where I nearly died

Ground Kontrol, Portland, Oregon-- That's where I nearly died one afternoon. It was a Wednesday, February 17th, 2016, a few days before my 50th birthday and the day before I was supposed to go to QuiltCon. I was playing pinball with my friend Chris. We'd just had lunch with his mother at Andina.

Addams Family is one of my favorite pinball machines, but my first game was terrible. I tried a lot harder in the second game. It worked. I "popped" and won a free game. My body popped, too; left arm went numb, wristwatch too tight, short of breath, heart racing. I needed to go outside for some air.

Chris joined me outside after I insisted he play the free games without me. I didn't let on that anything was wrong. I just needed some air. Eventually I got myself home, went to Urgent Care, told them I thought I was having a heart attack, and they told me I was sixth in line. I left with the people from Urgent Care calling after me saying they could get an ambulance. Miraculously, I did not give them the finger, and drove myself to the hospital.

Hospitals are not my favorite places to be, and I wanted out. I wanted to take my trip to Pasadena for QuiltCon, see friends, have dinner with Gwen, the works. The plan was to have a blast and return home just in time to celebrate my 50th birthday. None of that happened, and instead of cake, I got a stent to open a partial blockage of the left anterior descending artery (LAD). Not the gift I was expecting, but it's what I needed more than anything.

All is well now, but I haven't been back to Ground Kontrol, and that's kind of a shame. It's a cool place. I love pinball, and it's great to have a local establishment with a lot of great machines. If space was unlimited, I'd be tempted to collect pinball machines, and I'd start with my all time favorite, Fun House. So, that's the story of where I nearly died. Up next: where I came back to life...
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Patriotic Quilts

pictorial with log cabin and American flag, c. 1930s from Ohio

It's Election Day in the United States of America, but rather than talk about all of that, I thought I'd share some favorite patriotic quilts from my personal collection. Enjoy, and God Bless America!

1930s Mountain Mist New York Beauty from Kentucky

1970s USA Map quilt, all polyester, from Texas

1980s USA Map patchwork wallhanging

1970s Interior with Founding Father Portrait

American Flag with 13 stars, c. 1976, Florida

Extension Clubs Bicentennial Sampler, 1976, Oklahoma

1970s polyester quilt top in red, white and blue

mass-produced Bicentennial quilt, Louisville, Kentucky

Mountain Mist Bicentennial Quilt - 1976

polyester 1970s quilt

Imagination!

"The Pie of Life: Page of Wooden Spoons in the Kitchen Tarot" by Susan Shie

Imagination! That's what I saw at this year's International Quilt Festival in Houston. The event is the largest of its kind in the United States, and it attracts the most gifted artists. It was my first time attending "Festival" and I was impressed by the level of imagination throughout the work.

The amazing 20-foot-long quilt by Susan Carlson

Cotton Sophisticate by Chawne Kimber

Tom Korn special exhibit

Tom Korn special exhibit

Cathy Wiggins special exhibit

"Twisted" special exhibit by Mary Kerr

"Twisted" special exhibit by Mary Kerr

Christina Belding with one of her three quilts in the show

Best of Show winner Cynthia England and "Reflections of Cape Town"

Bethanne Nemesh and her award winning quilt "October Sky"

"The Boundless Energy of Children" by Ruth de Vos

Some of my favorite quilts were the antique and vintage quilts but no photos allowed. One of my absolute favorites was a "Broderie Perse" chintz appliqué quilt made in the 1840s in New Jersey. I overheard a lady asking where the maker could have gotten the materials, and the answer is: either New York or Philadelphia! Chintz fabrics were found in port cities because the fabrics were imported.

With Victoria Findlay Wolfe

My Festival experience wasn't the typical first-timer's experience. I knew many people who were there, and got to meet people who have been Facebook friends for years. And people knew me. Everyone was surprised to learn it was my first time attending Festival, and it was great seeing everyone, both new and longtime friends. 

With Gilbert Muniz

Witrh Penny Barnes

With Penny Barnes and Andi Herman.

With Mary Kerr and Lori East

I didn't expect to stir up any controversy, but it looks like I did just that when I posted photos of the "Husbands' Lounge" at the Festival. I'd heard about it for many years, the stuff of legends, and discovered it's for real! When I posted the photos on Facebook, some of the ladies in the audience didn't appreciate the humor as much as I did.

Now, maybe it's an idea someone came up with 30 or 40 years ago, and maybe it needs a little revisiting today, but I think it was a well-intended idea originally. Of course, things are different in 2016. Maybe it should just be a "Lounge for the Overstimulated" going forward. There's always going to be someone who needs a time out because the whole experience is intense. The passion is intense, and the amount of imagination is intense.

Imagination! At the airport, I was lucky to meet Hollis Chatelain and Meg Cox for the first time. They, too, were surprised I'd never been to Quilt Festival before. While we were chatting over a quick sushi dinner, they asked about my impressions of the event. The Festival made me want to be more of a maker. Doesn't that just say it all? On the drive home from the airport, I heard the perfect song for my mood, a 1982 funk song called "Imagination" by the B.B. & Q Band. Imagination! That's what it's all about. 

Visiting the Texas Quilt Museum

On Thursday I drove to La Grange to visit the Texas Quilt Museum. It was my first time visiting the museum, and I was impressed! The main gallery was full of quilts from my collection, 22 of them, all variants of the New York Beauty motif representing three centuries of great American quilts.

The main gallery is deep and well-lit with two levels. Quilts are hanging from the balcony, along the main floor, and in two adjacent galleries.

I enjoyed learning more about the history of the building as I admired the original brick walls woodwork throughout the space. The museum is exclusively for exhibitions. It does not maintain a quilt collection, but there is an amazing library with some rare fabric samples from the collection of Mary and Joe Koval.

It was an honor to learn my book, "New York Beauty, Quilts from the Volckening Collection" (2015 Quiltmania, France) is in the library. I also donated a copy of my latest book, "Modern Roots, Today's Quilts from Yesterday's Inspiration" (2016 Stash / C&T) and we had some fun pulling out other books that included quilts from my collection.

One of the other two galleries had an exhibition of works by Terrie Hancock Mangat. I was enthralled, especially by the large piece cascading from the back wall. The museum employed carpenters to creat the structure to support the piece. They were up for the challenge of displaying things that wouldn't easily hang on a wall, and that's impressive. The third gallery had Marvelous Medallions from the 500 Traditional Quilts book, another gorgeous display.

The "New York Beauty" quilts have now been displayed in a variety of venues across the United States and in France. It's always fun to see them in a new environment, and the Texas Quilt Museum is certainly a top notch venue. I hope this visit will be the first of many.

Only one copy of my book remained. Even though I realize it's been selling out in venues globally, it's still fun to see it in a shop display. The museum staff nailed all the other details, too, including the placards and the display of ephemera around the corner on the way to the library. Kudos to Curator Sandra Sider, Manager Julie Maffei, Librarian Jim Ayres and all the volunteers who made the exhibition possible.

I wished I could've stayed longer, but found myself rushing off to catch the International Quilt Festival in the afternoon. Friends were expecting me to show up. Although I hadn't planned to stop for lunch, I was an hour away from Houston and hungry. My iPhone led me to a down-home barbecue pit just a few miles away.

Pop's Pit Bar BQ is located in Brookshire. From the outside, I wasn't sure what I would find, but the sign said "Open" so I got out of the car and walked up to the window.

Right away I was knocked backwards by the intoxicating aroma of real-deal Texas barbecue. They don't have an oven in the place, just a barbecue pit, and they take pride in smoking their meats low and slow. I parked at a table on the front porch, and gorged on the best BBQ I've had in years!

So, I may have gained a couple pounds in Texas, but it was worth it. My visit to the Texas Quilt Museum, and the ride home, satisfied me in all the best ways.