Dominique Ehrmann's "Once Upon a Quilt"

We visited the Shelburne Museum's quilt collection.  The Shelburne Museum is in Shelburne, VT, just south of Burlington.  Dominique Ehrmann's work was featured:  "Once Upon a Quilt".  She is based in Quebec and has taken quilting to a new level, creating immersive and even kinetic sculpture. Her work is whimsical, reminiscent of the vintage pop up children's books.  Dominique was an artisan chocolatier and baker who loved to travel to natural areas and to spend time outside.  While in Montana, she met a quilter who inspired her to learn to quilt.  She eventually switched from making chocolate confections and cakes to quilting. She's been quilting ten years now.

https://shelburnemuseum.org/press-release/dominique-ehrmann-once-upon-a-quilt/

The show is housed in the Hat and Fragrance Gallery, along with other fabric arts such as hooked rugs, woven coverlets and needlepoint.  It was the quilts that I came to see, though I am also interested in someday trying my hand at a hooked rug.  I have fond memories of my sister making two large hooked rugs one summer when we were teenagers.

I took pictures of the things that caught my attention at Shelburne gallery holding the quilts and hooked rugs. 

I love this with a super hero holding the sewing machine, standing on fabric bolts, and with quilts behind her.  I texted a picture of it to my friend who taught me to quilt. 

This was out front of the gallery building.

I wanted to get something closer of the tree and the piliated woodpeckers. The texture on the tree bark by leaving the fabric loose (couched?) caught my attention.

I have been doing some applique work, and have done some leaves so this was interesting, but these are not imbedded in the quilt as mine are.  So many new ideas here.

I love the steps, and the stones.

 This one, below, was one of my favorites. You push a button and it lights up from behind.

Lit up from behind.

This one can be turned from a knob not shown in the picture. 

Dominique has a solar powered sewing machine, or the ability to power it by solar.  One of these quilts, maybe the one above, I can't remember, was done entirely outside.

The quilts below are all from the permanent collection at the Shelburne.  They have 500-700 quilts but only about 25-30 are shown at any given time.  They stay out for about two years, with half rotating each year.  These quilts come from all over, but many from Pennsylvania and the New England area.

A couple of children did this one. It is amazing how good their stitches are.

It was popular for a while to do these postage stamp-size patches.  Craziness.  But so cool. 

And now we have hooked rungs.  None of these are all that inspirational to me, though I wanted pictures just as a reminder.