Quiltcon Continued

jill here...so these are the last of my photographs from Quiltcon.  As you can see, there are many interpretations and creative methods of modern quilting.

Honorable Mention
Fresh Plus
Kathy York, Austin, Texas
Modern Traditional, Small

Add It Up
Jacquie Gering and Katie Pedersen
Chicago and Seattle
Modern Traditionalism, Large

In Defense of Handmade
Thomas Knauer, Quilted by Lisa Sipes
Utica, New York
Pieced, Large

Quilting from" In Defense of Handmade".

Wallpaper
Floyd Moss, quilted by Wilma Moss
Sulphur Springs, Texas
Modern Traditionalism, Large

Plaid Houndstooth
Leslie Lamb
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Pieced, Large

Debbie Grifka, jill, Marny and Carolyn Friedlander, 

at the end of market.....I think I was tired!

Stay tuned for more tutorials on Picnic.  Or until next Tuesday....

PICNIC block explored. Dip Bowls!

Marny here...my Madrona Road challenge for the Des Moines Modern Quilt Guild is heading off in a new direction.  I am going to combine the challenge fabrics with solids and explore our Dip Bowls block a bit.  Below are the two project versions of the block from Picnic.

Table Runner

Baby Quilt

I am going to share some of the pictures I took along the way.  They might serve to provide additional helpful visuals to people using our book Picnic.

The first photos below show cutting techniques that are well illustrated and explained in Picnic.  You'll see some of the Madrona Road fabrics now.

The first cut to start making a rectangle into a Slanted Parallelogram.

The second cut to complete a Slanted Parallelogram.

Rulers placed on a rectangle so make it possible to cut Offset Squared Triangles.

Two Offset Squared Triangles from one rectangle.

Pieces arranged for Units B and A

Now is the time to re-emphasize that we sew with a quarter inch seam allowance.  Jill and I own the same make and model of sewing machine.  We use the same kind of foot.  Jill uses a 4.5 setting and I use a 4.0 and our seams are identical to one another.  Please take the time to be sure of your seam allowance.  If in doubt make practice blocks, especially when there are lots of seams or intersecting seams.

In Picnic we do not trim the dog ears.  They end up being useful landmarks for seams.

We gently press all our seams open.  This is important.
The piecing hints and illustrations below will also be in the Picnic tab in the bar at the top of the post.

First seam in Unit A.  This is well illustrated and explained in Technique Six in Picnic.  Please note that at the bottom of the photograph the pointed tip of the slanted parallelogram fits into the spot where the offset square starts its slant.  At the top of the photograph you can see the other end of the slanted parallelogram reaches the sharp corner of the offset squared triangle right at the quarter inch seam line, leaving a perfect equilateral triangle of yellow showing.

Second side of parallelogram sewn.  Again note the stitching line of pink thread.  It is just like the earlier photograph above.

Unit A completed.

Unit B and Unit A ready to be sewn together.  See the yellow fabric that is purposefully remaining to the inside edge of each print fabric parallelogram.

Closer view of the inside edges of Unit B and Unit A

Unit A stacked on Unit B ready to sew a quarter inch seam.  The print fabric dog ears are stacked on top of one another and the yellow dog ears are stacked on top of one another. 

This photograph shows that the needle is lined up at the quarter inch and about to sew right through the print fabric points.

Scissors pointing to pink stitches running through the print fabric points.

Unit A stitched to Unit B

Please note the tidy point the yellow fabric comes to and the quarter inch of each printed fabric still showing at the bottom of the photograph

Close up of the yellow point and the quarter inch of print fabric remaining below the point.

Now back to the fabric challenge.  The meeting guild meeting is Thursday.

Till Tuesday....  

Modern Quilt Guild Madrona Road Challenge and more

Marny here...with a deadline looming, I am going to use a recent trip to California, a sudden snow event and a great line of fabric to meet a Modern Quilt Guild design challenge.  

Carmel Beach looking across to the 18th Fairway at Pebble Beach.  Note the green, gray blue water and the blue sky and the charcoals and browns of the rocks.

A small sample of all the flowers blooming-daffodils, iris, daisies, etc, along with these primroses.  Note how the lights and the brights explode off the dull gray cement backgrounds.

Point Lobos, see the "sunbathers"?  The white froth of the ocean next to the dark and dull rocks or on the deep blue water itself really pops!

Within two hours of my return home we had a sudden and substantial snowfall.  Too much white, but the geometry of the dark lines is easily seen.  High contrast between the light and the dark is very useful.

Our Des Moines Modern Quilt Guild is doing the Madrona Road by Violet Craft challenge sponsored by Michael Miller fabrics and The Modern Quilt Guild.  Our deadline is still ahead, while the judged competition has been completed.

(See more about that here.)

What with Quiltcon and one thing and another I am still at the "Oh no, when will I get started on something stage?"  It seems this panicky concern with a looming deadline is often the starting point of the design process for me.  How about you all?  I will keep these lessons from nature of dull/bright and dark/light in my mind while I work on the challenge.

Madrona Road from Michael Miller Fabrics is a well designed collection of fabric.  It includes a variety of scales, geometric and organic shapes, and an interesting color palette.  

These are the fabrics we were given to work with seen together.

Here are the fabrics set apart from one another.  I enjoy them more touching one another than spread apart. This might be why I like cutting up fabrics and putting them back together with other fabrics.  Quilting that is.

First step, add more fabrics.  Solids were allowed in our challenge.  I have seven fat eighths of challenge fabrics, so why not purchase six one half yard pieces of solids???  Who knows how we choose what to buy in preparation when we do not know what we are about to make.

A dark charcoal gray looks good with these two.  (And everything else for that matter.)

Various solids that pull out elements within the prints.

Here is an unusual greenish gray that goes with the green cast of some of the grays in the collection.  It is not a gray I am attracted to normally but it has become very apparent through the years that the least liked fabrics sometimes are the best additions to a quilt.  Time will tell in this instance.

See you next Tuesday, hopefully with some progress to show for the challenge project.

More Quiltcon Quilts

jill here...so here are some more of the Quiltcon Show Quilts.  Hope we represent the makers accurately.

Best Machine Quilting
The Local Quilt
Carolyn Friedlander
Lake Wales, Florida, US

Carolyn's quilting is fantastic.  Her stitches are incredibly tiny!  If you would like to see her work close up, you can check out her blog.

Applique, Large Quilts, 3rd Place
Reto Modern Shapes
Heather Davidson
Portland, Oregon, US

I love these little shapes.  So organic made possible by the word "applique".  Such a novel idea.

Applique, Large Quilts
Flying Saucer
Lisa Alexakis
Culver City, California, US

Sorry I don't have a full view.  I love the quilted intersecting circles.  How did she keep those lines so even?  She won an award but it was cut off by my focus (lack of).

The ridge is really interesting where she changes direction.

Use of Negative Space, Small Quilts
Honorable Mention
Shattered
Leanne Chahley
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

This small quilt makes a great impact on the black background.  The variety of fabrics adds to the interest.

Use of Negative Space,  Small Quilts
Mobile
Elizabeth Brandt
Holland, Michigan, US

This quilt is so interesting as it relates to modern art .  Her idea of improvisational "balance"is very creative...and the colors are so mid century modern.  Love it!

Use of Negative Space, Large Quilts
3rd Place
Rhythm and Blues
Anne Diester
Louisville, Colorado, US

The different blue values create intersecting lines and shapes and the modern white sets it off.

Improvisational, Small Quilts
Red Concentrate
Lavialle Campbell
Studio City, California, US

Although the all red block is not obviously pieced, it is!  We love the unexpected modern log cabin.

Minimalist Design, Large Quilts
don't box me in
Tammy Vasser
Olathe, Kansas, US

Tammy was influenced by Yoshiko Jinzenji's Quilting Line and Color. Her attention to the details makes this special and interesting.


Check back, we have one more installment.  Maybe Tuesday...

Quiltcon Quilts: A Taste of Modern

jill here....Quiltcon leaves us with inspiration and challenges.  Personally, I was so impressed with the wonderful quilting that so many entrants executed.  I might just have to give it a try!  So here are just a few of the quilts displayed in the show.  Our hope is that we give appropriate credit to these fantastic designs.

1st Place - Group or Bee Quilts
Ankorage,  Alaska  Modern Quilt Guild
"Off  The B.O.W."
Inspired by Gwen Marston's Liberated Quiltmaking II

We agree with the designers that the pop of dark teal gives the design a punch of interest!

Honorable  Mention
Handwork, Small Quilts
"Bohemian Confetti"
Felicity Ronaghan,
British Columbia, Canada.

Over all pops of color is emphasized by the hand stitching on this modern white background.

Applique: Small Quilts
Self Study I
 Chawne Kimber,
Easton, Pennsylvania, US

This artistic applique is set in the modern mosaic.  Small can be powerful.

Handwork Large Quilts 1st Place
Log Cabin Improv
 Sheri Lynn Wood
California, US

This large quilt has fantastic hand stitching that is not evident from this photo.  Slightly skewed, wool and warm colors provide an exciting approach to this log cabin improv.

Handwork Large Quilts
"Curried Plums"
 Debbie Grifka
Ann Arbor, Michigan, Us

Debbie has a knack with applique!  Her asymmetric background brings focus to her variety of circles.

She sells a pattern commercially that is similar to this design.

Best in Show
Modern Traditionalism, Large Quilts
"Double Edged Love"
Victoria Findlay Wolfe
New York, New York, US

Traditional pattern with modern fabrics and unexpected negative space.

Award (uncertain as I cut off the ribbon in my photo)!
Improvisation, Large Quilts
"Sing It Out Loud"
Karen Anderson Abraham
Santa Barbara, California, US

Check back later this week as I hope to feature more great entrants.