Form, Not Function 2 -- hand-stitching

I always like to look at the work in juried shows and try to identify common themes or techniques that give a hint to the jurors' sensibilities or to trends in the art world.  At Form, Not Function this year, there was some nice hand-stitching, carrying on a trend that I've been seeing in quilts for the past few years.

Mary Ruth Smith's spectacular piece included applique and piecing but almost all of its design came from stitching.

Passage, Mary Ruth Smith, 27 1/2 x 27 1/2" (detail below)

Julia Pfaff's piece is a whole-cloth quilt with fabric paint making the amoebic shapes.  Each little shape -- the size of a kidney bean -- is outlined with tiny, precise hand stitching, then echoed with equally precise machine stitching.

Contrast X, Julia Pfaff, 65 1/2 x 28 1/2" (detail below)