CAMEO Quilters Guild Hosts Award Winning Jan Berg-Rezmer

The local quilt guild hosted Michigan quilter Jan Berg-Rezmer this month. Jan's quilt odessy started in 2007. She quickly catapulted to being on the 2017 AQS quilt calender!

I first saw Jan's quilts in the West Branch Quilt Walk shows (read about it here and here).

Jan's quilt in the West Branch Quilt Walk

After a career as an Oakland County, MI police officer, Jan gained a ground in art through adult education classes before turning to fabric. She has studied with well known art quilters including Jean Wells, whose book Intuitive Color and Design I will soon be reviewing on this blog,  Katie Pasquini Masopust, who I saw speak years ago at the Capital City Quilt Guild, and Laura Heine, who I wrote about on my blog after seeing her booth at the Grand Rapids AQS show.

Jan's art quilts incorporate many methods including photos printed on fabric, thread painting, painting with fabric dye, hand dying, and confetti, raw edge, and turned applique. I think she has tried every new method and surface design method out there!

Confetti are small fabric pieces that are not fused. A tulle overlayer and machine quilting holds them in place

The quilts were  smaller scale, from wall hangings to framed pieces.

Jan led a class in thread painting for the guild. Here is her class sample. She printed a photo on fabric at Spoonflower and used cotton threads to thread paint.

Back side of the quilt showing the thread painting

 Here is another sample of her thread painting of photos on fabric, in which she also used fabric dye.

She finds inspiration everywhere. These quilts were inspired by photos.

I was inspired! I need to return to making more art quilts!

Jan Berg-Rezmer at the 2015 West Branch, MI Quilt Walk

I was so pleased to hear Jan talk and to see her amazing quilts. And I thank the CAMEO Quilters Guild for bringing her to our community.

Quilty News

I was at the October CAMEO Quilt Guild meeting to see Beth Donaldson give a presentation on the Detroit News and Quilting in the 1930s. Beth works at the Great Lakes Quilt Center, a part of the Michigan State University Museum. Her career at MSU has included the development of The Quilt Index. The Detroit News History Project was the basis for this presentation.

Vintage Detroit New Quilt Pattern shared by Theresa Nielson

Quilt patterns published in newspapers, including the Detroit News and Detroit Free Press, were popular in the 1930s. The Detroit News started the Edith B Crumb's Quilt Club Corner Column which shared quilt news from across Michigan. An actual club of quilters met in Detroit. The News  held quilt shows in the 1930s which drew up to 88,000 people to see up to 2,000 quilts. The winning quilts were to be based on patterns published in the News.

5th Detroit New Quilt Show in 1938
http://www.whyquiltsmatter.org/welcome/resources/image-resource-galleries/quilts-matter-history-art-politics-episode-7-image-resources/

The first Detroit News Quilt Show winning quilt was based on the pattern series of Horoscope symbols, as seen in the pattern below which was shared with me by Theresa Nielson last month.

Beth shared 1930s quilts from her collection. Sadly I forgot my camera and only had my cell phone for photos.

 This quilt featured signatures.

 A Rainbow Quilt Block Company quilt.

My weekly quilt group friend Betty Carpenter made this quilt that has been displayed at the Blair Memorial Library. The pattern reminds me of the quilt made by Jane Austen and her mother.

 Betty recently also made this very cute elephant quilt.

What's hanging on my wall? I made the door blocks based on photographs in a book. I added silk leaves, scanned actual rocks and printed them onto fabric to applique onto the quilt. I printed out a quote from Thomas Wolfe's book Look Homeward, Angel. Read more about my quilt at https://theliteratequilter.blogspot.com/2014/03/roots-of-understanding-thomas-wolfe-and.html

"Remembering speechlessly we seek the great forgotten language, the lost lane-end into heaven, a stone, a leaf, an unfound door." 

The book's protagonist returns home when his brother is dying of pneumonia in October, 1918. The scene is based on the death of Wolfe's own brother.

2017 CAMEO Quilt Show: Quilted Treasures

The local quilt guild, CAMEO,  held its biannual show the first weekend of June. With under 60 members, the guild was able to put on a wonderful show that showcased these talented ladies and offered a wonderful vendors mall.

several Joe Cunningham workshop quilts

Two traveling shows from The Great Lakes Quilt Museum out of Michigan State University were included. The Michigan Quilt Block Project includes 30 oversized traditional quilt blocks.

Michigan Quilt Block Project, Detroit News pattern

Michigan Quilt Block Project, crazy quilt

Coloring With the Masters from the Aussome Study Group, consisting of five Michigan quilters, created quilts inspired by artists including Peter Max, Louis Tiffany, and Dr. Seuss.

Coloring with the Masters, Peter Max

Coloring with the Masters, Tiffany

Here are some of my favorite quilts in the show.

The Megiddo Quilt by Linda Ibbs is an original design, quilted by Arlene Redman. It is a copy of a mosaic floor in one of the earliest Christian churches in Israel, dating to 230 A.D.

The floor was inscribed, "Offered...to God Jesus Chris as a Memorial. Gaianus, also called Porphrius, Centurion, our brother has made the payment at his own expense. Brutius has carried out the work."

Rosemary Spatafora designed Adventure is Out There for an 'UP' themed wedding. She created the paper pieced house pattern. It is quilted by Barbara Lusk.

Black White & Bright by Pat Balduf of Sharon Tucker-Grass Root Quilt Studio is so much fun! Pat did the piecing and machine quilting.

The Chicken and the Eggs applique is an original design by Theresa Nielson. 

A Rock and Roll Storm by Jean Schlegelmann is a two fabric bargello quilt, quilted by Barbara Lusk. I love the luminosity!

Lucy Lesperance created Lucy in the Sack with Sapphires, quilted by Barbara Lusk. It won Best in Show!

Linda Watkins used a Quilter Girl Designs pattern which she calls Rick's 'Stache. Quilted by Barbara Lusk.

 Sybil Derderian's Unraveled is machine pieced and quilted.

Janene Sharp is involved in dog rescue. Her Doggie in the Window quilts was designed by Leanne Anderson and quilted by Barb Lusk.

Tabacco Road was a postage stamp exchange. Machine pieced by Cindy May and quited by Barbara Lusk.

Rosemary Spatafora's Modern Sunrise is inspired by the work of Jacquie Gering. Machine quilted by Barbara Lusk.

Rosemary also made the Vista Maria Quilt, an original design. Quilted by Barbara Lusk.

Linda Pearce's First Snow is a pattern from Tina Curran in the Quilter's Newsletter. It is paper pieced, embellished, and quilted by Barbara Lusk. It won Best Wall Hanging.

Lennox by Laurie Johnson modified a pattern by Jen Kingwell. Quilted by Maggie Smith.

Bee-utiful Embroidery was a MODA Bakeshop pattern which I also worked on last year. This quilt by Kathy Debien was quilted by Quality Quilting.

 The Splendid Sampler  from Pat Sloan was completed by Terri Thompson

Stars for Jim by Dorothy Strefling is a design by Cheryl Malkowski and was quilted by Maggie Smith. It won second place in Bed Quilts.

With 176 quilts in the show, and the additional special exhibits, I can't share them all. 

Last of all, the Suzie Parron Barn Quilt workshop quilts were also part of the show