PMQG Show & Tell - Andrea Balosky!

"Cross Currents Study #2" 1994 by Andrea Balosky

Last night I brought three Andrea Balosky quilts to the Portland Modern Quilt Guild May meeting for show & Tell. I have seen a lot of people working with print fabrics lately, and thought they would enjoy seeing Andrea's quilts. I actually have more than what I was able to bring, so here's where you can see more!

"Night Flight" 1982 by Andrea Leong Scadden, aka Andrea Balosky

The first time I met Andrea was at the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show when the Oregon Quilt Project had a booth. Although the booth idea wasn't the best, one great thing came out of it. I got to meet Andrea.

She wanted to find a home for her quilt, "Night Flight" and I spoke up right away. The quilt was made in 1982 when Andrea lived in Seattle. It was included in the 1983 Quilt National. At the time, her name was Andrea Leong Scadden.

"Jerry's Garden" 1995 by Andrea Balosky

When she gave me "Night Flight" she also brought a small quilt from her "Transitions" book- "Jerry's Garden". She wanted us to raffle the quilt, but we had no way of holding a raffle, so I held on to it. After I curated an exhibit of her doll quilts at Latimer Quilt & Textile Center, she said I could keep the quilt.

Andrea's book - I have the quilt on the cover and two others
in the book. Those were the three I showed last night.

some ephemera and photos

Her name would evolve over the years, and she was best known as Andrea Balosky, during the time she lived in Camp Sherman, Oregon and was actively involved with the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show. That was when her work was best known. These days she lives in the Himalayas and is known as Nyima Lhamo.

"Cross Currents Study #3" 1995 by Andrea Balosky

In 2010, I curated my first exhibit of quilts at Latimer Quilt & Textile Center. It was "Small Wonders, Doll Quilts by Andrea Balosky" and the catalogue is still available - click here for info.

She doesn't really make quilts anymore, but a few years ago came out of retirement briefly to make several little quilts for the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative (AAQI). I bought as many as I possibly could.

"Blue Skies" AAQI Quilt #6392

"Green Tangent" AAQI Quilt #6393

"Enigma Variation" AAQI Quilt #9937 

"This Is It" AAQI Quilt #9938

"C is for Curiosity" AAQI Quilt #11,734

"Sealed with a Smile" AAQI Quilt #11,735

"Keep in Touch" AAQI Quilt #12,904

A couple years ago, a neighbor of a friend found some "studio droppings" as Andrea would call them, and asked if I would want them. Of course I said yes! There were many interesting unfinished pieces in the bundle.

The last time I saw her was a couple years ago at the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show. She was in the U.S. for a visit that summer, and came to visit me at my home before returning to Mungpoo, Darjeeling, India - in the Himilayas, where she now lives. I have begged for her to come back to America, but she is happy where she is now. I think about her often. Hopefully she will come back and visit again soon!