QuiltCon people

Pam Weeks, curator of the New England Quilt Museum, taking a group on a tour of Molly Upton's quilt before the doors opened.

There is an intimate friendly feel to this show which unlike Houston, Paducah and the rest is not for profit but run by quilters for quilters and it has been very enjoyable coming across in real life quilters  previously encountered in magazines and on social media.

Jenny Doan from the Missouri Quilt Company

Christina Cameli of FMQ fame

Anna Maria Horner and fans

Mary Fons signing posters

Rebecca Bryan of Rainbow quilts

Jennifer Sampou with birthday cupcakes

Rossie Hutchinson who taught my workshop

Victorian Findlay Wolf and friend

The girls from Windham fabrics

More about Molly Upton

I went to a very informative lecture today by Pam Weeks about Molly Upton and her quilts which are the subject of continuing research.Members of Molly's family were in the front row and were referred to for information from time to time. Pam set Molly's work in the context of her time and the history of quiltmaking as a whole which appealed to me. Molly and her friend, Susan Hoffman, set out to make 60 quilts often in pairs though Molly's showed the greater sophistication..

Childhood illustrations

Teenage Molly and friend Susan holding a craft stall.

Paired quilts, Molly's more sophisticated one on left

Paired quilts

It's started

Instagram screen

Today the show proper has begun. The use of modern technology to speed things along is impressive. Our barcodes are scanned as we enter lectures. Instagram posts pop up on a screen n the lobby. Jackie Gering hosted the awards show - really large images of the winning quilts on the screen. Then it was an impressive lecture by Casey York on art as inspiration, not just for colour but form, use of contrast and decoration etc. with lots of examples.

Here and below examples of inspiration and interpretation.

A wonderful space in an older building across the way houses many of the quilts ; it's well lit with partly natural light with plenty of room and no traders to distract.
I was particularly interested to see the special exhibit "Quilts of Molly Upton" as I read an article about her years ago. She died very young by her own choice so it was good to know her quilts had been preserved and kept together by those left behind. Although her designs were outside the norm in other ways with puffy wadding and hand quilting and fabrics to hand they give a picture of quilts at this time.

Here and below, quilts from the
Molly Upton exhibit

We had a  lovely evening meeting up with Brigitte and her daughter and ate outside on an upstairs terrace.

Good company

Something Quilty this way comes

Breakfast

Back at the Convention Centre we all met up again and Belinda and I were delighted that we had been among the first to register all those months ago and received a goody bag. There was that delighted buzz of ladies excited to be there and released from domestic duties and work for a few days. Charity Quilts made by Guilds hung in the lobby.

So pleased with our bags

First on the wall of Guild charity quilts

Guild charity quilts

Guild charity quilt

G

This was a favourite with all of us but lacked a label.

We returned to our breakfast venue to buy a lovely fruity and seedy loaf sliced for us and various other goodies. They gave us loads of butter packs. Damp and footsore, we were so glad to be back in our room and sat on the side of the bath washing our feet before partaking of lovely buttered bread, gin and tonic and tea with .the film "Big" on the TV.

Goody bag contents

Huntington

By arrangement we had a separate day today by and large but started with a lovely very refined breakfast on Colorado. Then I went shopping before bussing and walking to the Huntington. The weather had changed and the rest of the day took place in cooler temperatures and drizzle. Those of you fed up with us extolling the wonderful hot weather will be pleased!  I encountered my travelling companions  in a gallery which was good as we could sort out our catering situation. Penny had taken stunning pictures of the garden and plans to return. As I had arrived later I confined myself to the galleries. The European building held lots of eighteenth century paintings by Romney etc and the star of the show was Gainsborough's Boy in Blue which caught the attention as soon as you entered the room.I enjoyed the American galleries but the only names familiar to me were Cassat and Hopper and O'Keefe.

Smoked salmon, boiled egg and lovely bread and cream cheese and Jasmiine
green tea.

Magnolis

Oranges - we've seen lots of these.

The conservatory

Frank Lloyd Wright furniture

I thought this could be a quilt

Then a ong drizzly walk to the bus stop feeling a bit miserable but another jolly chatty journey with only two of us passengers and the Mexican lady bus driver in conversation.

Off to Hollywood

Entrance to the Forever Cemetary

Tuesday we went to the Paramount Studios catching a bus to Hollywood Boulevard  and walking three long blocks to the studio but partly through the Forever Cemetery where apparently many famous people are buried, not that we saw any of them as we had to hurry but it was a beautiful setting with interesting graves partly because many had pictures of the deceased on  them. .After our two hour trip our guide asked where we were parked. When we said we had walked from Hollyrood Boulevard he exclaimed "You walked!!" in terms worthy of any actor. No one here walks and the buses are largely the preserve of the dispossessed.

You can faintly see the Hollywood sign above the building behind

The props store with guide, Chris, in the foreground.

Then it was time for margaritas and burgers outside on Hollywood Boulevard and I just couldn't believe I was enjoying all this.

Dusk fell as we ate but it continued balmy and warm.

When we got back to our hotel we noticed one or two other pairs and threes of women around -the quilters are coming!

Having a lovely time

Sunday we had Florentine eggs Benedict at Marstons, a popular spot, very homely and charming. We walked to the Gamble House passing under the Freeway and found a shady spot to sit while we waited for the house to open. It was an an Arts and crafts house using lots of fine woods and with a strong Japanese influence and attention to every detail of structure and furnishings. I loved the sleeping porches and the airy light filled attic. It was hard to take a good photo so check out images on the net.
Yesterday, Monday. was shopping day. We managed to link our favourite 180 bus route to a JoAnns and enjoyed the ride with various incidents to observe along the way. We only seem to have to pay part of the fare and the needy are excused all together. We need get off too early so another walk which we are enjoying and needing after the hearty food here. We had a more healthy hotel breakfast by the pool however an Penny is swimming. Even I managed a swim on Monday.Back to the hotel and then the Metro another transport system to learn. It was so quick to LA Dowtown where our rather elaborate planned route was interrupted by the arrival of the Citadel shuttle. Robert the driver was n unofficial tour guide. The reeway was static so we went a half hour fascinating backway, first lots of stretch limos arriving for the Grammys, then the exensive fashio district with fabrics spilling out of down at heel shops and workshops etc along the way followed by recycling plants.  The shopping centre was full of Chinese families scooping up arm fulls of clothes. I was a bit fazed by it all but managed a T-shirt and pair of Sketchers. If only I didn't have wide feet. I got two pretty frocks for my granddaughter.
The trip home took less than ten minutes and we ended up late to bed and for the first time I wasn't the first to wake but slept in. We fall asleep to Jarvis Cocker's Wireless Nights on BBC i-Player.
Paramount Studios today.

A shady spot and wearing long sleeves as protection from the lovely hot sun.

  

Breakfast at the hotel on Monday.

Could only manage a silhouette of the Gamble House.

.

Another day another meal

Breakfast

Saturday we walked up to the Convention Centre to suss it out and also the Visitors' Centre which being a Saturday was closed! We had a super breakfast sitting outside before walking to the Norton Simon Museum - oh what wonderful pictures - and there was a beautiful sculpture garden too and to finish a cafe and cool drink.. We caught a bus outside which took us 17 blocks along the Colorado Boulevarde all the way to the New Moon Quilt Shop where we bought but not hugely as the owner said the best was packed up ready for QuiltCon. The bus back was a different one which dropped us off a little too early but we ventured into Gap (top for granddaughter) and Zara (dress for Penny) before loading up  with supplies at the supermarket and staggering back to the hotel for a regenerating G&T.
Another cocktail (Bikini Margarita) with our meal. This time I shared lobster/shrimp/scallop and black tagliatelle with Belinda.
Computer use has been a bit tricky here and the webmail seems a bit stuck but I'll try to keep up.

Sculpture Garden

Lots of works by Degas

Degas again, a favourite.

Three luminous Van Goghs which are the first works you see