Birds of a Feather 2017
Grab a cup of your drink of choice (no judgment here!) get comfy as this post may be a little long. There is so much that I want to cover.
Where to start? From the beginning of course! The conference was Thursday through Sunday with classes Friday through Sunday. Thursday afternoon was a meet and greet, shop, and charity bingo. Bingo was a lot of fun. I hadn’t played bingo since my junior high days. Then Friday classes kicked off. My Friday schedule was jammed packed and by that evening when I finally got back to my room, I was brain tired! This is not a complaint, it was way cool! So much information to take in and absorb, there is actually information overload, so notes are a must if you want to remember everything. I spent the evening going over everything I learned and gathered from that day. Saturday evening was the banquet and program guest speaker Bruce Magidson, co-founder of SewBatik. Mr. Magidson talked about the process of making batik fabrics. Holy smokes; his presentation was outstanding! I have always loved batiks but I now appreciate them more knowing the artistry behind these gorgeous pieces. Sunday was a half day of classes then event break down began.
[if gte vml 1]><v:shapetype id="_x0000_t75" coordsize="21600,21600" o:spt="75" o:preferrelative="t" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" filled="f" stroked="f"> <v:stroke joinstyle="miter"></v:stroke> <v:formulas> <v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"></v:f> <v:f eqn="sum @0 1 0"></v:f> <v:f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"></v:f> <v:f eqn="prod @2 1 2"></v:f> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"></v:f> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"></v:f> <v:f eqn="sum @0 0 1"></v:f> <v:f eqn="prod @6 1 2"></v:f> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"></v:f> <v:f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"></v:f> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"></v:f> <v:f eqn="sum @10 21600 0"></v:f> </v:formulas> <v:path o:extrusionok="f" gradientshapeok="t" o:connecttype="rect"></v:path> <o:lock v:ext="edit" aspectratio="t"></o:lock> </v:shapetype><v:shape id="Picture_x0020_1" o:spid="_x0000_s1026" type="#_x0000_t75" style='position:absolute;margin-left:320.05pt;margin-top:123.7pt;width:168.55pt; height:217.5pt;z-index:251658240;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square; mso-width-percent:0;mso-height-percent:0;mso-wrap-distance-left:9pt; mso-wrap-distance-top:0;mso-wrap-distance-right:9pt; mso-wrap-distance-bottom:0;mso-position-horizontal:absolute; mso-position-horizontal-relative:text;mso-position-vertical:absolute; mso-position-vertical-relative:text;mso-width-percent:0;mso-height-percent:0; mso-width-relative:page;mso-height-relative:page'> <v:imagedata src="file:///C:\Users\Julie\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image001.jpg" o:title="20170215_100103-1" croptop="1129f" cropbottom="552f" cropright="1155f"></v:imagedata> <w:wrap type="square"></w:wrap> </v:shape><![endif][if !vml][endif]In my last blog I talked about the event and my desire to thread paint and interest in landscape art quilts. Jamie Wallen was a special guest at Birds of a Feather 2017. He did not teach at the event this year. Several of his quilts were displayed and he was on-hand to visit with. That was such a treat! Really, it was such a pleasure to talk with him about his craft. I did not purchase Thread Fusion as he said Thread Fusion 2 should be out this fall. Thread Fusion 2 is going to be more thread painting versus thread embellishment of quilting designs in the traditional sense. I am so looking forward to its debut. If you have not had the opportunity to see his quilts and speak with him in person you are missing out!
Mary Kerr’s new book Twisted and quilts were on hand. Mary also appraised the wedding quilt and verbally talked with me about a vintage quilt of mine; she is a walking encyclopedia. Oh man am I hooked. I purchased the book Thursday afternoon and stayed up that night reading it cover to cover. The idea of combining vintage fabrics, quilt pieces etc. into a modern aesthetic opens up an entire new category – Vintage Modern! Love it! (I now know what I am going to do with some orphan vintage blocks that I have been hanging on to!) The quilts are gorgeous in the pictures but in person they are even more amazing. If you have the opportunity to view this exhibit in person, do. Each quilt top was quilted by a different quilter. It was really interesting to see the different approach each quilter took when quilting these tops. Each one was so unique onto itself. All that yummy negative space to fill with awesome quilty texture! A quilters’ dream come true. Below are some pictures from the Twisted exhibit.
Aren’t they stunning?!? My pictures really do not do the quilts justice.
The number of classes is amazing as is the line-up of teachers! I can never get all the classes that I want to attend because there are so many and not enough hours in a day nor enough days. This year my plan was to focus on business and automation. By the time I enrolled in the business, Auto Pilot, and maintenance type classes, I was pretty full. All the classes that I took were excellent, informative, and inspirational. I am not going to summarize each class because this post would go on for pages.
Gina Perkes class Make Mine Modern was fantastic and taught us how to manage all the glorious negative space of modern quilts, new designs, and she even talked grids and travel paths. This information will help me design my Vintage Modern quilt in the pipeline for my vintage orphan blocks. Yeah! Inspiration abounds….
I had the opportunity to meet a couple of IG friends in person after a year or so of social media friendships’ and meet new friends some of whom we now follow one another on social media. There was so much talent and inspiration at the show it blows the mind. I attended this conference two (2) years in a row now, and both times I have walked away rejuvenated and inspired. The creative atmosphere is electrifying to me.
I ended up staying an extra night. After the last class ended at 12:30 pm Sunday, I drove to Virginia Beach and spent the afternoon on the beach. It was a gorgeous breezy warm day, and a perfect way to relax, reflect and close a fulfilling inspirational and exhausting weekend.
I hope this recap helped spread some inspiration your way. Until next time….Quilt On!
Julie
PS Below is some eye candy from Birds of a Feather 2017
