Your Inner Designer: 3 Formulas for Modern Quilts

Posted on October 5, 2014 by zippyquilts

It seems to me that, when learning a new skill, there is often a “formula” or basic idea that, once mastered, provides a way into successful practice of the new skill. So here are 3 ideas for you to try. See if one of them helps you create designs that you like.

1. Use lots of “negative space”, and start by making this background space in a shade of gray. (The person who brought my attention to this “rule” of modern quilting has asked to remain anonymous 😉 ) Here are some examples, but I’m sure you know of lots of others:

Shades of Gray by Terry Aske. 2nd place award in the Modern category, Quilts Canada 2014

Found on lilysquilts.blogspot.com

2. Another common way to “design” a modern quilt is to make it an obvious take-off from a piece of 20th Century art (or occasionally more recent art). My design below is by no means an exact copy of any of Piet Mondrian’s work, but it certainly is an imitation of him:

Thanks, Piet! by Mary J. Puckett

Sometimes I do see modern quilts that are a direct imitation of an artwork. However, my preference is to look at a lot of work by one artist, or by a group of similar artists, then close the book and draw something original that “references” the works I’ve studied.

For example, here’s a print I found at an Etsy shop called “Handz”. Compare it to the quilt just below it. It’s not a copy, but it could have been based on the print. Or they could have both been inspired by another source altogether.

Mid Century Modern Art print found at Handz on Etsy

finished – modern drunkard’s path by m_soto on Flickr

3. Just start with modern fabric. One of my favorite “modern” quilters is Rita at Red Pepper Quilts. Many of her quilts are traditional designs, but she uses bright, modern, fabrics and her quilts always look fresh and modern to me.

Spools and Nine Patch Quilt by Rita at Red Pepper Quilts

Here’s a detail of another of Rita’s quilts:

Detail of a quilt by Rita at Red Pepper Quilts

Give some of these ideas a try, and let me know what you come up with!

3 Favorite Quilts from 1 Quilter!

Posted on September 28, 2014 by zippyquilts

When I noticed that 2 of my favorite 11 quilts at AQS-Charlotte were by Jean Larson, I knew I had to meet her. Luckily, while I was trying to figure out how to contact her, she contacted me! Jean has lived in Chattanooga since the early 1970s, so we met at AQS-Chattanooga.

First, as a refresher, here are the two quilts that attracted my attention at AQS-Charlotte:

This quilt by Jean Larson won the Original Design award in the Modern Quilt Challenge! The Modern Quilt Challenge exhibit was on display at AQS Charlotte as well as other shows during the year.

The Market is Up, another quilt by Jean Larson

Jean entered a different, and maybe even more interesting, quilt in AQS-Chattanooga:

Jean (right) and I pose in front of her quilt, “Barbed Wire” at AQS-Chattanooga

There are so many things to see in this simple quilt! First, the design is tessellated! Jean is a mathematician by training, so she explained it to me, but I’m going to have to ask her to write a guest post to explain it to you. More on that later.

Second, those variations in yellow are for real, not just trouble with exposure on my camera 😉 The two yellows add complexity to the quilt. And finally, although I couldn’t see it until she pointed it out, this quilt is actually a grid of squares in alternating colors:

Look at the quilting, too!

So, here’s a little bit about Jean:

She’s had several starts at quilting. Her first quilt, in 1976, was a traditional log cabin made with the quilt-as-you-go method and using poly-cotton fabrics, which were about all that was available at the time. Her second, in 1984, was an orange and turquoise quilt that she worked on while potty training her two adopted boys! She began quilting seriously in the late ’90s. In 2012 she discovered modern quilting through a neighbor, and she hasn’t looked back since. She’s an active member of the Chattanooga Modern Quilt Guild and apparently knows everybody–numerous people stopped to chat with her while we were talking about quilts at the AQS show. She had a quilt accepted for the first QuiltCon in 2013, and it has been published several places as an example of good use of negative space. Here it is:

Lanterns, by Jean Larson, was accepted for Quilt Con 2013

Jean says she likes simplicity and alternative grid work in quilts. She is inspired by geometric shapes and by fabrics–especially stripes. She loves the mathematics of tessellations and plans to make more tessellated quilts. I look forward to seeing them!

And I’m going to beg her to write a guest article on tessellations for my next design-your-own-quilt post. If you know Jean, encourage her to do it!

12 Bright Quilts from AQS Chattanooga

Posted on September 14, 2014 by zippyquilts

There were lots of good quilts, so I’m choosing to show bright ones! Later this month, I’ll have an interview with a modern quilter from Chattanooga. Meanwhile, I hope you find these quilts as inspiring as I did.

Sherbert at the Beach, by Stacey Day

Art DeCOW, by Connie Donaldson

Winter Jewels, by Michelle Renee Hiatt and Barbara Bregman

Sunset, by Leanne Chahley

Quilt by Gina Abayan, part of a display of beautiful quilts from the Philippines

Freeze Frame in Motion, by Judy Holahan

Delaneyville, by Fran Stinson

Red Rectangle, by Judy Mercer Tescher

Rainbow Bright, by Jennifer Hynes

3 Sisters, by Veronica Hofman-Ortega

Fall Migration, by Tamara Watts-McPhail

A Feather Runs Through It, by Veronica Hofman-Ortega

Your Inner Designer 6: Copy Somebody Good!

Posted on September 7, 2014 by zippyquilts

Truly original ideas in design are really, really rare More often good designs are inspired by other good designs, and most designers start by copying other people. There’s nothing wrong with that–just give credit!

Glass window, designer unknown

For example, here’s a door I admire in a friend’s house. It got me thinking that it would be nice to make her a table runner with a design similar to the glass in the door, especially since the dining table is right by the door. I may start out by copying the design, but my table runner won’t be an exact copy. I want it to be obviously inspired by the door, but I probably couldn’t make an exact copy even if I wanted to. And I’m not going to sell it as my own “original” design without reference to the door, either.

Here’s the first attempt:That may be obviously inspired by the door, though in fact both are inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright and Craftsman styles of design. If you don’t know much about those styles of design, Google them. There are many similar designs to be found, so I can make LOTS of designs of this style without copying any of them. Here’s the second try:

This one has a little more detail. Another master of this style, popular in the early years of the 20th Century, was Charles Rennie Mackintosh. William Morris textile and wallpaper designs were the same historical period, and you may have seen Moda’s extensive line of William Morris-inspired fabrics.

One last try:

So go look at some books on the history of design (the history of advertising works too) and make some designs inspired by what you see. It’s a good starting place when you think you don’t have any ideas, and you’ll eventually come up with something your really like. Then it’s time to make a quilt!

Here are the first 5 posts in this series:

Your Inner Designer 5: A Program to Make Your Own Palette!

Quilt Design 4: Choosing Your Color Scheme

Your Inner Designer 3: New Blocks From Old

Your Inner Designer 2: Many Block Arrangements

Find Your Inner Designer, Part 1

10 Quilty Secrets

Posted on August 31, 2014 by zippyquilts

Several of the blogs I read have recently revealed “10 Quilty Secrets” and I thought it sounded like fun, so I’m playing along. If you would like to see some other bloggers’ secrets, here are the links: The original post seems to have been at 13Spools.com, and the idea has been picked up by several blogs I follow, including Catbird quilts, wombat quilts, and Christa quilts.

And so, here are my 10 Quilty Secrets:

1. Although I’m participating in Marti’s UFO (unfinished object) finish-a-month this year, I had FAR MORE than 12 UFOs at the beginning of the year. Oops, still do! Here’s the August finish, a quilt for Ronald McDonald House made from orphan blocks:

2. My nearest LQS (Local Quilt Shop) is an hour away, which I take as an excuse to have a good stash at all times 😉

3. If I start a quilt and don’t like it for some reason, I abandon the plan and turn it into something else–another quilt design, a table runner, whatever.

4. And sometimes those I-don’t-like-this projects just become long term UFOs 😦

5. In my world, a good quilt is a fast quilt. I’m not patient enough for the zillions of little hand-pieced hexies, for example.

6. For that matter, I DON’T EVEN LIKE hexies! Yikes!

7. I value good design in quilts and in other useful objects.

8. I LOVE to learn new techniques and try new things, so I take lots of classes Even if they seem like stuff I could do easily without a class I always learn something.

9. We’ve moved a lot, and one of the best ways I’ve found to make new friends is to join a local quilt group.

10. I think every quilt needs a little purple!

So, what are some of YOUR quilty secrets?

3 Perfect Ideas

Posted on August 24, 2014 by zippyquilts

The Perfect is the Enemy of the Good

1. The perfect is the enemy of the good.

I made this quilt a long time ago to practice circles, and the quotation that inspired it came to mind recently when I was debating which quilts are “good enough” to be submitted to juried shows. It probably is obvious that the design above is more interesting than the “perfect” one shown below:

Perfect Isn’t So Good

2. “Perfect” is well enough done that you are satisfied when you look at it, but not so over-worked that you’re sick of quilting by the time you finish it.

To make a perfect quilt, It helps to start with:

The right pattern for your skill level
Fabric you love
Techniques you enjoy (e.g., paper piecing, applique, whatever)
The right tools, well maintained

3. You may be more capable of “perfect” than you think. It helps to have friends who keep you honest! I recently had trouble making my seams line up on a medallion-style block and my friend Jerri said, “You’re too good a quilter for that! You just don’t want to bother!” Oops, she was right.

And here’s a book that helped me with “perfecting” my blocks:

I found this book with lots of tips on how to improve piecing accuracy and got a lot better with just a little practice!

I recommend the book if you want to improve some of your skills, too.

Swap Block–88 little squares!!!

And look at this lovely swap block with the corners all matched up! It isn’t perfect, but it’s good enough 🙂

6 Orphan Blocks, 1 Donation Quilt

Posted on August 17, 2014 by zippyquilts

I’ve probably mentioned that one of the ways I’m motivating myself to get rid of the excess in the studio is by joining Marti’s UFO finish of the month over at 52 Quilts. As part of my ongoing effort to “clean it up, move it out” I’m making a series of donation quilts out of my orphan blocks.

Orphan blocks from a recent project

I had these 6 blocks that I liked, so I looked for fabric to go with them. The bright turquoise went well, but I had enough to join them only, not to frame them. Searching for something to make it wider, I found a piece of black/white chevron fabric and decided it needed to be used, and FAST.

My daughter recently point out, “When you find chevrons on your mouthwash bottle, they’re on the way out!” 😀

Finally, I had some colorful Michael Miller dots that seemed to fit in:

And WOW! A very “lively” improvised quilt.

I’m going to practice free motion quilting it on my new Bernina, and it will be the August UFO finish of the month. Then off to Ronald McDonald House it goes.

11 Favorites from AQS Charlotte

Posted on August 10, 2014 by zippyquilts

The quilts at AQS in Charlotte were inspiring, and there were more modern ones than at most AQS shows. Here are 11of my favorites. They aren’t necessarily the judges’ favorites; those are available on the AQS website here. I judge mainly on innovative or attractive overall design; the judges have another set of rules. I hope you enjoy my choices!

Joy, by Peg Collins of Colorado

The Modern Design Challenge had loads of great quilts, but I only took pictures of my very, very favorites:

This quilt by Jean Larson won the Original Design award

The Market is Up, another quilt by Jean Larson

Mid-Century Modern II, by Serena Brooks, won the Improvisation award

Canopy by Helen Garland

There was a display of art quilts, including this one by an art quilter whose work I really like:

Artfabrik, by Laura Wasilowski

And I liked this quilt by Miriam C. Coffey, who is in one of my guilds:

This, That, and the Other, by Miriam C. Coffey

And there was a big display of quilts from the Tentmakers of Cairo. I’d heard about them (from you, Bert!) so I was glad to see some of their work:

quilt by Haissan Kamal

And finally, some quilts I just liked for various reasons:

Jane As A Teenager, by Anya Tyson

Out of my Box, by Kathy McNeil

Fiesta Fireworks by Julia Graber

It’s Out!!!

Posted on July 27, 2014 by zippyquilts

I’ve been WAITING to tell about my Zippy Star quilt, which appears in the Summer 2014 issue of Modern Quilts Unlimited, and here it is!

Zippy Star Quilt and Pillow as shown in Modern Quilts Unlimited, Summer 2014

Didn’t they do a great job of the “glamor shot”? I love the setting

And the magazine has clear instructions with lots of helpful pictures. OK, I wrote the instructions and their staff improved on my pictures, so both are pretty good! There’s a pillow cover to go with the quilt, just for fun.

This is one of several pages of instructions

The Michael Miller company worked with me to choose fabric for the quilt and I’m very pleased with how it came out. The central square fabric is called “Tara’s Fireworks” and is a print made from a quilt one of MM’s employees created with their Cotton Couture solids. So of course the star points made from Cotton Couture solids match perfectly!

Some of the beautiful Michael Miller fabrics

The quilt is fairly small (48 x 58) so I quilted it on my home machine. This was such fun and I’m so pleased with how it is featured in the magazine!

Here’s the magazine cover. It should be at Barnes & Noble and Joann’s soon!

10 Favorites from Vermont Quilt Festival

Posted on July 20, 2014 by zippyquilts

I really enjoyed the Vermont Quilt Festival in Burlington the end of June. I expected a traditional quilt show, and there were some traditional quilts, but there were many modern quilts as well. Here are 10 of my favorites for various reasons. That fantastic quilting on the first one was done by Carrie Zizza of Zizza Machine Quilting (http://www.itsazizza.com/).