More Is Better! AQS Quiltweek-Paducah 2022

You know, I really do like to stay at home. But I do also like to see new things, have new experiences, and meet up with people I know. Travel has been pretty light the last couple years of course, but during the last couple months I’ve been making up for that lack.

When my Specimens exhibit of 12 quilts was at the AQS Paducah quilt show last month, I had to travel to KY for the experience of seeing them all gathered together again and to share them with others. I also wanted to experience Paducah, “Quilt City, USA.” There were friends to meet up with, sights to see, places to go, and food to eat.

In last week’s post I focused on my own quilt exhibit and Specimens lecture, the “business end” of my trip. In this week’s post, I’ll share other sights and more importantly, other quilts exhibited at QuiltWeek 2022 in Paducah, such as Shiela Frampton Cooper’s, above.

At the National Quilt Museum: Shiela Frampton Cooper

Paducah, KY is the home of the National Quilt Museum, definitely a place to explore on my first trip to Quilt City. The large and open space had beautiful, award-winning quilts on display and was the perfect way to begin my visit.

An added bonus was that my friend and fellow quilt instructor, Sheila Frampton Cooper had a current exhibit of her contemporary art quilts at the museum. On my third day in town, Shiela gave a talk about these quilts that I and mutual friends Nancy Blake and Joe Clark (above) attended.

Click on any photos in the post to see them larger and then advance through each photo gallery.

I’d never seen as many of Shiela’s quilts together and cannot begin to cover the stories she told of them—her inspirations, the development of her intuitive piecing, her thoughts on color, the feelings and thoughts they evoke.

Sheila was a pleasure to listen to and even to watch as her intensity as an artist came through in her words, expressions, and even gestures. If you ever have an opportunity to hear her talk, I highly recommend it—she gives you a lot to think about and ideas to walk away with.

Hexies

Back to the AQS Quilt Show just a few blocks down the road. As you walk into the Dome Pavilion (a.k.a. The Bubble) where my Specimens Exhibit was, there’s a short dividing wall with three groupings of hexie patches made of silk ties.

It’s easy to walk by them, but so engaging once you stop to look closely at the patterns in the fabric and how they are arranged. And then you notice the faces… there are two in the details below, but more in the overall photos above.

Sew & So Podcast about Paducah Show

Special Exhibit: Antique Red and Green Quilts

I ran into another friend and fellow instructor, Barb Vlack, a few times at this AQS show. One time I was able to give her a tour of my Specimens quilts. We then turned the curtained corner to see an exhibit of late 1800 quilts—quite the opposite from my quilts in just about every way. Nevertheless, there’s something about them that attracts me.

Barb has studied the history of quilts and quilt making so she was the perfect guide as we wandered through this exhibit. I guess there’s quite the controversy as to if it’s appropriate to machine quilt an antique hand-pieced quilt top—the quilt above is an example. Regardless of any final answer to that question, it seemed to me that if not at least for the time-saving aspect of machine quilting, many of these quilts would not have been finished and displayed, for people like me to see and enjoy.

Special Exhibit: SAQA—Wide Horizons VII

SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Association) puts together themed exhibits attracting fiber artists from around the world. The following photos represent only five of the quilts selected for this particular traveling exhibit. I think these especially caught my eye due a combination of colors, textures, and various collage techniques. Beautiful.

AQS Paducah—the Show Quilts (a very a small portion of them)

There are thousands of quilts to view in this show. The selection below is eclectic and varied with photos taken as I had time to walk the aisles. Many are collage quilts (big surprise), but I was impressed and entertained by so many others as well. I hope you enjoy perusing them. Congratulations to all of the quilters who shared and had their quilts selected for this AQS exhibit.

Remember, click on any photos in the post to see them larger and then advance through each photo gallery.

The Vendors

Entering the vendor booth exhibit area is like entering a bee-hive of activity. I caught a half a minute or so of sights and sounds in the video below, from the Dome Pavilion on Day One.

Of all aspects of the show, browsing the vendor booths was the least amount of time I had. Sad for my fabric stash, good for the ol’ bank account balance. In photos above, I was happy to see my friend Bernie Kent from Canada at the Wonderfil thread booth, and a past student of mine, Melissa Merriman Harr, with her husband at their own company booth (Toadallyquilts.com). I impulse bought some African cloth fans that are not only beautiful but cool you down really well, and at the end of my last day at the show, I got a photo with Stevie and my “show neighbors” (from OffTheWallQuilt.com).

And finally, one last pass through Specimens. Thanks for putting on the show, AQS.

The Closer

Off and on I’ve had the chance to run into quilter Ricky Tims—and once as a guest on The Quilt Show with him and Alex Anderson. But I’ve never had the opportunity to attend one of Ricky’s evening performances to see his skills as an entertainer, storyteller, and pianist. On the last evening of the AQS quilt show, Ricky got a standing ovation from a very enthusiastic crowd.

Out and About in Paducah

The Dogwood Trail:

Thank you Nancy and Joe for sharing your photos from Paducah!

The Eating:

The Mellow Mushroom for pizza with friends.

Branch Out for fresh and amazing “fast food.”

The 505 for their QuiltWeek special pistachio chili soy latte.

The Downtown:

The renovated old downtown with live music and a red yak outside of Yeiser Art Center. Other sights and shops follow in photos below.

The Flood Wall:

Paducah lies on the Ohio River, and the river separates Kentucky from Illinois to the north. The river has flooded several times in the past and tall flood walls  protect the city. A long expanse of the wall has been decorated with murals celebrating Paducah’s history.

The River Walk on the Other Side of the Wall:

Getting Home

If I had known that thunderstorms in Chicago would cause me to get home a day late after four rounds of hastily re-booked flights, I may not have enjoyed my time in Paducah as much. But I didn’t know that, so I had a great time during QuiltWeek.

As my final return flight descended, I noticed the shadow of my plane making it’s way across the not-yet-green fields of Maine. Seeing the Atlantic coast in the background, it was nice to be home again.