There are traditional quilt blocks, and then there is tradition launched in a wonderful new direction. This is the final of three posts about the Dunedin Fine Art Center exhibit that I wanted to share with you. It's kind of a game to find the Bow Tie blocks in these quilts made for the "New Quilts From an Old Favorite" from The National Quilt Museum. Leslie Johnson's "Puttin' on the Ritz" is a case in point. You may find yourself humming that tune and tapping your toe as you study this colorful quilt to find the Bow Ties. Hint: there are more than just the one the ballroom dancer is wearing. You may have to lean in to find them. Give up? They are there in the undulating rows of colors. The artist states that she changed the intersections of the colors and offset the rows to create the background. The focal point dancers are appliqued, and other techniques include hand piecing, embroidery and beading.
Quiltmaker Sandi Snow created some challenges for herself in "Abstract on Black Tie". There are mutitple facings which allow the quilt to have interesting irregular edges, along with Sashiko-style stitching and Big Stitch hand quilting. Not visible in the photo, there is matchstick quilting in the shape of Bow Ties in the black background.
Look! It's Mary Poppins, "The Perfect Nanny" made by Cathy Geier. She included the London skyline, soaring birds, and chimney sweeps in her piece commemorating Mary Poppins' departure. The Bow Tie blocks contain lyrics from her favorite songs related to the story. Such a joyful quilt!
Quilt artist Susan Morgan used her own hand-drawn patterns to piece and paper-piece "Black Tie Optional". Bow Tie blocks of all sizes overlap and intersect throughout. She quilted this on her domestic machine. Quite a mesmerizing piece!
Now admit it- these Bow Ties are pretty hard to find, right? I had to study "Black Ties and Tails" made by Karen Grover for a bit before I realized these are Bow Tie kitties! The cats were assembled and machine appliqued in place after the whole background was quilted. So whimsical!
I think you can easily spot the Bow Ties in "Negotiating the Price of an Apple", a masterful quilt by Tere D'Amato. The detail in this quilt caused me to stop and study it for a time. I hope you've enjoyed this tour of the 2019 Quilts & textiles @ DFAC and I appreciated all of your comments about this wonderful quilt display.
7 comments:
I never did find the bow ties in the first quilt, although I know they were probably in the quilting. I thought Abstract on Black Tie was wonderful. It may have been my favorite quilt of all the ones I saw from your three posts.
Of course I LOVED the cats and saw the bow ties immediately. And the best example of bow ties was Negotiating the Price of an Apple. However, I think my bow tie only (not including the abstract) was Black Tie Optional. Not only was the fabric made into bow ties, but the quilting, which was out of this world. Beautiful beyond belief for the quilting alone.
Thanks for sharing these quilts. Simply beautiful, all.
That should have read I think my bow tie only FAVORITE (not including . . . .
Sorry I forgot to reread before I hit publish.
This was such an exciting view of the exhibit…thank you for sharing
Thank you for sharing your insights on these bow tie quilts - your comments always add a special sparkle to what we are viewing. This was an interesting take on a traditional quilt pattern.
WOW...each of these are amazing!!! I really have to challenge myself to find all the bow tie patterns! Funny, the cat one I can see...others..not always so easy! Thanks for sharing these and we didn't have to leave the couch to enjoy the exhibit!!
Oh, I love these quilts!! I'm such a traditionalist most of the time. Lately I'm branching out into more applique quilts. That Puttin' on the Ritz is wonderful. You lucky girl to get to see such lovelies.
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