Modern Quilt Month: Orange Blast!

July is Modern Quilt Month! We admire the many talented artists making their names in the modern quilt movement! Émilie Trahan is a textile artist and quilter living in Joliette, Québec, Canada. Fascinating curves, colors and shadows distinguish her Orange Blast. 

p.s. Check out our E-Bay shop for bargains on jewelry, clothing, and collectibles. For more free patterns, follow us on X/Twitter.  

Orange Blast, 78 x 82", by Émilie Trahan (Joliette, Quebec, Canada) @mili.tra  

Winner of a 1st Place ribbon in the Piecing category at the 2025 QuiltCon show, this was the first of a series of quilts by Emilie Trahan exploring the relationship of the color red with every other color. This quilt focuses on red and orange. Remarkably, this quilt was made entirely with upcycled fabrics (mainly bed linens) along with upcycled flannel sheets for the batting. 

Emilie says, "In this particular quilt, I was envying painters for their abilities to mix colors and make new ones.  So I attempted to make my own new colors with fabrics by combining stripes of fabric together."  Orange Blast was improvisationally pieced and machine quilted without a frame on a domestic machine.  

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

 

New from Old: Quilts from Vintage Linens!

Are there any precious vintage blocks or linens in your cupboard? Here are some fantastic quilts made with reclaimed vintage materials. We love the way in which these quilters honored the materials and handwork, bringing them back to life. 

FOLLOW us on Twitter for blog updates and freebies. Also check out our E-Bay shop for bargains on jewelry, clothing, patterns and collectibles ! 

Vintage Fiesta by the Pam Snow Group (Pam Snow, Marion Stearman Skaggs, Agatha Despain Stearman, Flora Warren DeSpain & Various Artists), quilted by Pam Snow. 

Vintage Fiesta was inspired by Rhonda Cox Dort's online vintage linens classes.  The quilt is made from a variety of vintage pieces including table linens, embroidery, quilt pieces, stamped items and a vintage hankie.  The center block is Saucy Senorita by Jane Tenorio Coscarelli.

Spring Morning by Carol W. Carpenter, quilted by Kris Neifeld.  

How lovely to see the cross-stitch embroidery in this quilt! Donated from the estate of Maggie Mullins, the embroidered blocks remind us of a bygone era. Carol Carpenter says, "The modern floral fabric and settings add additional richness to the original blocks and I was delighted to create something special from Maggie's handwork."

1939 Nosegay by Kathryn Bramley Clark and Katrin Bramley (d. ~10 years ago) 

Kate Clark made Nosegay from blocks originally made by her mother. Kate says, "The squares were hand pieced by a 16-year-old in 1939. Nine years later she became my mother. Complementary fabric was found, enabling these rediscovered squares to become a quilt using an original square set and machine quilting design." The choice of border fabric is brilliant!  Also check out Kate's machine quilting, which created a bouquet (in dark thread) on top of the pieced bouquet.

 Seeing Stars by Katherine O' Brien, quilted by Penny Boese.  

This is such a cool quilt! Katherine O'Brien found the antique string stars at an antique shop (in Mesa, Arizona). The block setting was inspired by the book, Smashing Sets: Exciting Ways to Arrange Quilt Blocks by Margaret J. Miller (out of print, but sometimes available on eBay).  The alternate square blocks were pieced using vintage fabrics.

detail, Seeing Stars

 Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2025 Tucson Quilters guild show (Nosegay, Spring Morning) and the 2025 Quilt Arizona show (Vintage Fiesta, Seeing Stars.) 

The Quilts of Russell Barratt

Russell Barratt, a London textile artist, uses secondhand fabrics and repurposed used clothing to make quilted artworks that are colorful, bold and expressive. We were so excited to see several of his works at the Wisconsin Museum of Quilts & Fiber Arts!

p.s. Check out our E-Bay shop for great bargains on craft jewelry, quilt supplies, and collectibles!
For continuous free quilt patterns, please visit us on Twitter.      

Timeline/Tempus Fugit (2021) by Russell Barratt (London, UK)

Russell Barratt's work is often inspired by memories of domestic life. The hues of the Nescafe advertisement are echoed in this modern hand-quilted composition. Notice the pants leg with its pocket placed horizontally at the top of the piece, above. It's fascinating to contemplate the selection of fabrics and how they are combined to create this contemporary piece. 

 Oh My Giddy Aunt! (2023) by Russell Barratt

Fitting the exhibit's theme of Wit/Whimsy, the title of this quilt - "Oh My Giddy Aunt" - is a British expression used to convey surprise, shock, or exasperation. It's a playful, old-fashioned exclamation, often used humorously to avoid stronger language.

The centerpiece of the quilt is a recycled shirt with the main parts removed, leaving just the seams, collar, and placket with buttons. We love the texture that is added by hand quilting stitches.  

Selfie (2020) by Russell Barratt  

Russell Barratt says that recycling is key to his practice.  There is so much to see here! The fronts of two shirts were used here, a baseball shirt and - to the right and underneath that - a more formal buttondown shirt, complete with buttons, and a digital fabric print of bananas. Additional touches include the cartoon panel used in the right border, and the giant polka dots that overlay the piece.  Scroll down for closeup photos! 

 

Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the Wit/Whimsy exhibit at the Wisconsin Museum of Quilts & Fiber Arts in July, 2025.

Wit/Whim Exhibit (2): Luke Haynes

At the Wisconsin Museum of Quilts & Fiber Arts we enjoyed the exhibit titled Wit/Whim. The exhibit explores the themes of play, family, and a sense of belonging, inviting visitors to examine the ways these concepts intersect and influence our lives. Here is a pair of quilts by artist Luke Haynes, who works entirely with recycled textiles.

p.s. Check out our E-Bay shop for great bargains on craft jewelry, patterns, and collectibles!
For continuous free quilt patterns, please visit us on Twitter.      

Wiggle Quilts by Luke Haynes (North Carolina) 

Every one of Haynes' pieces is made entirely from salvaged textiles, a practice rooted in both his upbringing and his commitment to sustainability; to date, his work has diverted more than 100 tons of clothing and fbric from landfills. The Wiggle quilts juxtaposes a vintage quilt, with its traditional arrangement of blocks, and a modern minimalist quilt done in blues. The "wiggle" allows us to peek through to see what lies below.

Raised in poverty across the American South and diagnosed as autistic, Haynes turned to creative problem-solving as a way to build comfort, structure, and identity.  You can see more of his work at his website, Luke.art.

 

 

Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the Wisconsin Museum of Quilts and Fiber Arts. 

  

Modern Quilt Month: Improvisation! (5)

Here's part 5 (and the finale!) of our improvisation series. In quilting, improvisation refers to a freeform, intuitive approach to design where quilters create without strictly following traditional patterns, precise measurements, or pre-planned templates; it has its own category within modern quilt shows. We hope you enjoy these outstanding quilts.

p.s. Check out our E-Bay shop for great bargains on craft jewelry, patterns, and collectibles!
For continuous free quilt patterns, please visit us on Twitter.    

Out of the Blue by Emilie Trahan (Quebec, Canada) @mili.tra

Winner of 1st Place in the Improvisation category at the 2025 QuiltCon show. This is the second quilt of a series that explores the relationship of the color red with every other color; this quilt focuses of red and blue.  "Originally started with the intention of being a 'small' wall hanging, this piece is a testament to the very nature of improvisation and how it can grow organically, and outgrow our conceptions, hopefully opening up new paths," says Emilie Trahan.  Amazingly, this piece is entirely made of upcycled fabrics (mainly bed linens) with upcycled flannel sheets as batting. 

Field Counts 3 by Susan Lapham (Virginia) @susanjlapham 

This piece reminded us of the artwork of Henri Matisse with its solid color shapes and smooth curves.  The artist, Susan Lapham, explains the title of her "Field Counts" series: "My father counted things.  Everything. The number of birds in a flock, trees in the olive grove, cows in the field.  We counted ants in a hill, spikes on a papyrus plant, leaves we raked up... Little did we know he was teaching us to communicate, observe, understand. To feel satisfied, content, and accomplished. He gave us a sense of order and routine and somehow we knew we were loved." 

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