QuiltCon 2017…

This was supposed to be a lazy QuiltCon: do some book signings, maybe have a quilt in the show. Honestly, it was supposed to be a bit of a vacation after the ill-effects of this last Quilt Market. But I should have known better than to plan for relaxation, because this QuiltCon has taken a turn for the crazy…

I’m never sure if the gods love me or hate me, but I do know they don’t particularly like when I make plans. Clearly a busy QuiltCon is a good thing; it means I am likely to be headed in the right direction. But after the last couple of months of psychological imbalance a gentle re-entry to the public quilting universe certainly presented advantages.

So, here’s the schedule for those of you coming down (over? up?) to QuiltCon:

I’ll be doing book signings for The Quilt Design Coloring Workbook with the fabu Intown Quilters (from the Atlanta area) all four days of the show. I’m pretty sure you could reach out to them to pre-order a copy of the book for signing to make sure they have one available for you. Let’ see if anyone goes for my legal signature this time instead of having me print my name…

I’ll also be doing demos for Handi Quilter the first three days of the show. Since the demo area is not long arm equipped, I’ll be demonstrating ways to design quilting motifs using typography, binary code, Morse code, and Braille. While I do computerized longarming, what I’ll be showing can also be used as pantographs for those not yet as deeply in love with robo-quilting as I am.

Oh, and I’ve been added to the QC faculty at the last minute; I’ll be doing a lecture titled “ Critique of Perfection: The Perilous Allure of Technique.” Already the schedule is getting busy, but I simply can’t say no when given the opportunity to talk Feminist theory and Marxist analysis, especially in the quilt world. (Nope, I’ll never stop being a massive geek…)

Critique of Perfection: The Perilous Allure of Technique
Friday, February 24
1:30 PM – 2:15 PM

The pursuit of perfection in quilting has had an enormous effect on the quilting industry, the quilts we make, and most importantly our fundamental relationship to the practice of quilting. This lecture will explore some of the factors that have contributed to the emphasis on perfectibility, and then turn to significant important moments in Modern Art to examine the ways in which technique and perfection/precision have been erroneously aligned in the quilting world. Finally, this talk will look at the detrimental messages that inevitably arise from the intersection of perfectibility and the marketing of quilting, along with the important roles the Modern Quilt Guild and quilting communities can play in reclaiming a more authentic relationship to the quilting tradition.

And then I ended up with three quilts in the show. I’m not going to tell which three (gotta leave some surprises), but I went pretty deep for these. Not that having quilts in the show adds to the activity load, but it does change the vibe a bit. It seems that this QuiltCon won’t be nearly as low-key as I had planned…

So, if you are heading to QuiltCon this year, come and find me. I may be frazzled, but will be more than happy to sit down and chill. Or even better, invite me out for a drink; I’m sure that by the end of each day I’ll be dreaming of a Tangueray and Tonic…

-t