A "Twisted" Exhibit!

As Teri mentioned last week, we had a great time down in Williamsburg, Virginia, at the Academy of Appliqué. Not only did we teach, but we were able to take a little time beforehand to go to the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival in Hampton, Virginia. It's a great show with various exhibits and some stunning quilts. 

One exhibit that caught our attention was the Twisted exhibit, by Mary Kerr. We love anything vintage and these quilts were vintage with a twist, thus the name. All the quilts in the exhibit were created by combining pieces of vintage textiles with modern quilting and design. The result was a wonderful collection of quilts that embraced the new but honored the old. We were able to chat with Mary at the show and hear how her love for vintage textiles and modern quilting inspired her to design the quilts in the collection. Her book, Twisted—Modern Quilts With a Vintage Twist tells more about how these beautiful quilt were created. The book is definitely well worth reading, as Mary explains how she came up with the design for the top, and then each quilter tells how they created the quilting designs. We of course had to have it for our library!

Mary explaining how the quilt was created.

A great read!

There are more quilts to be discovered in the book but here are a just a few from the exhibit.

Dahlias in the Snow
Created and quilted by JoAnne Blade and Kim Diamond

Flower Power
Created by Mary Kerr and quilted by Linda Thielfoldt

Detail: Flower Power

A Moment in Time
Created by Mary Kerr and quilted by Deb Levy

Pumpkin Harvest
Created by Mary Kerr and quilted by Gina Perkes

Z is for Zoey
Created by Mary Kerr and quilted by Karen McTavish

Detail: Z is for Zoey

Charlie Brown
Created by Mary Kerr and quilted by Pam Clarke

Ojo de DiosCreated by Mary Kerr and quilted by Candace West

Pretty in Pink
Created by Mary Kerr and quilted by Brandy Rayburn

Detail: Pretty in Pink

Stirring the Coffee
Created by Mary Kerr and quilted by Kelly Cline

Wild Goose Chase
Created by Mary Kerr and quilted by Cathy Franks

Detail: Wild Goose Chase

Blueberry Bars
Created by Mary Kerr and quilted by Sue Patten

Detail: Blueberry Bars

Let Me Count the Ways
Created by Mary Kerr and quilted by Debbie Kauffman

Detail: Let Me Count the Ways

Homespun
Created by Mary Kerr and quilted by Donna Ferrill James

Detail: Homespun

At the end of the book, Mary shares some tips and tricks for working with vintage textiles. I (Kara) was very happy to read about working with old blocks, as I have collected quite a few. I have only added to my collection since the post, A Collection of Antique Blocks. With Mary's book, I now have a little more inspiration to do something with my blocks. If only there were more time in a day...

Double T Quilt Blocks

Hand-pieced hexagon diamonds.

Antique Ocean Waves blocks.

 Hopefully these quilts will inspire you as they have inspired us!