Yesterday my friend Heather joined me in visiting a quilt exhibition titled "Quilts: Past & Present" at the Buhler Gallery at the St. Boniface Hospital. This exhibition included both historic quilts from the Manitoba Crafts Museum and Library's collection and quilts made by Manitoba artist, Heather Lair. Both were well worth the view. Of the historical quilts, my favourites were a crazy quilt made by Sarah P. Hamm in 1882 and a log cabin quilt made with narrow strips of wool and silk fabrics. A closer look at the crazy quilt revealed very fine embroidery stitches and a lovely scalloped border. I would have loved to have taken many close-up photos of the crazy quilt for inspiration of
my own, but alas, the gallery did not allow cameras.
Heather Lair is an award-winning quilter from Gimli, Manitoba, and upon viewing her work, it is easy to see why. She skillfully blends traditional and modern styles and techniques in her work. The fabrics she uses are a mix of commercial and hand-painted fabrics, as well as a mix of types of fabrics, such as silk and wool. She has been a full-time quilter for over 30 years and teaches
classes in quilting and sewing. I know I'll be watching for news of a local class.
The landscapes she paints with fabric are quite lovely on their own, but framed with a mix of traditional and non-traditional quilting styles, they are quite stunning! The painted sky on "Imagination Beach" (shown above) was so beautiful and evocative!
The photo above does not do justice to the beautiful regal colours used in this full size bed quilt.
I really liked these landscapes, painted with strips of fabric with raw edges snipped and fraying to add texture. They really came alive for me.
You can see more of Heather Lair's work on her
website or
Etsy shop. The exhibition is on until January 22, so do stop by if you are in Winnipeg!
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