Modern Quilt Month 2018 (3)

What makes a quilt modern? According to The Modern Quilt Guild, the characteristics may include the use of bold colors and prints, high contrast, graphic areas of solid color, improvisational piecing, minimalism, and expansive negative space. We hope you enjoy our selections!

P.S. For bargains on quilt patterns, fabric, and vintage jewelry, visit us on E-Bay - we're Top Rated Sellers ! And for continuous listings of free quilt patterns, please check us out on Twitter !
 
Skyline by Linda Sullivan (California). Quilted by Teresa Silva.

Linda explains, "Mesmerized by the 3-D designs and secondary patterns I discovered while studying a 1930's blueprint of the Chicago skyline, I set out to contemporize these isometric shapes into a large-scale quilted wallhanging for our home office."

Linda's techniques include machine piecing and quilting, plus embellishing and paper piecing. If you focus on this wonderful quilt for a few minutes, you will start to see all several different forms of three-dimensional shapes which look like floors or cubes of the buildings.

The Golden Window by Cecilia Koppmann (Argentina)

Cecilia says, "People usually say that cities are boring and grey, but for me, Buenos Aires (the capital of Argentina) is so vibrant, that I find it colorful."

Cecelia's techniques include machine piecing, quilting, and applique. With the warm colors shown in the windows and the way that the houses are snuggled next to each other, Cecilia's rendition of he city shows it to be a happy place, full of light and energy.

Be Someone by Hope Wilmarth  (Texas)

Hope states, " 'Be Someone' is a phrase I see frequently, sprayed on an overpass while driving into downtown Houston. The phrase touches me spiritually, practically,and personally. It inspired me to use it to continue a series of work begun a year ago that employs a technique of stacked lettering. "

Hope's intriguing and artistic original design is machine appliqued, quilted, and painted. The tiny squares of the quilting provide the perfect juxtaposition to the bold, rounded motifs of the foreground.

Neighbors by Melanie Tuazon (New Jersey)

Melanie explains, "Neighbors is inspired by the shapes and shadows made by my house's blinds as the light moves through the house each day. I made it during a time when there was a lot of fear in our community, so some blinds are more open than others. Some face other windows, while others turn away."

Melanie's work, which is machine pieced and quilted,  has fascinating contrasts and depths of color. These design elements show the window blinds as being both protectors against outside dangers and guardians which allow sunlight in to warm the interior living space. 

Shine a Light by Hillary Goodwin  (California)

Hillary comments,  " 'Shine a Light', 'Be the Change', 'Bring the Positive'......This quilt and design were a call for action to me after the depressing reality of our polarized post-election country. I decided in the quilt and in my life to concentrate less on criticizing 'the other side', and instead on spending more time volunteering in my community, being a better neighbor, and lending my voice
to those causes and people in need."

Hillary adds, "We all have something positive to bring to our community, regardless of political party, religion, etc. This quilt is a reminder of that goal and the powerful potential of our collective action." Hillary's thoughtful, eye-catching, and reflective work,  done in colors of apricot, peach, and tangerine, is machine pieced and quilted. 

Reconstructed Color by Petra Soesemann (Ohio)

Petra says, "Reconstructed Color was inspired by the fabric itself: yardage in a vibrant, multi-colored plaid pattern. Despite the jewel-tone colors, I found the plaid pattern to be too predictable. I cut the fabric into small squares, so that each square captured four different colors. I then reassembled the squares in less predictable and more dynamic composition."

Petra's original design is machine pieced and quilted. The results of her work show a gorgeous quilt, radiating light and color.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2017 Houston International Quilt Festival.

Exemplary Cat Quilts

If there are any animals who seem to really love quilts and are curious about them, it has to be cats.
Here's a tribute to our feline furbabies, as shown by some of our favorite cat quilts from the 2017 Houston International  Quilt Festival

An Interrupted Still Life by Pamela Seaberg , Washington, U.S.A.

Pamela says, "Last summer, I set up a still life of flowers on an old chair for a watercolor painting. Omar, my curious cat, turned my still life into this quilt."  Here's Omar, standing on his hind legs, tentatively trying to figure out the purpose of a vase on a chair, as cats will do. This quilt is made from hand-dyed and commercial fabrics, cotton, rayon, and silk embroidery threads, plus polyester threads.

Close-up, An Interrupted Still Life

We really admire Pamela's beautiful and accurate technique !  She used hand applique, hand embroidery, painting, and thread painting.

Sami, aka Tree Kitty by Lisa Steinka, Massachusetts, U.S.A.

Lisa writes,  "This is a reproduction of an original photo of my cat, Sami, that I took, developed, and printed over 40 years ago. The applique was done in the style of [quilt artist] David Taylor."

Close-up, Sami a.k.a. Tree Kitty

Lisa's original design uses cotton fabrics and cotton batting, with hand-piecing, hand-applique, and embroidery. She has done an excellent job at conveying the dignity and nobility of Sami in his devotion to enjoying life in the tree tops.

Kitten's Dreams by Hiroko Miyama and Masanobu Miyama, Tokyo, Japan

The quilters explain,  "This [work] expresses the kitten's desire to look down on dogs that chased her whenever they met. The flowers are original design, manually punch and machine embroidered. The kitten and dogs are also original design and were appliqued by using an original applique technique."

Close-up,Kitten's Dreams

What a wonderfully realistic depiction of this sweet kitten's face !  Hiroko and Masanobu used machine piecing, fused applique, machine embroidery, and original digitized embroidery to create this adorable quilt.

Can I Keep It, Pleassse?  by Kay Donges, Georgia, U.S.A.

Kay notes, "I was asked to make a quilt to be donated to the International Quilt Association to be placed in their silent auction at the  Houston International Quilt Show. The inspiration was a stock photo I purchased to use. It is fused applique and thread painting.
It is titled, "Can I Keep It, Pleassse?", because I believe that the girl is pleading  [with her voice and emphasizing the word 'Pleassse']  with her parents in order to keep this soft kitty.

Close-up, "Can I Keep It Pleassse?"

Kay has done an amazing job of  capturing the intent expressions of both the little girl and the kitten. It appears that the kitten wants to stay with the little girl as much as the little girl wants to keep it ! We also admire the elegant thread painting on the face and head of the kitten.

Cats on the Roof by Cecilia Koppmann, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Cecilia comments, "Every December, we wrap up the year with a celebratory breakfast that I host for all my students. It's a really fun party. I asked the students to bring with them a piece of fabric for me, from which I cut the cats and built this quilt. Now I have them 'meowing' in my studio all year
round."
We think that a breakfast party is a wonderful way to honor the students, and it looks as if the cats here are getting ready to do a little partying of their own !  

Close-up,  Cats on the Roof

We love Cecilia's arrangements of colors in creating a high contrast, vibrant, contemporary design that shows these nocturnal kitties with their prominent whiskers, out enjoying the night sky amongst the tall buildings.
 
Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2017 Houston International Quilt Festival.

Modern Quilt Month 2015 (part 3)

We've designated both July and August as Modern Quilt Month 2015. We've enjoyed seeing the modern quilts at various shows, and summer seems like the perfect time to feature these fun quilts. Here is part 3 of Modern Quilt Month !

Galactic Nebula by Jean Smith, Florida

Jean writes, "Light swirling from the center of an energy source is portrayed in this quilt through colors and lines." A softly colored counter-clockwise spiral of light yellow with splashes of pale blue highlights the vibrant red and orange-red rays of this very intriguing modern quilt.

Jean's striking original design is machine quilted and made of cotton fabric, cotton backing, and various sizes of threads.

In this close-up, you can see the "nest" of threads from which the pieced rays, designed using freezer paper, emanate.

Traditions with a Celtic Twist by Anna Williams (New Zealand)

A well-known and well-respected "Kiwi" (New Zealander) quilt teacher and designer,  Anna won a blue ribbon at the Taupo Quilt Symposium in that country. Anna was born and raised in England, but moved to New Zealand after she and her husband were married. She says that she has been using digital cameras and computers to design her quilts, and recently has been doing work with Celtic patterns, a design that she really loves.  We were fascinated by this quilt, not only due to its superb workmanship, but also due to the unique offset border, which occupies only two sides of the quilt.

Close up, Traditions with a Celtic Twist by Anna Williams

The diversity of black and white fabrics that form the celtic knots provide excellent contrast to the quilted background.

Anna's fabulous original design is machine appliqued and machine quilted. In this close-up, you can see an amazing variety of wonderful quilting patterns.

Playing with Color by Sandi Snow (Lutz, Florida)

Playing with Color won the Best of Show award in the 2013 AQS GO!  quilt challenge.  Sandi Snow created the appearance of shadows with gray dotted fabric, giving the circles and strips a three-dimensional appearance.  Ombre fabric was used for the gray borders, making the border strips fade into the background of the quilt.

close up, Playing with Color by Sandi Snow

The surface was quilted with concentric overlapping circles, which were filled by quilting in a grid or with stippling.

Ovals and Circles and Squares, Oh My!, 37 x 37", by Diane Whittier (Shawnee, Kansas)

Diane designed a three-inch quilt block with curved shapes.  Then she hand pieced and quilted her design in bold, contrasting colors.  Orange blocks were placed in a trip-around-the-world arrangement.

Diane's reverse applique circle, and accurate, evenly-spaced hand quilting, can be seen in this close-up. A split complementary color scheme of watercolor blues, greens, and oranges provides the perfect background to showcase her expert needlework skills.

Carnival Winds by Cecilia Koppmann (Buenos Aires, Argentina)

Cecilia explains, "The confetti, brightness, joy, and happiness that surround the February or March Carnival  celebrations in South American were the inspiration for this quilt."  Cecilia has done a great job of placing half-square triangles in a diagonal arrangement, as they appear to float on the breeze in a group of parading revelers.

Close up, Carnival Winds by Cecilia Koppmann

Black-and-white triangles were either pieced into the blocks, or folded and appliqued onto the surface with satin stitch.  Additional triangles were quilted onto the surface, along with satin-stitched lines shown in white thread.  The surface was embellished with glass tube beads.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration. Traditions with a Celtic Twist was from the 2015 World Quilt Show in Florida. Playing with Color, and Ovals and Circles and Squares, were from the 2014 AQS Quilt Week in Phoenix.  Galactic Nebula and Carnival Winds were from the 2013 Houston IQF.