As I walk the floor of the International Quilt Market, I’m reminded of the diversity of this industry. This is the professional area of quilting that is going to continue to feed our industry.
I have five areas to look at. Designer, patternmaker, teacher, author and media.
As a designer… I saw several artists who captured my interest. I like the idea of using wool and cotton in combination. Vintage and history get me excited at the moment and I will pursue those ideas a little further….
Recently there has been an interesting debate about the genre of exhibited quilts…. Art versus traditional. The debate states in part that art quilts are more fabric expression rather than follow the principals of good quilting workmanship…. I guess that’s up for further discussion.
Here at the premier exhibition of the industry, focus on quality workmanship is reinforced…
Wearing my hat as a patternmaker, I look at presentation, content and overall marketability….
Some areas have been re hashed, some are innovative….
Today, I attended a lecture on Education… it re-enforced my own ideas on the methods of teaching.
Focusing on young people to encourage sewing, rather than quilting, is a strong movement here and I for one believe we should introduce it more in schools…
I know there are some mid teen students exhibiting in Sydney this year and I applaud the teachers who have the foresight to introduce the creative side of quilting to young people.
Author and Media. Well as you know my book has had a long pregnancy and is about to be birthed… it’s exciting to see your name on posters and handouts… finally it’s a reality after all the hard work.
DVD’s are exciting too… and I’m quite close to another form of media that will be accessible to everyone free…..
So all in all, it’s just darn exciting.
