Men and the Art of Quiltmaking

Long before Europeans colonized America and brought quilting as a textile tradition with them, men were the professional quiltmakers, not women. So begins Joe Cunningham's new book, Men and the Art of Quiltmaking. 

AQS is honored to be the publisher for this book, which profiles 30 of today's male quiltmakers. What they do, why they do it and how they do it are discussed. Photos of their work are included along with nine patterns.

You'll recognize some names but others will not be familiar. Men aren't quite the oddity in quiltmaking in 2010 that they were even five years ago, but are still worth understanding, because they add a certain dimension to the art of quiltmaking.

Joe is a great writer and clearly enjoyed his interviews with his fellow artists. As he writes, "...I began to feel like we were brothers of the quilt." It's a brotherhood with a huge spectrum of tastes and style, from traditional to contemporary to art quilt. Their methods and approaches vary tremendously, too.

For those attending the AQS Des Moines quilt show this October 6 - 9, a bonus is a special exhibit by 24 of the book's quilters, curated by Joe. There have been exhibits of quilts made by men, and male quiltmakers are no longer rare participants in shows and exhibits, but this is the first all-male quilter exhibit to come from a single book on the subject.

Joe will be teaching quilt classes and lecturing in Des Moines, and giving a performance of his musical, "Joe the Quilter." And, he will be signing his book in the AQS booth, so this is a great opportunity to immerse yourself in quilts made by men and talk with a male quilter. Click here to learn more about the show: www.americanquilter.com

Joe's fondest wish is to write more about male quilters. Read his first book on them by ordering AQS item #8243 at 1-800-626-5420, or at the link above. See if anything Joe discovered surprises you, and let him know about it by commenting here.

Meet Me in Des Moines, Myrna

OK, "Meet Me in Des Moines, Myrna" doesn't have quite the ring to it Judy Garland gave to "Meet Me in St. Louis, Louis" in the almost-eponymous movie, but this really is an open invitation to come see me during our show this October 6 - 9 at the Iowa Convention Center.

I'll be in an office in the hallway outside the exhibits, hoping to talk with prospective authors about their book ideas (look for the easel sign that says, "Andi Reynolds, Executive Book Editor"). If you'd like to talk about a book idea, you can prepare in advance by reviewing our proposal guidelines. Go to www.americanquilter.com and click on "Authors."

You can also attend my lecture, Publishing 101, which will be Wednesday, October 6 from 11 am to 12 pm in the Iowa Hall of Pride Theater. Register for Lecture # 32801.

I'll also be moderating the Author's Roundtable on Thursday, October 7 from 5 pm to 6 pm. This, too will be in the Iowa Hall of Pride Theater; it is Special Event # 32201. Come hear what four AQS authors have to say about being AQS authors: Joe Cunningham (Men and the Art of Quiltmaking), Jean Biddick (Masterful Machine Pieced Quilts), Zena Thorpe (Beautiful Alphabet Applique), and Kimberly Einmo (Jelly Roll Quilts & More).

Both events should help explain the process of becoming an AQS author, but you don't need to attend them to talk with me. Walk-ins are welcome, or you may make an appointment before October 1 by emailing me at andi@aqsquilt.com. You can always ask for me at the Workshop Desk, too.

Being at each AQS quilt show is always exciting for me because I do get to meet so many creative people with such interesting ideas. If you have given some thought to writing a quilt book, come to the quilt show and see me! Bring just an idea or a full-blown proposal or anything in between. I look forward to meeting you.

Copyright and Quilt Shows

We receive a lot of questions about getting design permission when people enter our quilt shows. Here's a link that should help. It goes to an article written by Bonnie Browning, AQS Show Chair. We are always glad to answer any questions related to copyright; just call us at 270-898-7903.

 http://www.americanquilter.com/quilt_world/news_view.php?id=154

Who Are Those Guys?

Remember this line from the movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid?

That's what I was wondering several years ago when men quilters began appearing in quilting magazines. I wanted to read a book about men who quilt, and then I became executive book editor at AQS. I suggested we do a volume on these artists, and not long afterwards, I ran into Joe Cunningham. He'd been thinking along the same lines. The result is his forthcoming book, Men and the Art of Quiltmaking (due this Fall), in which he interviews and shows a sampling of the work of 29 men who quilt. And his own.

Joe will be teaching at our Des Moines show this October 6 - 9 and will curate an exhibit of quilts from his book. It really is something to read what these guys are thinking. One minute, they sound like aliens. The next minute, they sound like every quilter you've ever known.

Artists in the book are Bob Adams, Phil Beaver, Don Beld, Jack Brockette, Richard Caro, Joe Cunningham, Andre Emmell, John Flynn, Scott Hansen, Luke Haynes, Raymond K. Houston, Michael James, Michael Kashey, Alan Kelchner,  Richard Larson, Din Linn, Mark Lipinski, Mike McNamara, Jim Mikula, M Mueller, Scott Murkin, Shawn Quinlan, Gerald Roy, Jonathan Shannon, George Siciliano, David Taylor, Ricky Tims, Holice Turnbow, David Walker and Erick Wolfmeyer.

Seeing is believing, so make plans to come to Des Moines to answer the question: Who are those  guys?

A New Generation of Sampler Quilts is Upon Us

Consider the sampler quilt. That venerable staple that so many quilters learn on has a long but boring history: make six (or 12 or some other even number) blocks, each different but all the same size. Sash them, make cornerstones, add a simple border and voila - your first quilt. Teachers and students love samplers for combining all the basic techniques in one neat package, but they can be so blah.

Well, it's a new day in the quilt world, given Marianne Hatton's approach in Simply Dynamic Sampler Quilts. Gone is the concept that all blocks must be the same size. Her GridMap (copyright) technique shows and encourages the accurate use and placement of blocks of diverse sizes.

Gone are boring, matchy-matchy color schemes. Now samplers can be thematic, evocative, and artful.

This experienced teacher pulls all of this off while giving excellent basic how-to-quilt instructions, so shops will still love giving sampler classes to beginners. In fact, this book is a gentle exercise in design, which frightens so many new (and some not-so-new) quilters and so many people find difficult to teach.

If you're looking for a fresh approach to teaching, have a sampler idea of your own you wish were snappier, or like designing traditional-but-contemporary-too quilts, the next generation sampler quilts in this book are for you. AQS #8237 (800-626-5420)

Considering Quilting Trends

I'm occasionally asked to write something for a special project at AQS and this is always a delightful task. I did, after all, begin my career as a writer before becoming an editor.

The 2011 Kentucky Visitor's Guide will have a very short piece by me in it about Kentucky's quilt heritage. This topic has been admirably covered by others, including Jonathan Holstein and Shelly Zegart, and I make no claim to improving ground they have so capably made flourish; I'm just reporting.

What I do want to say, though, is that researching that super short article has reminded me once again of how accomplished 19th and 20th century quilters were. With very few tools, bad lighting, not a lot of time and questionable fabric and thread, they created quilts that would stun us today, even if made with the very latest in everything quilting.

Take a look at Kentucky Quilts 1800-1900  (Pantheon Books, 1982) to see what I mean. Whether your taste is what you see or not, you must be impressed with the creativity, artistry and workmanship in those quilts. In the 21st century, we have embarked on a campaign to make quilting as quick, easy, fun and painless as possible. I can't say if this is good or bad, and I don't mean to. I just think it's astonishing, when we take the time to look back, at what our foremothers made happen with needle and thread, unsupported by an almost 4 billion dollar industry.

We should give thanks every day that we have so much creative and artistic support, from fabric manufacturers to thread makers to tool creators to teachers and, yes, publishers like AQS. The list is becoming endless, and that, in itself, is cause for celebration. Quilters have never had it so good.

Take some time to really examine the much older quilts we are lucky to have available to us, whether in books, in exhibits or in person. My hope is that you will have an epiphany similar to mine.

Spice Up Your Quilts

It's so much fun to find (and buy) gadgets and gizmos that bring out your creativity, we sometimes overlook the tried-and-true we already have.

Consider the sewing machine. Whether sort of old (like some of us) or loaded with bells and whistles (also like some of us), not many people take full advantage of the machine's properties when making quilts.

Enter 9 very talented Janome educators. Led by editor Nancy Fiedler, they have compiled a nifty book that explains 11 different techniques (plus 4 variations) and designed 13 really creative projects to teach how to take make the best use of what you probably already own. Make an oval table runner, a bed scarf, even a fringed journal for sketching or noting your best ideas. Wallhangings, quilts and pillows are in this book, from traditional to contemporary in style.

In addition, the book has "Bright Idea" boxes with suggestions of taking each technique further or in a different direction.

The contributors are (in order of appearance in the book): Kim Schultz, Valora Hammond, Carol McKinney, Nancy Fiedler, Mary Carollo, Marilyn Gatz, Nancy Burg, Louis Carney and Patsy Shields. Their names may be familiar if you've taken classes at AQS shows where Janome machines are used, or if you've been to other sewing events where class instructors are assisted by these oh-so-knowledgeable sewing machine experts.

Once you've read Creative Sewing Techniques by Machine, you'll never make ho-hum projects again, and your machine will truly be your creativity ally. (AQS # 8235; 1-800-626-5429)