Modern Quilt Month: Minimalist Design! (2)

Minimalism refers to a design approach that emphasizes simplicity, clean lines, and a restrained aesthetic. Within the Modern Quilt Guild, it has its own category for shows! We're honoring modern quilts for the month of July, starting with minimalist designs.

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Klee for a Day, 37" square, by Karen Duling (Michigan) @karenbduling

Paul Klee's inspiring work "Fire in the Evening" influenced the use of color and line in this quilt.  Karen Duling explains, "My version started by sewing together a long-held collection of medium and dark value strips.  Strips were arranged using lessons learned by studying Klee's work.  Textile artist Rosalie Dace opened my eyes to Klee's work in her virtual class "The Thinking Eye." Klee for a Day is machine quilted in a grid using silk thread, adding subtle texture to the minimalist design.

Off Kilter by Margo Yang (California) @Quiltmagic

  

This quilt with its creative use of reclaimed materials and its minimalist design conveys a heartfelt message: "Distractions in life happen, They can throw your world into chaos. That's when you hold on to things that anchor you, be it faith in God, family, and friends. These distractions will be but a short while and then life goes on and everything will be okay at the end. This quilt is made of old denim, garment top and painter's drop cloth as background. It reminds me that life is not perfect but beautiful." For more about Off Kilter see this post by Margo Yang.

 

Extreme Dopamine by Jenn Burt (North Carolina) @jenngeorgeburt  

Dopamine is a chemical messenger that works in the brain and is associated with pleasurable reward and motivation. This quilt is titled "Extreme Dopamine" because of the way the artist felt about creating this piece: "It was joy-inducing from the design process to the color scheme selection, to the embracing of a newly-found love of piecing inset organic shapes, to the time devoted to hand quilting." 

We found our eyes moving from the subtle curves and contrasts in the background, to the intense colors and quilting within the circles, shown below.

Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2025 QuiltCon show in Phoenix, Arizona.