By Camie Roper
How’s that quilt entry coming along? By this point, we hope you have at least chosen a design and fabric. Take a step outdoors, breathe in that almost-spring air, and use the earlier-sunrise and later-sunset hours to make progress on your creation.
Quick quiz: How many creators of the following works of art can you name?
- Starry Night, Sunflowers
- The Scream
- Mona Lisa, Vitruvian Man, Last Supper
- The Thinker
- Oriental Poppies, Black Iris, and the Cow’s Skull series
- Girl with a Pearl Earring
- American Gothic
- The Night Watch
(Answers will appear at the end of the post.)
How did you do? Now, just think how much more difficult it would be to determine the artists, had they not identified their work by signing it…
To create is to bring something new into the world. It’s the ultimate “I made this” moment. Do you want to dilute that moment by not claiming your creation?
Labels are quilters signing their art. Suddenly, that piece has a creator; maybe a title; perhaps a date, or place where it was created. Is there a story behind this quilt?
Labels are the quilter’s fingerprint on their creation, their last touch before sending it out into the world, whether as a quilt show entry, a gift, or to be photographed for publication. They can be hand- or machine-printed on fabric, cross-stitched or embroidered, painted, pieced, or appliquéd. Labels can even have a QR code, so the viewer can scan and view the information online.
I’ve seen breathtakingly beautiful labels, done-at-the-last-minute labels, and everything in between. There are beaded labels, labels that open like a book, envelope labels with a separate letter inside! Online are many designs available for your perusal. I encourage you to take time to see what others have done and make your own laudable label.
Once the label is on, your quilt must hang in the show. A sleeve generally is sewn at the top on the reverse of the quilt. The fabric can be part of the back design, or it can coordinate with or contrast with the back. Again, an abundance of sleeve types and methods to attach them exists online, so take a look. And don’t forget to photograph each quilt you make!
Here are the answers to the quiz: 1) Vincent van Gogh 2) Edvard Munch 3) Leonardo da Vinci 4) Auguste Rodin 5) Georgia O’Keefe 6) Johannes Vermeer 7) Grant Wood 8) Rembrandt
Important things to remember about the 2022 GAAQG Quilt Show:
- You can enter up to three quilts.
- Members can enter quilt(s) from March 19 to April 30 on the guild website. The quilts don’t have to be finished, but you must provide a photo.
- Members can sign up online to volunteer 2 hours for each quilt entered, beginning March 19.
- To cross the finish line, members must submit their quilts to the Quilt Show Committee on July 29.
- Quilts will be displayed in the GAAQG Quilt Show July 30-31.