top of page
Search
Writer's picturePati Fried

Going Home to the Heartland: Quilt Exhibits & Creative Inspiration

It has been a busy few weeks for me! I am happy to be home and have some time to reflect on all the wonderful things I did and saw on my visit to the Midwest.

Morning Blooms in Iowa

Visiting Iowa is always a joy for me. I lived there from my young teens through college. I have family and lots of friends to catch up with when I'm home.

Lazy afternoons on a Midwestern lake.

But I always save time to enjoy the beautiful scenery that puts the heart in heartland. I am not a landscape quilt artist, but I do love to draw inspiration from places that I am smitten with. The color palette, the perspective, the variety of scale and texture, and even the mood seem to get my imagination whirling.

Serene evenings at my Sister's farm.

Like many of you, quilt passion is my back seat driver for any place I plan to visit, and so I allow for a few special road trip detours along my way. My first road trip is always to Wintereset, Iowa. Home of John Wayne, the Bridges of Madison County, but most importantly - one of my favorite quilt shops, Piece Works Quilt Shop, and my good friend Joyce. Joyce Franklin and Tony Jacobson run a fabulous shop, complete with a retreat center, on the same block as the Iowa Quilt Museum. Need I say more?

Joyce shared with me her spectacular quilt that she designed using Creative Grids Ruler.

Joyce and I go back a very long time. We discovered early on that we were great companions to walk a quilt show together, We gravitated to all the same work - bright, bold, thready, artsy - anything that pushed the rules a bit!

To finish off my Midwest explorations, I also had a girl's day (with my sis and cousin), to the International Quilt Museum in Lincoln, Nebraska. It's just a 2 1/2 hour jaunt from my home town. This is such an amazing place. If you ever have the opportunity to visit - definitely do so. I can't think of a better way to spend an afternoon.


And now for some big news!

We have added a new category to our Inspiration page - Quilt Exhibits. Be sure to pop over to view all of the photos that I took at the two museums that I visited: The Iowa Quilt Museum in Winterset, Iowa and the International Quilt Museum in Lincoln, Nebraska.

The history is fascinating, the work is stunning, and you will totally be inspired.


We will be adding more exhibits as we proceed with our newly designed website. This has two big benefits - freeing up a lot of space on my iphone, and giving our readers access to some amazing quilt exhibits that are not close enough to attend.

International Quilt Museum - Summer 2021
Iowa Quilt Museum - Summer 2021

Enjoy the beautiful quilts!

Pati








327 views2 comments

2 comentários


Convidado:
08 de ago. de 2021

Thanks for visiting Iowa, my long time friend. We are always glad to see you and your projects. Our Quilt Rebels of Iowa are retreating this weekend and there are fabulous projects appearing before our very eyes!! We painted fabric, we dyed fabric, we created fabric from snips and sewed from our stashes. A productive 3 days.

Curtir

Convidado:
07 de ago. de 2021

Thank you for this wonderful tour through these museums.


Curtir

Archive

Subscribe to Our Blog

Thanks for submitting!

bottom of page