Modern Quilt Month 2018 (3)

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 !
 
Skyline by Linda Sullivan (California). Quilted by Teresa Silva.

Linda explains, "Mesmerized by the 3-D designs and secondary patterns I discovered while studying a 1930's blueprint of the Chicago skyline, I set out to contemporize these isometric shapes into a large-scale quilted wallhanging for our home office."

Linda's techniques include machine piecing and quilting, plus embellishing and paper piecing. If you focus on this wonderful quilt for a few minutes, you will start to see all several different forms of three-dimensional shapes which look like floors or cubes of the buildings.

The Golden Window by Cecilia Koppmann (Argentina)

Cecilia says, "People usually say that cities are boring and grey, but for me, Buenos Aires (the capital of Argentina) is so vibrant, that I find it colorful."

Cecelia's techniques include machine piecing, quilting, and applique. With the warm colors shown in the windows and the way that the houses are snuggled next to each other, Cecilia's rendition of he city shows it to be a happy place, full of light and energy.

Be Someone by Hope Wilmarth  (Texas)

Hope states, " 'Be Someone' is a phrase I see frequently, sprayed on an overpass while driving into downtown Houston. The phrase touches me spiritually, practically,and personally. It inspired me to use it to continue a series of work begun a year ago that employs a technique of stacked lettering. "

Hope's intriguing and artistic original design is machine appliqued, quilted, and painted. The tiny squares of the quilting provide the perfect juxtaposition to the bold, rounded motifs of the foreground.

Neighbors by Melanie Tuazon (New Jersey)

Melanie explains, "Neighbors is inspired by the shapes and shadows made by my house's blinds as the light moves through the house each day. I made it during a time when there was a lot of fear in our community, so some blinds are more open than others. Some face other windows, while others turn away."

Melanie's work, which is machine pieced and quilted,  has fascinating contrasts and depths of color. These design elements show the window blinds as being both protectors against outside dangers and guardians which allow sunlight in to warm the interior living space. 

Shine a Light by Hillary Goodwin  (California)

Hillary comments,  " 'Shine a Light', 'Be the Change', 'Bring the Positive'......This quilt and design were a call for action to me after the depressing reality of our polarized post-election country. I decided in the quilt and in my life to concentrate less on criticizing 'the other side', and instead on spending more time volunteering in my community, being a better neighbor, and lending my voice
to those causes and people in need."

Hillary adds, "We all have something positive to bring to our community, regardless of political party, religion, etc. This quilt is a reminder of that goal and the powerful potential of our collective action." Hillary's thoughtful, eye-catching, and reflective work,  done in colors of apricot, peach, and tangerine, is machine pieced and quilted. 

Reconstructed Color by Petra Soesemann (Ohio)

Petra says, "Reconstructed Color was inspired by the fabric itself: yardage in a vibrant, multi-colored plaid pattern. Despite the jewel-tone colors, I found the plaid pattern to be too predictable. I cut the fabric into small squares, so that each square captured four different colors. I then reassembled the squares in less predictable and more dynamic composition."

Petra's original design is machine pieced and quilted. The results of her work show a gorgeous quilt, radiating light and color.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2017 Houston International Quilt Festival.

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.

Modern Quilt Month 2018

We're celebrating Modern Quilt Month at Q.I. 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. All of these quilts were machine pieced... 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 !

Versatile by Ruth White (Ithaca, New York)

This striking quilt was machine pieced with silk dupioni, commercial cotton batik, sateen jacquard, and flannel fabrics. Ruth White says, "The West African Adinkra symbol, Nkyinkyim translates to "twistings" and means initiative, dynamism, and versatility. The multiple sizes, with the reversed and inverted blocks in my design, demonstrate that versatility.  I inadvertently used another Adinkra symbol, Adinkrahene (meaning greatness or royalty), in one of my quilting motifs, the concentric circles."

Lite Brite by Maria Shell (Anchorage, Alaska)

Machine pieced and quilted, Lite Brite was inspired by the Northern Lights. Maria Shell says, "I have lived in Alaska for 21 years and the beauty of my natural surroundings still inspires me every day. When we visit in the spring, if we are lucky, the Northern Lights will come out. This quilt is inspired by the colors of those lights and how they streak across the dark night sky."

Heure Bleue IV by Marianne Bender-Chevalley (Fully, Valais, Switzerland)

Swirling shapes and lines are created with wonky cross blocks that shift from dark to light, suggesting the sun.  The name, Heure Bleue, refers to the blue hour, the moment when the sun sets, where everything turns blue. Marianne Bender-Chevalley says, "This is my favorite time. I like to feel and see this moment." Orange accents create complementary color accents within the blue blocks.

Lines of Communication #7 by Anne Hammond (Silver Spring, Maryland)

1st place winner in the Art - Abstract - Large quilt category at the 2017 Houston International Quilt Festival,  Anne Hammond says, "I’m fascinated by the endless possibilities of lines and shapes. I enjoy working with my hand-dyed fabrics to create new and original art work."  Adjacent dark and light lines create the appearance of shadows in quilt, which was machine pieced and quilted.

Bella Sails by Barbara Harrell (Waddell, Arizona)

This was Barbara Harrell's entry for the Moda Bella Fabric Challenge. The challenge entries were required to include 12 Bella solid color fabrics. All the fabrics had to be used together with no other fabrics added.  We love this spiky design, which received the Mesa Art Center award at the 2018 Quilt Arizona show.

Four Happiness: Fu, Lu, Shou, Xi by Fan Soong (Charlotte, North Carolina)

Fan Soong used 1.5” fabric strips, cut from four Taiwanese fabrics and four solid colors, to create Chinese characters in this quilt. She says, "It is fun and easy. The Chinese characters Fu (fortune), Lu (prosperity), Shou (longevity), Xi (happiness) are the four traditional good luck symbols." The four blocks are repeated in each row.  This colorful quilt was machine pieced and hand quilted.

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

Free pattern day! Kaffe Fassett Quilting and Sewing (1)

Here are more than 40 FREE sewing and quilting patterns for Kaffe Fassett fabrics! Check out these fabulous quilts, table runners, pillows, and tote bags. NOTE: This post has been UPDATED.  For Part 1 of this series, CLICK HERE --- and for Part 2, CLICK HERE!

Note: Also check out the great bargains on beaded jewelry, patterns and collectibles at QI on eBay !

Image credits: This post was updated on June 3, 2025.  Individual images are copyrighted by their owners. Please respect their generosity in sharing their free patterns, and the restrictions they have placed on the use of these designs; complete information can be found at the designers' websites provided in the links. The photo montage shown on this page is a derivative work that is the property of Quilt Inspiration. If any links are broken, we'd love to know so we can fix it. Please email us at QuiltInspiration {at} gmail {dot} com.