Not Your Grandma's Sawtooth Block.........

We had a quilters' day out recently. We drove south [towards civilization!], stopped at one of the area's best quilt shops, effortlessly whiled away a couple of hours, and did our bit to stimulate the economy....[code for "bought fabric," shhhh!].

Then the highlight of the outing---we went to the American Quilt Society's traveling exhibition of the winning quilts from their 2008 "New Quilts from Old Favourites" contest.


This is the First Prize winner, called "Berry Patch."




What would Grandma have thought? Likely her mind would reel, as mine did. I can tackle pretty much any pattern, with adequate instructions.......




But the quilts in this show were made by a whole 'nother level of quilters; people who are artists first, and just happen to express their creativity through cloth, rather than paint or clay. My pictures don't come close to capturing the details of piecing and quilting, but they were amazing.....



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Each quilt in the exhibit was gasp inducing, for the design and the workmanship certainly,




but most of all for how each quilter took the simple, traditional




and let her imagination soar. Compared to the twists and turns and pirouettes they put that simple block through to arrive at their finished quilts, my imagination is a sorry, earth bound thing, fit only to drool in disbelief at what can be done when you shake off the shackles of traditional techniques.




Amazing to me was how each quilter had the same set of guidelines, yet each quilt was stunningly different from the one hanging next to it.




Some of the quilts did not stray far from Grandma's methods, updating her Sawtooth block with stunning colours.....




and unusual positioning of blocks.....




Others, like this quilt from a Japanese quilter, painted bold, sweeping strokes of colour with her fabric. Only when you looked very closely could you see the enormous amount of intricate piecing that went into creating something that looks so spontaneous and exuberant.




And do I hear you asking "What about the quilt in that first picture?" "A Gathering Of Geckos" was my favourite quilt in the exhibition. I studied it up close,




and from a distance, bemused by how the quilter had come to the idea of this particular design. It probably had a little to do with her living in Arizona. It had a distinctly Southwestern feel to it. The Bean is not much interested in quilts. He will give an opinion on colour, design, whatever, if asked, but when he saw a picture of this quilt in a newspaper article on the exhibition, he excitedly declared "That's the quilt I want!" I wouldn't, however, be holding my breath if I were him!

Aren't those quilts amazing? And now, if you'll excuse me, I have to finish this month's humble little basket applique block......