Amazing feedback on Amazon for U&U

The titles for the comments are by themselves amazing from "MUST OWN!" to "Subversive delights." Read what people are saying about Unconventional & Unexpected on Amazon.

“Absorbing is the word that comes to my mind, both for the book’s essays and the exquisite photographs of quilts...”

— Amazon user

“The book will surely be one of the seminal quilt history books of the 21st century.”

— Bill Volckening

“I read the book cover to cover last night and I have dozens of ideas in my head for new quilts inspired by the quilts in this book. There is something for everyone in this book, quilt historians, quilt collectors, modern quilters, traditional quilters and artists. This book might change the way you think about quilts.”

— Tim Latimer

“Seeing quilts like the ones in this book is changing the way I think as an artist. As a graphic and quilt designer, I find it visually and emotionally awakening. With riots of colors and compositions, prints and patterns, this book will be an inspiration for not only generations of quilters but also artists working with many mediums.”

— Sujata Shah

“Beautiful, amazing, fantastic book…”

— Tonya Ricucci

“What a beautiful volume – the book itself, the intelligent, thoughtful writings, the photographs… well done!”

— Amazon user

Purchase Unconventional & Unexpected via Amazon.

Okan Arts can't stop raving!

It is amazing to see the enthusiasm that Okan Arts' giveaway of Unconventional & Unexpected has generated! Thank you, all, for your kind comments. And thank you to Patricia Belyea for featuring U&U. You have until September 30 to enter. Just leave a comment with your thoughts on U&U to enter.

Here are some favorites:

“All of Roderick’s books are among my keepers, and they are old friends of mine.”

“A remarkable discovery that Roderick helped us see.”

“For the intrepid quilter this book makes the heart sing. Sumptous color and fabric and design that hums, nearly buzzes with life.”

“An amazing example of inspired collecting.”

“Quilts are about the people who made them and who used them, their lives, their history. To someone who tries to find a bit of magic in everything, a book about ‘quirky’ quilts sounds absolutely fascinating.”

“A wonderful collection of eye candy!”

You might remember that I wrote a guest blog recently for Okan Arts. Read it here.

"Quilt scholars are debunking a few myths" - The New York Times

I was excited to be included in Eve Khan's article about the exciting things happening with quilts this year. Her article, "Celebrating American Quilts in Shows and Books," highlights a variety of projects that are expanding the contemporary scholarship of American quiltmaking.

“People think of quilts as nostalgia, and we have to get beyond that,” the textiles historian and dealer Laura Fisher, who runs the Fisher Heritage gallery in New York, said while leafing through a coffee table book by one of her customers, the collector Roderick Kiracofe. The book, “Unconventional & Unexpected: American Quilts Below the Radar 1950-2000” (Stewart, Tabori & Chang/Abrams), is full of bedcovers that she describes as “funky, maverick kind of quilts.”

Mr. Kiracofe has also heard his 300 pieces called “the ugly quilts,” he said in an interview. He started looking for unusual quilts in 2004, after decades of focusing on more traditional pre-1940s patchworks. Loud colors and asymmetrical stripes attract him, as do scraps of synthetic prints, perhaps recycled from 1950s upholstery and 1970s disco shirts.

Click here to read the article in the New York Times.

Quilt from Unconventional & Unexpected

Unconventional & Unexpected launches!

Unconventional & Unexpected
American Quilts Below the Radar 1950-2000 has arrived!

Colleagues, Friends, and Family,

Ten amazingly talented and distinguished people participated with me to create a stunning book that adds to the written and visual scholarship of American quiltmaking in the last half of the 20th century. My sincere thanks go to Elissa Auther, Sherry Ann Byrd, Natalie Chanin, Ulysses Grant Dietz, Kaffe Fassett, Abner Nolan, Amelia Peck, Denyse Schmidt, Allison Smith, and Janneken Smucker.

The quilts that I have been collecting for the last 15 years sit alongside quilts that I borrowed from other collectors who share my fascination and passion for these works of art. These dynamic, quirky, and soulful quilts make up the beautiful pages of this exquisite coffee table book.

Who were the amazing makers who created these quilts to be used and slept under? How is it that these pieces share such strong similarities to modern and contemporary art? My hope is that you will enjoy and delight in seeing these quilts in new ways.

Expect the unexpected when turning the pages. These may not be what you think of when you hear the word “quilt.” Have you ever considered the back of a quilt or unfinished top? What about a quilt made from polyester double knit? Why did someone take a snapshot of a quilt on a clothesline?

Wait until you see what I have gathered for you!

Release date is 9 September 2014.

Purchasing Information

Unconventional & Unexpected is available at bookstores, fine museum shops, other specialty retailers, and online via Abrams Books.

Please support your local independant booksellers.