Tuesday, October 13, 2009

The one I wish I had made...

As soon as I was allocated this award to write about, two quilts popped into my head, one quickly after the other. Of course I have gone back to look at all our galleries again to refresh my memory but the same ones made my short list and I am voting for the one which I recalled first. However, by co-incidence when my husband Dennis was asked his view of the one he thought I wished I made ( yes, we do tend to over complicate things in our house!) he picked the second one.

So, the winner is... Chairs by Gerrie Congdon.
Salvage Chairs

For me it is a wonderfully evocative piece which conjours up all kinds of untold stories which is maybe why it sticks in my mind. Plus, it is made with all kinds of techniques I don't yet know how to do but which clearly are capable of creating the kinds of quilts I often have in my mind. Last week I visited Camden Stables Markets in London and was berating myself for forgetting my camera. The place was full of quirky signs and items that would have made a wonderful quilt, and, as I was trying hard to memorise it all, it was the style of this quilt I was thinking about - even before I was allocated this award. So it wins for being both memorable and inspiring.



The Marquise de Coëtlogon

The close runner up is Marquise de Coëtlogon by Kristen La Flamme. This was made for one of our earlier challenges and when I saw it I realised the game had just been upped. I was amazed that one small quilt could have such detail, that the back story was in itself so ornate and that so much effort had been put into the beaded borders.
Of course, like any quilt show you are free to disagree with the Judge and we suggest you comment below with your vote. All the quilts can easily be viewed either by theme or by artist at our website.

8 comments:

Nikki said...

I had the same feelings when I saw Kristen's Chocolate quilt -- I was so in over my head. By the time Gerrie's Chairs came around I was a little more used to awesome quilts so the shock factor had worn off.

So many of the quilts are amazing. I've been reflecting on all 144 this morning. I don't know if I could pick just one that I wish I had made. What I would really like would be all 144 available in person for my viewing pleasure when ever I like. That's not asking too much is it?

Gerrie said...

I won an award? I am Verklempt. Thank you Helen. I feel so honored to make this category as there are quite a few quilts I wish I had made. And s couple of Karen's come to mind: Similar Differences for the community theme, Lost City for the Shelter theme and Hot Hot Hot for the Passion theme.

I can't help it! What Karen does with surface design and layering is very appealing to me.

Diane Perin said...

These are wonderful choices, Helen!

I have to confess that the ones that I wish I had made -- or really, that I wish I had the vision and eye and skill and artistry to have come close to making -- are Terry's "water" quilt and Deborah's "twelve" quilt. Both of those just stop me in my tracks every time.

dutchcomfort said...

I follow your blog, but don’t leave comments very regularly. I’m so impressed by all the work of all you 12 wonderful artists.

I love the ‘chairs’ quilt by Gerrie Congdon very much. I’m a (typo)graphic designer and adore letters used in quilts.

Good luck to all of you with the next Pink project!

Dotti said...

The layers on "Chairs" is amazing. It reminds me of a dark warehouse of treasures gone by, the furniture stacked...lots of spaces and crevices inviting exploration.

Terry Grant said...

Great choices. I love Gerrie's chair quilt and having seen it in the flesh, I can tell you it is even better in person! My choice, by a hair, would have been Kristen's chocolate piece, simply for it's cleverness and provocative nature! Plus such a great design. The handwriting is wonderful, as is the figure. This may be my all-time favorite of the whole project!

Anonymous said...

Me, too, Terry. Kristin's Chocolate quilt is my all-time favourite of the 144 (closely followed by Deborah's Twelve quilt).I adore everything about it and jealously wished I had made it for a verrrry long time!

Jeannie said...

I was in agreement until I started looking at the past categories. Gee, Terry's dandelion amazes me, I loved Gerrie and Karen's twelve quilts, Diane's water quilt. Well, I am glad I am not a judge because I would just throw up my hands and run. You all have amazed and delighted me with your themes and quilts. I look forward to the next installment each time. Thanks for sharing all of your creativity.