I am mesmerized by the glorious cacophony of printed fabrics, from every manner off floral to geometric, modern, polka dot or striped. Here we find the entire rainbow in infinite combination, all in one place. And I am not just referring to the fabric vendors. I will bet you didn´t guess that I am referring to the festival attendees!

These are my people, my tribe. There seems to be an expressive impulse in the fashion choices of attendees. It was the fashions worn by ´ladies of a certain age´ that captured my attention and enthralled me as a little girl, and was a formative inspiration for me embarking on a creative life.

How did I sit through long, boring church services as a child you ask? If I was lucky, our family might sit down behind a pew of elderly gentleladies, not shy to wear every manner of printed blouse or dress- this was the 70s, after all. I remember getting lost in the color, the swirl of patterns, and at a young age was curious about the continuous nature of these printed fabrics, not to mention the color harmonies.

When people ask me why I started quilting, they may expect to hear that I was taught by my mother or a grandmother. Though both my mother and grandmothers did quilt, I honestly had no interest in quilting until after the pandemic. It was at this time that I started to spend more time on Instagram and Pinterest, where I saw an explosion of creativity in quilting, both modern and traditional. I wanted to know more.

My formal education is as a visual artist and educator. I have an MFA in Painting, and taught Painting, Drawing, 2-D Design and Art History at university for over a decade. I also spent half a dozen years teaching high school and middle school art and art history. In the background, however, I was always doing something `crafty´with fibers-mostly weaving on my 8-harness loom, or designing my own pictoral needle punch projects. But guess what- all this time I had also started my own SECRET STASH off fabrics, even though I had no idea what to do with them. I collected bits of fabric from fabric stores, vintage shops, and sometimes kept the fabric from clothing that I loved but that was no longer wearable. It all felt quite precious somehow.

My collection lived dormant for many years in the bottom drawer of my cedar chest of drawers, patiently waiting for me.

As an art educator and omnivorous creator, I have always loved taking continuing education classes. When I saw an advertisement for a beginning quilting class at Lyons Quilt Shop in Lyons, Colorado, USA in the summer of 2022, I thought it simply sounded like a good skill to add to my artist´s tool chest. The teacher was a former engineer, and insisted on accuracy and attention to detail- a challenge for me, since I am naturally a Type B personality and no perfectionist. But it pushed me to pay attention to my work, and to honor the process of piecing with care, for which I am grateful. The moment I put stitch to fabric, I was 100% dancing.

At this year´s Festival of Quilts in Birmingham, I won´t be shy to admit that I bought a lot of fabric. Often, the vendors would ask me, “So, do you have a project in mind?” Unapologetically, the answer was always, “No, I like to wait and see what the fabric inspires me to make!”.

Are you also a fabric whisperer?

I would love to hear about your fabric stash- do you buy fabric with a purpose, or are you a collector as well?

Until next time, enjoy your stash. Make some quilts. Make some fancy clothing. Create a garment that expresses your quilting identity. Show your true colors. 🩷❤️🧡💛💚🩵💙💜

Kari