Fun with strips: Interleave quilts

Lorrie Faith Cranor specializes in the application of mathematical and computing skills to quilt design. Dr. Cranor is Professor of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University and an innovator in the modern quilting world (for our 2010 post on Lorrie Cranor's quilts, click here.)  Her complex-looking Interleave quilts are pieced using a quilt-as-you-go technique in which thin strips of fabric are sewn to a foundation. The resulting strips are 1/2" wide.

Please note: We're selling beautiful quilt books at low introductory prices on e-Bay!

Interleave #4: Sine of Spring, 24″x31″, by Lorrie Faith Cranor

Lorrie Cranor's free tutorial inspired members of the Imagine That! Mini Group* of the Diablo Valley Quilters' Guild to create their own dynamic Interleave quilts.  Their fabulous, colorful creations were exhibited at the 2015 DVQG show.

(this quilt was hung around the corner of a booth, hence the curved appearance)

(this quilt was hung around the corner of a booth, hence the curved appearance)

(this quilt was hung around the corner of a booth, hence the curved appearance)

Note: To make it easier to stitch perfectly even strips, Lorrie has designed foundation fabric with a printed 1/4" grid, now available at Spoonflower!

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration.  The members of the Imagine That! Group who participated in the Interleave mini quilt challenge were:  Carol Wattles, Pamela Appel, Cindy Slavick, Patty Flynn, Rosemary Patterson, Lois Russell, Karen Mack, Faith Andresen, Sandra Brown and Linda Harding; led by Rosemary Patterson.

Modern Quilt Month 2016 - Part 3

Welcome to Modern Quilt Month 2016! We've enjoyed seeing the modern quilts at various shows, and summer is the perfect time to feature them. Here are modern quilts made with simple shapes, Kaffe Fassett and ombre fabrics, circles, stars, and Dresden fans.

Please note: We're selling beautiful quilt books at low introductory prices on e-Bay!

We're continually posting free patterns on Twitter ! Check us out @QuiltInspire 
 
Meandering Thru Greece with Father Bob, 96 x 96", by Anne F. Zick

Anne Zick says, "This quilt was inspired during a class taught by Sally Frey [at a Quilter's Affair workshop] in Sisters, Oregon.  Anne, her husband, and Father Bob had just returned from a trip to Greece."  We enjoyed Anne's lovely hand quilting in the center of the strips.

Grisaille - Working in Shades of Gray by Margit Kagerer

The quilting makes this contemporary quilt shine.  Margit Kagerer says, "The commercial ombre gray fabric was a challenge for me since I usually work with colored prints. I free-motion quilted 26 pairs of curved and straight lines."  This quilt received Honorable Mention at the 2015 Arizona Quilters Guild show.

Circle Fun 2, 24 x 24", by Jackie Seidell

This quilt was featured at the 2016 Guild of Quilters of Contra Costa County quilt show. Jackie Seidell says, "I learned this technique at a Thread Play class with Libby Lehman. I used the circular attachment for my machine, some machine embroidery stitches, and lots of free motion quilting."  We admired Jackie's beautiful design and feather wreath quilting.

Odin II by Sylvia Borschel Lewis (Utah)

Sylvia Borschel Lewis says, "This quilt evolved from the leftover parts of another quilt. I had the pieces tacked up on the design wall. Once I started to sew, it just flew together. When the top was pieced, I realized I had another boat! I titled this Odin II in honor of my father. He has loved sailing all his life and always named his boats Odin."

Star Burst, 96 x 96",  by Angela Mason (North Carolina), quilted by Pam Bowman

We love Angela's choice of gradated colors in these stars. Star Burst was inspired by the Binding Tool Star quilt pattern (at Missouri Star Quilt Company) and the quilt just kept getting bigger!   The beautiful quilting is by Pam Bowman.

Peacock, 98 x 98", by Joan Chao (Illinois), quilted by Anne Christopher

Peacock greens and blues were beautifully blended in this quilt.  Joan Chao says, "This quilt represents peacock feathers.  The Kaffe Fassett floral prints blend together for a homogeneous soothing effect."  The creative quilting was done by Anne Christopher.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2016 AQS QuiltWeek (Peacock, Star Burst, Meandering); the 2015 Arizona Quilters Guild show (Grisaille); the 2015 Springville (Utah) quilt show (Odin II); and the Guild of Quilters of Contra Costa County (Circles 2).

Modern Quilt Month 2016 - part 2

Welcome to Modern Quilt Month 2016! 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 2 of our series!

Branching Out, 48 x 58", by Mary Kay Davis (Sunnyvale, California)

Mary Kay Davis has been a fairly traditional quilter all her life.  Branching Out was her way of dipping into the world of modern quilting.  It reflects her mother's design aesthetic, which was very forward thinking at the time.  For more information see Mary Kay's website at Threads on the Floor.

Blue Ribbons, 54 x 54", by Judy Mercer Tescher (Pendleton, Indiana)

This is Judy's modern take on the classic blue and white quilt.  She always wanted to make a blue and white quilt and now she has!

Star Light, Star Bright by Nanette Leigh Sturgill (Murray, Utah)

This quilt is a takeoff on a traditional Mariner's Compass star. The bright colors give the design a modern twist!   The applique elements are hand appliqued, and the quilt also includes some machine buttonhole stitching.  The beautiful hand quilting reflects the design of the applique.

Black and White Crayons, 44 x 56", by Lynne Tyler (Goffstown, New Hampshire), quilted by Chris Ballard

Lynne Tyler says, "What better way to emphasize using all the colors than by limiting the options?  This original, free-pieced design was fun to make!" The quilt has 52 different black and white fabrics, 10 different white-on-white and 9 different black-on-black fabrics. For more information see the original post at Lynne's website, Patchery Menagerie.

Celestial Orbs, 63 x 63", by Sylvia Schaefer (Athens, Georgia)

Sylvia Schaefer began with the Robbing Peter to Pay Paul block for this design.  The stars feature many of her favorite modern fabrics!  The center stars are paper pieced for accuracy.  You can read about the design and construction at Sylvia Schaefer's website, Flying Parrot Quilts.  The Celestial Orbs pattern can be purchased at Craftsy.

Earth and Sky, 42 x 46", by Linda Bingham (Rio Vista, California)

Linda Bingham chose this pattern of intersecting circles to represent the cycle of life.  She says, "Like the intersecting of the earth and sky, the circles of life continually spin."  The design source was the Intersecting Rings pattern by Cathie Hoover.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2016 AQS QuiltWeek in Phoenix, Arizona and the 2015 Springville (Utah) quilt show (Star Light, Star Bright).

Modern Quilt Month 2016 - part 1

Welcome to Modern Quilt Month 2016 ! 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 1 of Modern Quilt Month.

Tree of Life by Kira Holladay (Springville, Utah)

This red, white and black Tree of Life was inspired by Kira's daughter's love of swirling trees.  This quilt looks very modern with its one-patch design and high contrasts.  Kira quilted it herself, using red thread (below) in a design of stems and leaves, along with diagonal wavy lines (in white) that radiate from the upper right corner of the quilt.

Study in Blue by Maria Hawkins (Elk Ridge, Utah), quilted by Becky Morganson

Maria Hawkins says,  "Many years ago I saw a very simple blue and white quilt that was stunning... finding the correct navy blue was hard and then a bright white for a contrast was a chore. The quilt came out better than I expected but I was very pleased with a slightly altered pattern that I saw in McCall's Quilting, April 2013 called Fujita Maze by Susan Guzman."  (Visit McCall's Quilting to download the free Garden Path block pattern.)

24 Shades of Stars, 75 x 75", by Lisa Maechtlen (Anchorage, Alaska)

Lisa Maechtlen says, "This quilt was made to conform to an optical illusion challenge, using only the snowball block and the 54-40 or Fight block.  To make the quilt more interesting, Lisa chose 24 shades of gray to black and four shades of pink to magenta."

Grandpa's Model Twenty #1, 60 x 60",by Jodi Robinson (Enon Valley, Pennsylvania)

This original design was inspired by a groovy stereo system Jodi's grandfather used to have called a KLH model.  The quilt was constructed using piecing and invisible applique, and quilted on a longarm using mostly straight lines. For more information on her process, and to see the stereo system that inspired the design, see the post at Jodi Robinson Designs.

Magical Masquerade, 63 x 72", by Jo Anne Fredrikson (Placitas, New Mexico), quilted by Shirley Barter

Jo Anne Fredrickson says, "The magic and mystery of the Crescent City of New Orleans inspired the colors and movement depicted in this One Block Wonder variation." The design source was the book One-Block Wonders: One Fabric, One Shape, One-of-a-Kind Quilts by Maxine Rosenthal.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2016 AQS Quilt Week (Phoenix, Arizona) and the 2015 Springville (Utah) quilt show.

Happy Fourth of July 2016

We're celebrating Independence Day, July 4, with a picnic, a parade, fireworks, and a tribute to red, white and blue quilts ! Here are some of our favorites; we hope you like them also !

Home of the Brave by Juanice Hess

Second place winner for Best Appliqued Quilt at the 2014 River City Quilter's Guild,  Juanice writes, "I wanted a 4th of July wall-hanging. I found the pattern, enlarged, and changed it, [then] hand appliqued and machine quilted it. [I  was] inspired by Pearl Pereira's New York Block pattern."

In this close-up, you can see the Bald Eagle, the American national symbol, standing proudly on a crest of three stars. The Bald Eagle was featured on the first Great Seal of the United States, approved by  Congress in 1782, and later, this majestic bird became the national symbol in its own right.

Storm at Sea for Quilts of Honor, 50 x 66,  by Caroline Lunstra

Caroline explains, "Storm at Sea" is one of my favorite designs. I have made several."  Caroline made this quilt for Quilts of Honor, an organization that supports veterans and active duty members of the military by making and distributing quilts for the wounded and those who have served multiple tours of duty.

In this close-up, you can see the Bald Eagle on the Great Seal, below the words "We the People" , which are the first three words in the Preamble to the United States Constitution.

Caroline continues, "[In this quilt pattern], the diamond is the tricky piece. This one was made using a new ruler ( found at The Fabric Garden in Sacramento, California) to cut the diamonds. With it, you can cut several sizes of diamonds."

Simply Patriotic by Sue Cold, quilted by Kathy August

Sue notes, "I took a Texas Lone Star pattern quilt-making class from Jan Krentz and was in WAY over my heard from the beginning. But with Jan's guidance and gentle patience, I created my best piece so far." 

The colors of red, white, and blue trace back to the birth of America. On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress passed a resolution authorizing a committee to develop a Great Seal for the new country. The committee was instructed to design a seal that reflected the Founding Fathers' beliefs and values.

Along with the Bald Eagle, the committee also chose the national colors. Charles Thomson, Secretary of the Continental Congress, explained the significance to Congress when he presented the seal. “The colors,” Thomson said at the time, “are those used in the flag of the United States of America. White signifies purity and innocence. Red, hardiness and valor, and Blue… signifies vigilance, perseverance, and justice.”

Have a very happy and safe Fourth of July !  

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2014 River City Quilters' Guild show (Storm at Sea, Home of the Brave) and the 2015 Diablo Valley Quilters' Guild show (Simply Patriotic).