Quiltspiration

Not much achieved this week, just a shirt that no one loved (it's too small and the cat yuked on it, so I guess she didn't like it either).  And I made some zucchini bread from the 2 lb zucchini we got from CSA (I'm starting to hate CSA) but forgot to add the sugar. So I'm starting to think this is just a month where I sit back and admire other peoples' projects instead of trying to work on my own.

Missy J was sick last week and I figured in her weakened state she wouldn't be able to protest a long car ride, so we headed up to the World Quilt Show in NH.  There was some truly inspiring stuff, so I thought I'd share the photos that I keep looking at, over and over.

I had two favorites: this was from Alison Laurence of New Zealand, called Off the Wall.  I love the graffiti look, I love the shoes, I love the too-big winter coat, I love it that if I squint I can pretend it's me.:

I was also really taken with the negative space design on this set of minis done by quilters/artists from the UK who call themselves the Fusion Quilt Group - they were inspired by The Secret Garden, one of my favorite books as a kid. And for the record, did that book involve a love triangle or was that all in my nine-year-old imagination?

I also liked these mini-quilts from a challenge by members of The Surface Design Association.  The theme was Blind Eye: The Result of Doing Nothing.  I haven't done, nor have I seen a lot of political quilts, and I found these really moving.  The themes ranged from child abuse:

To gun violence:

To the challenges facing teachers today:

And I liked this one by a grandmother who said her quilt was about how she sometimes avoids young men that she finds intimidating when she's walking down the street.  Now that her own grandson is a teenager, she wonders if other people make assumptions about / avoid him in the same way.  Her quilt questions how we change that.  I'm paraphrasing, she said it much more articulately in the note, but I liked the sentiment and the way she did the figure on the quilt.

These were incredible too:

From a South African quilter - but I didn't catch the name because someone was starting to get fussy- maybe because we were standing in front of it for like, twenty minutes.

Just look at the forehead alone:

This was a mini, part of a Women, Peace and Security challenge by Quilt for Change.

The Basket Makers of Axoum, Ethiopia by Meri Henriques Vahl (U.S.) also stopped me for longer than J was comfortable with.  The detail was incredible.

Around the corner was Green Tara by Allison Wilbur (U.S.) My phone doesn't do the colors justice.  The quilting was mind-blowing.

This was the "pervy" quilt with a black screen surrounding it, and a warning sign that parental discretion was advised - like anyone is going to take a pass on that!  I think J was a little disappointed by how tame it was. No idea who the artist was:

My favorite group if I had to pick by nationality were the Japanese quilts - I didn't get all the names/artists as these were the last we saw.

Let's Go Party by Keiko Ike

Cherry Blossoms In Full Bloom by Noriko Matsutou

My Favorite Town, New York by Natsumi Ohara

I actually can't be sure this one was Japanese, but I think it was:

Finally, while J did a little whining through most of the show, there were a couple of quilts that made her scream "meow" in the loudest most high-pitched voice ever - it was so disturbing I actually saw someone adjust their hearing aid.  So I think of these as the quilts that could break glass:

This was only my second quilt show, so I can't say with any authority how it stacks up, but it was a really inspirational morning!