Artistry of Quilts exhibit

You have until Dec. 4 to get down to the Harbor History Museum in Gig Harbor, WA, for a fabulous quilt exhibit (yes, I'm biased, I have three quilts in it) that showcases the artistry of quilts from antiques to contemporary, with influences ranging from African, Hawaiian, native Northwest and more.

Click the museum's web site for more info: http://www.harborhistorymuseum.org/exhibits/special-exhibitions/

The rest of the museum is also a treat, with exhibits of beautiful native basketry, the local fishing and boating history, and even an old schoolhouse. If you're lucky, you can see an expert boat restorer at work. The harbor lies just beyond the museum and there are many shops and restaurants nearby.

"Searching" by Sherrie Spangler

I was thrilled to see that they used my quilt (above) as the background for one of the signs. It looks like they increased the saturation, so the colors are bolder in the sign.

This is a portion of what greets you in the main room. That's a Hawaiian exhibit in the foreground case, antique quilts along the back, and a portion of the African corner to the left. My sheer organza quilt, "She's Come Undone," is hanging from the ceiling with the light shining through.

Turning to your right, you can see these fun contemporary quilts and crazy quilt stockings.

This is the African corner, with some beautifully beaded dolls from Africa. I'll show closeups in my next post.

The antique quilts were extensively documented. Here are some, above, with part of the information sign below.

This rich velvet log cabin is from the 1860s. It's a good thing it's behind glass, because it just cries out to be touched.

The kids activity corner is one of the best I've ever seen at a quilt show. Besides providing paper, crayons, a felt design board and other supplies, the flip-display gave an excellent overview of how kids can design their own blocks:

My next post will zero in on individual quilts. Today was just an overview -- didn't want you to go on overload with too much eye candy at once!

Have a colorful day