The Quilts that made them Happy!

Last week I showed some of my own favorite quilts and explored why I really like them; I invited readers to send in some images...and a few good people did!

Here they are:

From Heather Dubreil, a wonderful quilter in Canada:

As a faithful and appreciative reader of your blog, I feel compelled to answer your call to send along a jpg of my favourite-ever quilt, titled Camden Town #2. I chose the palette in a fugue-like flurry of inspiration, yellow being my favourite colour, and I especially like the rhythmic patterning of the windows.

Looking forward to another year of your thought-provoking posts!

Isn't this a gorgeous piece?  It just glows!  Thank you so much, Heather, for sending it.

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 And from another Canadian quilter:  Elsie Montgomery:

Not sure about one favorite, but I do love this little quilt. It was made for a challenge: find a “photo of a woman’s face and mess with it” so I Googled “woman’s face” for the image and used the first one on the screen.

I love it because it draws me closer to humanity. Everyone of us hides behind layers at times. Some cannot escape the persona they have chosen because they fear being exposed and rejected. This quilt makes me less inclined to probe what people hide, and more inclined to just hug them.

Others see different things, such as terror or boredom, but everyone has an opinion, which I like too. However, the best reason is that when I finished it, I felt terribly satisfied. That does not always happen!

Thanks for your excellent challenges!

Elsie

 I really like the mystery in this quilt...you surely did "mess with it" as, of course, Jasper Johns told us to do:  quoting NY Times art critic Roberta Smith quotling Johns:  

"Writing about Jasper Johns, it is often irresistible to quote, yet again, the artist's famous sketchbook note: ''Take an object. Do something to it. Do something else to it.'' Johns has built an influential career on these legendary instructions to himself and they illuminate the basic tenets of his art with increasing accuracy."

Here is the link to her very interesting article on Johns.

And you've definitely suggested the idea of a public/private face - we see so many "public faces" in the media and know there is a LOT being hidden from view....

Thank you, Elsie, for a thought provoking piece.

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And from Geri Patterson-Kutras

Enjoyed your blog as always.  I think reviewing our quilts is a wonderful way to end the year and look back at what we've done and where we're going.  When I did this it definitely brought a smile to me because there's so many good memories connected to so many of my quilts.  I've attached a photo of one of my first "serious" quilts, it's called Courage.  The inspiration was a photo I took of my grandchildren and their friends at the beach.

It has remained one of my favorite quilts because of the children and because it was the first quilt I tried painting on a quilt.

What a lovely memory...memory quilts have such power I think, they are imbued with meaning right from the start.  The grey background is both interesting in itself, but also very supportive of the painted figures - nice  going!!  I can see why it's a favorite.  Thank you for sending it, Geri!

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 And from Del Thomas:

These images:

Del writes that she loves both of them: because of the color - so bright, so intense, so happy.
Cactus Flower because it came out exactly as I pictured it .  Even though it took me a long time to finish it.
Parrot Percussion because it was a complete surprise - I made the blocks and rearranged and rearranged them on the design board until I came up this this. The center of each block has a part of a parrot.

I agree- your cactus flowers are amazing!! so joyous and cheerful...I do hope you have this quilt hanging in a place where you can see it every day!

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And from Susan Sawatsky, her 3rd quilt:

 Her favorite quilt because:

This quilt is only the third art quilt I've made. I took a class  "Cityscapes" by Hilde Morin and as you can see I veered off sharply on the city theme...lol.  It is my favorite because of the barn which took the whole 3 days of the class to make. Once I got home I had a very difficult time giving myself permission to do anything other than what was taught. I finally emailed another gal who took the class and asked her, tongue in cheek, to give me the go ahead to do whatever I wanted to finish this up. Cutting up the barn in the class fashion was not an option since it would have disintegrated because of the very narrow pieces sewn together.
I love the look of the whole quilt finished, the barn, the sky and the thread painting. It will probably be my favorite until I make another one.

            There's  a good moral to this story: ALWAY give yourself permission to do other things from what one was taught!!   Good point.  And very nice shadow effects Susan....

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And from Leanne  Hopkins:

I truly enjoy reading your blog as you bring out the heart behind creating. Your comments provoke thinking deeper about why we do what we do and provide great insight from your wealth of experience and training.

Attached is my absolute favorite of my creations. I am a landscape designer and do art quilting for fun, so the subject(s) came from my heart. There are 29 creatures included in addition to the trees. What I enjoyed most was the process of creating the piece with layers of painting, felting, lace, yarn and beads. My imagination was stretched as I thought about it day and night. In other words, the piece evolved from somewhere deep inside me.

Wow! wonderful work and amazing details....no wonder it's your favorite....it's a quilt where you'll find something new and interesting every time you look at it.  Beautiful atmosphere...gorgeous.

Thank you!

Hope you have enjoyed these favorites from some of the blog readers!   Elizabeth