An Evening with Gerald Roy

This is Gerald Roy, noted quilt appraiser, while appraising my quilt, Flight of Fancy, last night.  It's so much fun to talk to him. He knows everything about everything quilt related. 

For instance, I heard the whole background story about Molly Upton's quilts being exhibited by QuiltCon Pasadena.  Both Gerry and I think her quilts are the Ne Plus Ultra.

Quiltcon Los Angeles 2016

Timing is everything. One of my readers asked if I would be visiting Quiltcon while I was in LA. I didn't even know it was here. Fortunately my son and I were able to visit the show on the last day. 

Disclaimer: Regular readers know I like quilts to have energy, vitality and verve. I like things that grab me emotionally. "Modern" quilts, by and large, do nothing for me. For me a lot of them are "Meh".  I feel they are often "half-baked."  You are welcome to disagree, but I am entitled to my opinion. Don't bother commenting if you want to tell me I am "wrong."  There is no right or wrong. 

There were some that I liked. 

                          

            

                          

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But the quilts that really made my heart sing were the ones made by two of my idols, Gwen Marston and the late Molly Upton.

  

                                

    This is one of Gwen's. My son took one look at it and said her design sense was superior and her quilts were less contrived than the so-called Modern ones. He loved all her quilts. I agree. 

         

 Molly Upton's quilts are staggeringly gorgeous and original, even now, forty years later. 

And OMG, look how big they are.  Remember there were no long arm quilting machines back then, and cottons were just calicoes. Upton used everything, cottons, velvet, corduroy, wool. And these were hand quilted. She was a true visionary.