Quilt While You’re Ahead

Bad puns aside, it looks like quilting and patchwork is having a resurgence of popularity. Quilting meshes nicely with recycling/upcycling textiles, the current fad for geometrics, nostalgia for the old and even digital printing of new fabric designs. What better thing to do with those odd yards of test fabric than make a quilt?

Photo by Ryan Hendon, via My Love For You blog.

Ben Venom quilts old heavy metal tees (see above) and his work will be on display at the upcoming Bay Area Now 6 show at YBCA in San Francisco. See a great interview with Ben here.

Also in San Francisco, Wrapping Traditions: Korean Textiles Now just opened at the Museum of Craft and Folk Art. It features traditional and contemporary examples of bojagi, or Korean patchwork.

A quick search on Pinterest yielded many more examples of quilting, old and new. Here are some of my faves. Some are “real” quilts made with pieced fabric, and others are quilt-like in their design.

Photo from Ian Hundley Studio.

Ian Hundley makes map-like quilts, views from flying far overhead.

Photo from Bookhou.com

Arounna Khounnoraj’s art often includes soft sculpture, like this mini-quilt brooch. See more of her work at Bookhou.

Art by Joe Kievitt, image from 20x200.com.

Joe Kievitt draws and paints patterns that distort perception; this piece was created for 20×200.

Photo by Comma Workshop.

Comma Workshop works text that tells stories into their fresh, modern quilts.

Photo by BUILDING BLOCK.

BUILDING BLOCK makes austere, tonal quilts from linen, canvas, and denim.