One Collector's Collection

Staying with a friend in Philadelphia I was treated to a glimpse of her quilt collection. Most were made by her relatives, all were in perfect condition, and as a group were charming. I love collections, and seeing other's choices shows me a side of them I find interesting and broadening.
 

Leaves in the Heart of the City

                                        
Philly can grow stupendously large weeds, like this tree sized one. Google helped me identify it, but I've quickly forgotten its name. But I'll add it to my collection of photographed leaves. Love leaves! 

August 23 NEQM Lecture

 

Saturday is days away and I'll be at the New England Quilt Museum to give a lecture on my work, my inspiration, my methods, and why my solo show has the title "Unfolding Years." I'll try convey any part of the talk. I'm showing you 'Devil's Garden' here, just to tease you to  visit the NEQM and me!

Take a Philly Walk

 Hot, yes, damn hot. But the streets of Philadelphia offered a cool take on city architecture.  Not to mention a few lunch choices.

The Fabric Workshop and Museum

The recently expired exhibition "Soft Cover" at The Fabric Workshop and Museum had a bed dressed in linen sheets on which were printed images of nuclear bombs and script for how to end life on earth. It was the most striking object in the exhibition, and most thought provoking. Especially for these times.
 

The Fabric Workshop Tour

A brief stop in Philadelphia had me in a tour of the printing facility used for their program of study for intermediate and advanced students. Get a sense of the length of the padded print table they use for fabric with repeated patterning. Tour also included screen prep, dye mixing, and sample print. Sample books also.
 

Left on the Wall

I was in the studio for a brief time before heading out to the east coast. It's always good to return to unfinished work, the edits are easier with a fresh view. so, this is now connected and ready to be quilted. And I left another large beginning for when I return. 
 

V&A Art and Design

I was thrilled to see the Victoria & Albert Museum's exhibition that encompassed the last century's innovational design works for living. Having studied design and functional craft, I was keen to see the development laid out in their 'Design 1900-Now'. I could get lost here!
 

Imperial Embellishment

My quick photo at top, and the V&A Kensington (London) photo from their website below. This is a silk panel 1825-1875 of Chinese origin. It was embroidered and then would be sent to tailors in Beijing, where it was cut to form the 'Dragon Robe' for the imperial family. Treasures from my England trip! 

 

Quilts that Catch My Eye

At least 700 quilts were in the exhibition part of the Festival of Quilts 2025. This one I found particularly fun -- the Condom quilt. Four maintenance (?) workers stopped to examine and chuckle over the imagery. The quilting included the same shapes as the pieced 'in use' condoms. Good fun all around.
 

Can You Store This?

The Victoria & Albert East is an open storage building showcasing the collection on shelves, rooms, ceilings, walls, and stacks. One can see conservators working on the collection, ask to see an object (with a two week notice in advance) or just wander, as we did, up and down the aisles with wonder.
 

Full Moon

 

Last night's full moon seemed a spotlight on the plane's wing. I had to think twice to know what that bright spot in the sky actually was. With Rochester's city lights below, I grabbed the chance to record this on my phone. Not the best camera to record, but I wanted to capture the full moon

Frolicking

 Visiting museums is more fun with friends. A trip to the new V &A storage building had this stage backdrop of a reproduction Picasso painting. All curiosity all the time.

Fashion Dictates

 After leaving the Festival of Quilts,  I headed to London and the Victorian & Albert museum and sone magnificent garments on view. 

Friends Everywhere

 The Festival of Quilts is put away for another year, and before I move on to other sights, I want to say how much I enjoyed meeting friends I knew, and new friends I made. Here's Jane Haworth teaching a short class. Hellos and thanks to all!

Grasping the Whole

 Hard to show you how clean and spacious this gallery was. Wood walls, clear labels, good lighting all made this 900 square feet a perfect space to show at The Festival of Quilts  2025.

Admiring Quilts

 Beverly Smith had a gallery of her work. I found it compelling and thought provoking. Just one if the many special galleries at The Festival of Quilts in Birmingham UK.

Tour Time at FOQ

a new twist at the Festival of Quilts was  tour of my gallery. I loved the questions asked, as well as the insight they had. The wonderful Jo Hall (second at left), gallery coordinator, joined in too.
 

Fashion Show

 The crowd at the fashion show went along with my joke to take a selfie. I wore the coat I'd made for the RIT show, now it's Birmingham an the Festival of Quilts. 

Back to Back

 The first encounter with mt Festival of Quilts gallery is this set of back to back works. The dimensions match closely and, with airspace between, work well. 

And NOW Look Who's Here

 Behind me are podcasters Brandy  Mazlowski (quilter on fire), Ursula Beeston and Jo Wright (fiber art take two) three incredible podcasters) visiting during The Festival of Quilts. Pretty wow!