Second Place? Ok, I'll take that ..

Is anyone subscribed to the Generation Q on-line quilting magazine?  It's a fun read and full of great quilting news.  They had an essay contest last month to try and define what exactly is modern quilting.  I never really thought about it before but it really is an ambiguous term.  What exactly does makes quilting "modern?"


I entered an essay and was the second place winner.  I haven't got my prize yet but am anticipating my second place winnings and imagining all sorts of booty .... new rotary cutter?  super funky fabric?  new sewing machine??  All expense paid trip to the Sewing Summit???  If you are interested in my take on what modern quilting means here is my second place essay. 

To me the adjective in modern quilting has little to do with the aesthetics of a quilt.  Take a look at the primitive solid quilts of the Amish and Mennonites and the free form and wonderfully abstract quilts of Gee’s Bend.  You can’t say that what quilters are making today is new and uncharted territory.

So what is it then that makes a modern quilter?  One common trait I’ve noticed is unabashed creativity.  Originality and untamed lines are applauded over perfection.  There is NO FEAR in the modern quilter.  No fear of shame for not having perfect points, no fear of seam allowances being measured, no fear of angles or colors.  When the fear of breaking rules is gone the creative juices flow with much more force.

But what if you want to make traditional blocks with perfect points?  That’s OK too!  Another attribute is the acceptance and embracement of all styles and methods of quilting.  Sometimes making a classic block is a rewarding challenge.  Hand quilting?  Machine quilting?  Both are cool.  The modern quilter moniker is more about attitude and less about construction.

You can’t overlook the new social networking aspect of quilting either.  Blogs, Flickr, Twitter, Facebook and message boards are the new quilting clubs.  My own introduction to quilting was a blogger’s quilt-a-long with the participants joining a corresponding Flickr group.  I was able to ask questions, show my work, get feedback and see what everyone was doing all while on my laptop in my living room.  I became friends with several people in the group and we became mutual blog followers.  Some of these friends live halfway around the world and, yet, I feel like we are in a virtual quilting guild together.  Even if you live in an area with no quilt shops or associations you can grow in your skills, get advice and tips, and feel kinship within the global modern quilting community.    

So my interpretation in a nutshell:  No fear.  Acceptance.  Social Networking.    Degrees of these three elements combined in one quilter = one modern quilter.  What do you think?

Well ...what DO you think? And if you'd like to check out the other essays go here.  They make some interesting food for thought.  

Since I hate to have a post with no pictures (how sad), I leave you with a glimpse of my almost completed, hand quilted kaleidoscope quilt. 

Looky looky what I got today!

Just last week I won an Accuquilt Go! Baby fabric cutter from the super cool Audrie on her blog Blue is Bleu.  When I came home from work today the carton was at my house already.  Wow!  I haven't had the nerve to take it out of the box yet (when I got my sewing machine I couldn't touch it for two days).    I also chose three dies so, being no fun at all, I picked the three most basic I could find.  The 5" square, 4" half square triangle and 2 1/2" strips.  I figured these were the sturdy work horses of the dies and I'd get the fancy, fun ones later.

If you have an Accuquilt  and have any advice or tips you'd love to share I'd really appreciate them.  I'm going to be staring at the box all tomorrow and may have the nerve to open it Sunday. 

And they're off ....

My first bee block packets are making their merry way to various locations on the globe and ten people I've never met will be making me blocks for a quilt.

I found some Michael Miller fabric at my LQS

I find this whole bee concept fascinating now that I'm part of it.  Twelve women (well, eleven in our case ..  one dropped out) from all over the world (one is in Germany) have joined together to make twelve quilts.  We've never met, we don't know much about each others' lives, but yet we will each have a quilt that was crafted by the combined effort and creativity of us as a group. 

I can't wait until these start coming back

Really remarkable when you think about it. 

Sugar and Spice Baby Quilt

Sugar and spice and everything nice, that's what little girls are made of .... 

38" x 50"

This was a fun and easy quilt to sew together for a new baby girl.  I was inspired by this baby bento box tutorial by Wendy Lou.  I started with a 8.5 " square and just sewed on border after border after border until I had a giant square.  I quartered it and rearranged and then sewed into a block.  Pretty easy and fun!

Check out my son's tan lines

Hand quilted with perle cotton #8 in white.  Hand quilted during a heat wave in July I may add ....   

 

 Since it's summer and it's fair season I'm entering this quilt in the Gen X Quilter's Summer Fair Quilt Show.  Click over there to check out all the cool quilts at the fair without having to leave your porch and your ice tea.  Now if only someone would bring me a funnel cake .....

Work In Progress Wednesday

Does this look hot?  Well, it is! 

Remember when I said if I continue to hand quilt I wouldn't have anything new to report for long stretches other than "still hand quilting?"  Well, here I go .... STILL.HAND.QUILTING. my bento box baby quilt.  May I add that my previous post of how much I loved quilting on the couch in the evenings with my dog nestled sweetly beside me does not apply during a humid heat wave in July.  A damp quilt touching my sweaty skin and a hot, panting, annoying entity sprawled near me is not a pleasant experience.  I wouldn't be working on this at all if the baby-in-question wasn't due at the end of this month. 

My other work in progress is a kaleidoscope quilt that I'm making with Betsy.  I've got all the patterned triangles cut and attached and now need to cut the background triangles and get sewing. I've given up on any hope on getting this done with the rest of the group but will be plugging along at my own pace.  Now that I've taken the pressure off myself to stick to a timetable I'm actually enjoying it more.  I don't know why I let those self-imposed deadlines stress me out. 


An exciting mail delivery last week has got me dreaming of a new project.  I won a complete set of fat eighths of Maison de Garance by French General from Lesly of Pickledish.  Seriously!  That was ME!  Due to my less-than-stellar housekeeping they have been sitting right on the edge of the dining room table since I got them and I've been stroking and rearranging the fabric each time I pass.  What should I make?  The possibilities are simply endless before I start cutting.  I think these are way too pretty to mess up with nasty old cutting so I'll leave them for a while.  

These are so much more beautiful in real life

Ahhhhh .... when the chaos of my house overwhelms me I can just gaze upon these beautiful, perfectly neat stacks.

These aren't many works but I don't find summer's hot months conducive to quilting.   (... or cleaning, ... or cooking, ... or shopping)  I guess until fall you'll find me on my porch reading with a cold drink nearby

  

[insert mental picture of fabulously interesting book and a cold sweaty beer bottle 
on a sunny porch railing]

Bento Box Baby Quilt

I'm currently working on a bento box quilt for a soon-to-arrive baby girl. I love the ease of making only twelve squares and getting to use such pretty pink fabric. I'm not a girly girl so I don't have much pink around my house, especially with all boys, but it's fun to see such feminine fabric touching each other every whichaway.

I varied the strip sizes just a bit because my original idea was to have a sort of fractured windowpane look. I like the idea of the soft, pretty fabrics being slightly mismatched and really defining the squares in the block. If I was keeping this quilt or giving it to one of my family members I'd sew it up in a minute.



Forgive the blurry phone picture

Now my self-doubt is kicking in ..... I'm making this quilt for my boss's daughter and I don't know her or the rest of their family at all. Will everyone else get it or will they be fingering it and shaking their heads sadly over the seams?  Now I'm thinking I might change my layout to something different. Making a gift for someone I don't know is hard for me and I'm sure I'm thinking about it too much. Anyone have trouble making gifts? Part of my problem is that I think my quilts have feelings and I don't want them to be ostracized and banished to a closet never to see the light of day.

This is my first time linking up with Lily's Sew Fresh day and I realize I'm a day behind but this isn't a school project with a due date so I'm sure she won't dock me any points. Will you Lily??



BQF Baby!! Hand Quilted Log Cabin

My Bloggers' Quilt Festival 2011 quilt is fresh out of the dryer and it's still warm as I post this.  It's 100% hand quilted and I can say one thing about hand quilting for sure .... it's NOT a quick process.  I've been working this quilt for months and am so happy with the finally finished results.

Rainy day photo shoot.  My son is standing in about three inches of water. 

These are some hearty, chunky log cabins and I love the added texture and color the perle cotton #8 added with the hand quilting.   I figured some hearty squares needed some hearty quilting.  I used all the leftover strips to add a border and the final size is 48" x 62" ... perfect for a cozy couch quilt.
 

I hate to choose favorites but I just love the blue square in the lower left corner.

Looking back I see I was working on the squares in February and quilting in April .  If I continue with the handwork I guess my blog postings will be far and few between unless I write "still hand quilting" updates once a week.

I love the way the quilting shows up on the back

Attempted close up of the back

Thanks to Amy for putting this Festival together twice a year.  It has to be a monumental task but it sure it a fun way to meet other quilters and see some amazing quilts!  Click on the link below to check them out.