Fiber Art - The Colors of Nature

Last Wednesday, Kate, Mary and I hung our show at the arboretum. It opened the next day - April 21 and will run through July 12. We have worked with the arboretum before and it's always a great experience.

 First things first, all the quilts were removed from their bags and laid down. Between the 3 of us, we had 83 pieces - many small but we were still so pleased to have them all fit. We were given the entire second floor - lots of space.

 We tried to group them according to color ways which seemed to work out well.

 We all create very differently and our styles are noticeably different but they seem to work so well together.

 Many of the smaller pieces were hung "double decker" giving us more room.

 The arboretum uses a wire system for hanging - very efficient but not always attractive to see all the wires. We were also given the go-ahead to use command strips for smaller pieces, making it much more attractive.

 These were our entry pieces and the first pieces you see when you come up the stairs. Think I mentioned before that we all created the same quilt at retreat last year using different fabrics. Above, Marys is the cranberry with Japanese prints, Kates is the blue and green.

 Mine is the Indigo with splashes of red. We did have extra room and hung another quilt on each end. We felt it important to take advantage of any space we had.

 This has always been one of my favorite quilts of Kates. I call it her Happy quilt.

 Another 2 of Kates, she uses a lot of blues and greens and often a tropical theme which she is very drawn to. Having a house on Folly beach provides great inspiration.

 This is my "I Spy a Rose Garden" a children's pattern for an I Spy quilt made with Moda fabrics.

 This is Mary's and it's a stunner. A friend of hers gave her tons of Japanese fabric she wasn't going to use; Mary has made wonderful use of it. I love this very dramatic piece.

 So here is what you'll see if you stop by the arboretum.

 Our blue section.....

 and purples....

 A mix of all 3 of us....

 Mary's lovely beaded work.

You've just had a preview and there are many more to see. The arboretum is located in Asheville, right off the Blue Ridge Parkway and very easy to find. There is no charge to get into the arboretum, but there is a charge to park for a carload, so hop in your car with 4 of your nearest and dearest friends and head on over. PS....you'll also get to spend the day at the arboretum which is quite beautiful right now.

We can't wait to meet ya!