Enjoy 20 of (just some of) my favorite modern quilts from QuiltCon 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee. All descriptions were written by the makers. Prepare to be inspired!
Statement: “This original design was created in Photoshop. It is the first in a series of quilts taking inspiration from the blending of watercolor paint in a bright, modern color palette mixed with the hardness of geometric (linear) shapes. The modified courthouse steps form a larger diamond shape via negative space. It was machine quilted on a domestic machine using a walking foot.
Statement: “Shades of Citrus is a fun spin on the negative space of a classic Lafayette orange peel quilt block.”
Statement: “I like barn quilts and I wanted to make a quilt that had the appearance of being painted. When the SBAMQG issued our Make it Modern challenge in 2017, one option was to modernize the traditional weathervane block. I pieced scraps onto muslin foundations in an improv style. I used many shades as I could to convey the idea of a painted quilt block. I added areas where it looked like the paint was peeling of in layers, appearing worn and rough, as if the barn wood might be aging or showing through the paint.
Source: traditional block design, called the weathervane block.
Statement: “This quilt is an adaptation of the traditional Log Cabin quilt block, the quintessential American design. It represent log cabins on the prairie with the center squares for the hearth, light values on one side for the sunny side of the house, and dark values on the opposite side for the shady side of the house. I wanted this quilt to have a lot of negative space, to be less cluttered, to be freeing. I started out with more complete log cabin shapes and then removed more color and left more negative space.
Statement: “Elongation of a traditional block to create a recognizable X-Ray image. Quilting with 2 different thread color allows quilting to show up equally on both colors.
Statement: “After the 2016 election I was moved to see what four years would look like in days. I settled on the tally mark symbol to represent this. The empty blocks represent a breather in the daily news cycle. The blue hash mark represents that special day.”
Statement: “The result of an improv curve process that I found revelatory and exhilarating.”
Statement: “This quilt was designed for our local guild color challenge featuring Kona color of the year, Tiger Lily, curve piecing. Taking my design clue from the color I wanted to create a quilt that captured the feeling of lilies in a garden.”
Statement: “My family loves ribbon candy! It was a special treat that my grandma had every year at Christmas. Now I buy it for my own kids and they love it as much as I did. I used bias tape applique to recreate the unique shape and festive colors of ribbon candy. Bias tape is easy to manipulate into curves and it comes in lots of great colors. It is a fun process!”
Statement: “One day I woke up with the inspiration to make idea. She is a minimalist quilt about how ideas float to the top of one’s mind, from a sea of ideas, daily thoughts, experiences, interactions. I experience only a few creative ideas when compared to the many regular thoughts, work thoughts, parenting thoughts, and all the other thoughts that get us through every day, which also bubble up from the sea of thoughts at the centre of our being.”
Statement: “Freestyle patchwork with ruler-free strip piecing and bias strip piecing on the curve, inspired by the bright colors, complexity of line, and unexpected juxtaposition in the grafitti-rich environment of industrial east Oakland, California.
Statement: “Inspired by the extensive collection of quilts in the book, Red and White Quilts: Infinite Variety, I was drawn to make a red and white quilt of my own, using improv curved piecing.”
Statement: “As soon as I aw the work of Franco Grignani, I knew I had to try to recreate in quilt form. Hand appliquéd bias binding on wholecloth. Machine quilted.”
Design source: Franco Grignani, Detachment from the Edge (285), 1969.
Statement: “Offset is an original design. I wanted to explore a design based on one large circle and two high contrast fabrics. I love how the black and white wedges are perfectly offset creating segments that fit together, but do not touch each other. I omitted one wedge of each circle in different areas so the visual weight is balanced. This quilt was designed using EQ8, paper pieced, machine pieced and machine quilted. I used a facing to finish the edges of the quilt.”
Statement: “As I age, I find myself meditating on change. We begin as one thing and gradually become another. Pieces join together and form a path. To create this quilt, I used freezer paper to piece a number of different triangles in 6”, 4”, 3” and 2” square blocks. I arranged those blocks so the edges of the triangles would create a curving path in which the triangles shift from orange to burgundy. I quilted the path in dense uneven orange lines contrasting with the evenly spaced vertical lines of the background. Bright orange and deep burgundy intermingle but remain distinct.”
Statement: “My personal challenge was #100daysofsewsmaller. Each of the 100 blocks in this challenge finishes at 1.25” square, and these blocks were eventually made into the mini quilt you see here. The accompanying photos highlight each individual piece, showing the process of creating each tiny block.
Statement: “This quilt was made taking part in the Pantone Quilt Challenge 2018 using Ultra Violet as a featured colour. I combined white, a bright orange and a light violet to achieve a vibrant colour combination. For the first time I used curved piecing, all curves are cut without the use of a ruler or a template. Individual blocks are turned in different directions to create an interesting overall design. The simple straight line quilting is to support the diagonal direction the design.”
Statement: “When I saw artist Beverly Buchanan’s drawing of a rustic chair, I was inspired by both its style and bright colors. I envisioned a quilt of similar chairs in neat rows (a la Warhol’s soup cans). But I discovered that I liked the chair in irregular groupings, as though people had pulled them here and there to sit with friends or by themselves. Ghost chairs are quilted in between the appliquéd chairs. I’m still pondering who the ghost chairs belong to and why the remain in the room.”
Sources: Beverly Buchanan, Artist—only the design of the chair.
Statement: “Each of the arcs were cut freehand and then hand appliquéd onto 2.5” squares, a technique I learned from Nydia Kehnle. I then improv-pieced the squares together in my own design to create a continuous loop which required partial seams in some areas. The pice is hand quilted using 12wt thread and pearl cotton.”
Source: Nydia Kehnle workshop
Statement: “This quilt was inspired and designed specifically for this color palette. The colors were influenced by a recent trip to ‘Lauderdale by the Sea’ with my daughter. The colors engulf you with a relaxing warmth that only a tropical setting in winter could! Getting all the parts and pieces of the geometric shapes to intermix in a cohesive design was my main focus. Showcasing the color palette was also a big factor in my design.”
Want more quilts?
Check out the 2018 Modern Quilt Showcase here.
Check out the 2018 Best of QuiltCon traveling exhibit here.
Check out 15 quilts from QuiltCon 2018 here.
Check out the 2017 Modern Quilt Showcase here.
Did you have a favorite quilt or category at QuiltCon 2019? I’d love to hear from you—please leave a comment below.
6 Comments
Oh thank you so much to include Purple Haze in your list of favorites! I so wish I could have been there myself to see all the amazing quilts!
You’re welcome Daniela! It’s an awesome quilt. I love going to shows and sharing photos and descriptions of quilts for those who are unable to attend (or have a bit of ADHD when they’re at the show and can’t concentrate in the moment). –Sheri
All the quilts are so beautiful, thanks for sharing them!
Loved Idea and Lillium quits! Spectacular really.