question about contest quilts

I buy my batiks and hand-dyes, since I can't dye them myself. I am not understanding how that is different from buying any other fabric for my quilts. Batiks are not the mainstay of my stash either, no matter how I love them.

Fads change. Give it 10 years and it may trend the other way. Most of the winners are as far away from traditional patterns as possible to get too. This too will likely change.

-georg

I think you miss something in looking at the pictures. Yes, many quilts do have the batik/handdyed/tonal type fabric thing going on. But every year I see winners at PIQF with regular old printed store bought fabric. Later I see these same quilts in the NQA and AQS magazines as winners too so it must be ok even at the really big shows.

marcella

Some trends must either be ignored or endured. The fashion trend of wearing low-rise pants that show a heap more than we wanted with tops that belong in the Happy Hooker's closet in 2 sizes too small has been unbearable. The furniture trend of 'so big' it would over-power the winter palace merely puzzles me. Who buys that stuff? I've noticed quilt fabric trends that must have something to do with beauty in the eye of the beholder. A recent one that comes to mind was the mud color trend. I've played in my share of mud as a tot, taught little guys the joy of making mudpies and squished some through bare toes when planting spring flowers. Does that mean I would make a 10,000 piece quilt in mud values? Heck no. Ah, well. You already knew I marched to the tune of a different drummer. Polly

For me... it isn't so much as to whether it is a calico, solid, tone-on-tone or batik... but it is the use of color... the hues and tones and blends of color. My guess is that one could "replicate" an award winning quilt and get the same overall "appeal" if using similar colors out of a different fabric style (but again.. similar colors). Good contrast... good use of lights/mediums/darks... placement of colors... does your eye stagnate or move around the quilt. In addition to workmanship -- these are critical factors in award winning quilts.

My two cents...

Kate in MI

I just like batiks so many of the quilts I design are made with batiks. my latest entry is 100% batik too. the quilt I sent in the last time I entered was fossil ferns, a few batiks and TOT print blacks, it was made from stash with what I had in house from my then tiny stash.

Don't know about the award winners but our local shop which specializes in reproduction fabrics is doing very well. When the shop openned last year the owner knew she had to specialize in something to standout from the many shops in the Chicago area. She chose reproduction fabrics and now has quilters from all over Chicago driving to the store. The other stores had mostly gone very bright with their fabrics. Even if they have the Civil War fabrics in the store the brights over power the more muted fabrics. It is hard to choose fabrics for a Civil War quilt with all of those brights around.

The wow factor of the hand dyes might be winning the prizes but in years to come I think it will be the more traditional quilts that are still enjoyed. Can you imagine living with some of those bold quilts for years? And many of the art quilts just won't last more than one generation. "Quilts" with strings hanging off them aren't designed to last. I put the word quilts in quotes because although they are technically three layers I don't think of them as true quilts. They are fiber art invading the quilting world. Off my soapbox.

Susan