Today I want to share some of the inspiring things I saw/did while I attended QuiltCon last weekend!

I didn’t make it to any of the workshops (I was way too late to the registration game), but I did get to hear three amazing lectures.

First was Yoshiko Jinzenji, an internationally known artist and quilter. Yoshiko talked about her Grass House Studio in Bali, showed us some of the unique ways that her fabric lines are made and used, and showed some of her incredible quilts. I was not familiar with her work before this, and now I am totally hooked. After the lecture, I immediately went and purchased some of her fabric at the Bunny’s Designs booth, and Yoshiko even signed it! Next on my wish list is her book, Quilting Line and Color: Techniques and Designs for Abstract Quilts.

I also went to Carolyn Friedlander’s lecture – Architecture, Quilts + Us. I loved Carolyn’s presentation and hearing about how her background in architecture has influenced her and her design process. Carolyn is doing some really amazing things in quilting, so be sure to check out her work if you haven’t already!

Finally, I got to see Maura Ambrose of Folk Fibers talk about the natural fabric dyeing process. Maura is my quilting hero! I really enjoyed hearing her talk about growing, harvesting, and using natural dyes in her work. She puts her heart and soul into every piece of fabric she uses and quilt that she makes, and it’s just amazing. Very excited about her upcoming project – Folk Fibers Guidebooks. I would love to know more about her hand quilting techniques, so I can’t wait to get this when it comes out.

Now, onto the quilts! As usual, I wanted to share some photos of my favorites from the different categories with you.

Appliqué

Piecing

Improvisation

Bias Tape Quilting Challenge

Small Quilts

Use of Negative Space

Handwork

Modern Traditionalism

Of course, there were so many more fantastic quilts at the show, I wish I could show you a photo of every single one!

I feel so lucky that QuiltCon 2013 and 2015 have both been in Austin. I went to the very first QuiltCon back in 2013, and I was so happy to attend again this year. It’s easy to go when it’s in your city! Lots of changes are coming for QuiltCon – going forward, it will be held every year. Sadly, it won’t continue to be in Austin. Next year, QuiltCon will be on the west coast in Pasadena, California, and in 2017, it’s moving to the east coast in Savannah, Georgia. Hopefully I can make it to one of them.

I’ll be back tomorrow with a recap of my February projects!