Detail, Sashiko stitching

Down the Rabbit Hole
Boro & Sashiko Exhibit
The Shibaguyz
November 3, 2021 - January 30, 2022

Welcome to the rabbit hole.

This all started with a perfectly innocent internet search to research the origins of crazy quilting and quickly developed into a fascination that became a passion.

With our original search long forgotten, we dived deeper and deeper into the rabbit hole learning the origins and purpose of sashiko and boro. Whose hands made these stitches? How did they make these stitches? What were their lives like? Why did they stop? All these questions (and so many more) led us along a pathway that found us linking our own backgrounds growing up in remote or working-class households where we used similar techniques to mend and reinforce fabrics.

As you walk through the exhibit, you will follow our pathway through the rabbit hole. From our first attempts at replicating the patchwork and stitching we saw in that first browser window, to our understanding of the original uses of boro patchwork and sashiko stitching, our understanding of the history of the (now) craft and art form and the people whose hands worked to patch and mend fabrics that we now look at as gorgeous textiles to be preserved, studied, and learned from. Follow along through our discovery and adaptation of boro and sashiko into a style of patchwork that creates new textiles for garments home decor and accessories, though our classes and the creation of the pieces from our book, to applying the three beans philosophy to a new (to us) technique for of quilting that melds pieces of fabric together in an abstract fashion to create new textiles.

With this knowledge, and our new skills, we developed classes and began to write our book Boro and Sashiko: Harmonious Imperfection. What you see here in this exhibit are pieces we created from our first glimpse into the rabbit hole and all along the way as we taught and created new designs based on our understanding and interpretation of these traditional Japanese techniques of boro and sashiko.

Sashiko –Translation: Little Stabs
Boro –Translation: Rags

Developed in the northern part of Japan as a way of using and re-using scraps of fabric, Boro is the method of layering of pieces of fabric over other fabric, using sashiko to reinforce and patch garments and other household items. Over the centuries sashiko and boro have become artforms all their own.
 
Shannon and Jason Mullett-Bowlsby are the dynamic DIY duo known as the Shibaguyz. Their award-winning crochet, knit, and sewing designs have been featured in and on the covers domestic and international publications and their craft, portrait, and fashion photography has appeared in books and magazines around the globe. The Shibaguyz have published 10 books of crochet and knitwear patterns including Complete Crochet Course –the Ultimate Reference Guide, Designer Crochet, and Crochet Geometry. Their latest book is titled Boro & Sashiko: Harmonious Imperfection from C&T Publishing.

The Shibaguyz have been teaching adults for 20+ years. With their mastery of subjects from crochet and knitting to photography, spinning, sewing, and quilting, their enthusiasm, quirky sense of humor, and relatable teaching style have made them sought after teachers in both local and national venues such as Houston Quilt Festival, Pacific International Quilt Festival, and the Bainbridge Artisan Resource Network (BARN). They also have a wide range of online classes available from Craftsy and Creative Spark Online. The “edu-tainment” experience of a class with the Shibaguyz will leave you informed, empowered, and in stitches (see what we did there?). The team’s artistic focus tends to wander wildly resting on whatever next step catches their creative drive. Their overall interests ensure they always have a few projects in the queue.

Detail, Baltimore Quilt; collection of Cathy Erickson

Baltimore Goes Modern
The Art & Collection of Cathy Erickson
Sponsored by Glenys Baker
Dec 1, 2021 - March 27, 2022

Artist Statement
I have loved Baltimore Album quilts from the early 1990’s.  I am also madly in love with Modern Quilts.  This exhibit combines both those loves.  The exhibit contains a wonderful selection of traditional antique Baltimore Album quilts and album quilts from neighboring states with “over-the-top” appliqué.  The modern quilts in this series use blocks commonly found on album quilts and transforms them with a modern twist.  Block size, quilt design, fabric colors, graphic quilting, and block deconstruction are the main tools that I use to give a modern feel to a very traditional block.
                                   Cathy Erickson
 
Cathy Erickson made her first quilt in 1996 while waiting for her daughter during dance class.  In 2015, Cathy was caught up in the modern quilt movement. This was the beginning of her series Baltimore Goes Modern.  Her quilts use blocks from antique Baltimore Album Quilts as inspiration for modern quilts.  She uses large blocks, modern colors, deconstruction, and graphic quilting to add a modern twist to very traditional applique blocks.

Fresh off a successful exhibition this past summer at the National Quilt Museum in Paducah, KY, this resident of Clark County brings her exhibit pieces home to Washington state.  Cathy is a long time member and supporter of the Pacific Northwest Quilt & Fiber Art Museum and we are proud to showcase Cathy’s exquisite vintage collection and her imaginative modern work.

To see more of Cathy’s work, visit her website, www.cathyericksonquilts.com and follow her on Instagram at @quiltingcat2 or @quiltingcatmodern.  
 

Detail, Crazy Quilt

Crazy Quilts from the Permanent Collection
Dec 1, 2021 - Jan 23, 2022

The making of Crazy Quilts was a Victorian era fad that began soon after the 1876 Centennial Expo in Philadelphia.  Nearly 10 million eager Americans came to see exhibits from around the world.  It is thought that the Crazy Quilt fad began after visitors experienced Japan’s cracked glazed pottery, full of asymmetry and images of exotic birds and animals, and England’s rich embroidery displays from the Royal School of Needlework. 

The Industrial Revolution had contributed heavily to the growing textile industry and brought a great variety of fabrics and sewing machines to the seamstresses of the day.  Also, women were influenced by England’s Queen Victoria, who in mourning the death of her husband Prince Albert, perpetuated fashion trends in rich, dark colors and elaborate ornamentation.

Antique quilt historian Betsey Telford has said, “Crazy quilts are not random.  They are planned art.  The mark of crazy quilt excellence is the stitching.  When women of today would have been finished, Victorian-era women embellished the embellished. This was a woman’s art statement.  They’re art for walls to be enjoyed.”

The Pacific Northwest Quilt & Fiber Arts Museum has a large collection of Crazy Quilts in our Permanent Collection and we love sharing these beauties with our visitors.

Sample, Lina Karman's Alphabet Book

“There’s a Yak in
my Yogurt”
Lina Karman's Alphabet Book
Dec 1, 2021 - January 23, 2022

Lina Karman is a member of the Evergreen Chapter of the Embroiderer’s Guild of America and has taught preschool in Seattle for 14 years.  She grew up in Paris, France and moved to the United States to attend University.  Through her art, she aims to inspire children’s imaginations, feed their love of learning, and help them be curious about the world around them.  Lina works with hand-embroidery, fabric, wool felt, beads, sequins lichen, found objects, and other mixed media materials.

She currently lives with her family in Seattle, Washington.