World's best quilts in Schaumburg
Rachel Wetzler of St. Charles always liked to sew, and once she learned to quilt, she says, she was hooked.
But it took members of the Professional Art Quilters Alliance, who meet monthly at the Glen Ellyn Public Library, to give her the confidence she needed to taker her quilting to the next level: creating works of art.
"I didn't know I had it in me," Wetzler says. "With their encouragement and ideas, it really helped me take off."
Take off, indeed.
At the Greater Chicago Quilt Exposition, opening today (Thursday, Nov. 13) at Schaumburg's Renaissance Hotel and Convention Center, Wetzler's is one of the area's top prize winners.
Her quilt, "Delicious," placed second in the innovative category of the World Quilt Competition, which makes its final stop with this show.
This year's competition features quilts from regions around the world, including Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, New Zealand as well as North and South America, making it one of the most internationally diverse events in the world of quilting and textile arts.
Officials with Mancuso Show Management say the prizewinning quilts have drawn thousands from coast to coast this fall. They played to crowds in Manchester, N.H., Harrisburg, Pa., and the San Francisco area before winding up in the Northwest suburbs.
"As always, the prize winners and especially the Best of World quilt draw the most attention," says Mary Claire Moyer, with the show's management.
However, this year in particular, a quilt from Japan also attracted many viewers who were astounded by the workmanship. Called "My Flower," it was designed by Michiko Takakuwa of Japan, who created an intricate image of a single rose.
She writes that she spent the last two winters sewing together by hand more than 180,000 hexagon-shaped pieces of fabric to create the quilt.
"It truly is an amazing piece of artwork," Moyer adds.
By contrast, "Delicious" is a machine made quilt, and more representative of a growing trend in the industry. It one of a series of five quilts Wetzler created, each one examining one of the senses, set off against an architectural background.
Another in the series, called "Breeze," won first prize among wall quilts two years ago at the American Quilters Society Quilt Show and Contest, in Paducah, Ky. It now hangs in the American Quilters Museum in Paducah.
Organizers of the show hope to inspire other local quilters like Wetzler to take their quilting to the next level.
Anne Lullie of Lake in the Hills is one of those, who plans to attend the show just to soak up some inspiration.
"There is such an excellent caliber of quilts, including dozens from all over the world," Lullie says. "There is just no comparison to seeing such beautiful quilts in person."
Besides the quilts themselves, the show will offer exhibitors in the so-called "Merchants Mall" offering everything needed to jump-start new projects.
There also are individual exhibits. Frieda Anderson of Elgin will be exhibiting the nearly one dozen art quilts in a series she calls, "Trees: Walks in the Woods with George."
They were conceived, Anderson said, from her daily walks in the nearby woods with her dog, George, and reflect the trees and woodland creatures she sees. Her quilts feature hand dyed cottons and silk pieces that have been fused and machine pieced.
"I love the pure creativity involved in conceiving and designing a new quilt," Anderson says.
The show also offers a full lineup of workshops and lectures, featuring international instructors from Australia and South Africa, as well as a panel of American instructors.
If you go
What: Greater Chicago Quilt Exposition, featuring the final stop of the World Quilt Competition.
When: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. today, Friday and Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday
Where: Schaumburg's Renaissance Hotel and Convention Center, 1551 N. Thoreau Drive
Cost: $12 for general admission, $10 on Sunday. Children under 16 are free
More information: www.quiltfest.com