Quilt Festival, Part III

"The Cubist's Edge" by Frances Holliday Alford.


"Rondo of Roses" by Akiko Muraki.


"Pointless Possibilities" by Jamie Fingal is part of the "Edges" special exhibition.


Here's Jaimie (left) with Leslie Jenison in their arty aprons. Jamie and Leslie are co-curators of the Dinner at Eight Artists group.


"The Pittsburgh Friendship Quilt" has 32,000 pieces, each 2-1/4 inches, and measures 80 feet long.


A detail shot of "Oriental Expression" by Karen Kay Buckley. This quilt is the focus of the book Japanese Garden Quilt by C&T Publishing. It is being produced in the same format as my book (a booklet and full-size pattern sheets in a laminated cover envelope). It is being released in November 2009; you can pre-order it on Karen's website, or from C&T.


"Moon Garden" by Judy Coates Perez won an Honorable Mention in the Art-Painted Surfaces category.


Michele Muska demonstrates techniques in the Open Studios/Make it University area. That's the ATC swap area on the right side of the photo, and the Make It University floor behind her.


Fiber artist and textile designer Melanie Testa at work in Open Studios. Melanie's book Inspired to Quilt: Creative Experiments in Art Quilt Imagery teaches how to "transform a concept into a finished art quilt using new and innovative ideas while capturing your unique design style." It is published by Interweave.


I traded ATCs (Artist's Trading Cards" with Lyric Kinard. Lyric's book Design Principles and Creativity Exercises "delves deeply into the building blocks that make up visual language," offering exercises to help art quilters learn design principles. It is published by Interweave.


Here's art quilter and teacher Laura Wasilowski reading Lyric's book. Laura sells her quilts, patterns, and hand-dyed fabrics and threads through Quiltfabrik (she has a booth at Festival, and sells on her website).


Another interesting aspect to Quilt Festival is the many worthy causes that raise money at Festival. Here, people gather around the small quilts up for sale to benefit the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative.

Debbie Chenail and Ami Simms have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for this national charity seeking to raise awareness and fund research. The AAQI auctions and sells donated quilts, and sponsors a nationally touring exhibit of quilts about Alzheimer's.


Here's the beautiful little quilt I purchased today to benefit the group. It is "Labyrinth" by Susan Bennett. Four famous quilters (Hollis Chatelain, John Flynn, Becky Goldsmith and Sue Nickels) are also having a competition called "World Quilt Federation Smackdown" to raise money for the organization. You can see their donated quilts, and read more about it here.


"Iguana" by Carol Morrisey. Carol designs beautiful art quilt patterns.


Tami Pfeil and Kim Kleine of Handbehg Felts had the cutest creations made with wool felted balls and sheets. I met them at Spring Market, and they had great new stuff this time. Isn't this a beautiful bouquet?


"Circles Collide" by Gloria Hansen won third place in the Digital Imagery category.


People were gathered around "Glass Beach" by Desiree Habicht, commenting on how realistically she portrayed stones in a glass canister. Look how beautifully she captured the reflections of light on the glass and on the surface around the canister.


This is an amazing applique quilt called "A New Look at a Grand Old Lady" by Suzanne Louth. It won Best of Show at the 2009 Vermont Quilt Show.