Monday, October 31, 2011

a slight digression...


More about Market, but first...
I will skip the usual shot of the snow-capped table on my deck; it's not that interesting.  The sun melted what was on the roads yesterday but couldn't melt the downed wires or big trees blocking everything in many places.  When i got home last night I could see the piles on my street left by the plows and I cleaned the heavy, icy stuff off my windshield this morning.  I am lucky. The high school has been turned into a shelter for those without power and school may be cancelled again tomorrow. Halloween was cancelled.
The last time NJ had snow in October was 1952, and then it was only a dusting.

On the other hand, look at my woods!!  If this were a painting, it would be trite.  But this is real.  Oh, my.

OK - back to Market. As I walked around with my camera looking for trends, I finally decided  there wasn't one that dominated.  There were still plenty of brown, beige, muted repro fabrics for that segment of the market.  Otherwise, I just saw more of what was fresh two years ago.   Here are my highly skewed and unscientific observations...

VIVID COLORS/SIMPLE SHAPES

I really thought this was a gorgeous display.

ed note #1:  Why people need an actual pattern for a four-patch surrounded by a frame is beyond me. Seems to me that any quilter with basic skills can cut squares and strips without needing a pattern.

HOME DEC FABRICS FOR QUILTS and everything else.

ed. note #2: The nesting instinct has taken over (it usually does in a depression) and I saw LOTS of charming, domestically themed prints being used interchangeably for quilts, slipcovers, pillows, aprons, tablecloths, placemats and bibs.Colors are soft and restful.

LOTS OF WHITE

ed note #3:  a hallmark of the "modern" quilt -- asymmetrical squares and/or rectangles set into a white background.  Very lovely.  Very impractical.  White shows every dust particle, not to mention the substances that babies are likely to spit up onto these lovely items. What are these people thinking? Maybe I'll make a white quilt and find out.



That's enough snarkiness for tonight. Life is catching up with me and I'm off to have sweet dreams.
Part 3 tomorrow. Nice to go away and good to be home:-).




9 comments:

Jeannie said...

You have captured my sentiments so well! White + baby = someone who doesn't have to do the laundry. Have a great week.

Marilyn said...

"Any quilter can cut strips and squares"...I think that the idea is these are for beginning quilters and they are simple enough that they are not daunted by the pattern and the quilts are beautiful. Also some people do not relate to geometric anything even simple squares and strips and it is second or first nature to others of us. Some people are good at interior decorating and can see in their mind what a room will look like with just an addition of a pillow or two. I have to move everything and see if I like it. Then If I don't I get to move it all again and see. Can't do even the simple stuff. It is nice that now there are computers that can show you what it looks like so I can choose. Marilyn

Judy Sall Fiber Art said...

Beautiful woods shot! So glad you weren't stuck on a tarmack for hours... just one more reason not to fly!
So far, I'm not seeing anything from your shots that would impel me to visit any future quilt shows...

Rayna said...

I agree the quilts are beautiful, but these quilts from Aardvark are not necessarily aimed at beginning quilters. Visual as I am, I still have to move the furniture to see whether it works where I envision it. (I flunked the spatial relations aptitude test in high school and, btw, sewing in junior high. Never recovered from that one).

Cate Rose said...

Snark away, girl. You're right on! Love your woods, wish I had some of those leaves here for eco dyeing. And thanks for the travelogue of the show ~ I'll never make it to one of the really big fiber shows, it would completely overwhelm me anyhow if I did. I like the little chunks you and others post on your blogs ~ so much more manageable to digest!

term paper said...

very cool post!

Lisa said...

haha! Your post made me laugh. I have thought many of the same things! Beautiful photo of the leaves! most of the leaves upstate are brown and on the ground. Have fun at market!

Cathy Bargar said...

Thank you for saying what I always think about both the patterns for 4-patch & other very simple basic shapes and the trend of white-grounded so-called baby quilts! I'm all for empowering beginners with patterns they can picture themselves actually completing - I guess the huge availability of fabrics, patterns, techniques, etc., etc could be bewildering to the point of paralysis to someone with no experience. And yet....And white anything for a baby?? Maybe those are just made to hang on the wall - especially since the new parents of today are warned to never put anything as dangerous as a quilt in the bed with the baby! Today's babies are bundled into swaddlers or sleep sacks and plopped on their little backs into their gigantic cribs without a scrap of loose fabric anywhere. It always looks so sad and naked to me to see them that way!

queenopearls said...

Thanks for the beautiful view of your woods as well as of the show. I think the quilt shows have been rather repetitive with a serious need for an infusion of "what if?".
I always thought the patterns were so you would know how much of what fabric to buy to repeat a similar look.
Snark on!
~Christina in Cleveland

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