Sunday, August 05, 2012

Bayberry Guild Quilt Show -part III

 A wonderful red and white quilt, too large to be a part of the challenge -- what a dramatic quilt to hang on one's wall.  What wonderful applique work in the tree and the animals.
 Another larger red and white that I found charming and the applique equally lovely as in the above.  I do very little applique and don't aspire to do more.  But I certainly admire this kind of work -- the quite traditional tree of life motif above and the airier, more whimsical design here show two approaches and results with the same technique.
 Only a few, maybe only three or four quilts in the show fit the definition of "modern quilts" which is becoming very mainstream today and is being featured in the old established quilters magazines.  Very often it is marked by a background that is plain white (or the fabric chosen may be white on white) and then bold design that is very, very simply. Usually the colors are clear and bright and the layout simple and strongly graphic.  All of those definitions fit this quilt which was a refreshingly simple graphic statement.  The method of making the striped squares is extremely simple.  Those sixteen different colored squares are bold and delightful. I find this sort of "modern quilting" very inspiring.
 I have long been a devotee of the star designs for paper piecing by Carol Doak.  This quilt uses only four different star designs but each is made with different color combinations.  I am a bit of a graphic addict so I stood and looked at this quilt a long time, looking at the great variety of color combinations and how they change the appearance of the pattern each time.  The white background and very narrow stripping between squares give this something of a "modern" feel although it is much, much fussier and more complex than most so called "modern" quilts.
A simple traditional quilt made of small squares and triangles with white background.  Another quilt I looked at a long time because I am currently sorting and cutting  years of stash scraps into various size squares.  I have plenty in pleasingly bold colors to make a quilt like this and I think I will do so.  I studied the construction for some time and took a detail  photo so I wouldn't forget the method of sewing.  Like many traditional quilts this had no focal point, the overall pattern is the reason it was made.  Bright at it is, the repetition makes it soothing and happy-making at the same time.
The blue ribbons on this quilt indicated that it was Best of Show and also Viewers Choice in the large bed size category.  The very traditional log cabin central portion is precisely done with "logs" of less than an inch and the setting is the most traditional of all I think.  What makes this quilt really special is the embroidered and appliqued border in which the quilter has designed and embroidered the local birds and animals that visit her yard and Cape Cod.  All kinds of birds, a great variety of animals.  It's a fascination to follow the design around the whole quilt and see such skill.

The quilt show was, many said, the highest quality show yet put on by the Bayberry Quilters Guild.  I haven't seen that many of their shows but I have seen many shows and I enjoyed this one very much and truly admire their skill and artistic view and their creativity.

1 comment :

Julia Ionov said...

Wow, those are very lovely quilts. Each design is so unique in its own. Pretty!

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