Modern Quilt Month 2022 (4)

We really enjoy modern quilts and examining the design elements that make the finished pieces come alive. Summer seems like the perfect time to feature contemporary quilts, so it's become an annual tradition at Quilt Inspiration. Here is part 1 of Modern Quilt Month for 2022!

p.s. check out our E-Bay shop for great bargains on quilt patterns, fabric, and vintage jewelry!
For more free quilt patterns, please visit us on Twitter.

Time On My Hands by Richard Kupferer

 

Time On My Hands is an original design, made and quilted by Richard Kupferer. It won a ribbon for second place in the Modern-Solo category at the 2022 Quilt Arizona show.  Richard says that the pandemic provided "Time On My Hands".  "I used the time to sort fabric scraps and learn software on my spouse’s longarm machine.  My original design addresses pandemic broken plans (piecing) and confusion (mixed quilting)." The interesting quilting really brings this modern quilt to life.

 

 Objective 2020 by Laura Nisi

Laura Nisi turned the Single Girl quilt pattern into a “temperature quilt”,  representing temperature variations in quilted form. The twelve rings in this quilt represent the temperatures of twelve months in quiltmaker Laura Nisi’s home in Minnesota.  “There were no days over 100 degrees or below zero that year, which was a pleasant change from the extremes we often experience,” she said.

The rings show the high temperatures for each day, month by month, with the first day of each month at the “twelve o’clock” position of the block.  Laura Nisi says, "Denyse Schmidt’s Free Wheeling Single Girl pattern had been on my “to do” list for years and it lent itself beautifully to tracking temperatures.  At one point I had considered incorporating some of the news events of the year 2020 into the quilt but ultimately chose to let it stand as an objective look at the temperatures." The clever quilting creates the subtle impression of a double wedding ring block.

 We Freaking Made It by Bridget Vian @BridgetJaneCreates

We Freaking Made It is a very creative quilt that uses thin strips of solid colors to represent a year of temperature variations. Bridget Vian says, "This quilt is a representation of the first year my husband and I were married... The highs are in the center and are shorter or longer depending on how many daylight hours there were that day.  Each color depicts 10 degrees: dark red is temperatures between 90-99 F going all the way down to -1 to -10 degrees shown in purple.  The quilt is machine pieced on a longarm machine using the quilt-as-you-go technique." Bridget can be found at BridgetJaneCreates.

Countdown by Sarah Ruiz @saroy

Sarah Ruiz created Countdown during the first 50 days of #quiltingthecountdown. She says, "The design was driven by a desire to explore a monochromatic palette and improve my hand quilting.  But as 2020 wound down, I also craved a project that would let me simply sit and stitch, and find solace and enjoyment in the act of methodically piecing and quilting fabric... I was happy to join others in counting towards something fun and hopeful." We loved seeing Sarah's hand quilting and her engaging, monochromatic design.  You can see more of her work at Sarah's website, saroy.

Pandemic Reflections by Victoria Nelson & Group

Pandemic Reflections is a large original quilt made by a group of quilters from the US, Canada and Australia.  There is so much interest and texture in the finished quilt! Victoria Nelson says, "We each made an improvisational section and shipped our sections for assembly and quilting [by Victoria Nelson, who used hand guided quilting]."  We loved the improvisational design and the use of quilted words to represent the pandemic. See how many words you can find in the closeup photo below.

Pandemic Reflections was created by M. Baker, F. Briggs, L. Buck, D. Cope, R. Craig, J. Davies, K. Duling, L. Engelson, B. Holland, A. Hudson, A. Kinney, M. Landon, C. Marisco, L. Pilquist, L. Schulz, and Victoria Nelson, who also did the quilting.

Wasabi Tango by Bonnie Bobman @fabrications2b

Bonnie Bobman said she had a really fun time creating Wasabi Tango with two colors! This piece was made with "Improvisational cutting and piecing without a plan except to love it.  Quilting was simply filling in the spaces one by one." The piece, which won a ribbon at the 2022 Quilt Arizona show, was inspired by Irene Roderick’s workshop. Bonnie Bobman is a member of the Arizona Quilters Hall of Fame, and you can see more of Bonnie's work at Bonnie Bobman.com.

Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2022 Quilt Arizona show (Wasabi Tango, Time On My Hands, Pandemic Reflections) and the 2022 QuiltCon show (Objective 2020, We Freaking Made It, Countdown).

Modern Quilt Month 2022 (3)

We really enjoy modern quilts and examining the design elements that make the finished pieces come alive. Summer seems like the perfect time to feature contemporary quilts, so it's become an annual tradition at Quilt Inspiration. Here is part 1 of Modern Quilt Month for 2022!

p.s. check out our E-Bay shop for great bargains on quilt patterns, fabric, and vintage jewelry!
For more free quilt patterns, please visit us on Twitter.

Cider Press by Daisy Aschehoug (Norway), quilted by Daisy Aschehoug

The shapes and warm colors of this modern quilt are so appealing! Daisy Aschehoug of Warm Folk is an American living in Norway.  She says, "When I was little, my parents sometimes stopped at an apple orchard in the curve of the road on my way home from my grandparents’ house in Alabama.  Hot apple cider defines my favorite season.  The idea of those trips as a child come to mind as I played with traditional half square triangles and quarter circle squares." 

 

Cider Press was machine pieced, and machine quilted by Daisy Aschehoug on a longarm machine. Daisy is co-author with Heather Black of the 2020 book titled Quilt Modern Curves and Bold Stripes.

Bauhaus by Kathy O'Brien, quilted by Penny Boese

Here is a wonderful composition emphasizing variations in shape, and creating the illusion of transparency.  Kathy O'Brien used circles, rectangles, a triangle and several lines to create this original design. Bauhaus won a blue ribbon (First Place) in the Art-Abstract category at the 2022 Tucson Quilt Fiesta. 

 

Kathy O’Brien says, “This [art quilt] was made for my husband who loves abstract designs. The overlapping applique pieces give an illusion of transparency.  Wool batting gives extra dimension.” The use of tone-on-tone prints gives added interest to the finished piece.

Cross Way Geese by Colleen Babcock, quilted by Colleen Babcock

 

This modern Flying Geese quilt is so pleasing to the eye! Colleen Babcock won Second Place for her creation, which was entered in the Modern Quilt category at the 2022 Tucson Quilt Fiesta. 

 

Cross Way Geese is Colleen’s interpretation of the Villa Rosa Designs pattern called Crossway Flying Geese. Colleen reduced the original pattern by about 25%. 

All the fabric is Moda Grunge and Colleen used thread matching each of the colors in the quilt.  She finished the quilt with free motion quilting, done on her domestic machine. Colleen says, "The quilt was great fun to make."  

 Euclidean Lighting by Malcolm Neifeld (@man_makes_stuff), quilted by Kris Neifeld

Here is an original design by by Malcolm Neifeld, who created bars that are shaded to create a 3D effect at the ends, like elongated tumbling blocks. This design is an excellent use of negative space as well. Malcolm says, "During my second year of college, I got into designing my own quilt patterns, many of which were done in an isometric style.  Of all my designs, this is the first one I actually turned into a quilt."  

Malcolm Neifeld says, "After really liking the design, I’ve begun writing the pattern and have taught it as a class twice." The excellent modern quilting by Kris Neifeld completes the design.

 Bars quilt by Victoria Nelson, quilted by Victoria Nelson

 

Here is a fun, modern Bars Quilt done in an improvisational style! Victoria Nelson says, "I started work on this quilt in a Zoom color play workshop with Tara Faughnan of Oakland, CA. The techniques used include improv piecing, machine quilting, and hand quilting with decorative threads." Victoria's big stitch hand quilting adds so much character to this piece.

 

Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2022 QuiltCon show (Cider Press), the 2022 Tucson Quilt Fiesta (Bars Quilt, Euclidean Lighting, Cross Way Geese, Bauhaus), and the 2022 Quilt Arizona show (Bars Quilt).

Modern Quilt Month 2022 (2)

We really enjoy modern quilts and examining the design elements that make the finished pieces come alive. Summer seems like the perfect time to feature contemporary quilts, so it's become an annual tradition at Quilt Inspiration. Here is part 1 of Modern Quilt Month for 2022!

p.s. check out our E-Bay shop for great bargains on quilt patterns, fabric, and vintage jewelry!
For more free quilt patterns, please visit us on Twitter.

Gilded Matrix En Taupe by Karen G. Fisher 

The stunning Gilded Matrix en Taupe has won multiple awards, including an Exemplary Quilting award, PLUS First Place in the Small/One Person/Pieced/ Machine Quilted category, at the 2022 Tucson Quilters Guild show. 

Karen G. Fisher says, "[Here is] my latest Matrix in an ombre arrangement of taupes. There are 21 columns of color, and the appliqued rows of color are all 'gilded'.  The embellishing adds sparkle and detail."

The precise selection of fabrics to create the ombre design makes this quilt shimmer with life. Karen says that she designed this arrangement years ago, and this may or may not be her last Matrix quilt! We love the way the buttons match the gradated ombre hues of the background squares.

Scrap Stitch by Debra Kay

This creative work by Debra Kay reminds us of a contemporary stained glass window! Scrap Stitch was first made by creating new pieces of fabric froom scraps of thread, yarn, trim, Angelina fibers, and rickrack. The scraps are all densely stitched together with both plain and decorative stitches.  The new fabric is then cut into pieces and assembled on a black background."

For the finishing touch, the new fabric blocks were mingled with yarn, tulle, and solid pieces, stitched in place, and quilted with invisible thread. We love the colorful, sparkly effect which Debra achieved.

Space X by Leslie Hughes (Minnesota), quilted by Karen McTavish

This colorful quilt has a mid-century modern feel with its intersecting, dimensional diamonds. Leslie Hughes says that she was watching the private space ventures being tested, and found this pattern in bold colors against a blank space was the perfect foil to represent the capsules, support structures and blasts in all directions. Hence the quilt's name, Space X.

The expert machine quilting by Karen McTavish echoes and emphasizes the sharp points of the diamond shapes. Space X was, quite appropriately, entered into the "Use of Negative Space" category at the 2022 QuiltCon show.  [Note: The design is based on the Square Dance pattern by Victoria Findlay Wolfe.]

Harvest by Sarah Hibbert @quiltscornerstone (Hertfordshire, United Kingdom)

Entered in the Modern Traditionalism category at the 2022 QuiltCon show, Harvest is a beautiful use of black and white contrasts, intermixed with toned hues. Sarah Hibbert says, "Harvesting is the process of gathering a ripe crop from the fields.  Exactly what I did when visiting Ray Stitch in London, their rich linen range just needed gathering in."

Harvest is made up of 16 colors, in a combination of half square triangles and half rectangles. Sarah decided to hand quilt in a simple straight line, changing the color of thread randomly as it ran out; we love the hand-quilted look!)  Note: A pattern for Harvest can be purchased at Sarah Hibbert Quilts.

Jubilation by Tara Faughnan @tarafaughnan (California)

Joyous and bright are adjectives that describe this wonderful HST quilt.  Tara Faughnan says, "I created this quilt as a celebration, an expression of the joy I was feeling during the spring of 2021. We were coming out of the long pandemic winter and Delta [variant] had yet to rear its head. I was heading off to a coastal town in Mexico, and thinking of its bright gorgeous colors and celebrations, of its cenotes, and street food and textiles and architecture."

Jubilation was machine pieced, improvisational pieced, and wonderfully hand quilted. Tara says, "As I pieced this quilt, I put these colors together thinking of hugs and warm nights and tacos and laughter and the sound of an accordion somewhere nearby."

Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2022 QuiltCon show (Jubilation, Space X,  Harvest) and the 2022 Tucson Quilt Fiesta (Gilded Matrix En Taupe, Scrap Stitch.)

Modern Quilt Month 2022 (1)

We really enjoy modern quilts and examining the design elements that make the finished pieces come alive. Summer seems like the perfect time to feature contemporary quilts, so it's become an annual tradition at Quilt Inspiration. Here is part 1 of Modern Quilt Month for 2022!

p.s. check out our E-Bay shop for great bargains on quilt patterns, fabric, and vintage jewelry!
For more free quilt patterns, please visit us on Twitter.

 Sanity by Karen G. Fisher

This beautiful contemporary quilt, designed and made by Karen G. Fisher during the pandemic, is a fascinating juxtaposition of red and black prints, circles, and squares. Karen says, "The background of squares-plus-sashing had stalled. During Covid, I got out and immediately saw my solution - circles!"

Buttons were added to create even more interesting patterns. Karen explains, "I [added] appliqued circles, quilting, buttons and beads... one more way to stay sane in isolation." She adds this wise counsel: "Do something you love."

Spotlight by Sophie Zaugg @lunalovequilts (Switzerland)

Spotlight by Sophie Zaugg is is a very pleasing design. This is the second of a series inspired by Jason Woodside murals. Sophie says, "I draw the whole design to its actual size on paper and then cut it out to use each section as a template.  Some of these sections were then cut out from plain fabrics, while the others were cut into string sheets. I then machine pieced all sections together."

The circles and blue rectangles were hand appliqued on the different sections before the final assembly. Sophie machine quilted diagonal straight lines and grids following the piecing design.

Scrappy Scallops by Keith Dommer

The half circles and ovals seem to dance across this original design by Keith Dommer. He explains that "Improvisationally sized ovals, improvisationally sliced, and improvisationally appliqued in rows with some piping create an image that might resemble colorful birds sitting on wires."

The intriguing mix of colors and prints invites the viewer to look closer. There are all kinds of fun fabrics in this quilt. We loved the use of a muted gray background producing a soft contrast to the brightly colored prints.

A Little Kaffe (Goes a Long Way) by JoAnn Hinchliffe @joannhinchliffe

Believe it or not, this is a miniature quilt - which makes the precision piecing even more impressive.  A Little Kaffe won second place in the Miniatures category at this show. 

JoAnn Hinchliffe used the Pennants pattern from one of Kaffe Fassett's early books, Glorious Patchwork, but decided to miniaturize it, reducing [the pieces] from 6" to 1.75". 

JoAnn says, "I find Kaffe Fassett's fabrics interesting individually, but when there are too many used together, it feels like "too much" to me." JoAnn used pleasing complementary hues, and shaded the blocks - from light to dark - to make the design stand out. JoAnn says, "There is a single teal fabric and eight pinks/reds. The teal seems to change color depending on the pinks/red it's next to."

Improv Mosaic #3 by Lorraine Woodruff-Long (California)

Improv Mosaic #3 is an incredibly dynamic composition. Lorraine Woodruff-Long says, "Using variations on a traditional log cabin quilt block and small solid fabric scraps recycled from other projects, I sought to create a quilt with pulsing energy and color.  With the self-imposed parameter to limit block sizes to 9, 6, and 3 inches, each block is developed using as much variety in color, "wonky" sizes and contrast as possible to create blocks that pop and move to the viewer."

"The improvisational nature is furthered by a random, puzzle-piece layout. Using bright and vivid colors and shapes to create an immersive polychromatic experience is my quilting passion." Lorraine machine quilted this piece in a grid pattern using a longarm machine.

Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2022 QuiltCon show (Spotlight and Improv Mosaic #3) and the 2022 Tucson Quilters Guild show (Sanity, Scrappy Scallops, and A Little Kaffe (Goes a Long Way).