Kawandi Adventure: Quilts by Margaret Fabrizio

A visit to the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles with some of my quilter friends was a treat, as there were several exhibitions on (plus the company was superb).  Today we will cover one of the exhibitions, Kawandi Adventure: Quilts by Margaret Fabrizio.

Fabrizio was inspired by a 2011 exhibition of Kawandi at the Museum of African Diaspora in San Francisco. Kawandi is a hand sewing technique used by the Siddi women of Karnataka, India. She was intrigued enough to travel to India and spend two weeks with some Siddi women learning about their technique. They appeal to me because of my love for textiles, but as quilts, I love the improvisational aspect.

After this we will cover the A Common Thread exhibit, which I think was quite extraordinary and well curated. Though before that a little blogcation is in order…Hope you are enjoying your summer and enjoy the Kawandi Adventure!

Madder Plaids by Margaret Fabrizio, 2014.

Madder Plaids by Margaret Fabrizio, 2014.

Madder Plaids by Margaret Fabrizio, 2014.

Madder Plaids by Margaret Fabrizio, 2014.

Plaids Gone Mad by Margaret Fabrizio, 2014.

Plaids Gone Mad by Margaret Fabrizio, 2014.

Plaids Gone Mad by Margaret Fabrizio, 2014.

Plaids Gone Mad by Margaret Fabrizio, 2014.

Stripes by Margaret Fabrizio, 2014.

Stripes by Margaret Fabrizio, 2014.

Stripes by Margaret Fabrizio, 2014.

Stripes by Margaret Fabrizio, 2014.

Tiger by Margaret Fabrizio, 2012.

Tiger by Margaret Fabrizio, 2012.

Tiger by Margaret Fabrizio, 2012.

Tiger by Margaret Fabrizio, 2012.

Very Red by Margaret Fabrizio, 2013

Very Red by Margaret Fabrizio, 2013

Very Red by Margaret Fabrizio, 2013

Very Red by Margaret Fabrizio, 2013

Blue Bicycle by Margaret Fabrizio, 2012

Blue Bicycle by Margaret Fabrizio, 2012

Blue Bicycle by Margaret Fabrizio, 2012

Blue Bicycle by Margaret Fabrizio, 2012

Blew the Blues by Margaret Fabrizio, 2013

Blew the Blues by Margaret Fabrizio, 2013

Blew the Blues by Margaret Fabrizio, 2013

Blew the Blues by Margaret Fabrizio, 2013

Four Roses by Margaret Fabrizio, 2012

Four Roses by Margaret Fabrizio, 2012

Four Roses by Margaret Fabrizio, 2012

Four Roses by Margaret Fabrizio, 2012

To Be or Not To Be by Margaret Fabrizio, 2014

To Be or Not To Be by Margaret Fabrizio, 2014

To Be or Not To Be by Margaret Fabrizio, 2014

To Be or Not To Be by Margaret Fabrizio, 2014

Could Be 2 by Margaret Fabrizio, 2015

Could Be 2 by Margaret Fabrizio, 2015

Could Be 2 by Margaret Fabrizio, 2015

Could Be 2 by Margaret Fabrizio, 2015

Pacific International Quilt Festival, Part 5, International, con’t

Well, I seem to have more photos of PIQF 2014 quilts than I imagined and can only process so many at a time, and rather than cheat you out of any I will just keep these posts coming until they are all done. We love to look at quilts, don’t we?

After that I have some cool projects and quilt designers to highlight and then we can go on to cover the Amish quilt shows art the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles. The Antique Ohio Amish Quilts from the Darwin D. Bearley Collection will be on view from November 15th-March 1st 2015.  The Amish Muse, an exhibition that will exhibited along side it, is comprised Amish inspired modern quilts by Bay Area Modern Quilt Guilds. And yours truly actually has a quilt in it…..and yes of course I will be showing you that too!

Without further ado, here are more of the delicious quilts from the International section of the 2014 Pacific International Quilt Festival:

Elizabethan I by Amelia Leigh, UK

Elizabethan I by Amelia Leigh, UK

Detail of Elizabethan I by Amelia Leigh, UK

Detail of Elizabethan I by Amelia Leigh, UK

Memorial Star Quilt by Fiona Macaulay Davies, UK

Memorial Star Quilt by Fiona Macaulay Davies, UK

Detail of Memorial Star Quilt by Fiona Macaulay Davies, UK

Detail of Memorial Star Quilt by Fiona Macaulay Davies, UK

Tumuli by Kate Dowty, UK

Tumuli by Kate Dowty, UK

Detail of Tumuli by Kate Dowty, UK

Detail of Tumuli by Kate Dowty, UK

Battlefield #1 by Sally Hutson, UK

Battlefield #1 by Sally Hutson, UK

Detail of Battlefield #1 by Sally Hutson, UK

Detail of Battlefield #1 by Sally Hutson, UK

Versi 1 by Khurshid Bamboat, UK

Versi 1 by Khurshid Bamboat, UK

Detail of Versi 1 by Khurshid Bamboat, UK

Detail of Versi 1 by Khurshid Bamboat, UK

Pebble Beach by Janet McCallum, UK

Pebble Beach by Janet McCallum, UK

Detail of Pebble Beach by Janet McCallum, UK

Detail of Pebble Beach by Janet McCallum, UK

An Alternative Perspective by Susan Wessels, South Africa

An Alternative Perspective by Susan Wessels, South Africa

Detail of An Alternative Perspective by Susan Wessels, South Africa

Detail of An Alternative Perspective by Susan Wessels, South Africa

A Forest's Crowning Glory by Tanya McRae, Australia

A Forest’s Crowning Glory by Tanya McRae, Australia

Detail of A Forest's Crowning Glory by Tanya McRae, Australia

Detail of A Forest’s Crowning Glory by Tanya McRae, Australia

Fire and Ice by Frieda Oxenham, UK

Fire and Ice by Frieda Oxenham, UK

Detail of Fire and Ice by Frieda Oxenham, UK

Detail of Fire and Ice by Frieda Oxenham, UK

Grandmother-sisters' Garden by Jocelyn Thornton, New Zealand

Grandmother-sisters’ Garden by Jocelyn Thornton, New Zealand

Detail of Grandmother-sisters' Garden by Jocelyn Thornton, New Zealand

Detail of Grandmother-sisters’ Garden by Jocelyn Thornton, New Zealand

Escape Routes by Marie du Toit, South Africa

Escape Routes by Marie du Toit, South Africa

Detail of Escape Routes by Marie du Toit, South Africa

Detail of Escape Routes by Marie du Toit, South Africa

In Flanders Fields by Catherine Millar, UK

In Flanders Fields by Catherine Millar, UK

Detail of In Flanders Fields by Catherine Millar, UK

Detail of In Flanders Fields by Catherine Millar, UK

Let's Do the Dresden Twist by Teri L. Cherne, USA

Let’s Do the Dresden Twist by Teri L. Cherne, USA

Detail of Let's Do the Dresden Twist by Teri L. Cherne, USA

Detail of Let’s Do the Dresden Twist by Teri L. Cherne, USA

Coverlets: I never met a textile I didn’t like

On my annual summer visit to western NY, my Dad had planned an outing for us to Palmyra to the “Alling Coverlet Museum“.  I wasn’t actually sure what a coverlet was and my Dad’s descriptions didn’t help, but it sure was a fun thing to do given my passion for fabric, textiles and quilting. And in the category of “I never met a textile I didn’t like” he was right. These woven spreads had been a fixture from childhood and seeing a whole collection of them and the looms that made them was intriguing.

There is a rotating display of these coverlets here and it takes six years to go through them all, so there is always something new up. And the Pops bought me the museum book American Coverlets and Their Weavers by Clarita S. Anderson which is brilliant as it seems to have the best of the best of the six years of coverlets in there. Most of these coverlets were made between 1820 and 1880 and the books covers the origins of the weavers and it divided up by state–New York, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, the Virginas and Indiana.  They also have a room of quilts and other textiles of course! (Doesn’t everybody?)

Alling Coverlet Museum, Palmyra NY

Alling Coverlet Museum, Palmyra NY

Alling Coverlet Museum, Palmyra NY

Alling Coverlet Museum, Palmyra NY

Alling Coverlet Museum, Palmyra NY

Alling Coverlet Museum, Palmyra NY

Alling Coverlet Museum, Palmyra NY

Alling Coverlet Museum, Palmyra NY

Alling Coverlet Museum, Palmyra NY

Alling Coverlet Museum, Palmyra NY

Alling Coverlet Museum, Palmyra NY

Alling Coverlet Museum, Palmyra NY

Alling Coverlet Museum, Palmyra NY

Alling Coverlet Museum, Palmyra NY

Alling Coverlet Museum, Palmyra NY

Alling Coverlet Museum, Palmyra NY

Alling Coverlet Museum, Palmyra NY

Alling Coverlet Museum, Palmyra NY

Alling Coverlet Museum, Palmyra NY

Alling Coverlet Museum, Palmyra NY

Alling Coverlet Museum, Palmyra NY

Alling Coverlet Museum, Palmyra NY

Alling Coverlet Museum, Palmyra NY

Alling Coverlet Museum, Palmyra NY

Alling Coverlet Museum, Palmyra NY

Alling Coverlet Museum, Palmyra NY

Alling Coverlet Museum, Palmyra NY

Alling Coverlet Museum, Palmyra NY

Alling Coverlet Museum, Palmyra NY

Alling Coverlet Museum, Palmyra NY

Alling Coverlet Museum, Palmyra NY

Alling Coverlet Museum, Palmyra NY

Alling Coverlet Museum, Palmyra NY

Alling Coverlet Museum, Palmyra NY

Alling Coverlet Museum, Palmyra NY

Alling Coverlet Museum, Palmyra NY

Alling Coverlet Museum, Palmyra NY

Alling Coverlet Museum, Palmyra NY