Eat Read See: Road to California

You might know that I'm a quilter. I'm not sure what that conjures up in your mind. Maybe your granny's quilts or traditional quilt patterns? Perhaps you've seen a bit of the modern quilt movement. Whatever that means in your head, let me tell you what that means for me. I started quilting about 4 years ago. My intent at the time was to make a quilt for Sesha's and Nick's wedding. I had no idea that it would become a hobby that I loved so much. For me, I feel like such a baby quilter. I'm decent at what I do, but there's so much out there that I don't know. A couple years ago, I went to my first quilt show. I didn't know what to expect, but I was blown away. Holy moly, you guys. Yes, there were traditional patterns and quilts shown. But there were also quilts that went to an artistic level I didn't know was possible. Last weekend I went to my second Road to California quilt show. Let's take a look at some of my favorites:

This quilt won Best in Show (and $10,000). This is not a photo or actual pillows. Rather, the quilter took fabric and made it 3D. She pieced fabric to create each pillow. I mean, look at this! Her quilt looks like a shelf of pillows and quilts. It took her 5 months to make. I wish, wish, wish I had wrote down the names of the quilters. I could work on something like this for 5 years and it would not look nearly as good.

It absolutely kills me. My brain has exploded outside of my head trying to understand this quilt.

This was another beautiful quilt that I really liked. It looks like a painting. But let's take a closer look...

Can you see this? Those leaves were little cut pieces of fabric! And she used stitching to make the tree trunks and sidewalk more realistic.

Dead. I'm dead.

Now, it's not all serious quilts at the show. Quilters have a pretty good sense of humor. (I mean, we are a creative bunch. Have you ever been to a quilting group/class? It's a ton of fun!)

Exhibit A: Conan O'Brien quilt

Yup. The modern quilt movement has a really fun vibe to it. Quilting isn't just for grannies anymore.

Finally, let's look at one more that blew my mind.

This is the same quilt!!! It has a different painting depending on where you're standing! Oh, and that frame is fabric too. It's fabric. Not a frame, but fabric quilted and painted to look like a frame.

I'm overwhelmed by the creativity.

It takes me SO LONG to make a lap quilt. And a fair bit of money too. My quilts are nothing like these. I can't imagine the planning, the prep, the time spent working on them, the money paid to make them. This is why quilt shows are amazing. Yes, you can buy fabric and supplies, but they're also inspiring.

Also, here is my confession. I am a fabric addict. I relate to this fabric cutout on a deeply personal level.