Modern Quilt Month 2017 #1

We're keeping it simple for summer at Quilt Inspiration and featuring a showcase of modern quilts.  These original design quilts have a bold impact and straight or flowing lines, but the quilting is anything but simple, as you will see from the closeup photos.  We hope you enjoy these quilts as much as we did!
(NOTE: Please check out the great bargains on quilt books and fabrics at our eBay store ! for free patterns, follow us on Twitter!)     

Dandelion Dream, 70 x 40”, by Sharon H. Pedersen (Santa Maria, California)

Instantly recognizable as a dandelion, this quilt won a blue ribbon for Best Sewing Machine Workmanship in the Mid Century Mod Modern Quilt Competition at the 2016 PIQF. Sharon Pederson says, “Georgia O’Keefe’s representational water color paintings of nature inspired me to try and create my own interpretation. Her larger than life subjects have haunted me in my dreams until one morning I awoke with a desire to create a vision I had of a dandelion. “

Sharon says Dandelion Dreams is her first modern quilt and hopefully the first in a series. It was hand appliqued and sewing machine quilted.

Ferris Wheels Gone Awry, 46 x 46”, by Carolyn S. Davis (Oxford, Alabama); longarm quilted by Becky Everett

Carolyn S. Davis says, “This is my first attempt at a modern quilt. I wanted to combine the old (30’s repro fabric) Dresden plate with the basic stripped fabric. I saw somewhere where someone had added a slightly different shade in a striped pattern. This combo pleased me with the beautiful quilting (by Becky Everett) in the negative space" (shown below).

Seeds of Life, 78 x 78”, by Virginia Hammon and Coleen Barnhardt

We love this giant version a Snail's Trail block, enlarged to over 6 feet. It reminds us of an underwater scene with cool blues and greens. The artists say, "This quilt speaks to the importance of life’s foundation: healthy seeds, water and the interconnection of all life on earth. Inspired by a quilt belong to collector, Bill Volckening – a simple and traditional blue and white Snail’s Trail that a family friend made decades back. This is a contemporary update of the spirit, colors and movement of that quilt. It was a fun challenge to get the big swatches of fabric to flow together."

As you can see in the photo above, prairie points were used to create points at each corner of the design. An architectural print fabric was used in the background, creating lots of interesting texture. This is just a portion of the fabulous quilting on this quilt.  Seeds of Life was machine pieced, hand appliqued, and long arm quilted.

Bertha, 48 x 49”, by Melissa Miller Curley (Las Vegas, Nevada)

The dramatic contrasts and saturated colors drew us to this quilt. Melissa Miller Curley says, "This quilt was inspired by my quilt guild’s half rectangle triangle challenge. I know that the design could have used strips but I wanted to keep the original HRT going, for this quilt would not have been if it weren’t for that challenge. I chose to use soft organic line quilting to contrast a bit with the crisp lines of the pattern.

Pink, 39 x 48”, by Ruth Galpin (Australia)

Gorgeous hand-printed fabrics make this contemporary quilt a work of art.  Ruth Galpin says, "With its origins in Nature, “Pink” is an exploration of color and texture and my delight in the effects achieved by various processes. Mono-printed color over color gives visual depth and texture to the image. I am fascinated by the beauty I discover in the juxtaposition of small fragments of patterned fabrics pieced together."

Raspberry Medley, 50 x 50”, by Vicki Ruebel (Las Vegas, Nevada)

Vicki Ruebel took the humble half-square triangle concept to a new level with her longarm quilting.  She says, "The color inspiration for my quilt was my new hot pink recliner. I wanted to create a quilt using multiple shades of hot pink and mustard yellows. The simple pieced top is enhanced with various grid-based quilting designs."

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2016 Pacific International Quilt Festival (Santa Clara, California).

Modern Quilt Month: Beautiful in Black and White

Black and white quilts almost always look modern! A bright spot of color can be introduced for contrast and interest.  In today's post we're featuring pieced and appliqued quilts that we really admire.  We hope you will enjoy these black-and-white works of art.

Does He Make My Butt Look Big?  by Kristen Bryson (Houston, Texas), 2013 Houston IQF

Kristen Bryson gave a very humorous title to this wonderful zebra quilt.  She says, "This quilt was made in response to a challenge to enter the Ultimate Guild Challenge. Our chosen theme was “Out of Africa.” When I saw the photo taken by Maqsood Mughal, I had my inspiration.” The techniques used were raw-edge fused applique and machine quilting.

Close up, Does He Make My Butt Look Big?  by Kristen Bryson

The little bird might be considered the focal point of the quilt, as the viewer's eye is immediately drawn to the bright, tropical colors. Even though the bird and the zebra are different, both in color and stature, they have a great affinity for each other. Kristen's charming quilt was assembled using raw-edge fused applique and machine quilting.

Kaleidoscope by Dawn Guglielmino, quilted by Beth Hummel, 2014 Road to California

Black-and-white fabrics look great in a kaleidoscope design. This fun quilt was featured on page 54 of Quilts! Quilts!! Quilts!!! 3rd edition by Diana McClun and Laura Nownes, and in a special exhibit at the 2014 Road to California. The fabrics were from the Licorice Fizz collection by Carol van Zandt.

Black and White Desert by Eileen Wintemute, 2013 PIQF

We admire the graphic cactus shapes and the touches of golden yellow that enliven this quilt. Eileen Wintemute says, “Living in the southwestern United States affords me many opportunities to visit the desert. I have learned to appreciate its beauty and diversity of plant and wildlife. I love the wonderful shapes of desert plants in particular. My favorite “souvenir” from a visit to the desert is a sketch made from something I have seen on my visit. This fiber art piece is a compilation of a few of my desert sketches.”

Doodling by Beth Shibley (Los Alamitos, California), 2013 PIQF

Beth Shibley says, “This quilt began with a doodle. Lots of swirls, flowers, circles and squares. It was fun to transfer my pen and ink into fabric and thread.” Notice how the white background is closely quilted, which causes the whimsical black flowers and vines to really "pop".  To us, it looks as if Beth received much joy from creating this fanciful, enchanting quilt.

The Light by Mary Tabar (San Diego, California), 2013 PIQF

Mary Tabar says, "I have been studying abstract design with an all-over pattern of circles. Look and see how many patterns you can find." Mary's quilt, along with the two above, was part of the Black and White Challenge exhibition, sponsored by a well-known Southern California art quilt group, Quilts on the Wall.  The show-within-a-show appeared at the 2012 Long Beach (California) Quilt Festival and later traveled to the 2013 Pacific International Quilt Festival.

Snail's Trail miniature quilt by Jeannie Coleman, 2014 Tucson Quilters Guild show

In this auction mini-quilt, snail's trail blocks were combined with storm-at-sea sashing.  The sashing is all done in two fabrics, creating stars at the intersections of the blocks. Jeannie Coleman says, "Black and white fabrics are my favorites. Adding a little red really perks it up."

Close up, Snail's Trail 

Jeannie Coleman says, "I’m delighted that the money raised from this auction will go to World Care."
How many different black and white fabrics can you count here? It always amazes us how much interesting contrast can be achieved simply by varying the printed shapes and values of each fabric pattern.

Serenity Squared , 69 x 69, by Marla Whalen (Arlington, Tennessee), 2014 AQS Quilt Week

This is a medallion quilt with three borders and an incredible amount of piecing and applique work. It really has something for every quilt enthusiast --  geometric pieced stars, a stunning appliqued floral focal point surrounded by graceful scroll work,  and an intricate patchwork border which  reminds us of  the  "Burgoyne Surrounded" pattern.

Close up, Serenity Squared by Marla Whalen

Marla's gray scroll work provides an elegant and restful juxtaposition between the diamond shaped medallion and the high contrast bold stars set "en pointe".  She's done a lovely job of displaying a wide range of light, medium, and dark values.

We've always been intrigued by black-and-white flower bouquets... this basket even has a basket-weave appearance!

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration.

Purrrrfectly cute cat quilts

As animal lovers, we're always thrilled to find quilts that showcase some of our favorite creatures, including cats.  We came across some great quilts featuring fun felines in recent shows.  We hope these brighten your day! (Note to cat lovers:  also see our 2010 series on The Best of Cat Quilts, and our Cat Quilts Board at Pinterest.)

Flower Queen Kitty, 47 x 59, exhibited by Mary Fish

Mary notes, "This quilt was my 'thank you' gift for serving as a 2009 River City Quilters Guild Quilt Show co-chair. Thank  you to [all who worked on my quilt] including , ShirLee Belisle, Nancy Causey, Nancy Gangler, Nancy MacDonald, Kathy Mitchell, Phyllis McCalla, and Annette Blandin. I will treasure it always. "

Close-up of Flower Queen Kitty

We love the whimsical face and fanciful long whiskers of this giant purple kitty.  The striped inner border in extra-bright colors provides this quilt with a glowing, surrealistic, Alice-In-Wonderland look.

Let Sleeping Cats Lie by Jane Chiles

At the 2012  Arizona Quilters Guild Show, Jane noted,  "I started this at Quilt Camp in 2006 and finished it this past year. I am a new quilter, and this has been my biggest challenge!"

Close-up of Let Sleeping Cats Lie

The center spiral of these blocks is formed by the cats' tails all cozily curled up together. The center of this pattern is based on the traditional "Snails Trail" quilt pattern. The pattern, by Helene Knott, can be seen at Alderwood Quilts.

Holiday Party Kitty,  47 x59, exhibited by Paulette Trafecanty

Paulette exhibited this adorable black, white, and red cat quilt at the 2012 River City Quilters Guild Show in Sacramento, California. She explains,  "I was one of four ladies that put on the River City Quilters Guild Quilt Show. I never expected to get a quilt. But lo and behold, Phyllis McCalla and her great group of ladies made one for each of us. I absolutely adore it!  It is now hanging on my living room wall."

Close-up of Holiday Party Kitty

So much personality is imbued to this crazy cat by its heart-shaped nose, striped bow-tie collar, and red bell around its neck. The echo quilting or outline quilting around this center panel really gives a wild, zany energy to this delightful work.

Sleeping Cat, 27 x29,  by Dorothy Findley

At the 2013 Flying Needles Quilt Guild Quilt Show in Woodland, California, Dorothy writes, "This quilt was made just because I love cats. I designed the whole quilt. The flying geese were made for another project that didn't work out. So, I put them on this quilt. "  We are impressed by the contrast shown between the bright, energetic border, and the graceful, serene pose of the dozing kitty.  Can you see the little gray mouse at his feet?
 
2009 Co-Quilt Show Chair Quilt, 47 x 59,  exhibited by Diana Muenzler

Diana exhibited this whimsical cat quilt at the 2012 River City Quilters Guild Show in Sacramento, California. She says,  "I was absolutely thrilled to receive this quilt. Thank you so much to Phyllis McCalla, ShirLee Belisle, Nancy Causey, Nancy Gangler, Kathy Mitchell, and Nancy MacDonald." 

Close-up of 2009 Co-Quilt Show Chair Quilt

This kitty is done in neutral, calm earth tones that would blend well with the décor in any room of the house. But, that's about the only thing 'restful' about him. The way his fur is styled to fly out wildly in all directions leads us to believe he's really a wild partier ready to dance the night away.

Sleeping Yellow Kitty, 15 x 26, by Monica Kaseman

At the 2013  Guild of Quilters of Contra Costa County Quilt Show, Monica explained, "This quilt hangs over our bed, inspiring sweet dreams!  The cat was paper pieced. The pattern for the cat is by Maureen Sparrow on the Paper Panache website and is called Sleeping Cat."

We really like the "album quilt" effect of the traditional Amish  patterns in matching colors which surround this kitty, who apparently snoozes without a care in the world. 

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration.  We have not yet identified the patterns for the Holiday Party and Co-Chair quilts; if anyone knows the source, please let us know.

Day 3: Arizona Quilters' Guild Show 2012

Here are some more intriguing quilts from the weekend of March 9-10.  As you can see, a wide range of styles and techniques were on display. Write us a comment below, as we'd love to know which one is your favorite.

The Ladies at Sunset by Nancy Norrander - Judge’s Choice Award

Nancy Norrander said: “I pieced and quilted 'The Ladies at Sunset' for our new home in Arizona. It represents a very peaceful time of day and a time to reflect.” The faces of the Ladies were made of ultra suede, and the dresses, made of crushed velvet, stood out from the surface of the quilt.

Close-up photo, The Ladies at Sunset by Nancy Norrander

All three ladies are adorned with real turquoise necklaces as shown in the close-up photo above. We recognize this quilt as the "Navajo Treasures" pattern from Sara Cibelli, which can be seen at Flamingo Island Designs (Florida).

Vintage Roses by Barbara Polston, quilted by Terri Doyle. Blue ribbon: First Place Mixed techniques- Large.

Vintage tatted linen inspired this original design by Barbara Polston, showcasing painted appliqued roses. We were impressed by the tatting, which was appliqued around the center panel, shown below.  Tatting was common in our grandmothers' day and it is not often seen.

Close-up, Vintage Roses by Barbara Polston

All of the roses were painted off the quilt surface and turned into appliqué elements.  Barbara Polston says that the quilt concept lived in her head for almost two years. From start to finish, the quilt took 18 months to complete and was meant to be a competition piece.

Arizona Charm by Reni Dieball, quilted by Diane Pitchford

Tumbling Blocks were hand-pieced and hand appliqued to borders; there are hundreds of hand-pieced Y-seams in this quilt. Reni Dieball decided to arrange the blocks by colors. The  wide variety of fabrics were obtained by exchanges with her quilting and sewing friends.  The detail below shows some of the fun fabrics which Reni used: a scarecrow with sunflower, candy cane, sun with smiling face, spools of thread, and a family of geese can be seen.

Close-up, Arizona Charm by Reni Dieball

Hexagonal Spirals by Sue Whaples, quilting by Barbara Harrell

This colorful quilt is an elaborate variation of a snail's trail, based on an original design by John Flynn.  Sue Whaples used John’s Hexagonal Spirals templates to make all the arms of the snails tails match up; she made the quilt rectangular and added borders.

Close-up, Hexagonal Spirals by Sue Whaples, quilting by  Barbara Harrell

The quilting, which was done by Barbara Harrell, was really exceptional; as you can see in the photo above, each triangle in the spiral was quilted separately - an enormous amount of work. 

My Civil War Bride by Janice Hartman - Exemplary Hand Quilting Award

This is the first Civil War Bride quilt we've seen in person and it received an Exemplary Hand Quilting award (turquoise ribbon) along with a 2nd place (red ribbon) in the Applique-Large category. Janice Hartman used reproduction fabric collected over several years. The applique stitching, which was done with silk thread, was nearly invisible.  Hand quilting was done around each applique and diagonally in the borders. It was a stunning quilt that must have taken thousands of hours to applique. Our apologies for this less-than-perfect photo of a perfect quilt; the quilt was hung in a back hallway where the lighting was really challenging; the left side was in darkness and the right side was under a spotlight.

The Civil War Bride quilt pattern, designed by Corliss Searcey of Threadbear (Australia), is done in the style of The Bird of Paradise quilt in the American Folk Art Museum in New York City. It is distinguished by heavily appliquéd blocks of flowers & leaves, birds & butterflies, animals and fruit.

Straight piecing patterns that appear curved: Snail's Trail and Kaleidoscope

When it comes to quilt design, we are drawn to dimensionality (such as attic windows and tumbling blocks), color, and movement.  In design, movement is often created by curves, or the illusion of curves.  Today we're discussing two tessellating patterns that display the illusion of curves but are made with straight-seam piecing (the best of both worlds !) We've chosen two stunning modern quilts to illustrate the design principles.

Reel Starz, 74 x 91, by Gail Hansen, at Textures - Fiber Artists

We first saw the dazzling "Reel Starz" at the Road to California in January, 2010 and we fell in love with the quilt. Gail Hansen used hundreds of luscious fabrics to create a color wash, which moves from purple and magenta to indigo, blue, aqua, and green.  The white, ivory and cream stars appear to hover above the darker background, creating a three-dimensional effect. "Reel Starz" won the honorable mention award in the traditional, large, pieced category at Road to California; it was also juried into the 2010 Pacific International Quilt Festival. In the photo shown below you also can see the quilting, which was done by Judy Woodworth (Gering, NE).  She used beautiful variegated thread in the colored parts of the quilt and then added interest in the white/cream areas with circles or bubbles somewhat randomly placed.

Gail Hansen began working on "Reel Starz" at a family quilt retreat in 2008, and the quilt was completed in 2009. The family quilt retreat has become a tradition in which Gail, her mother, and 2 sisters meet in Nebraska to work on a predetermined project - each on her own - for 3 - 5 days. In her artist's statement, Gail says: "Reel Starz exemplifies my love of color and family."  Her family celebrated their 13th annual "Quiltathon" this past summer !" The core snail's trail block in "Reel Starz" is highlighted below.

With respect to naming:  Gail Hansen's "Reel Starz" was based on Shakespeare in the Park by Judy Martin, which combines Virginia Reel with Rising Star and Evening Star blocks.  Most of us would recognize the block shown above as Snail's Trail, but it is also known in The Quilt Index as Virginia Reel, and occasionally as Monkey Wrench. Note that a similar pattern with a small 4-patch in the middle is known by the same names. To add to the complex nomenclature, the names Monkey Wrench and Virginia Reel have been used to describe several other, totally different blocks* !

Organic Kaleidoscope, by Jennifer Tucker, at A Few Choice Words

Jennifer Tucker has created a spectacular modern quilt based on a kaleidoscope quilt block. "Kaleidoscope" uses straight piecing, but it creates the illusion of curves and overlapping circles.  Jen selected the beautiful, pure colors to represent the tropical flowers of Costa Rica, where she lives. In Jen's design, the colors cross the block boundaries, so the blocks are simply a means of construction rather than the focus of the design.  We also love the diagonal movement of dark to light values across the quilt. Here is a wonderful photo of the quilt in progress on Jen's design wall:

The individual kaleidoscope blocks are based on a grid of alternating dark and light triangles that form a continuous pattern when the blocks are set together. The image below is from Jen's initial design on EQ, and you can clearly see the secondary circular design that appears when the blocks are tiled together: 

We loved reading Jen's descriptions of her design process at jentucker.blogspot.com.  Here are her individual posts about Organic Kaleidoscope:  initial design on EQ; selecting fabrics; cutting triangles; laying out on the design wall; discussing (in comments) how many seams it takes to make a quilt out of 756 triangles; debating (again in comments) which orientation the quilt should have; final tweaks to the layout; constructing the top; and quilting.

Finally, have you ever thought about taking a quilt retreat and seeing Costa Rica at the same time ?  You can read about the retreats, which are hosted by Jennifer Tucker and Rita Ulloa, at The Costa Rica Quilt Retreat (now that sounds like fun !)

Image credits and additional resources: Images are shown with the generous permission of the artists.  
Snail's Trail/Virginia Reel:   *For block nomenclature, see Jinny Beyer, The Quilter's Album of Patchwork Patterns: 4050 Pieced Blocks for Quilters, p. 342.   
Kaleidoscope: A variety of different kaleidoscope blocks can be found in Jinny Beyer's book. Quilts based on the classic block shown in "Organic Kaleidoscope" can also be found in Kaleidoscope ABCs: 14 Step-by-Step Patterns.  In recent years, the term "kaleidoscope quilt" has been applied to quilts that mimic the appearance of repeating patterns as seen through a kaleidoscope. Such "kaleidoscopic" designs require a set of identical pieces cut from a print fabric to make hexagons, octagons, or more complex polygons.  In the latter case, the design focus is on the repeating fabric pattern, rather than on the circular designs formed by the tiled blocks. See for example Kaleidoscopes and Quilts by Paula Nadelstern, Magic Stack-n-Whack Quilts by Bethany Reynolds, and One-Block Wonders: One Fabric, One Shape, One-of-a-Kind Quilts by Maxine Rosenthal.