I photographed my Travel quilt today outside on this bright, sunny fall day. For the first time I used a tripod, and why I've not done that before, I don't know. It made it much easier to zoom in and to keep the camera steady.
I came in to my studio and pinned it up with the other MM quilts on my design wall. That made me wonder what all of you do with your quilts, once they're quilted? The MMs, I mean. Husband Bob wants me to hang mine somewhere outside my studio, where more visitors can view them. But we have so little wall space left! I am open to ideas from all of you. On our first floor, we do have high ceilings, and so we could possibly hang them up high somewhere, but that would mean getting out the ladder every two months. And HOW exactly to hang them? I want a quick and easy hanging method!
Rita, as you perhaps know, displays hers, as well as her husband Randy's wonderful mosaics of all of our quilts, in a long hall at their church that cried out for adornment. How generous of her, and what a wonderful way to acquaint more people about art quilts!
Anyway, below you will see a photo of all 7 of my MM quilts so far, with fabric hiding the Travel one! As you can tell, I used a level to hang the ones on the right straight, but didn't want to get out a taller ladder to re-do the ones on the left! These are in order, from the top, left to right: Harmony, Surprise, South, Elements, Mystery, Daydream, Spiral, and the hidden Travel! My own personal favorites are Harmony, Surprise, South, Mystery, and Spiral. The only one I really do NOT like very much (too cutesy!) is Daydream! Elements is okay and pretty and I love the fabrics, but I guess I am just more of a literalist than an abstractist--and Blogger is telling me that that is not a word! (But it ought to be.)
As to your question, where do we hang the quilts: I display mine only on-line in our MM blog and in my blog, DrawingTime. I see mine as Journal quilts and I keep them stacked in a container as if a diary. Just after creating them, I may take to book club or beading or show the grandchildren, but mainly I think of them as a journal of moments in my life that I want to remember. I like wondering what will happen to these pieces that have no real purpose except in the doing and discovery. There is no wall space left in my house, and I would rather handle them than hang.
ReplyDeleteGreat idea! Likely, eventually, I will do the same, as I have some nice scrapbooking boxes that hold them so beautifully. And I could always bring out the box to show folks. On the other hand, I do love having them hanging on my design wall at present, and I can always cover them when working on a big quilt!
ReplyDeleteI don't view mine as journal quilts, though some of them might qualify as such. But I don't always have a really personal connection to whatever the theme is, and I like the challenge of coming up with a quilt based on that theme despite not having a connection. Too, for me personally, when I made journal quilts, I viewed them as something to do fast, in just a few hours, to depict an experience in my life.
I like to spend more time on these MM quilts. My chief aim with them is not to connect to my life experiences directly, but to try techniques and materials that are new to me and to challenge myself to come up with a quilt that to me anyway is a true "art quilt." Though the argument can be made that ALL quilts are art
--and I would subscribe to that argument in part--I generally divide quilts into two very broad categories: traditional and art.
Alice, I got a grin when you said abstractist is not a word but ought to be. A couple of years ago as Randy and I were driving past a small tank(pond) there were lots of ducks on it. I wanted to comment on the number of birds but the word "duck" would not come to me. So, I called them Floaty Birds. I have yet to live that down.
ReplyDeleteHi Ladies ! I have all my MM quilts in a flat container, and add each new quilt to that container. However.... I'd really like to display the quilts, but like many of you, I have no wall space. Recently, I ordered something from Keepsake Quilting that fits the bill perfectly ! It's called a "Table Stand" (product 71331 or perhaps 7B3309), and costs $16.00. I also ordered 2 "Table Stand Headers" (one is a star, the other is the sun); each was $8.00. By adding a 'hanging sleeve' to the backs of my 12" x 12" quilts, I'm able to hang them one-at-a-time on my new Table Stand. YAY ! For a relatively small amount of money, I'm able to display my MM pieces even though I have to wall space :-D Check out Keepsake Quilting - its a great site ! Peace & blessings, Kathy
ReplyDeleteKathy, I have scoured Keepsake Quilting for those items. Cannot find. Will try harder. Sounds very interesting. I think Keepsake Quilting is a half a day away from me.
DeleteIf you have a plain window put a pocket rod strip across the top of the square and display them across the top of a window. I am keeping mine in a box. They may start migrating to my husband's room where there are fifteen foot tall ceilings and where he has his quilts displayed. Just for fun I am going back and making a square for the previous assignments. I'm having a ball!
ReplyDeleteJanet, that is so exciting, about your making little quilts on each of the themes! I cannot wait to see them, and of course, I am lucky enough to be able to see them in person! Call or email me when you're ready for me to come visit you for a private showing. I LOVE the idea of the window display! I don't really have any windows that are without coverings, either curtains or shutters, BUT there would be no harm whatsoever in displaying quilts behind curtains in our bedroom, and then I could pull the draperies for privacy at night. Brilliant idea!
DeleteHi all, I display my MM quilts individually using an 8 x 10 lucite picture holder. It is the kind with no frame that you slip a picture into. I put a sticky backed piece of velcro on it and the corresponding piece on the back of the quilt. The frame holds the quilt upright for easy viewing and I have it on a small console table in my foyer. So it is visible for guests when they enter and for my family to see. It is also very easy to change when I want to display a new one. My husband also made some very simple cherry frames for a couple of ones that I really liked and wanted to hang on the wall. Again he made them so that the quilt fits into and on top of the frame and can be easily changed. Hung one at a time, the wall space needed is more manageable. I will try to get a few pictures of them for you to see.
ReplyDeleteLove both of your display ideas! I will eagerly await seeing photos of these! I am so glad that I posted this question; the ideas that I am getting are so creative. Now why does that surprise me, with the group of creative artists that we have?
DeleteOnce again we are in N. CA visiting grandchildren. My surprise quilt, Hay Jude, is on Jude's bedroom wall. The others are pinned into a narrow wall next to a window in my studio. I'll post a photo next week when we are back home. There is only so much space left and I will have to take your advice and maybe change them up every month!! It's getting close to my choosing the theme and I think I'm set on a word. We'll see on the 15th!!
ReplyDeleteCurrently my MM art quilts are being stored in a Lane cedar chest along with other larger quilts. I too am out of wall space but I have made an 'art gallery' of the guest bedroom and rotate quilts of all sizes, as well as the bed quilts as the mood or season dictates my mood.
ReplyDeleteIn 2010 I created a photo book of several of my art quilts, donation pieces and gift quilts. I used the free Picaboo website/software online (which was quite user friendly considering it was the one and only time I've done this), and I ordered 3 books ~ 2 of which were given as special Christmas gifts. Now when people ask to see my quilts, I show them my book or take them through the bedroom 'gallery'. It beats refolding and storing quilts after visitors want to see my 'stuff'. :)
Although the photo books are pricey, I wanted mine as a personal portfolio as well as passing mine and my Mom's copy onto my daughters someday. It's also a nice record of quilts that are no longer in my possession.
Judy, I have always intended to do this and just never gotten around to it. I have made many of those photo books for other people, including a super one for our daughter Susan's 40th birthday. That time, I used iPhoto. It was by far the most expensive but also the most professional looking. You inspire me to do the same. So many (most) of my quilts have been given away. I do have photos of all of them, but these are scattered hither and yon and I am terrible about organizing my pictures into albums. But this would be such a great project! Thanks for nudging me about doing this!
ReplyDeleteI have all of my 12 x12 quilts in one of the scrapbook boxes. Since I carry them to show others what I have been up to, it makes it easy for me to grab all of them and head out the door.
ReplyDeleteRight now I have an art quilt class that I am teaching at the Temple store and it helps them to see that their art quilts can be any size. It also shows them that they can incorporate other fabrics and fibers in their quilt to give a different effect then cotton fabric.