Pictures, They Want Pictures!

"Pictures! Pictures, we want to see pictures!!" This was the cry from both Dawn and Libby (maybe someday I will learn how to link their blogs to mine!) after my return from the Vermont Quilt Festival. Since I am planning to have a somewhat quiet morning I decided to give the girls what they asked for, and will start with the Shelburne Museum's newest permanent exhibit, called Stars and Bars. This exhibit was a gift of Amish Quilts from Barbara and Michawl Polemis to the museum, and they are simply put- beautiful. Shelburne was a half day (off site) trip sponsored by the Vermont Quilt Festival, and my quilting friend and I decided it would be a nice way to spend Friday morning. Now for the pictures before there is mutiny (*smile*).
The first photo is a beauty. Set on the bed as it was, this quilt made me want to make a quilt of simplicity. All of the quilts did! I love the cheddars in old quilts and the colors in this star quilt really drew my eye.





As pretty as I found this bed quilt, when I half turned and saw this lone star on the wall I must have gasped outloud!! Now this is absolutely stunning! I am not sure I'd ever execute something like this. I started little lone star blocks last year, and they sit waiting for me to muster up more courage. They are very demanding, and right now I will just be happy with the memory of this fabulous beauty.

I apologize for the blurriness of this black and blue star quilt. I was experimenting with my new camera and even with the museum setting (we were not allowed to use flash in the rooms at the Hat and Fragrance Textile Gallery) I couldn't get a good shot of this one. I think you will be able to enjoy it enough, and I had to include it. I loved it!

Next, on to the bars. I'm partial to red so this stunning red and black bar quilt was probably my favorite quilt to view. I would love to make my own bar quilt, but I think I might like to use more colors in the bars rather than a two color quilt. Simple people, simple quilts...and all very stunning.

This next photo is an example of a quilt I'd love to make. Simple bars but I really love the colors- the purple, magenta, green.

After the "guided tour" ,which left a bit to be desired, my friend and I returned on our own to the gallery and took our time looking at the quilts close up. Truly works of art. The hand quilting made each and everyone of them masterpieces in their own right.

In my next post I will show some of the photos from The exhibit Something Pertaining to God- The Patchwork Art of Rosie Lee Tompkins. Some of her work reminded me of the quilts of Gee Bend. I think that many African American quilters have a different take on quilting, and Ms. Tompkins (whose real name was Effie Mae Howard) was no different. She loved color and was not afraid to use them. Interesting exhibit. Interesting woman- and quite the contempory artist. There was a newspaper article about her, and the photo showed her clothes sitting on a chair in human form- she so hated having her photo taken, she arranged her outfit for the photographer, but would not sit to be photographed!