Are you going to QuiltCon?

Are you going to QuiltCon?

...because I'm bringing eye candy...

In 2013, Roderick Kiracofe displayed vintage quilts at QuiltCon, kicking off what I feel is a wonderful tradition. And I'm happy to keep it going. This year, I will debut my 1970s collection at QuiltCon, and there will be an article about the quilts in the upcoming Quilters Newsletter Magazine. I will also do a webinar about quilt history with QNM in a couple weeks.

one of the colorful polyester quilts

One of the intriguing things about the 1970s quilts is the color. Chemically produced, synthetic fabrics hold color remarkably well. Polyester is one of those fabrics. It is very resistant to fading because the pigment is part of the chemical solution that produces the fiber. Cotton and other fibers are typically dyed, but the color is actually part of the fiber in polyester.

100% polyester double knit and very American

I was recently invited to write an article about polyester quilts for Blanket Statements, the newsletter of the American Quilt Study Group. It was a lot of fun reading about Wallace Carothers, DuPont, and how polyester was invented.

a smorgasbord of fabrics

 The quilts of the 1970s hold a lot of that history from a production point of view. There are many samples of polyester double knit, all colors, embossed, printed, woven designs, and other fabrics such as rayon and cotton-polyester blends throughout the quilts.

a quintessential 1970s moment, made of cottons

There is a spirit of discovery in the quilts of the 1970s, and it should be noted that the quilts in my collection are mostly made for domestic use rather than as works of art. These quilts are cheerful, even though most are not masterfully constructed. They are often quirky, too. After QuiltCon, the quilts will be displayed during Quilt County, later in the year at the Benton County Museum in Philomath, Oregon. I'm happy to have such great opportunities to share this exciting group of quilts!