Antique and Modern Amish Quilts at San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles

My interests seem to be bouncing back and forth between traditional, modern and art quilts lately. After my quilt was published in 500 Traditional Quilts, my love of exquisite traditional quilts was reignited. In an alternative universe, I’ve been smitten by some of the modern quilts I’ve been seeing. And then there are the art quilts that I’ve been loving, making and studying for the last 5 years or so.

Of course they all have much in common. When I saw that the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles was having an exhibit of Ohio Amish quilts, as well as an exhibit of “Amish made Modern” by three Bay Area Modern Quilt Guilds, I knew I had to see that! I met a friend there and after we viewed the modern quilts we got to chatting-I took very few photos of the Ohio Amish quilts.

The Amish made Modern exhibit combined the talents of the East Bay Modern, Bay Area Modern and South Bay Area Modern guilds. Joe Cunningham juried the show of about 20 quilts that best represented a modern take on early 20th century Amish quilt making traditions. It totally suited my current “quilt mood”.

It’s amazing what you can do with half-square triangles! Those white HST intrigue me. They seem to be thoughtfully placed, but only on the top half of the quilt. I chuckle thinking if this went in for judging at a major show, the comments might include something along the lines of “value contrast too high in some areas-the white triangles are distracting.”

I don’t think they worried too much about how their quilts hung! I love the way the colors shimmer and how the maker scattered a few odd colors throughout. And there are some lost edges throughout too-love that!

This shows such fine piecing and applique-I marvel at the piecing skills of the maker.

Moving into Modern territory now-I love the way Tara has used color. Her write up states that she was simply playing with color. When you are in front of it, different squares will grab your attention over time.

Apparently Ruth was having trouble sleeping one night. She caught a vision of an Amish Roman stripe which came together with a modern half square triangle and this quilt was born. It kind of reminds me of Michael James’ quilts.

This quilt was inspired by the photo of an Amish quilt on a book cover. The quilting was beautiful and was inspired by Talavera tile designs.

Ann describes her piece as celebrating the similarities and differences of the Amish and modern cultures. I like the strong impact of the piece.

Karen wrote that the bright palette of her quilt honors the nurseries of her childhood and the annual festival of floats. She was inspired by the 1930 Railroad Crossing quilt. The one pieced block represents her home town and the railroad that passes through it.

What I Had references the Amish practice of using what was on hand. Kim used fabrics from her stash to make this quilt-what a concept!

Pat was particularly influenced by a Roman Stripe quilt in a previous Amish quilt exhibit that she saw in San Francisco. She purposefully made her color choices traditional and understated, yet striking and bold.

Vanessa’s quilt was inspired by the fragrance, beauty and ancient wisdom of the redwood forests. She does not tell us what 1500 means, perhaps the age of the redwoods?

Gotta love this quilting detail!

The exhibit is showing through March 15, 2015 so there’s still time to see it. It’s well worth your time if you’re in the area. It’s intriguing to see both the modern and traditional quilts in the same visit-you begin to see their similarities and differences in a new light.