quiltcon 2018: part 1

photo: QuiltCon Souvenir Embroidery Sampler by French General

Were you at QuiltCon?

If so, I hope we said hello!  If we didn’t, it’s easy to understand why we didn’t see each other — so many people and things to do!

For those of you who couldn’t attend QuiltCon or didn’t see everything, I’ll be giving you my perspective of QuiltCon over the next few blog posts. There’s a lot jammed packed into 4 days: workshops, lectures, things to buy, friends from around the world, great food and of course quilts. TONS of quilts! In upcoming posts, I’ll be showing you lots of photos of quilts (with descriptions). It’ll take me a while to type those up, but I love sharing that information. For me, the descriptions are one of the most interesting things about the quilt show. I love learning about the backstories and inspiration for the quilts. It gives me a whole new appreciation for the quilts and allows me to see things I may have otherwise missed. Check back for lots of photos and descriptions of quilts.

In the meantime, here are some of my big highlights from QuiltCon 2018:

QuiltCon 2018 | Street Banner | Modern Quilts
The indoor quilt show wasn’t the only place there were quilts. Pasadena was super welcoming to all us modern quilters!
QuiltCon | QuiltCon 2018 | Teaching | Workshop | Hawaiian | Applique | Paper Piecing | Sheri Cifaldi-Morrill
I taught two workshops at QuiltCon 2018: Hawaiian Applique Made Modern and Intermediate Paper Piecing using my Shutter Snap pattern. After a long flight from JFK, I gave my folded quilt samples a rest on my roommate’s bed (before she arrived of course!)

Here are some highlights from my Hawaiian Applique Made Modern workshop from Day 1 of QuiltCon. This lovely group of ladies learned how to make my Big Island Blossom block, a modern interpretation of traditional Hawaiian quilts. We prepared the applique (including folding, cutting and basting) and applied the motif using needle-turn applique techniques. I also shared with them how I designed the block and reviewed how they could design their own Hawaiian-inspired blocks in the future. I can’t wait to see all of their finished mini-quilts!
QuiltCon | QuiltCon 2018 | Teaching | Workshop | Hawaiian | Applique | Hawaiian Quilt | class | quilting | needle turn | applique | Sheri Cifaldi-Morrill

https://youtu.be/kxEJKMVsMlo


QuiltCon | QuiltCon 2018 | Teaching | Workshop | Hawaiian | Applique | Hawaiian Quilt | class | quilting | needle turn | applique | Sheri Cifaldi-Morrill

The next day, I taught Intermediate Foundation Paper Piecing using my Shutter Snap patttern to this group of talented quilters. All of my students were rockstars and with my tips and tricks conquered tricky angles and shapes, despite the class being at night after a loooooong day full of QuiltCon goodness.
QuiltCon | QuiltCon 2018 | Teaching | Workshop | Paper Piecing | Foundation Paper Piecing | Shutter Snap | pattern | quilt | Sheri Cifaldi-Morrill | Whole Circle Studio | teaching QuiltCon | QuiltCon 2018 | Teaching | Workshop | Paper Piecing | Foundation Paper Piecing | Shutter Snap | pattern | quilt | Sheri Cifaldi-Morrill | Whole Circle Studio | teaching
I had so much fun teaching at QuiltCon. Thank you to everyone who registered for my workshops!

Not only did I teach, but I also got to take a class. I was on information overload (in a really good way) after taking Advanced Quilt Photography with Michelle Bartholomew and Kitty Wilkin. If you’re interested in taking better photos of your quilts and quilt props, definitely take a workshop with them. They covered so much in 3 hours (and distributed great handouts so we would remember everything) and we had a chance to use our own camera.

One of my favorite parts of QuiltCon was the book party celebrating the release of Modern Quilts: Designs of the New Century. Everyone brought their book and passed them around for quilters who had quilts in the book to sign. It totally felt like the last days of high school signing yearbooks! The strange part was meeting quilters in person that I knew only by their quilt or Instagram name. It was a super fun community event. Want to learn more about the book? Check out my previous blog post here.
QuiltCon | QuiltCon 2018 | modern | quilts | book | Modern Quilts: Designs of the New Century | Modern Quilt Guild | book | MQG

My friends at Paintbrush Palette hosted my new Kona Sunset quilt in their booth. It was so much fun seeing it pop up on social media. I also got a kick out of it being super close to the Best in Show winner!
QuiltCon | QuiltCon 2018 | modern | quilt | Kona Sunset | Sheri Cifaldi-Morrill | Paintbrush Studio | fabric | solid quilt
Kona Sunset | quilt | modern | quilting | curve | Sheri Cifaldi-Morrill | Whole Circle Studio | solid | fabric | drunkard path | modern quilt

My friends at superbuzzy, a quilt shop in Ventura, California with a wonderful selection of fabric borrowed some of my quilt samples. It was fun to see them displayed in their booth along with my patterns!

Up and Away, Bzzzzzz and Sew Speedy quilts and patterns displayed in the superbuzzy vendor booth.

I was also fortunate to have four quilts juried into the show.

QuiltCon | QuiltCon 2018 | Sun Salutations | quilt | half-square triangles | modern quilt | rainbow quilt | sunset | solid fabric
Sun Salutations quilt — pattern available here.  It’s always fun to see people checking out your work closely!
QuiltCon | QuiltCon 2018 | Racing Fade | quilt | beginner | modern quilt | race car | flag | solid fabric
One of my newest quilt patterns, Racing Fade.
QuiltCon | QuiltCon 2018 | Double Wedding Knot | quilt | applique | needle turn applique | modern quilt | rainbow quilt | wedding | friendship | solid fabric
Double Wedding Knot quilt
QuiltCon | QuiltCon 2018 | Road Work | quilt | beginner | easy | modern | modern quilt | car | kid | Sheri CIfaldi-Morrill | Whole Circle Studio
Road Work quilt (queen size) — pattern available here.

Will I see you next year at QuiltCon 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee or perhaps QuiltCon 2020 in Austin, Texas?

Stay tuned for more on the blog — next time it will be ALL quilts! Are there any questions or things you’d like to know more about from QuiltCon 2018? Please comment below!

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