that. And it was on the batting,
which made it a better crease.
Finally, do you have an ideal
home that this quilt will go to?
I just hope that, whoever wins it,
they use it and not misuse it. I don’t
want it to end up in the back of some
cowboy’s truck or something like that!
Any last words?
With this quilt, I just wanted to
make Jewel [Patterson, the late IQA
co-founder] proud! I hope I did.
Any amusing or weird thing
happen while you were making
the quilt?
I knew how long it would take me to
do a certain part, and I’d calculate
that it would take me two weeks to do
it. And then two weeks later, I would
look at it again and calculate that it
would take two more weeks! (laughs).
The space time continuum was
just…I couldn’t calculate it! My friend
11
The 2012 IQA JUDGED SHOW
First Place, Embellished
Baby Lock
Photo by Mike McCormick
Category sponsored by
JAZZ (71.75"
X
83.5")
by M EGUMI M IZUNO of Shiki, Saitama, Japan. Original design.
12
The 2012 IQA JUDGED SHOW
First Place, Mixed Technique
Robert Kaufman co., Inc.
Photo by Mike McCormick
Category sponsored by
GREEN MESSAGE (84.5"
X
85.75")
by N AOKO TAKESHITA of Shizouka, Japan. Original design.
13
The 2013 Quilts: A world Of Beauty Judged Show Sponsors
$95,250 in non-purchase cash awards
Note: Click on a company’s logo to visit their website
The Handi Quilter® Best of Show Award
$10,000*
Q U I LT
The Founders Award
International Quilt Festival
The World of Beauty Award
eQuilter.com
$7,500*
$7,500*
The Robert S. Cohan Master
Award for Traditional Artistry
The Fairfield Master Award for
Contemporary Artistry
$5,000*
$5,000*
!
EW or
N ns
o
Sp
The Pfaff Master Award
for Machine Artistry
The Baby Lock Master
Award for Innovative Artistry
$5,000*
$5,000*
The Superior Threads
Master Award
for Thread Artistry
$5,000*
14
*These prizes also include airfare to and hotel accommodations for Quilt Festival.
The Future of Quilting Award
Omnigrid
$1,000
Each Category Award Totals $2,000
($1,000 for first place, $700 for second, and $300 for third)
Art-Abstract, Large
Art-Abstract, Small
Art-Miniature
Art-Naturescapes
Art-Painted Surface
Art-People, Portraits, and Figures
Art-Pictorial
Art-Whimsical
!
EW or
N ns
o
Sp
Digital Imagery
Embellished Quilts
Group Quilts
Handmade Quilts
Innovative Appliqué
Innovative Pieced
Merit Quilting – Hand
Merit Quilting – Machine
Miniature
Mixed Technique
Traditional Appliqué
Traditional Pieced
!
EW or
N ns
o
p
S
Wearable Art
Judge’s Choice $250 each
Viewers’ Choice $500
Honorable Mentions $50 ea.
15
winners
gallery
Photo by Mike McCormick
Traditional Appliqué
first Place
FLOWERS
IN
MY HEART (89" x 89")
by N ORIKO K IDO of Nagano, Japan.
16
cATEgORY SPONSORED BY QUILTERS NEWSLETTER
Artist’s Statement: None provided. Original design based on Dresden Plate pattern.
a
s both a quiltmaker and aficionado, Kido has always loved
antique and traditional quilts.
“I always think that I want to make
the quilts which continue being loved
by people for a long time,” she says.
So for this project, she wanted to
design a new appliqué pattern, but
with a traditional form.
“It takes a long time for me to finish
one quilt, and this one took nearly
three years,” she says. “The quilts
that I make are my life history, and
this is the newest page of it.”
However, it did have one snag. “I
drew the quilting lines, but they
disappeared while I was quilting.
So I had to draw again. The lines of
the flowers were used in the pattern
unwillingly, but I think that it turned
out good.”
Kido has been making handcrafts
since she was a child, but took up
quilting about 20 year ago, learning
basic techniques from the Japan
Handicraft Instructor’s Association.
17
Photo by Mike McCormick
Traditional Appliqué
second Place
MY JOURNEY
TO
B A LT I M O R E (70" x 70")
by L OIS P ODOLNY of Tucson, Arizona, USA.
18
CATEGORY SPONSORED BY QUILTERS NEWSLETTER
Artist’s Statement: “This is my first Baltimore Album quilt. The setting and border are
original. It took me three years to complete it. Some of the quilting is based on Sharon Schamber
designs, and some is original. I have absolutely loved my journey.” Original design, blocks from
a Mary Sorensen pattern.
“I
demand the best effort that I can
give with every quilt that I make,”
Podolny says. “As long as I give
the best that I’ve got, I know each
successive quilt will have much to
teach, and I will be thrilled to learn.”
And that stood her in good stead
with this quilt, which took three
years to make. Podolny’s “Journey
to Baltimore” began when Mary
Sorrenson came to Tucson to teach.
“I loved the Baltimore Album blocks
in one of her patterns. I decided to
make the blocks but put them into
an original setting with an original
border,” she says.
However, near completion of the quilt,
near-disaster struck. When she was
finished, she soaked it in Synthropol to remove the pencil markings,
being really nervous about the
markings coming out.
“Someone suggested that I soak it
a second time to be doubly sure in
another product. The thought was if
one is good then two should be better,”
she recalls. “I did and I took one look
at the quilt in the second soak and
dye was running everywhere.”
After telling her husband that she
was going to have to throw the quilt
out—and then realizing it was a
three-year job—she figured she had
nothing to lose.
“I washed it on delicate in the washing
machine. Happily, the excess dye was
washed away. The only remaining
telltale sign of what had happened is
that the white and cream background
took on an antique, tea dyed look,” she
says. “It improved the quilt, but it was
a journey I hope not to travel again!”
19
Photo by Mike McCormick
Traditional Appliqué
tHird Place
C R E AT I O N S P R I N G S F O R T H (80" x 80.5")
by B ETTY E KERN S UITER of Racine, Wisconsin, USA.
20
CATEGORY SPONSORED BY QUILTERS NEWSLETTER
Artist’s Statement: “This quilt took 3,630 hours over four years to complete. The quilt is
entirely made by hand using needleturn appliqué from my hand-dyed fabric. Hand trapunto and
hand quilted using 3,000 yards of thread.” Original design, inspired by a 16th century rug.
Q
uilting, Suiter says, was
nothing she set out to do. It
just kind of “snuck up” on
her. In 1975 as a faculty member at a
technical college, she was asked to
teach quilting.
“All I could say was, I don’t know
how. I had no interest in quilting and
I had never watched anyone quilt!”
she says. “A few years later, my
grandmother died. And when Mom
was going through her attic, she
found a small quilt top, and gave it
to me, and said ‘If I give it to you, I
know you will make something
beautiful out of it.’”
But all she could see, she admits, was
“ugly.” None of the prints in the pieced
stars complemented each other, and it
was rain stained. Not wanting to
disappoint her mother, she took it all
apart and put setting strips in
between the blocks to make it big
enough for her bed.
“My first quilt was 110" x 130" and I
didn’t know the quilting stitch was a
small running stitch!” she laughs.
“I quilted the whole quilt with the
punch and poke method. After this
first quilt, I was hooked on quilting!”
When designing Creation Springs
Forth, Suiter was inspired by a 16thcentury rug. Her previous work
as a draftsman surely added to
this appreciation.
“I also design my quilts with pencil
and paper. I am a perfectionist and
don't want any surprises along the
way, “ she says. “Before I start a quilt
I know exactly what it will look like
when I am finished.”
For years she alternated between
piecing and appliqué, though now all
of her quilts are traditional appliqué.
And everything she does is by hand.
Her motto? “If you’re not sure if there
is enough quilting…add more!”
21
Photo by Mike McCormick
Traditional Appliqué
Honorable Mention
ANDREW (92" x 92")
by K ATHI C ARTER of Orem, Utah, USA.
22
CATEGORY SPONSORED BY QUILTERS NEWSLETTER
Artist’s Statement: “I was browsing through books not really looking for anything in
particular, and came across Michele Hill’s More William Morris and loved it. I combined two
of her projects – a quilt and the bell pull which is enlarged and multiplied for the border.”
Design by Michele Hill; feathers by Kim Bradley; gold thread border design by Kim Diamond.
C
arter was very excited to
have not only this quilt, but
another one place as finalists
in last year’s IQA judged show. Even
if her children didn’t quite “get”
mom’s accomplishment.
“I have six boys and one girl and the
boys just think I sew a lot! I have a
longarm business, so I am always at
one machine or another,” she recalls.
“When I was notified that both had
placed. I was soo excited that I started
calling each of the children.”
When I got to Christopher, he said
‘That's cool Mom,’ but didn’t
understand the significance of it. I
continued to give him details and
statistics about the show, and finally
he said ‘OK this is the Super Bowl for
quilting! He is a regional manager for
Buffalo Wild Wings, so that put it in
terms he understood!”
Carter first got interested in quilting
when she was expecting her first
child, who is now 38. Her first
attempt was to tie two pieces of fabric
together and bring the backing
around for binding.
Andrew is raw-edge appliqué with
wool thread, but most of the appliqué
that she does is turned edge but sewn
on by machine. She was inspired on
this quilt by Michele Hill’s book, More
William Morris.
“I emailed her for design permission,
and she asked me to enter it in
Houston, as she was going to be visiting
from Australia. I was a bit intimidated
to enter Houston, but thought why not
try. So I entered Andrew, and Emily,
which placed second in the Mixed
Technique category.”
The quilts, Carter notes, are named
for her grandchildren. And people
always ask her if that child will get
their quilt. She says the answer is
‘yes’…but with a caveat.
“If I feel that they will appreciate it,
yes. But if not, they can get it when I
die. That way, if they use it for a dog
bed, I won’t know about it!”
23
Miniature Quilts
Photo by Mike McCormick
winners
gallery
first Place
MINI MAGIC (19.75" x 19.75")
by M ARIYA WATERS of Melbourne, Australia.
24
cATEgORY SPONSORED BY PELLON
Artist’s Statement: “This is a miniature version of my large quilt, Magical Mauve.
It has been hand appliquéd and machine quilted using 100wt silk thread.” Original design,
inspired by the designs of the Audsley Brothers of the late 19 th century.
t
his quilt developed from Waters’
research into designs from the
Greco-Roman period and books of
the Victorian era. “The designs of the
Audsley Brothers are found in many
banks and public buildings around the
world,” she notes. “And in 1892, they
published a book on the topic from
which I reference many of the design.”
And while she loves working in
miniatures, this quilt took as long as
some of her larger pieces. Then there
was the purple challenge. “I began
with a box of 11 purple/fuchsia fabrics,
and by the end I had around 60!” she
laughs. “Purple is notoriously hard to
work with as it changes under lighting
conditions. To get a run of seven that
stayed in tonal order under all
conditions was a distinct challenge.”
Waters saw her first quilt in 1987 in
New Zealand while studying for a
City and Guilds of London embroidery
course. It was an art quilt, so her
early efforts were innovative style
pieced quilts.
“I began and completed my first quilt
in 16 weeks,” she recalls. “One of my
exhibition quilts now take three to
four years to make! And I gradually
moved to making more traditional
quilts, which I enjoy.”
And enjoy she still does, even with the
formation of an eye problem that
affects her vision. Though with “good
lighting…and patience” she is ready
to create her next big effort.
25
Photo by Mike McCormick
Miniature Quilts
second Place
TINY TIGERS 2 (15" x 17")
by PAT H OLLY of Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
26
CATEGORY SPONSORED BY PELLON
Artist’s Statement: “This miniature quilt is for my tiger-loving daughter, Alyssa. The
design idea came from my love of appliqué embroideries and textiles from India. Machine
appliquéd and machine quilted, there is some hand-stitched embellishment. Purchased trims are
added to the silk fabric.” Original design.
A
s someone who loves making
miniature quilts—or “little
treasures” as she calls them—
Holly is very grateful that IQA still
has this category when it’s been
eliminated from other competitions.
And this quilt, in particular, is special
to her.
“This one brings together many
elements that I have been working on
for years,” she says. “I love using silk
fabric, love the tiny machine appliqué,
the lower tab edge is a miniature
version of the tabs on one of my larger
quilts, and it has the new technique of
hand-stitched embellishment.”
It is also one of two miniatures that
she made using similar designs.
Holly had made two miniatures
(Pink Elephants) with her older
daughter, Emmy, in mind.
“She had always collected elephant
figurines, so I wanted to make her
a little quilt with elephant designs.
I wanted to have one quilt to enter
in competitions and one for her,”
she says.
“Of course, then I had to make one for
daughter number two, Alyssa, who is
a fan of tigers. The images were
inspired by textiles and other objects
from India.”
Holly comes from a quiltmaking family,
as her mother and grandmother
quilted and her sister – Sue Nickels –
often works on projects with her.
In fact, it was Nickels who started
taking quilt classes in 1982 and
invited Pat to join. It was also there
that she fell in love with the sewing
machine, which she uses today for
all aspects of her quilt construction
and appliqué.
“I discovered I could appliqué
anything I could draw using the
stitched raw-edge fusible technique.
Sue and I wrote a book about it –
Stitched Raw Edge Appliqué,” she
says. “Another technique I love is to
add decorative stitched embellishment
to the background fabric before I
appliqué. This allows me to create my
own fabric.”
27
Photo by Mike McCormick
Miniature Quilts
tHird Place
FOR
THE
LOVE
OF
GARDEN GREEN (19.25" x 19.25")
by L OIS P ODOLNY of Tucson, Arizona, USA.
28
CATEGORY SPONSORED BY PELLON
Artist’s Statement: “The design for this was begun in a class with Sharon Schamber.
It was meant to be a full-size appliqué quilt. However, with some alterations, I thought it would
make a complicated miniature. I am very pleased with the outcome and thoroughly enjoyed the
process.” Original design, work done in a Sharon Schamber class.
O
ne of the most exciting (or,
to some, frustrating) things
about creating a quilt is that
the end result doesn’t quite match
up with what the artist set out to do.
For Love of the Garden Green is an
example of this.
“It began in a class with Sharon
Schamber. It was meant to be a large
appliqué quilt design, but I really
liked how the design turned out and
decided to make it in a wholecloth
miniature format,” Podolny says. “I
always like to make things that are
complicated!”
Still, she says this effort was “a joy”
to quilt.
“I try with every quilt that I make to
learn something new, to challenge
myself and grow as a quilter,” she
says. “I have not always done my own
machine quilting, but with this quilt I
believe I no longer have to look back
to those days, and can be thrilled to
be looking forward.”
And Podolny is an equal opportunity
quilt lover, finding beauty and
interest in “both traditional quilts
and art quilts,” and making hers in
both styles. She also loves appliqué
and free-motion quilting.
Her quilting journey began 30 years
ago in a mall. “There were people
selling things that they had made.
There was a woman there who was
a quilter. I told her that I had
always wanted to make a quilt,”
Podolny remembers.
“She told me that she had a small
shop in her garage and if I wanted to
learn she would be happy to teach me.
I took her card and the rest is history.
Once I started I knew this was what
I was meant to do. I’ve always said
‘you can have too many needlepoint
pillows, but never too many quilts!’”
As for each quilting challenge, she
likes to…well…challenge herself.
“I demand the best effort that I can
give with every quilt that I make,” she
sums up. “As long as I give the best
that I’ve got, I know each successive
quilt will have much to teach and I
will be thrilled to learn.”
29
Photo by Mike McCormick
Miniature Quilts
HONORABLE MENTION
CUSTARD SQUARE (42" x 42")
by C AMILA WATSON of Wellington, New Zealand.
30
CATEGORY SPONSORED BY PELLON
Artist’s Statement: “An original design, the basket, flowers, and setting were inspired
by a variety of traditional, bed-sized wholecloth quilts.” Original design.
F
or this quilt, Watson wanted a
design that relied on micro
machine stitching and would
be suitable for shadow trapunto.
And she found inspiration from
various embroidery patterns and
full-size wholecloth quilts.
“When the quilt was finished, it
reminded me of my favorite slice [of
cake], a ‘vanilla’ or ‘Custard’ square
covered in thick white icing,” she offers.
“And although I’ve used micro machine
quilting in several quilts, this is my
first ‘wholecloth’ miniature. It’s proven
a great medium for experimentation in
design and quilting.”
Prior to quilting, Watson did abstract
painting in oils and a friend made the
comment that one of her works
“looked like a quilt pattern”—which
she didn’t understand at all. She
made her first effort in her new
medium in 1999.
“Then, of course, I had some squares
left over and began to make another
one,” she recalls. “I ran out of fabric,
had to buy more, and that was it!”
Watson adds that most of her work is
split between situational portrait art
which she is exploring in a series, and
working to extend her machine quilting
ability with wholecloth miniatures.
As for Custard Square, she says that
some people think it is colored with
pencils or ink, but it is actually
shadow trapunto.
“This uses a process of stitching poly
batting onto the design with washaway thread. The batting is then cut
away from behind the intricate design,”
she says. “It is an extremely delicate
and a rather nerve-racking process!”
31
join us for
quiltapalooza!
a
b e n e f i t
f o r
i q a
I
f you’re attending International
Quilt Festival in Houston this fall,
we hope you’ll join us for this
year’s Quiltapalooza event, Thursday,
November 1, from 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Enjoy a fun-filled evening, all while
helping raise funds for the non-profit
IQA. Tickets are $33, and include
dinner and a beverage…plus your
chance to win one of many fabulous
door prizes!
And since this year’s event falls on
Halloween, we’re celebrating a
Ghoul’s Night Out, with a
spectacular costume extravaganza!
We expect to see wads of witches,
gaggles of goblins, and a zoo-full
of zombies.
Be at your most creative when
putting together your costume as
there will be a contest with prizes for
the choicest. Will you be chosen most
Ghastly and Gruesome? Perhaps
Classically Comedic? Or will your
costume be Beautifully Bizarre?
The judges will award these and
more as you parade your party attire.
(Costumes are strongly encouraged
but not required.)
32
Snatch your dinner box, find a seat,
and participate in a frisky game of
Fishing for Fabric (you can never
have too much fabric, right?).
Then get ready to laugh out loud
while participating in the Nasty
Needle Threading Competition
(we’re not talking size 12’s here).
As always there will be scads of
surprises, dozens of door prizes and
plenty of quilters and friends to frolic
with. Some amazing raffle items
round out the evening’s excitement.
Be there and support the International Quilt Association with this
annual fundraiser.
We will be posting more information
as it becomes available, so visit
www.quilts.org. A boxed meal and
beverage included. Cash bar
also available.
Sign up for Quiltapalooza using the
Quilt Festival online enrollment
process at http://ow.ly/nQAUt, or
on-site at the Quilt Festival
Enrollment Desk.
The 2012 IQA JUDGED SHOW
First Place, Handmade
the colonial Needle co.
Photo by Mike McCormick
Category sponsored by
THE AGE
OF
DISCOVERY (85"
X
85")
by S ETSUKO M ATSUSHIMA of Otsu, Shiga, Japan. Original design.
The 2012 IQA JUDGED SHOW
First Place, Art-Painted Surface
Ricky Tims, Inc.
Photo by Mike McCormick
Category sponsored by
FOUR SEASONS (90"
X
41")
by L ESLIE R EGO of Sun Valley, Idaho, USA. Original design.