We love to share the story of our project. Here are some frequently asked questions:
You can read much more in our BOOK – Twelve by Twelve: The International Art Quilt Challenge!
How did Twelve by Twelve get together?
Twelve by Twelve owes its conception to the wonders of the Internet! Diane writes:
I’d been blogging since 2004 and through blogs I’d become aware of other art quilters who were blogging about their fiber adventures. At a local quilt show in the fall of 2007, I saw a collection of small journal quilts made by a group of five women who challenged each other with different themes. When I started thinking about how I could be part of such a group, it occurred to me that through the blogs I read regularly, I already knew of quilt artists whose work inspired me and with whom I’d enjoy playing. I took a leap of faith and emailed eleven women, nine of whom I didn’t know at all except from their blogs, and asked if they’d want to play in a challenge group. They agreed and we were off and running.
How does the group run?
We set the group early on to run in a fairly democratic way. We agreed on the size and shape our challenge quilts would be, we agreed on having a two-month period between quilt “reveals,” and we agreed that we would each take turns choosing a challenge theme. We set up a blog on which each of us could post so we could post photos of our work in progress and final quilts, and so we could talk with each other about what we were doing. Brenda set up a group website to present images of our artwork. We also have a Yahoo group for private discussions.
Do the Twelves ever meet in person?
When Diane first formed our group back in September 2007, only three or four of us had met in person and many of us had not even encountered each other online. Fast forward 4+ years and that all changed at the International Quilt Festival in Houston where nine of the Twelves presented a combined exhibition of our Theme Series and our Colorplay Series. Many other meetings followed and we are progressively working on completing the connections. This is the latest meeting matrix:
For a quick catch up in September 2016, read our series of blog posts at Where are the Twelves Now?