In today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, we’re talking about the history of Quilts, Inc. with my guest Teresa Duryea Wong.
Teresa has authored two books on Japanese quilts and textiles and in early 2019, she published American Cotton: Farm to Quilt. She currently travels to Japan and throughout the US to research, write, and lecture. She holds a master’s degree in liberal studies from Rice University and in 2014, was named the ‘Faith P. and Charles L. Bybee Scholar’ by the Texas Quilt Museum and the Bybee Foundation. Teresa is a regular contributor to Curated Quilts magazine and also writes for Art Quilt Quarterly. She is a passionate quilter and also loves making bags and garments.
Next month, she will debut another new book at the International Quilt Festival titled Magic & Memories: 45 Years of International Quilt Festival. This book shares the story of the history Quilt Festival and two women who founded the event.
This episode is sponsored by Why We Quilt: Contemporary Quilt Makers Speak Out
A new book by Thomas Knauer.
In a world of same-day delivery, cutting fabric into small pieces and stitching them back together makes little practical sense. Yet the quilting community thrives.
In Why We Quilt, Thomas Knauer highlights 40 contemporary makers who share not only their stunning quilts, but also powerful insights into what compels them to keep quilting.
Why We Quilt by Thomas Knauer is available for pre-order now, and in stores October 15th.
Teresa holding her new book.
In this conversation I ask Teresa to begin by tracing her career as a journalist and magazine publisher and to explain how she began quiliting. Eventually she merged her passion for writing and research with her love of quilts to create a career writing books about quilting and lecturing. Her work has taken her on trips all over the world, including many research trips to Japan. We talk in particular about Japanese textiles and what sets them apart, especially Japanese cottons.
I also ask Teresa for tips on putting together a good lecture. If you’re interested in lecturing about your craft be sure to tune in because she has many years of experience and shares her expertise.
Teresa had the opportunity to learn about American-grown cotton fabrics and batting for her third book, including touring factories where batting is made. Often when we think of quilting cottons we think of fabric, rather than batting, but a lot of cotton batting is made in the United States.
And, finally, we delve into Teresa’s new book about International Quilt Festival. I ask her what it was like to do the research, including interviewing Karey and Nancy. Teresa talks about how the show originated and grew over time. We also talk about how these two women created Quilt Market and the incredible affect this trade show has had on shaping, or even forming, today’s quilting industry. It’s a remarkable story.
And, of course, I ask Teresa to recommend great stuff she’s enjoying right now. She recommends:
- a Bernina Q24 longarm machine
- hand-embroidery, including a giant zebra she had printed from a photo at Spoonflower and is now stitching over with Valdani thread
- studying minimalism, including the writings of Donald Judd and the quilts of Carson Converse
Keep up with Teresa on her website.