The Roots of Modern Quilting Exhibit

A few weeks ago I was contacted by the curator of the New England Quilt Museum, Pam Weeks. They were finalizing an upcoming exhibit on The Roots of Modern Quilting and thought my Mod Hex 2 quilt would be the perfect addition to the exhibit.

Feeling completely humbled and honored, I of course agreed to let them use my quilt in the exhibit.

The opening reception was this past Saturday. The museum was lucky to have both Victoria Findlay Wolfe and Jacquie Gering attend the opening reception.

Here's my quilt hanging right next to Angela Walters' quilt.

Here's Victoria with her third double wedding ring quilt in a series of 12.

Jacquie Gering's quilt is on the left and Thomas Knauer's is on the right.  (I totally forgot to grab a photo of Jacquie.)

And this is a Denyse Schmidt quilt. The lighting of this quilt really made it shine.

I think the most humbling thing about being in this exhibit is the fact that my little ol' quilt is on display among some of the most wonderful names in quilting today - Denyse Schmidt, Jacquie Gering, Victoria Findlay Wolfe, Thomas Knauer, Heather Jones, Molly Upton, Angela Walters, Radka Donnell and Lucy Mingo. And then there's little ol' me.

Thank you Pam Weeks for including me in this wonderful exhibit. I am truly honored. 

Lowell Quilt Festival - BMQG Exhibit

Well, the Lowell Quilt Festival is officially over, and that means our first ever special exhibit is in the books! Aimee, Alexis and the rest of the planning committee deserve huge props for putting together such an amazing show. I love the way the quilts look hung without the drape.  There's so much more light and space to see the quilts.  It really lends to the modern feel too. 

Our exhibit was held in an old restored Mill.  For those of you not from the Massachusetts area, Lowell has a very strong history in textiles and is called the cradle of the American Industrial Revolution.  I was born in Lowell and I have strong family roots there, despite moving to NH 20 years ago.  Seeing these old mills restored and renovated means a lot to not only myself and my family, but so many people from the area.  It's so much a part of my past and those from the area.  I had grandparents work in many of the mills.  Suffice it to say, seeing my quilts hung in a restored mill was touching and something that I'll remember for a very long time.

I showed you all of the mini quilts on Saturday.  I can't say enough how impressed I was with the talent displayed in this challenge. 

Onto some of the awesome quilts.  First up is Amy's New York Beauty quilt.  I love Amy's version - it's probably one of my all time favorite NYB quilts.  Maybe I'll finally finish my NYB quilt and can show it in our next show sometime. 

Alexis had some great quilts in the show including this one.  I love the colors she used in this quilt.

Karen (AKA KK) made this quilt.  She finished the binding and hanging sleeve the day before she left on a business trip that brought her back the day after the festival started, so she cut it close on this one!  She used Ricky Tims' technique on making a Kaleidoscope quilt.

Lia made this awesome quilt.  She finished it during our July sew-in at Fabric Place Basement and then gave birth to her daughter the very next day.  I'm sensing a theme of finishing things at the very last second here.  Hmm.

Speaking of finishing things at the very last second, I finished my Dreaming in Color quilt on Tuesday, August 7th.  On Wednesday, August 8th, I drove up to Lowell and hung this quilt just in time for the show to open on Thursday morning.

Aimee made this awesome double hourglass quilt.  I love the fabrics and choice of colors she used.  You should see the awesome piping that she made for this quilt too!  Ask her about it sometime ::wink wink::

Alice had several quilts in the show.  I LOVE the quilting on this one.  It caused a lot of headache for Alice, but I think it was totally worth it!

This is Rebecca's quilt, and probably one of the ones I most wanted to take home with me.  Watch out Rebecca - I might steal this quilt from you someday. 

On the left here you have two great art quilts and one of the quilts from the Habitat challenge we did a little while back.  On the right are two of the Around the World bee quilts all finished.  I contributed a round to each of these quilts.  Didn't the come out great?

We also had a great display of mini quilts at the show.  Mine is the house on the bottom left.  Seriously, such awesome talent!

These two quilts were bee quilts on display.  Both of them included blocks from both our bee and other bees to complete these.  I have to say, these are probably two of my favorite bee quilts I've seen. 

Mel's quilt is on the Left and includes pictures of her kids. She made this quilt for her husband for father's day.  Laurie's quilt is on the right.  I love the citrus colors of this quilt.  I might have to make a quilt in these colors some day.

Jane made this awesome Echo tumbler quilt.  Seeing Jane's version makes me want to make another one.

Linda made this great quilt.  The quilting on this one was awesome and definitely my favorite part!

Here's Aimee's quilt again on the left.  On the right is Andrea's quilt.  This is one of thirteen dowry quilts that she made for her wedding. How cool is that?

We had two great Dresden quilts in the show.  On the left is Laurie's quilt.  This was one of my Dad's favorite quilts.  He said it had a 3D effect.  On the right is Rebecca's quilt.  Both of them were just awesome.  I have all of the stuff to make a Dresden quilt, I just need to get my act together and make one.  Both of these were great inspiration.

On the left is another one of Andrea's dowry quilts on Emily's awesome quilt is on the right.  I love her use of color and placement in this quilt.  It looks so different when you stand close to it versus when you stand far back.  I just love it!

This is Jane's sampler quilt.  I've never made a sampler quilt, but after seeing this one, I might just have to try one some day.  I love the black and white with splashes of color.

This is Stephanie's paintbox quilt.  I just love all of the color!  I'm a big fan of color if you can't tell.

This is Alice's Ghastlies quilt.  I heard so many people comment on this quilt and studying the fabric.  She quilted an awesome spiderweb pattern on it, which really got people talking.

Aimee and Alice made coordinating zig zag quilts!  Hmm, more inspiration?

In the background you can see Alexis' Gees Bend inspired quilt.  On the right is Linda's t-shirt quilt.  Don't you just love how she used the dot fabric to go from big to little?

And here's another one of my quilts, my Moonlit Sky quilt, with me and my family.  With so much of my family being from Lowell, quite a few of them dropped by.  I'm very lucky to have such an amazing, supportive family.  Thank you to everyone who attended!  I really appreciate your love and support!

There are several other quilts that were in the show, but the pictures I have of those quilts didn't turn out so great.  All in all it was a fantastic show and one that every single person in the guild should be proud of!

Today's the Day!

Today is the day the Lowell Quilt Festival kicks off and you can check out the special exhibit of the Boston Modern Quilt Guild at the Appleton Mills. Our exhibit is free to the public, but there is a small fee to attend other aspects of the fesitval.

I will have four quilts on display, two wall quilts and two mini quilts.

First is my "Colorful Abode" mini quilt.  This one is in great company with several fantastic mini quilts.  It always amazes me to see what people can do with small pieces of fabric.

Next is my "Moonlit Sky" quilt that was shown at the Lowell Quilt Festival last year in the main show exhibit and placed first in the Wall Quilt Pieced category.

Third is my "Dazzling Diamonds" quilt that is part of the Mini Quilt Challenge for the show.  I saw all of the quilts last night as I was adding my final quilt, and I have to say, all of the challenge quilts are absolutely amazing.  It's going to be a tough competition!  Seriously, I love all of the quilts shown.

Finally, I have my "Dreaming in Color" quilt that I literally put the final stitch in the binding and hanging sleeve the night before I needed to have this hanging, so I don't have a good picture yet of the completed quilt.  Well, completed for now.  All of the dark grey is quilted, which could really be enough, but I might go back and add some quilting to the octagons after the fact. 

So, if you're in the area, come on by this weekend.  You won't be disappointed. I guarantee it.

Lowell Quilt Festival - BMQG Exhibit

Next month, at the Lowell Quilt Festival, the Boston Modern Quilt Guild will host a special exhibit at the Appleton Mills.  If you're in the area, come on by!  There will be some great quilts on display.