Afternoon at the Quilt Museum with Sherri Lynn Wood

Friday afternoon, Kristie and I had a date to go to the quilt museum. There was a lot going on, it was First Friday, they opened the new galleries, and there were two featured speakers, Sherri Lynn Wood and Leah Sorensen-Hayes. 

The quilt museum is a fantastic facility as is, but the new galleries are beautiful! I think it's wonderful that more of the collection will be able to be displayed. 

One of the new exhibits is Michael James's "Ambiguity & Enigma." I didn't snap any pictures of it but it is a must see. His digital and hand painted fabrics were thought provoking to me, even without knowing the back story. Here is an article that tells the story of how the quilts came to be. It's heartbreaking. Now that I know the back story, I want to go back and see them again!

A couple weeks ago, I talked about how I just bought Sherri Lynn Wood's new book, The Improv Handbook for Modern Quilters and how her technique inspired my improv challenge piece. Well! She is on her US book tour and decided to stop in Lincoln! Woo! Kristie and I were both so excited to hear her speak about improv quilting. 

Look at her fantastic quilts! 

Over 120 people came out for her presentation. She said it was the biggest crowd she's had on tour.

 I loved her presentation, especially because she used a lot of musical analogies. Right up my alley! She made the point that we all improvise everyday, in many ways, whether it's having a conversation with someone, cooking or basically just living! I liked how she gave ways to begin improvising with quilting and also that she talked about using limitations to help shape your improv sessions. It's the same with music, there's lots of notes that can be used but if you try to use them all, it can result in something ugly and jumbled. Choosing a few notes or fabrics to play with frees your mind up to work in a more focused way. After her talk, I just wanted to go home and sew! I can't wait to try more improv!

It was so much fun meeting Sherri and also some new quilt loving people! 

Before the night was over, we walked over to the Robert Hillestad Textiles Gallery.

This exhibit is called: Jan Myers-Newbury: A Touch of Kismet Quilts, Color, Pattern, Chance.

All I can say is WOW!

I'm learning so much everytime I visit the museums. This artist used a fabric dyeing technique called Shibori. We thought many of the fabrics looked like they were alive. My pictures don't do it justice, you really have to see them in person.

So so good. 

If you're in the Lincoln area this summer, stop by these galleries! If you love quilts, you won't be disappointed.