Quilt Inspiration

Museums are a great way to stay cool in the summer! Yesterday we drove to Springville and after 30 minutes of driving around numerous contruction zones we found the Art Musuem where they are doing a Quilt Show. I forgot how much I LOVE quilts! Here are a few that have inspired me. I now hope to finish at least one quilt a year. (Most of these look they need to be done by hand) Feel free to click on them to see them a little closer.

This was based on Gordon B. Hinckley's 6 B's. I saw one just like this at Raspberry Days in Bear Lake and couldn't help but walk right up and start touching it. So fun!

Eric Carle quilt - E's favorite

Twilight Quilt - hilarious that they did this. They're gifting it to Stephenie Meyer! (No, I'm not doing this. I just thought it was interesting. Some of the pieces look like origami)

Flower Garden aka Honeycomb. Paper piecing by hand sounds so time-consuming but I thought it would be a great way to use scraps on our long car-trips to Arizona. The artist made it with her mother using 40 different patterns of fabric, 777 hexagon pieces (thank goodness it wasn't 666 - you were thinking it too...) and it was all pieced, quilted and bound by HAND in 3 months. It was a large crib-size quilt. I also like how she double-bordered it.

This one stood out to me because the artist used shimmery gold thread - see it? There was a small wall-hanging, peacock-colored quilt with irridescent beads. I can't believe I didn't get a picture of it.

Whole Quilting - this would be awesome done with double wedding ring design stitched on it, don't you think? Talk about a lot of work though...

I was telling my boys the different designs, themes, fabrics and techniques used when some ladies commented that they were happy to see my older boys so interested in the quilts. I love art - It can be symbolic, it can change your mood, and I always wonder what the artist was thinking at the time... what caused them to want to create that particular piece.

On another similar note - if you live in Utah - you have to go see the traveling exhibit at BYU Museum of Art. Steinhilber has some really fun ways to make art out of everyday items. http://moa.byu.edu/fileadmin/moa/steinhilber/steinhilbersplash.html It ends on 8/22 and is an excellent way to get your kids interested in art. We especially enjoyed the "circular balloon wall art" and "blowing styro-peanut corner." Every piece is untitled so those are just the names I use to describe them. The "heat lamp" and "stacked chairs" I could've done without but there are always a few pieces in modern art that I just don't get. (Like at NYC's MOA they have a lamp in the corner of a room. It's just a... LAMP IN THE CORNER, who cares? It took what, 5 seconds to do it - that's not art sweetie. Build it all with forks and then I'll be impressed) Sorry to end on a grouchy note - I must need chocolate or something. :)