PIQF 2012-Part 1

Pacific International Quilt Festival absolutely dazzled me this year. I really had to sort through my images and pare them down to a manageable size. Enjoy!“Grief” by Sandy Curran won the Best Wall Quilt award. Sandy hand dyed and hand painted the fabrics for this piece. She is currently working on a series based on strong emotions. The eyes, oh my do they not capture grief? I stood for a long time in front of this piece-it really draws you in, captures your attention and grabs your heart.“Ruffled Feathers” by Roxanne Nelson was breathtaking to see in person. This quilt has been featured in several articles I’ve seen but when you see it for real, you expect this guy to fly off the quilt! The detail is so well captured.Wow!“Stogie” by Mary Pal was part of the “I’m Not Crazy” Studio Art Quilt Associates exhibition that focused on mental illness. Her depiction of a homeless man fully enjoying his cigar was fashioned out of manipulated cheesecloth! Her work is amazing and I treasured seeing this piece in person.“The Best Man” by Jean Renli Jurgenson captured a “private moment on a private day”. Perfect simplicity. Emotion captured.“Figs For A Crow” by Linda Cline. I found this piece charming and full of intriguing details. I missed the description of the piece but it looked like she used paint to create the texture on top of the quilting. Love it.“A View From Above” by Sheila Frampton Cooper. Sheila started this quilt as a mere “study in green”. It continued to grow and was 5 months in the making. Only after she had completed it did it take on the name “View From Above”.“Never Say Never” by Laura Fraga. Laura said she would never make another “Dear Jane” quilt…but she did. This was hand pieced (omg), hand appliqued and quilted with a domestic machine. She also used only 2 fabrics for the entire quilt-this was amazing to see!Isn’t that a cool combination of this uber traditional pattern with a Kaffe Fassett fabric??“Uneri” by Yoshiko Katagiri. This was part of an exhibit of her work based on the events related to the tsunami in Japan. She expressed gratitude for all the help the Japanese people received. This particular piece is a metaphor for life with its ups and downs, tangles and power struggles. It is a strong, compelling piece-I loved it!“Tranquility” by Judy Sisneros. I loved this piece-masterful use of color and fabric and a beautiful relationship between the quilting and the quilt. In full disclosure, I happen to know both the quilter and the maker. Judy designed this piece around a McKenna Ryan fabric that spoke to her-Judy combined the color, fabric and design masterfully.One thing I wished the Mancusco shows did was disclose the name of the quilter. Lin Squires long armed this quilt and she worked beautifully in concert with the piece and enhanced it. This quilt is a great example where the maker and the quilter worked in harmony.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of my PIQF experience!