Just like Rock 'n' Roll

First, let me say, QuiltCon was AWESOME! I was able to attend a day and a half of lectures as well as another day roaming the show and shopping floor. I had only planned to do one day of lectures, but couldn’t help myself, and went back for half of Sunday. I would have stayed longer, but had the little one in tow and she needed a nap! But we did manage to stay long enough for her to receive her very first collection for her fabric stash from Mary Fons herself after her lecture! Baby girl has been fondling it non-stop ever since.

One of my favorite lectures was from Jacquie Gering (checkout the lecture for free on Craftsy). I was particularly excited to hear her lecture because I had just done a Block Party with my quilting bee and had chosen to do a version of one of her designs, Shattered Quilt, from her book Quilting Modern.

I chose this design because I wanted to use up some of the scraps of fabrics I had bought while in Japan during the 2011 earthquake. I bought the fabrics just six days before the earthquake. When I saw Jacquie's design months later, the fabrics seemed destined to be used for it.

Trial layout for Block Party blocks

Jacquie's lecture did not disappoint! She spoke of her life, family, and inspiration for her quilts.  She also gets the award for best take-away from the festival, ‘Quilt what you love, love what you quilt’.

 

As with any new genre, Modern Quilting comes with it’s own controversy. I like to think of it in comparison to the emergence of Rock 'n' Roll. Some folks didn’t like it nor did they ‘get it’, but Rock 'n' Roll came and stayed. And I truly hope and believe Modern Quilting will follow suit. I listen to Rock 'n' Roll.  I also listen to Bach and Chopin. There is plenty of room for all kinds of music as well as all kinds of quilts. So like Jaquie said, just, ‘Quilt what you love, love what you quilt’. 

Here are a couple of the more interesting comments I heard throughout the weekend:

“She looks like she’s in her late 20s with young children so must have no time to quilt, which is why her quilts are so simple.” 

Though I’m not in my late 20s, I can confirm that this is not a reason modern quilts look like this! We like them to look like that. REALLY.

“Those look like the quilts my great-grandmother made.”

A friend of mine was actually the one to make this comment. She does not define herself as a quilter, but has dabbled in quilting. And I loved her comment. She explained that her great-grandmother was making utilitarian quilts, which is a hallmark of the modern quilting movement.

And one final comment:

“Oh look, Denyse Schmidt’s quilts are machine bound!”

Yes! They were. Great quilts do not have to be hand bound. Though I admit I actually do enjoy hand binding, I have recently gotten into machine binding, especially using the decorative stitches on my machine.  I also just purchased a binding foot that I can’t wait to try out.   

What a great week it was! I can't wait for the next QuiltCon in 2015 and am looking forward to all that is in store for the Modern Quilting movement. Now on to quilting my next quilt so I can break in that binding foot!