For the past six months I've been obsessed with Modern Quilting. I joined the Modern Quilt Guild. I started following a whole bunch of Modern Quilters online (I'm sharing a list with links below). I took a Modern Quilt class. I'm very interested in everything Modern Quilt.
In case you don't know what a Modern Quilt is (and because I don't think I'm the person to define it), I'll share the "official" definition from the Modern Quilt Guild's website:
"Modern quilts are primarily functional and inspired by modern design. Modern quilters work in different styles and define modern quilting in different ways, but several characteristics often appear which may help identify a modern quilt. These include, but are not limited to: the use of bold colors and prints, high contrast and graphic areas of solid color, improvisational piecing, minimalism, expansive negative space, and alternate grid work. "Modern traditionalism" or the updating of classic quilt designs is also often seen in modern quilting.
Modern quilting has existed in many forms for much of the 20th century. It wasn't until the 2000's that quilts with a modern aesthetic began to appear in greater numbers and quilters began to describe themselves as modern.
A defining event occurred in 1998 when Martha Stewart Living featured Denyse Schmidt, calling her quilts a “chic, modernist aesthetic." For many quilters in the early days of the movement, this was a key inspirational moment.
The growth of the movement was facilitated by four factors: the cultural shift of quality design being recognized by the general public, affordable digital cameras, the changing fabric industry and the rise of social media.
In 2002, the Quilts of Gee’s Bend exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston and the publication of Yoshiko Jinzenji’s book Quilt Artistry, further provided inspiration to a small but devoted group of modernist minded quilters.
Two influential books were published in 2005, Denyse Schmidt Quilts and the Modern Quilt Workshop by Weeks Ringle and Bill Kerr. The first online quilt alongs were established on blogs around these two books and awareness continued to increase in the online world.
The Flickr group Fresh Modern Quilts, established in 2008, provided the first online centralized social media venue for quilters in the movement. With that flickr group and many active blogs, the online world of modern quilting took off like wildfire.
In 2009, Alissa Haight Carlton and Latifah Saafir founded the Modern Quilt Guild giving the online community a chance to form in person connections with other modern quilters.
The Modern Quilt Guild’s role in this amazing and evolving movement is thrilling and we can’t wait to see what comes next!"
You can read a blog post that argues with that definition HERE, a great visual explanation of Modern Quilting HERE, some folks who aren't fans of Modern Quilting HERE and HERE.
Some of the Modern Quilters I follow on instagram:
builtaquilt — this is a curated feed, so the work isn't necessarily the owner's.
The quilt above is by 3rdstoryworkshop.
Make Modern Magazine – this is a curated feed for Make Modern Magazine, so a wide variety of people are represented.
The photo above is from meghanrbuchanan.
The Modern Quilt Guild — again, a curated feed by the national guild.
The quilt above is by valbetweenquilts.
As a side note, I did see the Gee's Bend Quilts exhibit when it was at the MFA Boston in 2005. It's one of the things that spurred me into creating quilts — which I made many of for several years after that.
I can't quite remember how I was re-introduced to Modern Quilting, but I know that it has been on the top of my "to do" list for the last several months. Hopefully, I'll be able to start — and finish — a Modern Quilt soon. Honestly, I think the thing that's stopping me is the quilting. I loathe the idea of quilting a bed sized quilt on my home machine. Having done it before, it's a nightmare. I give so much credit to ladies who do it all the time. I dream of a long arm machine. Perhaps the solution is to make something small so that I can get it done?
Are you a Modern Quilter? Share a link to your blog/instagram/etc. in the comments section!
Thanks for stopping by!
Julie, look for a store in your area that Rents the use of their long arm machine by the hour. I’ve never done this, but was told there is a store in my area, central Ohio. You usually have to take a class to learn how to use the machine to get started. Just a thought. Happy quilting
Julie, look for a store in your area that Rents the use of their long arm machine by the hour. I’ve never done this, but was told there is a store in my area, central Ohio. You usually have to take a class to learn how to use the machine to get started. Just a thought. Happy quilting
Julie, look for a store in your area that Rents the use of their long arm machine by the hour. I’ve never done this, but was told there is a store in my area, central Ohio. You usually have to take a class to learn how to use the machine to get started. Just a thought. Happy quilting
Julie, look for a store in your area that Rents the use of their long arm machine by the hour. I’ve never done this, but was told there is a store in my area, central Ohio. You usually have to take a class to learn how to use the machine to get started. Just a thought. Happy quilting
Julie, look for a store in your area that Rents the use of their long arm machine by the hour. I’ve never done this, but was told there is a store in my area, central Ohio. You usually have to take a class to learn how to use the machine to get started. Just a thought. Happy quilting
Julie, look for a store in your area that Rents the use of their long arm machine by the hour. I’ve never done this, but was told there is a store in my area, central Ohio. You usually have to take a class to learn how to use the machine to get started. Just a thought. Happy quilting
Good morning Julie,
The quilts are beautiful OMG. I took a class a long time ago on hand quilting. It is very time consuming and very tedious. To much for me. I never finished that project. I was making a single bed quilt. I cut out my pieces and started to machine sew it.
At my local Brother dealer 30 miles away they have the long arm quilting machines. They do give classes in it.
Maybe look in to the Brother Dealer near you. I am sure in Boston or close by there are some. Good luck in you quilting.
You have inspired me to give a small quilt a try. Maybe something like 9-12 squares. At least it is now on my list. I would cut the squares and shapes out with my scan n cut machines. Then sew them with my Singer sewing machines. Best of both worlds.
happy Tuesday
Fawna
Good morning Julie,
The quilts are beautiful OMG. I took a class a long time ago on hand quilting. It is very time consuming and very tedious. To much for me. I never finished that project. I was making a single bed quilt. I cut out my pieces and started to machine sew it.
At my local Brother dealer 30 miles away they have the long arm quilting machines. They do give classes in it.
Maybe look in to the Brother Dealer near you. I am sure in Boston or close by there are some. Good luck in you quilting.
You have inspired me to give a small quilt a try. Maybe something like 9-12 squares. At least it is now on my list. I would cut the squares and shapes out with my scan n cut machines. Then sew them with my Singer sewing machines. Best of both worlds.
happy Tuesday
Fawna
Good morning Julie,
The quilts are beautiful OMG. I took a class a long time ago on hand quilting. It is very time consuming and very tedious. To much for me. I never finished that project. I was making a single bed quilt. I cut out my pieces and started to machine sew it.
At my local Brother dealer 30 miles away they have the long arm quilting machines. They do give classes in it.
Maybe look in to the Brother Dealer near you. I am sure in Boston or close by there are some. Good luck in you quilting.
You have inspired me to give a small quilt a try. Maybe something like 9-12 squares. At least it is now on my list. I would cut the squares and shapes out with my scan n cut machines. Then sew them with my Singer sewing machines. Best of both worlds.
happy Tuesday
Fawna
Good morning Julie,
The quilts are beautiful OMG. I took a class a long time ago on hand quilting. It is very time consuming and very tedious. To much for me. I never finished that project. I was making a single bed quilt. I cut out my pieces and started to machine sew it.
At my local Brother dealer 30 miles away they have the long arm quilting machines. They do give classes in it.
Maybe look in to the Brother Dealer near you. I am sure in Boston or close by there are some. Good luck in you quilting.
You have inspired me to give a small quilt a try. Maybe something like 9-12 squares. At least it is now on my list. I would cut the squares and shapes out with my scan n cut machines. Then sew them with my Singer sewing machines. Best of both worlds.
happy Tuesday
Fawna
Good morning Julie,
The quilts are beautiful OMG. I took a class a long time ago on hand quilting. It is very time consuming and very tedious. To much for me. I never finished that project. I was making a single bed quilt. I cut out my pieces and started to machine sew it.
At my local Brother dealer 30 miles away they have the long arm quilting machines. They do give classes in it.
Maybe look in to the Brother Dealer near you. I am sure in Boston or close by there are some. Good luck in you quilting.
You have inspired me to give a small quilt a try. Maybe something like 9-12 squares. At least it is now on my list. I would cut the squares and shapes out with my scan n cut machines. Then sew them with my Singer sewing machines. Best of both worlds.
happy Tuesday
Fawna
Good morning Julie,
The quilts are beautiful OMG. I took a class a long time ago on hand quilting. It is very time consuming and very tedious. To much for me. I never finished that project. I was making a single bed quilt. I cut out my pieces and started to machine sew it.
At my local Brother dealer 30 miles away they have the long arm quilting machines. They do give classes in it.
Maybe look in to the Brother Dealer near you. I am sure in Boston or close by there are some. Good luck in you quilting.
You have inspired me to give a small quilt a try. Maybe something like 9-12 squares. At least it is now on my list. I would cut the squares and shapes out with my scan n cut machines. Then sew them with my Singer sewing machines. Best of both worlds.
happy Tuesday
Fawna
I’m a fan of modern quilting, in part because it has energized a new generation of quilters. Myself, I’m too old to be in that category but am so inspired by what’s out there. Our local MQG has members of all ages and styles. Improv is my thing.
The critics are amusing. Like a realistic painter telling an abstract painter that their work isn’t real art.
Would recommend attending Quiltcon to have your mind blown by the amazing world of modern quilts and quilters.
I’m a fan of modern quilting, in part because it has energized a new generation of quilters. Myself, I’m too old to be in that category but am so inspired by what’s out there. Our local MQG has members of all ages and styles. Improv is my thing.
The critics are amusing. Like a realistic painter telling an abstract painter that their work isn’t real art.
Would recommend attending Quiltcon to have your mind blown by the amazing world of modern quilts and quilters.
I’m a fan of modern quilting, in part because it has energized a new generation of quilters. Myself, I’m too old to be in that category but am so inspired by what’s out there. Our local MQG has members of all ages and styles. Improv is my thing.
The critics are amusing. Like a realistic painter telling an abstract painter that their work isn’t real art.
Would recommend attending Quiltcon to have your mind blown by the amazing world of modern quilts and quilters.
I’m a fan of modern quilting, in part because it has energized a new generation of quilters. Myself, I’m too old to be in that category but am so inspired by what’s out there. Our local MQG has members of all ages and styles. Improv is my thing.
The critics are amusing. Like a realistic painter telling an abstract painter that their work isn’t real art.
Would recommend attending Quiltcon to have your mind blown by the amazing world of modern quilts and quilters.
I’m a fan of modern quilting, in part because it has energized a new generation of quilters. Myself, I’m too old to be in that category but am so inspired by what’s out there. Our local MQG has members of all ages and styles. Improv is my thing.
The critics are amusing. Like a realistic painter telling an abstract painter that their work isn’t real art.
Would recommend attending Quiltcon to have your mind blown by the amazing world of modern quilts and quilters.
I’m a fan of modern quilting, in part because it has energized a new generation of quilters. Myself, I’m too old to be in that category but am so inspired by what’s out there. Our local MQG has members of all ages and styles. Improv is my thing.
The critics are amusing. Like a realistic painter telling an abstract painter that their work isn’t real art.
Would recommend attending Quiltcon to have your mind blown by the amazing world of modern quilts and quilters.
I wanted to add the instagram accounts of some of my fave modern quilters:
elizabethagh
mod-in-your-eye
filminthefridge
sewkatydid
sotakhandmade
My account is suzannereynolds07 Not mostly quilts but a lot of stitching and fabric dyeing lately.
I wanted to add the instagram accounts of some of my fave modern quilters:
elizabethagh
mod-in-your-eye
filminthefridge
sewkatydid
sotakhandmade
My account is suzannereynolds07 Not mostly quilts but a lot of stitching and fabric dyeing lately.
I wanted to add the instagram accounts of some of my fave modern quilters:
elizabethagh
mod-in-your-eye
filminthefridge
sewkatydid
sotakhandmade
My account is suzannereynolds07 Not mostly quilts but a lot of stitching and fabric dyeing lately.
I wanted to add the instagram accounts of some of my fave modern quilters:
elizabethagh
mod-in-your-eye
filminthefridge
sewkatydid
sotakhandmade
My account is suzannereynolds07 Not mostly quilts but a lot of stitching and fabric dyeing lately.
I wanted to add the instagram accounts of some of my fave modern quilters:
elizabethagh
mod-in-your-eye
filminthefridge
sewkatydid
sotakhandmade
My account is suzannereynolds07 Not mostly quilts but a lot of stitching and fabric dyeing lately.
I wanted to add the instagram accounts of some of my fave modern quilters:
elizabethagh
mod-in-your-eye
filminthefridge
sewkatydid
sotakhandmade
My account is suzannereynolds07 Not mostly quilts but a lot of stitching and fabric dyeing lately.
Julie, I used to be a quilter about 35 years ago when we had to draw out the pieces, cut by hand, etc etc. Quilting seems to have developed some great time savers. I’ve begun toying with the idea recently ion designing and quilting smaller pieces…Art Quilts, as they are called. Some ideas: You can dye or paint the fabrics, too…And much easier to quilt on machine than large pieces. I was thinking, if the piece was small enough, it could even be made into a bag of some kind…or a messenger bag or tote. If you wanted to, you could make your smaller sections and then just sew them together, already quilted into one larger bed size quilt.
Julie, I used to be a quilter about 35 years ago when we had to draw out the pieces, cut by hand, etc etc. Quilting seems to have developed some great time savers. I’ve begun toying with the idea recently ion designing and quilting smaller pieces…Art Quilts, as they are called. Some ideas: You can dye or paint the fabrics, too…And much easier to quilt on machine than large pieces. I was thinking, if the piece was small enough, it could even be made into a bag of some kind…or a messenger bag or tote. If you wanted to, you could make your smaller sections and then just sew them together, already quilted into one larger bed size quilt.
Julie, I used to be a quilter about 35 years ago when we had to draw out the pieces, cut by hand, etc etc. Quilting seems to have developed some great time savers. I’ve begun toying with the idea recently ion designing and quilting smaller pieces…Art Quilts, as they are called. Some ideas: You can dye or paint the fabrics, too…And much easier to quilt on machine than large pieces. I was thinking, if the piece was small enough, it could even be made into a bag of some kind…or a messenger bag or tote. If you wanted to, you could make your smaller sections and then just sew them together, already quilted into one larger bed size quilt.
Julie, I used to be a quilter about 35 years ago when we had to draw out the pieces, cut by hand, etc etc. Quilting seems to have developed some great time savers. I’ve begun toying with the idea recently ion designing and quilting smaller pieces…Art Quilts, as they are called. Some ideas: You can dye or paint the fabrics, too…And much easier to quilt on machine than large pieces. I was thinking, if the piece was small enough, it could even be made into a bag of some kind…or a messenger bag or tote. If you wanted to, you could make your smaller sections and then just sew them together, already quilted into one larger bed size quilt.
Julie, I used to be a quilter about 35 years ago when we had to draw out the pieces, cut by hand, etc etc. Quilting seems to have developed some great time savers. I’ve begun toying with the idea recently ion designing and quilting smaller pieces…Art Quilts, as they are called. Some ideas: You can dye or paint the fabrics, too…And much easier to quilt on machine than large pieces. I was thinking, if the piece was small enough, it could even be made into a bag of some kind…or a messenger bag or tote. If you wanted to, you could make your smaller sections and then just sew them together, already quilted into one larger bed size quilt.
Julie, I used to be a quilter about 35 years ago when we had to draw out the pieces, cut by hand, etc etc. Quilting seems to have developed some great time savers. I’ve begun toying with the idea recently ion designing and quilting smaller pieces…Art Quilts, as they are called. Some ideas: You can dye or paint the fabrics, too…And much easier to quilt on machine than large pieces. I was thinking, if the piece was small enough, it could even be made into a bag of some kind…or a messenger bag or tote. If you wanted to, you could make your smaller sections and then just sew them together, already quilted into one larger bed size quilt.
You can hire a machine quilter to do that for you.
You can hire a machine quilter to do that for you.
You can hire a machine quilter to do that for you.
You can hire a machine quilter to do that for you.
You can hire a machine quilter to do that for you.
You can hire a machine quilter to do that for you.
Julie, congratulations for getting hooked on modern quilting! I just wanted to clarify something. You linked to a couple of blog posts as examples of people who aren’t fans of modern quilting, and that just isn’t true. Unfortunately, there were a lot of ruffled feathers, to put it mildly, six years ago when I wrote the first one you linked to. Many people took my frustration with seeing simple techniques portrayed as more challenging than they really are as an attack on modern quilting. In fact, I don’t use the word “modern” even once in that first post. I love modern quilting, and was actually in a modern quilt guild for several years.
I’ve met the woman who wrote the second post you linked to, and if you read the post you’ll see that Ebony also has no problem with modern quilting itself. Her post is about people who don’t bother to learn basic sewing skills, and especially those who go on to teach or write patterns and present substandard work.
Back to your quilting, though – have you considered a “quilt as you go” project? Marianne Haak’s blog, The Quilting Edge http://www.thequiltingedge.com/, shows some beautiful examples of the technique. By breaking the quilt down into sections, you can quilt smaller pieces, then join them together into a larger quilt.
Julie, congratulations for getting hooked on modern quilting! I just wanted to clarify something. You linked to a couple of blog posts as examples of people who aren’t fans of modern quilting, and that just isn’t true. Unfortunately, there were a lot of ruffled feathers, to put it mildly, six years ago when I wrote the first one you linked to. Many people took my frustration with seeing simple techniques portrayed as more challenging than they really are as an attack on modern quilting. In fact, I don’t use the word “modern” even once in that first post. I love modern quilting, and was actually in a modern quilt guild for several years.
I’ve met the woman who wrote the second post you linked to, and if you read the post you’ll see that Ebony also has no problem with modern quilting itself. Her post is about people who don’t bother to learn basic sewing skills, and especially those who go on to teach or write patterns and present substandard work.
Back to your quilting, though – have you considered a “quilt as you go” project? Marianne Haak’s blog, The Quilting Edge http://www.thequiltingedge.com/, shows some beautiful examples of the technique. By breaking the quilt down into sections, you can quilt smaller pieces, then join them together into a larger quilt.
Julie, congratulations for getting hooked on modern quilting! I just wanted to clarify something. You linked to a couple of blog posts as examples of people who aren’t fans of modern quilting, and that just isn’t true. Unfortunately, there were a lot of ruffled feathers, to put it mildly, six years ago when I wrote the first one you linked to. Many people took my frustration with seeing simple techniques portrayed as more challenging than they really are as an attack on modern quilting. In fact, I don’t use the word “modern” even once in that first post. I love modern quilting, and was actually in a modern quilt guild for several years.
I’ve met the woman who wrote the second post you linked to, and if you read the post you’ll see that Ebony also has no problem with modern quilting itself. Her post is about people who don’t bother to learn basic sewing skills, and especially those who go on to teach or write patterns and present substandard work.
Back to your quilting, though – have you considered a “quilt as you go” project? Marianne Haak’s blog, The Quilting Edge http://www.thequiltingedge.com/, shows some beautiful examples of the technique. By breaking the quilt down into sections, you can quilt smaller pieces, then join them together into a larger quilt.
Julie, congratulations for getting hooked on modern quilting! I just wanted to clarify something. You linked to a couple of blog posts as examples of people who aren’t fans of modern quilting, and that just isn’t true. Unfortunately, there were a lot of ruffled feathers, to put it mildly, six years ago when I wrote the first one you linked to. Many people took my frustration with seeing simple techniques portrayed as more challenging than they really are as an attack on modern quilting. In fact, I don’t use the word “modern” even once in that first post. I love modern quilting, and was actually in a modern quilt guild for several years.
I’ve met the woman who wrote the second post you linked to, and if you read the post you’ll see that Ebony also has no problem with modern quilting itself. Her post is about people who don’t bother to learn basic sewing skills, and especially those who go on to teach or write patterns and present substandard work.
Back to your quilting, though – have you considered a “quilt as you go” project? Marianne Haak’s blog, The Quilting Edge http://www.thequiltingedge.com/, shows some beautiful examples of the technique. By breaking the quilt down into sections, you can quilt smaller pieces, then join them together into a larger quilt.
Julie, congratulations for getting hooked on modern quilting! I just wanted to clarify something. You linked to a couple of blog posts as examples of people who aren’t fans of modern quilting, and that just isn’t true. Unfortunately, there were a lot of ruffled feathers, to put it mildly, six years ago when I wrote the first one you linked to. Many people took my frustration with seeing simple techniques portrayed as more challenging than they really are as an attack on modern quilting. In fact, I don’t use the word “modern” even once in that first post. I love modern quilting, and was actually in a modern quilt guild for several years.
I’ve met the woman who wrote the second post you linked to, and if you read the post you’ll see that Ebony also has no problem with modern quilting itself. Her post is about people who don’t bother to learn basic sewing skills, and especially those who go on to teach or write patterns and present substandard work.
Back to your quilting, though – have you considered a “quilt as you go” project? Marianne Haak’s blog, The Quilting Edge http://www.thequiltingedge.com/, shows some beautiful examples of the technique. By breaking the quilt down into sections, you can quilt smaller pieces, then join them together into a larger quilt.
Julie, congratulations for getting hooked on modern quilting! I just wanted to clarify something. You linked to a couple of blog posts as examples of people who aren’t fans of modern quilting, and that just isn’t true. Unfortunately, there were a lot of ruffled feathers, to put it mildly, six years ago when I wrote the first one you linked to. Many people took my frustration with seeing simple techniques portrayed as more challenging than they really are as an attack on modern quilting. In fact, I don’t use the word “modern” even once in that first post. I love modern quilting, and was actually in a modern quilt guild for several years.
I’ve met the woman who wrote the second post you linked to, and if you read the post you’ll see that Ebony also has no problem with modern quilting itself. Her post is about people who don’t bother to learn basic sewing skills, and especially those who go on to teach or write patterns and present substandard work.
Back to your quilting, though – have you considered a “quilt as you go” project? Marianne Haak’s blog, The Quilting Edge http://www.thequiltingedge.com/, shows some beautiful examples of the technique. By breaking the quilt down into sections, you can quilt smaller pieces, then join them together into a larger quilt.
Oh my goodness it’s such an honor to be mentioned in your post! I love your artistic style and really enjoy your IG posts. Thank you!
Oh my goodness it’s such an honor to be mentioned in your post! I love your artistic style and really enjoy your IG posts. Thank you!
Oh my goodness it’s such an honor to be mentioned in your post! I love your artistic style and really enjoy your IG posts. Thank you!
Oh my goodness it’s such an honor to be mentioned in your post! I love your artistic style and really enjoy your IG posts. Thank you!
Oh my goodness it’s such an honor to be mentioned in your post! I love your artistic style and really enjoy your IG posts. Thank you!
Oh my goodness it’s such an honor to be mentioned in your post! I love your artistic style and really enjoy your IG posts. Thank you!