Taking the Fine Art of Fiber to Bed

Some excellent quilts and knitted items from the Fine Art of Fiber exhibit. I've done some quilting in my crafty life, but can't say that I'm really good at it. While I love the finished product, for the most part I find the process tedious. What speaks to me in quilting is what I like best about knitting--the play of color and texture. In quilting, the texture is established by sewing the layers together for a three dimensional effect. I love the way hand quilting looks, but after having taken many years of process to do two small wall hangings, I prefer for others to do the work. My vintage quilts that are coming apart were hybrids of vintage quilt tops, with batting and backing added. I drew on the quilting lines and sent them to a church group in Red Bud, Illinois who quilted them and charged me by each inch of quilting thread used. What I've noticed in contemporary quilts is that the hand work is used mostly for embellishment, and that most of the work is now done on machine. Despite the use of sewing machines, the craft is still labor intensive. All those little pieces of fabric to cut! The play of color just draws me in. The top picture is my newly purchased quilt on my full size bed. The artist is Ruth Stegmeyer. I purchased the quilt on Thursday night, and on Saturday found another quilt, also by Ruth, that I liked better. But as all sales were final, I think I can live with this. It has every color, so will look good with any decor! Yes, that's about one foot of wall space on either side of my bed. Two people sleep in this bed. I guess it helps that I'm in love. My dream is to have a king size bed, and a room to put it in. I tell the Man that he wouldn't even know that Piccolo and I are there. Yes, the dog sleeps with us.