On Friday, Auntie Bridgett and I went up to the Portland Expo Center to see the Annual Quilt show put on by the Northwest Quilters Inc..
The weather was warm and sunny, so we took transit.
The number 75 took us north and through a lot of neighborhoods we had never seen before. It then headed west through the Kenton neighborhood and past the Paul Bunyun Statue. After about 30 minutes it let us off at the Yellow Train Line station on Lombard Street, and we caught the train to the Expo.
The Quilt show was an amazing combination of the art and craft of quilting and the business of selling sewing machines, quilting supplies, and sewing kits.
I was very impressed not with just the skill and care shown in piecing the quilts, but with the originality in techniques and subjects.
There was even a wonderful, small, old, Crazy Quilt, which was the one piece I would have brought home if I could.
I will tell you about the rest of the adventure tomorrow!
On Friday, Auntie Bridgett took the day off from making art and went with me on an adventure. We took the number 15 bus downtown, walked over to the Yellow Line Train, and rode clear to the end of the line.
There was some drama on the train, as a few people with mental health issues were being loud and a little scary, but Trimet Security folks came and calmed them down and got them off the train. After they all went on their way, we breathed more easily and the train continued north.
Inside the Expo were hundreds of quilts by scores of quilters, as well as demonstrations of the latest sewing machines and gadgets. Auntie Bridgett tried the ABM International Innova embroidery machine, which you drive sort of like a motorcycle! It is bigger than our sofa, and costs a lot more.
Auntie Bridgett plays with toys!
We found a whole series of quilts by Virginia Hammon, called “Money Quilts”. They are all perfectly pieced and machine quilted, and all say something about money, politics, and humanity. These aren’t just pretty quilts: these are politically informed art.
A Money Quilt by Virginia Hammon
I saw quilts that I had noticed and photographed last year, like this lovely map-looking one called “Bee Good, or Be Hungry”, also by Virginia Hammon.
As with all good art, the more I looked, the more I saw. There was a barren white section, quilted in tight city blocks, representing the city. As the city gave way to suburbs and countryside, more colors were introduced and the quilting became looser. The message was clear: make room for bees, or do without their help.
Bee Good or Be Hungry by Virginia Hammon
Along with these very contemporary quilts were Victorian Crazy Quilts from around 1903, found in people’s grandparents’ attics. I love the combination of piecing and embroidery, and the any-way-it-falls- piecing technique. I may need to get out Great Grandma Billie’s velvets and Ruth Andresen’s silks and do something.
1903 Crazy Quilt
I was inspired by so many techniques! The raw-edge machine applique I saw last year has gotten more impressionistic, looking like landscape paintings. I want to use this on my Portland quilt this winter.
Extreme close-up of raw edge applique
Realistic, moving portraits show how quilting and painting can be combined.
Fabulous Portraiture in paint and thread
There was more to see and interesting people to talk to, and I will tell you about the tomorrow!
Dear Liza 