Connie Fraser Wins Another National Quilting Award

AUBURN, N.Y. — Connie Harris Fraser’s quilt “The Scalping of Jane McRea,” a large wall wanging, received first prize in the Wall Hanging: Traditional Pieced category at the Quilts=Art=Quilts 2001 exhibition at Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center in Auburn, N.Y. The exhibition is on view through January 6.

Mrs Fraser, who lives in Newtown, describes her quilt as presenting the moving story of young maiden Jane McRea, who was scalped on her wedding day in 1777, in the form of an illuminated manuscript page. The tragic event, as inscribed on the front of the quilt, was a turning point in the American Revolution.

The back art of the quilt is especially notable as its beauty and craftsmanship leave many viewers in awe. Mrs Fraser has also incorporated reproductions of art, poetry and music, and her own contemporary linoleum block prints, in the ornate border which surrounds the text on the front of the quilt.

Quilts=Art=Quilts is celebrating its 20th year as a national juried and judged quilt exhibition, featuring over 120 wall hangings, functional quilts and wearable art from around the country. Each year expert judges consider the visual impact and workmanship of numerous quilts to determine which will be accepted and awarded prizes. This year was especially competitive, judges commented, as the number and quality of the quilts considered continues to increase.

Mrs Fraser’s colorful and innovative approach to humor has won her numerous awards and prizes in national and international competitions. Her techniques include phototransfers and rubber stamps on fabric she has hand-dyed. She hand quilts her large pieces with brightly colored quilting threads to complement her original block designs.

Her art quilts have been published in Quilters Newsletter Magazine, Quilting Today, Lady’s Circle Patchwork Quilts magazine, Award Winning Quilts and Their Makers and in the American Quilter’s Society International quilt art calendar. She does quilt lectures and workshops in New York and New Jersey as well as Connecticut.

This past summer, two of Mrs Fraser’s quilts were accepted into a summer exhibit of humorous quilts at New England Quilt Museum in Lowell, Mass.