It's Modern Quilt Month! (1)

 We're celebrating Modern Quilt Month at Q.I. This is the first of FIVE posts, and we couldn't be more excited!  So, what makes a quilt modern? According to The Modern Quilt Guild, the characteristics include the use of bold colors and prints, high contrast, graphic areas of solid color, improvisational piecing, minimalism, and/or expansive negative space.  Enjoy!

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Patterns of the Heartland, made and quilted by Cathy Lillie.

We love the composition, colors, and flowing lines of this original design. Cathy Lillie says, "Patterns of earth and landscapes fascinate me. I created this pattern from an aerial photo.  During Sheila Frampton Cooper's class, I learned how to put this together.  It is 100% cotton with cotton batting." The machine quilting, resembling natural forms, adds so much to the effect.

Once in a Blue Moon, made and quilted by Cherie Swanson. 

Churn dash, maple leaf, flower, and house blocks make up this colorful sampler! The white spaces give plenty of room to show off the quilting. Cherie Swanson says, "A variety of blocks and techniques made this sampler quilt fun.  It was a good place to practice free motion quilting!" The pattern source was Autumn Acres by J. Wecker Frisch. 

Fascinating details can be seen under the blue moon, shown above. This house sports an American flag and a smiling puppy dog. Note the quilted "smoke" coming out of the fireplace. Further examination shows some very creative quilting in the blocks and open spaces. In the closeup photo below, an embroidered bee sits on the flower block.

Synopsis Spring 2023, made and quilted by Diane Hartman

Spring was in the air when Diane Hartman made this fun, colorful quilt assemblage (it's an original design!) Diane says, "Each small quilt (square within a square) was inspired by the painted fabric.  The intention was to make the whole greater than the parts but still make the parts distinguishable." Small fabric flowers and embroidery were used as embellishments.

Elemental, made and quilted by Jolene Ficklin

In this original 4 x 4 sampler, each small quilt is an art quilt. The eye is drawn to the different forms: triangles, circles, and lines (horizontal, diagonal, and curved.)  The mini quilts are connected by square tabs made from a graphic batik print. Jolene Ficklin says, "This quilt began as monthly prompts of art elements in my art quilt group.  Inspired by an installation at the Boise Art Gallery, it became an expression of elemental design."

Sharp Women Heart by Colleen Babcock, Diane Bootes, Alice Catallini, Cheryl Collins, Linda Cote, Natalie Furrey, Kenci Lewis, Laura Steiniger, & Judy Tenen. Quilted by Linda Cote. 

A puzzle of beautiful blocks create this dynamic heart quilt. This quilt was a collaboration by the Sharp Women Quilt Bee, hence the title (Sharp Women Heart). Each member of the group selected fabrics to complete the blocks in the Boho Heart pattern by Jen Kingwell and Andrea Blair. The quilt was pieced together by Alice Catallini, and quilted by Linda Cote.

Linda Cote quilted vertical columns of connecting hearts along the background strips, made from a medley of black and white fabrics, shown below.

Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2024 Tucson Quilters Guild show.

QuiltCon 2022 highlights (3)

The outstanding QuiltCon show was held in Phoenix, Arizona this year! Presented by The Modern Quilt Guild, QuiltCon is the largest modern quilting show of its kind. Hundreds of modern quilts were on display, including a juried show with entries from MQG members around the world. Here are some of the remarkable quilts we enjoyed.

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Sam and Pam by Patti Coppock (Oklahoma)

If you need a reason to smile, this delightful quilt could do the trick. Sam and Pam seem to have so much personality! 

Patti Coppock explains that the quilt was inspired by a piece of artwork by her grandson, drawn a few years back. She says, "I enjoy hearing the interpretations people share describing the relationship between these two and the reasons for their expressions."  

Sam and Pam was hand appliqued, reverse appliqued, and machine quilted without a frame (domestic).

Dragon Dance by Sheila Frampton-Cooper (California)

Here is a stunning creation by Sheila Frampton-Cooper, who explains how the design came to light: "One day, looking through a yoga magazine, I noticed a simple line drawing of a Mandala, and something inside of me started to stir!  I grabbed my iPad and started drawing like crazy.  The design for this quilt was the first one that came through."

Dragon Dance was created with a mixture of machine piecing and applique.  It was machine quilted without a frame on a domestic machine.

Battistero di Firenze by Laura Armiraglio (Italy)

The stunning Battistero di Firenze was inspired by the flooring of the Baptistery of the Duomo of Florence, Italy. The technique used was reverse applique by hand (wow).  We are in awe of the technical mastery and the graphic, three-dimensional effect which Laura Armiraglio achieved.  The genius lies in the perspective: rather than viewing the floor straight on, Laura uses the perspective of a person standing on the floor, making the viewer feel as if they are in the midst of the scene.

Phosphorific (Tri Color) by Ben Millett (Iowa), quilted by Kristen Lee

An intriguing optical illusion was created by Ben Millett, who wanted to explore using a constant-sized block with varying-sized patches within it.  As he explains, "I was intrigued by the possibility of combining an isosceles right triangle and an orange peel in the same block, and changing the size of both shapes across a quilt. No-pin, no-glue curves add an organic feel to the orange peels, as if they are seedlings sprouting as they use the surrounding water."

Rhythm in Blues by Terry Sargent Peart (Seattle, Washington)

Blue is the color of serenity, as exemplified in this gorgeous quilt by Terry Sargent Peart.  She says, "I was enamored by the symmetry and complexity of the curves and the geometric shapes of this design by graphic artist, Matt W. Moore, who graciously gave me permission to turn it into a quilt.  I took his line drawing and enlarged it to full size for the pattern.  From the paper, I cut out each piece individually and used those as templates to cut and sew the various blues together."

2020 Temperature Quilt by Sarah Schreiner (Colorado)

Here is a quilt that cleverly depicts the cyclical nature of the weather. As a scientist and quilter, Sarah Schreiner used a radial design to represent the cyclical nature of the weather. There are 12 colored wedges, one for each month during 2020. Each strip depicts the high and low temperatures for each day. The temperatures ranged from <5 degrees Fahrenheit for the coldest (purples) to >100 degrees for the hottest (pinks) with 5-degree increments.

Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2022 QuiltCon show.