Modern Quilt Month 2018 (2)

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 !

Rainbow Cat Eyes by Laurie Ceesay (Michigan)

These appliqued silhouettes of women are very cool, with their bright batik hues and cat eye glasses! Laurie Ceesay says,  "I love portrait quilts and the color wheel so I combined both ideas.  By overlapping the motifs that are in primary and secondary colors, a tertiary color is created.  I wear glasses and think they are a fashion statement.  My favorite frame shape is the cat eye... my portrait motifs received cat eye glasses with rhinestone decorations!"

Jeweled Windows by Judy Nelson and Debbie Spencer (Iowa)

The gorgeous colors drew us to this stained glass quilt.  The use of white instead of a traditional black background gives this quilt a very contemporary feel.  Jeweled Window was based on the Leaded Glass quilt  pattern by Tracey Jacobsen, published in American Quilter Magazine, November, 2014 (as of this date, you can still download the free pattern here !)  The artist says, "I found this quilt to be the perfect avenue to set off some of the beautiful fabrics in my stash."

Water Mirror by Carolina Asmussen (Connecticut)

The indigo ombre fabric adds fantastic shadows and lights to this quilt.  Water Mirror makes reference to water as an architectural element.  The design was inspired by an iconic mosaic panel by Brazilian artist Athos Bulcão who collaborated with Oscar Niemeyer in the 1960s.  The free-motion quilting reproduces the wind movement across the water's surface, with curves and bubbles playing with the regular solid shapes. 

Drunkard's Bullseye WOW! 58 x 58",by Jackie Nixon-Fulton (Texas)

Inspired by a Drunkard's Path block, this totally modern quilt was derived from a block from the artist's quilt called Playing Well Together, designed for the Modern Quilts Unlimited Old is New challenge.  Ever larger Drunkard's Path sub-units extend out from the middle in four blocks.  The purple unifies and contrasts with the other colors, giving luminosity and depth as the colors seem to jump out at you.  Drunkard's Bullseye was machine pieced and quilted by the artist.

Ohio Snowball by Christine Perrigo (Colorado)

Christine Perrigo says that Ohio Snowball was inspired by Ohio Star and Flowering Snowball blocks (flowering snowball is a very pretty block with curved piecing).  She started with a huge Flowering Snowball block, choosing to emphasize the small square formed between the petals. The Ohio Star blocks march across the different background segments in a grid.

Christine says,  "I very often play with overlapping patterns for my quilting designs.  Once this quilt top was together, it sat for almost a year until I could brainstorm how to quilt it."

Three D Illusion by Sheila Bruner (Arizona)

Sheila Bruner made this fantastic illusion quilt for her guild's Black & White With A Splash of Color challenge.  She says the piecing was quite a challenge!  The tumbling blocks were made the hard way, with y-seams.  The quilting was done freehand on her longarm machine, with feathers and vines that loop in and out of the charcoal background.  Sheila also used Derwent Inktense color pencils to enhance the 3D effect.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2018 Quilt Arizona show (Three D Illusion) and the 2017 Houston International Quilt Festival.