It’s June in Columbus, OH and that means quilting season has begun. Yesterday the NQA show opened and I went with a friend. This is the first year that NQA is providing some free lectures and films for all. We went to this very interesting lecture on the batik process and life in Java by Michael Mrowka from Lunn Studios. Debra Lunn and Michael are in charge of all the beautiful batiks produced for Kaufman fabrics which means approx 600 new batiks a year!
His slides showed the entire process from designing batik patterns on paper to making the copper stamp(called ‘chop’), stamping on the wax, to the dyeing/printing and finishing of the fabric. It is so elaborate, has many steps and is all done by hand by the local people, OUTSIDE in the sun. Batik is so effected by weather and we discussed how they cannot work if it rains and during the 2-3 month monsoon season.
It was fascinating to see the artisans working on the ground for hours, in what must be incredible heat and with such precision. It makes you appreciate each yard of batik as a little piece of hand-crafted ‘art’ and I wondered why it didn’t cost more than $13 a yard!
Here are some of the quilts he showed us:
These quilts are made of their striped batiks for Robert Kaufman called Elementals. I love these stripes and was able to find some in the vendor mall and bought every color for some future project.
If you want to see some of the batik process there are photos on the Kaufman site.
WINNING QUILTS BY FRIENDS!
It’s always fun to go to the show and see quilts by friends with ribbons on them! this Japanese wave quilt was made by Teri Henderson Tope, friend and neighbor. Also owner and designer of Material Girl patterns. Teri went to Japan on a “Sister City” visit years before the tsunami but was deeply affected by it and this quilt is a result.
Below is Pat Holly’s creation (apologies for blurriness). It is just spectacular with all the miniature details and the great color combinations! I’m a big fan and you know, own a small one of her pieces. She is a fellow Bernina Artisan and lives in Michigan. She actually won for two quilts in this show! She recently took a trip to Turkey…wonder what fantastic quilts will come out of that experience!
Below is a quilt by Sharon Vitt. It is large and drew my attention from across the room! I’ve shown you Sharon’s work before but normally it has been silk but I think this one is cottons. Her use of color is what first attracted me to her quilts hanging in our local store, Quilt Trends. I’ve taken a class from her and it was wonderful. This sure was an impressive beauty!
And a good friend, Beth Schillig won yet another award for Mint Julep. Since she retired a few years ago and threw herself into competition quilting full time, she’s just been racking up the awards! We tell her we are tired of opening up every magazine and seeing her work in them but we’re just jealous! She deserves them! You need to see her free-motion stitching up close to appreciate it. Free-motion that is regular and flowing is something I aspire too!
GIVEAWAYS—I’m having trouble getting in contact with the last two winners. I guess I’ll give them another week and if I don’t hear from them ,then I’ll offer the items in the next blog post.
STAY TUNED FOR THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE PATCHWORK SASSAMAN STYLE BLOG TOUR SOON! Lots of giveaways there!
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