Monday, December 30, 2019

Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum visit

by Randa Milford I think
Just before the illness took hold of my life, we drove to Golden CO to see the quilt museum and walk around. We really like Golden and the stores are nice to Milo.
 The museum is beautiful and we were lucky to have a docent walk around with us and talk about the quilts. We learned how the curator chose from the large number of entries too. They range from hand pieced and quilted to a modern version of just cutting hexies and fusing them to a background
don't think I'd call this EPP

so here are a few pictures to give you ideas for your next work... apologies for not always getting pics of the maker's names, I was very cloudy thinking from getting sick.
I liked the way she floated star shapes swirling around the border, and the colors


I think the maker here is Karen Fisher.

this was to look like rocks and it's very inventive in it's layout and shapes.




 Each hexie is a different shape, yet they join on one side.











I believe this was made by Beverly Miller

I loved the impact her color placement made, the light to dark placement, the overall confetti effect and edge.

The light ones blend to look like dots are appliqued but they are pieced like all the others











Isn't this combination of hand piecing hexie's and applique charming?

I believe the maker was Janet Finley












Even if I didn't respond to a more traditional quilt, settings or colors, they had reason to come in close to see the hand of the maker. When you do EPP it's not fast, it's slow and deliberate like drawing as opposed to painting. Painting can be slow and deliberate but it can be done quickly with abandon too. 
Sketching can be done quickly but drawing like EPP is deliberate, placement of each stroke or stitch is considered.
I took a pic of this because of the details. The overall look was too busy and disjointed for me, but the details are so interesting in fabric placement. Note the fussy cut forest scene catching tiny deer in hearts. Intricate sewing joining different shapes that all come together into a unified top. Each fabric chosen for impact, bright yellow to set off the points that were carefully cut to show the same repeating lines. 
this maker was subtle in color but actually overfilled the space with intricate crazy quilt laces, stitching, embroidery and buttons.
a unique setting for a Pasagalia quilt. Fresh unified color scheme, values matching so that you see the whole piece not disparate colors, and the little flowers escaping into the border
I really like the quilting on this! It's difficult to choose a quilting design for these quilts that take so long to piece. The texture and line created in the final joining of back and batting to the top, is what makes a quilt and why we love to touch them. What artistry and vision these makers have.
The back room held a special exhibit of one woman's work. She left all her quilts to the museum in her will... what a grand idea.
What a riot of color in this little display. The museum has a store inside that had the largest array of EPP books I've ever seen. Many I've never heard of before.
Our docent invited me to join their EPP group. Golden is about 40 min away by bad roads but I think I will join them and meet other people as intrigued by detail as I am. I'll let you know how it goes!



12 comments:

Sara said...

OMG - what gorgeous quilts!! I sure hope you feel better quickly. We've had 2 of our grandkids here for 3 days and 1 of them has a cold, so I'm sure I'll have it too by the end of the week.

Beth B said...

Hope you get better soon. Those quilts are amazing. I wish I was closer so I could see the exhibit and try out the group. I am working on my first EPP project. It is slow going but I am enjoying it.

LA Paylor said...

what a world you have in front of you! I have done many epp projects and am in love with the process. L.

Elkes Lebensglück said...

these quilts are beautiful, it was a fascinating exhibition!
greetings Elke

Molly the Airedale said...

The quilts are just gorgeous!

PaintedThread said...

The penrose tile quilts are just fantastic. I love those, but oh! so much work!

These are great. Thanks for sharing! What fun it must have been to see them in person.

Helen L said...

thanks for the mini quilt show! :-) I love the bee garden one and the Pasagalia quilt. So fun to see what other artists do in our art form! Has your illness been diagnosed? Just wondering because my daughter had a mystery illness that took the doctors (MANY doctors) about 8 years to diagnose. Just hoping that you have at least a name to put to your illness: I know how frustrating & depressing it can get as you search and search for answers. :( Many hugs, H

Joanne said...

Hi LeeAnna,
Thanks for the tour!
40 min drive, it's in the Neighbourhood ! Sounds like it would be a fun group to join! a new challenge for 2020 ?
Your're great at EPP !
hugs and get better soon!
Joanne

Tails Around the Ranch said...

What beautiful quilts! Sorry you're under the weather. Hope you feel better soon.

Angie said...

LA - an incredible museum. I am not a quilter, but I have a couple of family members who are, and so I have some appreciation for what this takes. My favorite is the star shapes on the black background.

Happy New Year to you, and I hope you feel better soon!

Susan said...

Yes, that's Randa Mulford's work. She's a member of my guild, and very talented. Thanks for the tour of the show!

The Joyful Quilter said...

Thanks for sharing these incredible quilts!! Enjoy the EPP meet-up (once the weather gets better.) Can't imagine you would go in the snow and ice!