BAMQG Views Quilt National Exhibit

By Angela O.

On Saturday, April 14th, a group of BAMQG-ers who weren't cramming to get their taxes done spent a great day admiring quilts and getting to know each other better at the BAMQG field trip to the San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles Quilt National 2011 exhibit and after party at Rhonda's (our demo coordinator). 

The exhibit was amazing and many of us were so tempted to touch the quilts to figure out how they did that or what's that made of.  Ruth displayed her flexibility by getting on the floor and leaning just right to peek behind one of the quilts to report to the group about the amazing stitching and "binding" method used.  Many people were inspired by the some of the very closely quilted pieces (we're talking 1/8" or less here!!) and were moved by some of the more thought provoking quilts that used nontraditional materials such as plastic bags in the piece "Global Warming - The Great Unraveling".  Ruth commented "I love how people were able to achieve such dynamic and textured looks from their quilting, and I admire the time commitment that must have been."  Rhonda fell in love with Pink Leaf 2 by Pat Pauly saying it "would look awesome in my living room.  Oddly enough, I could not convince anyone to create a diversion while I ripped it off."  Maybe next time, Rhonda, when there's not a lawyer present as a witness.

We all agreed that it is more fun to look at quilts with other quilters.  Mel commented that "Even though I had seen the exhibit earlier this month---I got a totally different perspective walking around with fellow BAMQG members. I especially enjoyed walking through with Kathleen and trying to find the connection between the quilts and their titles.  Some titles were more apparent than others.  And the pink elephant in the room with high heels!"

After the exhibit, Rhonda opened up her home to all of us for an after party with snacks provided by the guild and with beverages and Girl Scout cookies (yum!!) shared by the attendees.  There was quite a spread of healthy and not so healthy food to keep our tummies happy while we got to know each other better and talked quilts and guild.  Everyone was very impressed with Rhonda's cute, industrial style home and quilting studio and especially with her soon to be patented "co-habitation quilts" and "cat tank".  Rhonda's pets, Willie and Gizmo, also made us all feel very welcome and, as Mel says, "rounded out the evening's entertainment line up!"  

Overall, it was a successful event and everyone had a really good time.  If you haven't had a chance to see this exhibit yet, we'd all highly recommend it.  You can find out more here:  http://www.sjquiltmuseum.org/

We hope to continue getting guild members together to visit local quilt exhibits and shows.  If you know of any good quilty exhibits coming up, please leave a comment here or let Angela know at the next guild meeting.