JWD Publishing Blog

It’s a busy season and much of our energy and time are taken up this month with the holidays, family, special friends, and the celebration of Christmas and Hanukkah. So this is a good time to share a few more photos of quilts from the 2011 Houston Quilt Festival.  No doubt, the actual quilts are more beautiful in real life than what you see in my informal snapshots. The colors shown may not be true to the quilt, but I think the quilts still look great. Enjoy!

Autumn Splendor by Noriko Endo from Tokyo, Japan

If you have been in the quilt scene for a few years, then you will be well aware of Noriko Endo’s glorious naturescapes. They are filled with exquisite textures, subtle colorings, and enticing imagery.  Autumn Splendor fills the bill. It is amazing. Standing in front of this quilt brings you into the scene. The realism is extraordinary.  This particular quilt really speaks to me, as it’s a scene reminiscent of many years of woodland walks. This original design is created with cotton, tulle, and luminescent fibers. If you would like to create your own woodland scenes filled with textures, or if you just want to be inspired by Noriko’s beautiful creations, consider purchasing her book Confetti Naturescapes.

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Having been away for much of the last few weeks, behind in everything, and with an exhausted mind and body, I decided my brain is not worthy of thinking clear thoughts this week. This is a perfect time to share a few photos that I took at the Houston IQA show. I wasn’t able to take pictures of all of the quilts that I thought were so impressive, but I did take sevral handfuls. Today I have selected eight to show you. They are not in any particular order. I visited the show during Quilt Market. At that time, no awards had been awarded, so I have not information on any of these quilts being award-winners. However, as far as I am concerned, these are all award-winning quilts as they are a visual feast for our eyes.

First a few photo comments:  These pictures are very informal and taken with my little point ‘n shoot Nikon camera. You will see signs, pipes, barrier ribbons, and other items in some pictures. I apologize, as there was no choice in the matter. If I wanted the picture of the quilt, sometimes extras went along with it. Also, some quilts were impossible to view straight on, so they are skewed a bit. My apologies. No doubt, the actual quilts will be more beautiful in real life than what you see here in my snapshots, but I think you’d like seeing these quilts regardless of the quality of photo. The colors shown may not be true to the quilt, but I think the quilts still look great. Enjoy!

Again, in no particular order, here are eight exquisite quilts:

Oriental Triptych

This triptych  by Karon Huggler of  Columbia, Missouri is stunning. The color use is dramatic. The curves set an elegant, sophisticated mood. Karon used both hand and machine piecing, applique, and quilting. She included three-dimensional feathering on the cranes. Karon’s original design was inspired by Louisa Smith’s work. At the time of the exhibition, this piece was available for purchase.

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It seems like it has been forever since I blogged with you. We will soon catch up. I have something exciting to tell you about.

Are you ready for the International Quilt Festival / Cincinnati? Now if you don’t know which show this is, I will tell you. This is the show that has been in Chicago for the last eight years. This year the festival is moving to Cincinnati, Ohio. They are going to have over 300 vendors as well as wonderful quilts for you to see.

I am very excited about this because I grew up just a stone’s throw away from there, so I know you will have a great time. It is going to be April 8th – 11th at the Duke Energy Convention Center, which is in downtown Cincinnati. The Duke Energy Convention Center has more than 750,000 square feet of meeting, event, and exhibition space!!  There are over 5,000 parking spaces!

I want to tell you about what else you can see and do in Cincinnati. Because of the location you could easily make this a family affair. If it is museums that you like, then you can choose from the History Museum, the Fire Museum, the Children’s Museum or the  Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame Museum, to name just a few. If you have children with you, then you must see the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden. If you are a “foodie” like I am, then you must go to Findlay Market. It is an open air market place with the best fresh produce and meats. If that is not your thing, then there are always guided walking tours, and don’t forget the riverboats. And for the night life, forget about it, Grand Victoria Casino!! What I have told you does not even scratch the surface.

I know if you plan on going to Cincinnati, not only will you have a great time looking at all the new gizmos and gadget and the beautiful quilts at Quilt Festival/Cincinatti, but you will see a beautiful city. Now that I don’t live there, it makes me appreciate it that much more. Have a great time. Be safe and have a “Cincinnati Chilly Dog” for me!!!

In one of my blogs while at Quilt Market, I mentioned that Camilla Watson was awarded an honorable mention for her beautiful appliqué quilt Menamorphosis, I not only misspelled her quilt’s name in the blog, but I reported that Camilla was from New York. Although Camilla would probably love to visit New York someday, she happily makes her home in New Zealand….and plans to stay there.  To the left you can see Camilla’s needle-turned appliqué quilt, with more detail of the appliqué in the other picture (click to see a larger picture).

Congratulations, Camilla. Your appliqué is superb!

Houston is still abuzz with quilters. They are on a hunt to see as many wonderful quilts, fabrics, books, patterns, and notion as they can find. They are filling their brains with new ideas and techniques that are being shared by scores of teachers. Clearly, a high level of energy is prevalent in the hotels, restaurants, and the convention center.  It’s exciting to see so many happy, eager quilters coming together to spend every waking hour thinking, dreaming, breathing, and talking about quilts.

Yesterday morning it was time for me to say goodbye to Houston, as I headed for the airport to begin my journey home. We are so happy with our new pattern releases and are pleased that shop owners were excited about our product, new and old. Soon you will find our patterns in your favorite quilting store.  For us, another year of designing begins for talented designers and staff, as we plan for next lineup of exciting new projects for you.  We’ll see many of you again at the 2010 Fall Quilt Market.

Great Quilts ―Happy Quilters!

The ballroom was filled with high excitement at tonight’s Award Ceremony for the prestigious IQA Quilt Show in Houston, Texas. It was fun to watch the winners’ faces, as they accepted their awards. They came from all over the world, including Canada, U.K., France, Korea, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States. Japan had several quilt winners. Texas, California, and Illinois had the most U.S. award winners. I can only remember a small number of the winning results.  Even though this list is incomplete, you may find one of your friends or favorite quilters included here as one of tonight’s winners: 

Caryl Bryer Fallert won Best of Show, which brought her a $10,000 award prize. She also won 1^st place in the Digital Imaging category, which was a $1000 prize.  Karen Stone from Dallas, Texas , won a  major award, which earned her a $5000 prize.  Gloria Hansen won an honorable mention and 3^rd place in the Digital Imaging category. The Founders’ Award was a spectacular quilt created by a talented Japanese quilter.  Her award prize was $7500.  Hollis Chattelain won a major $5000 award with her woodland quilt,  Protection, which was in the Naturescapes category. She also won a 1^st place award for her quilt, Exodus. Inge Mardal and Steen Hougs won a 2^nd place prize for their stunning water scene quilt.  

Much-loved Hazel Canny of Houston, Texas won 2^nd place in the Merit Hand quilting category. In this same category, Cathleen Miller from Albuquerque, New Mexico won 1^st place with an exquisite quilt called Inner Beauty. In the Art Whimsical category, a crowd pleaser was the honorable mention quilt The Great Crate Escape by Pauline Salzman from Treasure Island, Florida. Pup Art received 3^rd place in this category. Once Upon a Christmas won 1^st place in this category.

In the Art People, Portraits & Figures category, the winner was a superb quilt of a young girl. This quilt was created by an Australian quilter. Pauline Salzman received an award for Portrait of an Artist. The wonderful quilt Broken Dishes by a quilter from Beaver Creek, Ohio won 2^nd place. This quilter also received an honorable mention for a quilt in the Art Miniature category.

Traditional appliqué quilt winners included a Christmas quilt by a quilter from Mesquite, Texas, as well as a quilt named Heart’s Desire.  In the Art Miniature category, Last Dance by Diane Doran received a 3^rd place.  The 2^nd place winner was from Japan, and the category’s winning quilt was a beautiful flower album quilt by Liz Jones from Leominster, England.

In the Art Pictorial category, Karen Hanken from Medford, Oregon received an honorable mention. Melinda Bula received a 3^rd place. The 2^nd place quilt was Morning Has Broken by Peggy Parrott from Lakewood, Colorado. The 1^st place winner was a stunning quilt by Barbara Shapel from Washougal, Washington.

 In the Group Quilt category, a crowd pleaser was the 3^rd place winner, Boston Fenway Park. The 1^st place winner was Grape Harvest, made by three quilters.  In Innovative Appliqué, Camilla Watson from New Zealand won an Honorable Mention with her quilt Menamorphosis. Kathy Wylie from Ontario, Canada won 1^st prize with Instrument of Praisenote: . In the Art Painted Surface category, honorable mention went to Moon Garden by Judy Coates Perez from Chicago, Illinois.

In the Naturescapes category sponsored by JWD Publishing, the results were a wonderful example of international talent and flavor. Crossing Over by Cookie Warner from Fort Collins, Colorado won 1^st place. Noriko Endo and an Australian quilter won 2^nd and 3^rd places.  An honorable mention was given to a Japanese quilter. I loved all of the quilts awarded prizes in this category. I thought the entire group of quilts was very strong.

Another quilt that won an award was Calamari Time by a quilter from Billings, Montana.  A beautiful quilt by Judy Mathieson won 1^st prize. A darling quilt with a cat trying to find a “mousie” also won a 1^st place. Roby Joy Ecklow won a 2^nd place for Eye Candy in the Art Abstract Large category while Rita Steffenson received a 1^st place award in that category. A Japanese quilter won 3^rd place honors in this category.

Well, I’ve hit the end of my memory of quilters, quilts, and awards tonight. I leave you with the thought that these quilts are truly superb. All should be proud of their accomplishments and creative adventure.  If you can see this IQA show during the following year, do so. You’ll love it.  

(Please note:  I apologize if there are any misspellings or incorrect information listed here.)

Happy Quilting!

There are so many amazing quilts on display here at the International Quilt Market and Festival. I spent a couple of hours viewing quilts one evening after Quilt Market, but I only saw about 1/3 of the show. I saw only a few of the IQA competition quilts before running out of time. I spent most of my time in the special exhibit areas.

I have listed a few of the quilts that I really liked. If I had had a camera with me, or if I could have remembered better, or if I had a bigger piece of paper to scribble on, my list would have been longer. If I have misspelled your name, or your friend’s name or given the incorrect name of a quilt, I apologize. It’s due to not remembering correctly or not being able to read my scribbles. I loved these quilts for a lot of different reasons. Again, I didn’t see the entire show, so if I didn’t mention your name and your quilt, it probably means I didn’t see it. However, if you are one of these people, congrats! If you know one of them, give them a high-five for me. Here’s my incomplete list in the order I remembered seeing them:

Charlotte Hickman from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma for Three Roses;
Pat Rollie from Los Angeles, California for Begonias at Butchart Gardens;
Fenella Davies from Bath, England for Australian Bushfires;
Sylvia Naylor from Cambridge, Ontario, Canada for For the Love of Trees;
Melinda Bula from El Dorado Hills, California for Splendor in the Grass;
Ruth Powers from Carbondale, Kansas for Spring Encounter;
Kathy Kelly from Waco, Texas for the Moda University block quilt;
Karlyn Bue Lohrenz from Billings, Montana for Calamari Time;
Pam Hadfield from Laguna Niguel, California for Goodness, Gracious, Great Balls of Fire…..
Kelly Monroe from Arlington, Texas for A Quark’s Tale
Cindy Henneke from Bresham, Texas for her Broken Star
Cookie Warner from Fort Collins, Colorado for Crossing Over

Several years ago I encourage IQA to add a new quilt category to their wildly popular quilt show at Houston’s International Quilt Festival. Happily, they agreed. Since then, my company, JWD Publishing, has sponsored the Naturescapes category at the show. We provide the prize money for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places for this category. I LOVE this category of quilts, as they are SO beautiful. Since this category’s inception, the 1st place quilt has often been upgraded to an even higher award, which brings more prestige, honor, and greater prize money to that quiltmaker. I love it when this happens.

I have a feeling this is going to happen again this year. I think one of the quilts in the Naturescapes category is so spectacular that it will be upgraded to one of the $5000 award prizes. That would be so exciting for that particular quiltmaker (and for me). Also, it would give another person in the category the opportunity to receive a ribbon, the honor, and prize money. I’ll let you know tonight what happens. I’m SO excited…………………..

JWD Publishing is excited to announce that some of its authors will be featured at the Contemporary Quilt Show exhibit at the Binghamton University Art Museum beginning on September 10th.  This exhibit features quilts by pioneers and contemporary leaders in the field, including Ricky Tims, Paula Nadelstern, Joen Wolfrom, Ruth McDowell, Judy Dales, Hollis Chatelain, Caryl Bryer Fallert, Libby Lehman, Alex Anderson, John Flynn, Sally Collins, Margaret Miller, Kaffe Fasset, Becky Goldsmith, Linda Jenkins, Sharyn Craig, and others.

This show also includes two other exhibits: The Evolution of Natural Fibers; Vibrations: Color Resonance in Antique Quilts, 1860-1940. Movies and demonstrations are available for viewing.  Best of all admission is free!

Here are the details for the show:

Full-Spectrum: Natural Fibers, Quilts & the Textile Arts
Quilt Exhibit  September 10 – December 5, 2009
Full-Spectrum:  Natural Fibers, Quilts and the Textile Arts 

Binghamton University Art Museum
4400 Vestal Parkway East, Vestal, New York

Tuesday, Wed, Fri, Sat  12 – 4pm;  Thursday  12 – 7 pm
You may listen to the free quilt audio tour with your cell phone.  Jack Braunstein is the curator. For more information, visit http://artmuseum.binghamton.edu.