Quiltcon 2023 / Soulful Quilts and Trends

With BravePatch members, Ethylene Ziegler and Candi Lennox (quilt in background by Maritza Soto)

There was a lot to like at Quiltcon, and the quilts were actually minor characters compared to the diverse and dynamic community, especially the Black makers and guilds, that showed up on Quiltcon’s tenth anniversary to celebrate all the quilts, the Modern Quilt Guild and Chawn Kimber’s contributions and keynote on community… more on all that in another post.

This year I toured the show with a sizeable group from BravePatch who met for the first time face-to-face. It quickly became clear how subjective we are when we look at art and quilts. There is no best of show even though there are ribbons for such things. What counts are the quilts that meet us where we are in the moment, AND the quilts that speak will be unique to each of us.

The best of Modern Quilting was on display at Quiltcon in Atlanta. This year I paid attention to the quilts that resonated in my body, from the heart to the gut and sometimes in the mind. These are the quilts that fed my soul at this particular Quiltcon, and here's why.

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“Standard Individual” improvised quilt by Julee Ryle @juleeverse

This quilt spoke immediately to my body and soul through my messy center! It’s free, experimental and reflective. The unexpected juxtaposition of vintage sheets, denim and the brown/beige repurposed materials surprised and delighted me. They don’t really “go” together, except they do, because the fabrics and colors included in this quilt were chosen by the maker to evoke a memory, a story from her past. It’s an imperfect mirror image medallion with a touch of chaos - like uncertain reflections, as memories are. I too am exploring memory and present moment experiences abstractly through pattern and color. I like the very loose, almost basting size hand stitches, which is also something I’ve been exploring in my current quilts.

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“On Fire” improvised quilt by Robin Oneil @robinoneilquilts

This quilt evoked spontaneity, passion and beginner’s mind. Maybe this quilter took a class with Irene Roderick? Maybe not - I’m not sure if it’s still standard practice to credit obvious teacher influences - but since this person did not say she studied with Irene, she may not have. Regardless this quilt feels much less engineered than many of the quilts that I know were influenced by Irene’s recent book, Improv Quilting, and more spontaneous in its composition. The pulsing scale and choice of brown with red instead of white or black is unexpected and primal like dirt and blood. Aptly named “On Fire” I felt urgency, abandon and an uncomfortable, almost obsessive joy —long before I paid any attention to the title. This one hit my gut in a good way!

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“Mule” quilt by Chawne Kimber @cauchycomplete 80x80 inches, denim. “A start of a series of views on the labor of Black women. We have long carried a burden like no other in the U.S. Zora Neale Hurston said ‘Black women are the mules of the world’ and this is a worthy starting point for the conversation.“

What speaks to your soul? Your head - heart-gut and can you identify why? Chawne Kimber’s quilt, “Mule” speaks to all three, as so many of her quilts do. The choice of mostly dark denim invites me and you as viewers, into the depth of our centers - the infinity within and asks us to witness our histories - stretching behind to our ancestors, through our bodies as the active pivot point in this present moment, and towards the future and the opportunities for systemic healing and change. Her quilt is simple and graciously expands the depth of the space within, in front and behind, because the truth of its message requires us to hold that expanded space to comprehend the atrocities of race and the racialized systems that we are all complicit and enmeshed in, whether we want to be or not. Woah… this is quite an opener and start for this series of quilts on the labor of Black women.

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“Magical Thinking Attempt no. 8” quilt by Heidi Parkes

“One Hundred Moments With You” detail of quilt by Amanda Nadig

Heidi Parkes and Amanda Nadig, each in their own way, make hand-stitched, soft-diary quilts of real and imaginative moments that whisper to the personal heart of the small joys that refresh the soul. They remind me that we all have access to the joy of being alive and human if we choose to pay attention. Their quilts are made with personal materials that carry meaning. They are soothing, gentle invitations to self-compassion.

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“Resilience” an improvised, hand-stitched quilt by Sheri Schumacher, made from a vintage linen tablecloth during her mother’s recovery from cancer… “My hands, mind and heart were one when hand quilting, combining the physicality of mended linen cloth with the stitches of prayers and tears.”

Sheri Schumacher’s quiet and powerful quilt called out my equanimity, and spoke to me of the liminal, healing field of meditative space, a state of embodied being with stitching as constant and grounding as breath. I felt this one in my gut and in the weight of gravity on my body keeping me present, strong and indeed resilient. Which is a tall order and accomplishment for any quilt experienced in the midst of the glitz and wild color of Quiltcon.

What I really want to know…

There were so many other amazing quilts and trends at Quiltcon this year incorporating humor, protest, history, sustainability, identity, culture, community, hand stitching - including a few with beads, and of course many, many impeccably executed quilts of bold color and design.

What I really want to know??? What quilts and trends spoke to you and why? And what are you going to do about it?

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