Painted Quilts

by Steffani McChesney

I’m a little disgusted. No, actually, I’m more than a little disgusted. I am really disgusted. So you get to hear about it. Sorry. But I think that you might be as disgusted about the subject as I am. What has me all upset? You can tell by the title of this little piece, painted quilts. I don’t mean quilts embellished with paint or ink. I mean quilts that are really nothing but paintings with batting and a back.

Several of these painted quilts won in major categories at the Houston quilt show in October. How could this happen? I’ll tell you how this could happen. The definition of a quilt according to the quilt show rules is that a quilt consists of three layers, a top, a batt or lining of some sort, and a back. Apparently, it doesn’t say a thing about how much needlework (a.k.a. sewing) it should contain.

Two major things bother me about this turn of events. One is that quilting is considered a needle art (yes, even art quilts). To my backward way of thinking that includes appliqué and patchwork as a means of decorating the top, and the back too, if you are into back art. Beading and embroidery are nice. So is fabric manipulation such as pleating. Painting the top and then quilting it does not constitute needle art in my humble opinion. The other thing that bothers me is that painting is a lot easier (ask a painter if you don’t believe me) than excellent appliqué and patchwork. It also goes a lot faster. I guess I want the quilts that win ribbons (and big bucks) to have some major sweat equity involved.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not opposed to painted quilts as long as they stay in their place. If the people who put on quilt shows want to consider them quilts just put them have their own category. Don’t put them up against a quilt of the caliber of Zena Thorpe’s magnificent Best of Show winning entry at Paducah a few years back, The Book of Kells. That quilt deserved all the accolades it got and then some. If you don’t remember it, the quilt was covered with appliquéd people and animals and flowers in the style of an illuminated manuscript from the Dark Ages. The appliqué took a lot more skill and time than painting. I saw Zena interviewed on Simply Quilts and she said that it took her three years to complete it. There is no way that a painted quilt should be judged against such a work .

So call me Oscar the Grump if you want to. I just can’t accept some judge, who probably isn’t even a quilter, picking a painted quilt over an appliquéd or patchwork quilt. After all is said and done, quilting is a needle art, whether it be by hand or machine. If you want to paint, join a painting group.