Modern Quilt Month: Minimalist Design! (1)

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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Imaginary Places V: Dreaming in Calm by Carolina Oneto @carolina_oneto (Brazil), quilted by Veronica Dacal 

This quilt serves as a peaceful shelter, reflecting the subtle harmony of nature. Each stitch invites calmness and contemplation, providing a momentary escape from our fast-paced complex world, thus allowing us to reconnect with the serenity that resides within. 

Carolina Oneto explains, "In Imaginary Places V: Dreaming in Calm, I explore the tranquility of imaginary landscapes.  With a muted color palette, soft greens depict a serene lake, while gray gradations over the mountains create a soothing atmosphere. 

 Park Modern by Robert Lowe @rbtlowedesigns (New Mexico), quilted by Tisha Cavanaugh

Beautiful smooth lines and strong contrasts distinguish this architecture-inspired quilt. Robert Lowe explains, "Although the architecture this piece was influenced by is reminiscent of the Guggenheim Museum, a landmark work of 20th-century design by Frank Lloyd Wright, it is instead from just after that time period, and by different architects.  The building was designed for Macy's Queens Plaza department store in Queens, New York by Skidmore Owings & Merrill and this is only its parking structure."

Vacation Rental by AnnMarie Cowley (Oregon) @runandsew 

This fascinating quilt exhibits the clean lines and precision that characterize minimalist designs.  The piece was inspired by modern architecture, but not by any specific building! As AnnMarie Cowley explains, "Using AI to generate a mid-century modern summertime theme, I used an inset circle for the sun and created a paper piecing template on giant paper.  It's quilted with my signature seer-sucker quilting (on a longarm machine)." 

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

QuiltCon 2022 Highlights (2)

The outstanding QuiltCon show was held in Phoenix, Arizona this year! Presented by The Modern Quilt Guild, QuiltCon is the largest modern quilting show of its kind. Hundreds of modern quilts were on display, including a juried show with entries from MQG members around the world. Here are some of the remarkable quilts we enjoyed.

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Jessica Big Skirt by Patti Coppock (Oklahoma)

Winner of a Judge's Choice award, and 2nd place in the Negative Space category, this quilt by Patti Coppock drew a crowd of admirers at the show for its dynamic design. Jessica Big Skirt was inspired by a drawing, done by Patti's granddaughter when she was 5 years old.  Patti says, "The skirt came together 'accidentally' when I was sewing tiny scraps together for placemats."

Jessica Big Skirt was machine pieced, hand appliqued, and machine quilted on a domestic machine. A fascinating collection of prints and batiks were used to create a dynamic collage.

Sacred by Karen Stone (Texas)

Sacred by Karen Stone is a gorgeous original lotus design made with hand dyed and commercial cottons and silks.  The solid color fabrics in the lotus shapes are contrasted with the prints at the upper and lower edges. Commercial and hand-dyed cottons and silks make up this award-winning applique quilt, which was quilted with a domestic machine.

Illusions of Victor by Linda Hungerford (Florida)

In January 2020, the Central Florida Modern Quilt Guild members were challenged to design and make a quilt based on the art of a midcentury modern artist.  Illusions of Victor was inspired by Victor Vasarely and his optical illusion quilts, these drunkard's path blocks and 45-degree diamonds are pieced from a variety of solid colors and values. The piece was domestic machine quilted with a walking foot and a ruler foot with echo guide.

Windisch by Robert Lowe (New Mexico)

 The inspiration for this piece was the beautiful architecture of the Mülimatt Gymnasium in Windisch, Switzerland designed by Studio Vacchini architects.  Robert Lowe says, "I was taken by the cathedral-like windows surrounding the entire sports complex, allowing an incredible view of the outdoors from within the facility."  This outstanding piece was machine pieced, and machine quilted on a domestic machine.

My Memphis by Corinne Sovey (Texas)

We loved this playful, energetic design! Corinne Sovey says, "I've always been a fan of Memphis design from the 1980s and this is my take on the design aesthetic.  I used turned-edge machine applique for the shapes and chose to add texture to the quilt by adding batting to some of the shapes so they would pop out of the quilt (faux trapunto if you will).  I quilted over some shapes and left the trapunto shapes unquilted so they would jump off of the quilt." This piece was machine quilted without a frame.

Crossed Ribbons #2 by Diane Wespiser (Massachusetts)

Diane Wespiser has created a fascinating optical illusion with Crossed Ribbons #2, which is based on a traditional "knots" block.  The sizes of the blocks were varied and reversed to connect to the grey ribbons, creating a more three-dimensional image.  The center block is the largest, and the peripheral blocks become smaller as they approach the edges. The impression is that of a convex surface. (This quilt was designed in EQ8.) The open spaces were quilted with radiant sun rays.

Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2022 QuiltCon show.