Dear Friends-- 

       Welcome back from the summer, and hello to all the new subscribers!

       In this issue, I'm excited to introduce you to the newest sponsor of Quilt Journalist, Victoria Findlay Wolfe. Find out what she's up to these days and check out the juicy goodies she added to this month's giveaway. 

        I'll lead you to some compelling resources from the last Quilters Take Manhattan, and tell you about a rewarding new quilt challenge. 

        Hope to see some of you as I lecture across the country this fall, and at Quilt Festival in Houston.

Quilters Take Manhattan (The end)

        This was the 7th annual and the final Quilters Take Manhattan benefit for the nonprofit Quilt Alliance so it was bound to be bittersweet. But it was, as usual, a rambunctious reunion and celebration of inspiring quilts and quilters. For those who weren't able to attend, I'd like to do two things: provide resources for you to be inspired directly by the outings and presenters, and invite you to help the Alliance plan future events that will prove compelling to YOU.

          In my last issue, I gave you a preview of the new exhibition "War and Pieced: The Annette Gero Collection of Quilts from Military Fabrics." Having now seen the show at the American Folk Art Museum and touring it (as part of QTM) with collector Annette Gero and the AFAM's chief curator Stacy Hollander, I'm telling you to please put it on your must-see list! You're welcome.

          The word "unique" is horribly overused, but literally no two of these military quilts are alike. All of the quilts in this exhibition are astonishing in their complexity and sheer graphic punch. You can get a sense from the two close-ups I'm sharing: the one below is just a tiny bit of the border of one quilt. Annette Gero told us there are 14 layers of fabric in some bits of this border. You can view this exhibition at the New York museum until early January. Then you'll have a second chance next summer at the International Quilt Study Center & Museum in Lincoln, Nebraska. There is also a really worthwhile coffee table book available, Wartime Quilts. 

      

            This year's edition of Quilters Take Manhattan boasted all kinds of fun stuff including demos of Alliance oral history projects and a fashion design challenge. But for sharing purposes, I just want to introduce you to two presenters who had a huge impact on the audience. 

            If you don't know Sherri Lynn Wood, a quilt artist who considers craft a community service practice, you need to get wise. She doesn't design patterns but scripts and prompts for creating not only cutting-edge quilts, but a fully lived life. Here is a link to her website, this is a link to an interview with photos at Spoonflower's site, and this will explain why you need her acclaimed book The Improv Handbook for Modern Quilters. In her inspiring biographical lecture she told us about a recent artists residency she had in the Oakland town dump: I'm standing with her in front of a bold quilt made from pants she salvaged and repurposed from that dump. 

   

            

         Finally, if you're not aware of the powerful quilts by artist Michael Cummings, then dive in and look at the work of this humble genius. Cummings was interviewed onstage for the Alliance's QSOS oral history project and we were all riveted. I love that he calls his sewing machine, the same one he's had for decades (he only does straight stitch and zigzag) "my dance partner." And he told us how he stayed focus on his artwork after a 9 to 5 job (he's retired now): "I would set a timer for 60 minutes and when it went off, review the work I had completed. Then I set it again. It helped me focus and stay productive. I call it my personal trainer."

          Here is Michael's website, and here a link to a short video with IQSCM curator Carolyn Ducey about his powerful slave ship quilt. Finally, a Huffington Post story about Michael Cummings. 

           

           To close, please help the Quilt Alliance create exciting future travel programs. Do you know a strong local guild or show that would like to hire the Alliance staff for an immersive educational program? If the Alliance were to put together substantive programs like QTM but "take" some cities less expensive than NY for presenters and attendees, where should they go that you'd visit? Write to [email protected].