Innholdsfortegnelse for Quilt Con SIP 2020 i Quilting Arts Magazine

Hello and welcome to QuiltCon 2020 in beautiful Austin, Texas! AS YOU MAY KNOW, this is the third time QuiltCon has been held in Austin—the inaugural event was here in 2013 and the second QuiltCon happened here in 2015. Since then, we have traveled to Pasadena (twice), Savannah, and Nashville before coming back “home!” QuiltCon is the largest modern quilting event in the world. We have hands-on workshops, lectures, and even a sewing lounge for when you just have to stop and sew! There is a top-notch vendor hall chock full of leading quilt-y vendors plus amazing quilt displays with hundreds of quilts in a dazzling array of colors and design. The Modern Quilt Guild celebrated its 10th anniversary in October 2019 and there is so much to look forward…

NUMBER OF QUILTS ENTERED IN THE SHOW: 1,543 PERCENTAGE OF THOSE QUILTS JURIED INTO QUILTCON: 28% TOTAL NUMBER OF QUILTS ON DISPLAY: 622 PERCENTAGE MADE FOR THE CHARITY QUILT CHALLENGE: 18% INDIVIDUAL GUILDS REPRESENTED BY QUILTS AT THE SHOW: 85 TOTAL AMOUNT OF PRIZE MONEY AWARDED: $16,500+ NUMBER OF EVENTS, WORKSHOPS, AND LECTURES: 173 INDIVIDUAL FACULTY MEMBERS: 45 MQG SUPER VOLUNTEERS PLEDGING 16+ HOURS EACH: 180 NUMBER OF HANDMADE PRIZE RIBBONS CREATED BY NICOLE DAKSIEWICZ: 48 EXPECTED SHOW ATTENDANCE: 8,000 or more! CURRENT MQG MEMBERSHIP: 15,589 and counting! VALUE OF A TRIP TO QUILTCON: PRICELE$$…

QUILT CADET BADGES Latifah Saafir, co-founder of both the Los Angeles Modern Quilt Guild and the MQG (yes, that MQG!), makes a line of patterns and hardware called Quilt Cadets for kids who sew. Along the way, they can earn adorable merit badges—Girl Scout style—for skills like hand sewing, walking foot quilting, and inserting a zipper. Whether you are a kid or a kid-at-heart, can you resist the thrill of earning kudos for doing something special? Each woven badge measures 1½" and is backed with an iron-on adhesive. $3 each • grownups.quiltcadets.com ELISE Sassy, fresh, and with a hint of vintage charm … back by popular demand, Victoria Findlay Wolfe is re-releasing the orange version of Elise, one of the most popular prints from her first fabric collection with Marcus…

Member of the Central Jersey MQG “DOUBLE EDGED LOVE,” THE QUILT THAT WON BEST OF SHOW at the first ever QuiltCon in 2013, was a quilt that Victoria Findlay Wolfe almost didn’t submit for exhibition. This bold deconstructed take on a deeply traditional block pattern was a highly personal piece that she wasn’t even sure would be considered modern. “It was a total shock that it won the first QuiltCon,” she said recently. Having that quilt lauded and lifted, she said, “reverberated with me that I need to make quilts that matter to ME.” Indeed, Victoria has always eschewed labels and is somewhat amused to be considered a modern quilter, even though she co-founded the NYC Metro Modern Quilters Guild. “I consider myself a quilter. I make art quilts, modern…

@brigitgail Member of the Gainesville MQG THIS QUILT USES DRUNKARD’S PATH blocks in a large-scale pattern that allows color to take center stage. Inspired by the Voyager space missions that traveled through our solar system, the negative space indicates the path of the spacecraft and adds visual interest to the design. DIRECTIONS Skill Level: Intermediate Cutting Measurements include ¼" seam allowances. Label pieces as they are cut. Templates are on page 93. Trace onto the template material. Cut out and label templates. Refer to the Nesting Diagrams for most efficient use of fabric. 1. From each of medium pink and blue, cut: ■ 2 template A. 2. From pale pink, cut: ■ 2 each of template A and template B. ■ 4 (4½ " x 10") rectangles. ■ 4 (1¼…

CURVED PIECING IS UBIQUITOUS IN modern quilts, but some quilters ignore it because they’ve avoided learning how to sew curves. Like many things, piecing curves takes a little practice. With these tips, you’ll soon be creating smooth curved seams like a pro! NOTE: These illustrations show the Drunkard’s Path block but these tips are true for all blocks with curved pieces. 1. Cut a convex quarter circle piece and a concave L-shaped piece from contrasting fabrics. Fold each piece in half. Finger press at the curved centers. 2. With right sides together and the L-shaped piece on top, align press marks and pin in the center of the block. 3. Pin the outside edges together with the straight edges matching. 4. You might find it necessary to add more pins…

CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT The Modern Quilt Guild is marking the seventh anniversary of this show? It is an amazing accomplishment. When I contemplate the differences between that first QuiltCon in 2013 and the current year’s show, the contrasts are clear. Current class offerings include techniques from exploring longarm machine quilting to mastering exquisite hand embroidery. The show floor is larger, and the aisles are packed with quilt enthusiasts of every age and walk of life, all excited to see cutting-edge modern quilts. The list of lectures is fascinating; I want to hear them all! QuiltCon 2020 is a fantastic show that represents a broad audience and reflects what is exciting and fresh in the modern quilt genre. One thing that has evolved over the years is the depth and…

QUILTCON 2020’S JURIED QUILT SHOW FEATURES A WEALTH OF MODERN QUILTS by MQG members from around the world. These quilts represent some of the best in design, craftsmanship, and innovation. More than 1,500 quilts were submitted, making the selection process even more challenging. Winning quilts in several categories—including Quilting Excellence, Appliqué, Group and Bee Quilts, Handwork, Improvisation, Minimalist Design, Modern Traditionalism, Negative Space, Piecing, Youth: Group and Youth: Individual, Small Quilts, and more—will receive awards and prizes from show sponsors. TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE MODERN QUILT GUILD and to become a member, visit themodernquiltguild.com. “MELTING ICE” 84" x 90" Karen Maple Individual MQG Member Portola Valley, California After photographing melting icebergs in Antarctica, I was inspired to create a quilt that highlights the alarming effect of climate change. I…

Member of the Philadelphia MQG I COME FROM A LONG LINE of wild women—seamstresses, singers, and bohemian dancers—who each committed to a life lived passionately. Grandma Mary was a synesthete—she could see music in color—and would ‘sing colors’ to us children. Great-aunt Virginia was a singer who fell in love with a Russian composer and spent her best years at his artists’ retreat with a revolving cast of Russian expats. Their songs, and the love and joy of those years, were passed down to me. So, when Ekaterina Sharova of the Arctic Art Institute in Russia invited me for an artist’s residency, I developed a project that would marry my love of handcrafts and folk songs. The Song Quilts Project is a synesthetic meditation on the power of women’s hands…

Individual MQG Member MARCIA DERSE HAS A SECRET WEAPON: DIRTY BRUSHES. This unheralded designer has a cult-like following among quilters who covet the results of those dirty brushes—along with her nuanced and obscure patterning—in a line of commercial fabrics that look and feel so very anti-commercial. Marcia is an artist who dyes, paints, stamps, collages, discharges, doodles, and draws by hand to create every single piece of fabric in her collections. When she mixes dye, she does not scour her buckets between colors, and when she paints, she also does not wash the brushes. Rather, she loves the experimentation of mixing and layering one color on top of another in order to generate an entirely new palette. In the world of color, there are primary and secondary colors. Marcia’s work…

vfwquilts.com Individual MQG Member IN MY CHILDHOOD HOME, we had gold carpet in most of the house and a lilac carpet in my bedroom. This retro color palette had been on my mind—along with thinking about old tied quilts—which led me to play with these Half-Snowball blocks. The little “ties” are reflected in the triangle corners of the pieced blocks. The two complementary colors move toward each other—cool and warm—with the negative white space and small scraps of color tiled in between. DIRECTIONS Skill Level: Confident Beginner Cutting Measurements include." seam allowances. 1. From gold, cut: ■ 24 (4½ " x 40") strips. From the strips, cut 186 (4½ ") large squares. ■ 7 (1½ " x 40") strips. From the strips, cut 182 (1½ ") small squares. 2. From…

geometriquilt.com Member of the Melbourne MQG QUILTED BY SHARNI CROSSETT of LYREBIRD AND LAMB QUILT WORKS SIMPLE SHAPES AND AN UNCOMPLICATED layout create the movement. The color choices emphasize the transparency effect, as well as bringing out new, secondary shapes. DIRECTIONS Skill Level: Beginner Cutting Measurements include. " seam allowances. Border strips are exact length needed. You may want to make them longer to allow for piecing variations. 1. From yellow, cut: ■ 5 (6½ " x 40") strips. From the strips, cut 30 (6½ ") A squares. ■ 1 (3½ " x 40") strip. From the strip, cut 4 (3½ ") B squares. ■ 2 (7½ " x 30½ ") strips for the top and bottom borders. ■ 4 (10½ " x 31½ ") strips for the left and…

quiltachusetts.com Member of the Inland Northwest MQG AFTER GETTING A NEW PRINTER, there’s always a moment of celebration when the test page successfully prints. This quilt mixes the classic Orange Peel shape with black and white stripes—along with blocks of cyan, magenta, and yellow, the customary colors on a printer’s test page. The large-scale blocks are perfect for beginners new to piecing curves—or will make a quick project for a pro. DIRECTIONS Skill Level: Intermediate Cutting Measurements include ¼ " seam allowances. Label pieces as they are cut. Templates are on page 98. Trace onto template material. Cut out and label the templates. Borders are cut to the exact length. You may want to make them longer to allow for piecing variations. Refer to Nesting Diagrams for most efficient use…

stitchindye.com Member of the Austin MQG ALL MY DESIGNS BUILD ON each other, sometimes in a linear fashion—other times not so much. Next Teardrop is inspired by a quilt I designed several years ago. Without a doubt, elements of that earlier quilt stuck with me and called out to be addressed again in a new way. That first design focused on repeated circles rendered in different values of the same color and Next Teardrop does this as well. These ‘circles,’ however, feel more organic and read as simple shapes while also playing with movement and color relationships. DIRECTIONS Skill Level: Confident Beginner Cutting Measurements include ¼" seam allowances. Templates are on page 108. Trace onto template material. Cut out and label the templates. Refer to the Nesting Diagrams for most…

FLYING GEESE BLOCKS are made up of the ‘Geese,’ which is a large, centered triangles in the unit, and the ‘Sky’ which are the triangles on the sides. There are several ways to make Flying Geese blocks, but if your quilt pattern calls for several in the same color combination, this method can’t be beat. There is absolutely no wasted fabric, and no need to work with unstable bias edges. The Geese section begins as a single large square and 4 smaller squares make up the Sky. 1. First, to determine the size of squares to cut, write down the size of the finished block. For our example, we’ll use a 2" × 4" finished block. For the large Geese piece, cut a square the desired finished width of the…

ALTHOUGH SIMILAR TO THEIR COUSINS the Half-square Triangles, Half-rectangle Triangles are not all created equal. They will have a left-leaning angle or a right-leaning angle based on how they are sewn together. Blocks sewn from the lower right to the upper left (left-leaning), produce a mirror-image from blocks sewn from the lower left to the upper right (right-leaning). This will become obvious after you’ve made a few. Follow these directions carefully and you’ll soon be an expert. Create Left-Leaning Blocks 1. Cut 2 rectangles 1" larger overall than the desired finished size of your block. 2. On 1 rectangle, place a mark ½ " from the upper left/side edge and the lower right/side edge on the right side of the fabric. 3. On the other rectangle, place a mark ½…

IT’S A ONCE-A-YEAR EVENT ANTICIPATED by MQG members from around the world: the evening before the show opens, Heather Kinion, the chair of the MQG Board of Directors, will take center stage to reveal the top quilts and award thousands of dollars in cash prizes to this year’s winners. The ceremony is a highlight for many attendees, and the thrill of seeing the winning quilters receive their prizes is not to be missed. This ceremony is the culmination of hundreds of hours of behind-the-scenes work by dedicated MQG volunteers, staff members, and judges. One of the most demanding and important jobs in any show is to identify the winning entries and judge them appropriately. This year’s panel was chosen for their unique perspective of the aesthetic, experience in the modern…

Individual MQG Member I’VE GOT A THING FOR SEWING CURVES LATELY! In the past, I’ve gotten caught up with cutting curves accurately and keeping a consistent ¼" seam allowance. And while there are plenty of great rulers out there to help cut precise curves at popular sizes, they don’t solve my custom curved piecing needs. Enter foundation paper piecing (FPP) and glue. While experimenting with FPP last year, I developed a new method to sew accurate curves using glue. Although it is a labor-intensive process, it’s hard to beat the precision of paper piecing, especially when there are curves and skinny strips involved! Follow the tutorial below to create a 9" block using the FPP glue method. materials ■ ⅛ yard each of 4 coordinating fabrics (In this tutorial, the…

Member of the Chicago MQG “THE VARIETY OF ARTISTS AND WORK I ENCOUNTERED THAT SEMESTER OPENED MY MIND TO THE HUGE SCOPE OF WHAT SCULPTURE—AND THEREFORE ART—COULD BE.” I SHOULD HAVE BEEN EXCITED; instead I was full of dread and my imposter syndrome was flaring up big-time. I imagined it would be like stepping into a room with all my favorite famous quilters. Would they smile and be nice to me? Probably, yes. Would I feel small, untalented and out of place? Also, undoubtedly, yes. Over a decade after leaving college I had decided it was time to finish my degree, and a big chunk of my graduation requirements were art credits. Having never taken a formal art class, I worried about my lack of basic skills. My drawing repertoire,…

Member of the Chicago MQG DESPITE NEVER USING QUILT PATTERNS, I felt inspired to write my own instructions for this quilt because I love the concept of Instruction Art and enjoy following rules. Often when I make art, I create a set of criteria to follow, and then attempt to see how sneaky I can be in finding variation within those guidelines. Once you read through this ‘pattern,’ you’ll understand just how freeing and fun following rules can be. The instructions are written as a scavenger hunt, harkening back to childhood birthday parties and treasure maps. Part of the process will be to learn a bit about yourself and document your findings on your quilt; thus, the bolded words like Birth and Orbit that introduce each of the elements in…

WHY WE QUILT: CONTEMPORARY MAKERS SPEAK OUT THE POWER OF ART, ACTIVISM, COMMUNITY AND CREATIVITY Thomas Knauer In this unique book, author Thomas Knauer compiled a beautiful and meaningful collection of essays and images from 40 contemporary quilt artists that answer the simply question: Why? Why do you quilt? The answers are as varied as the makers themselves. Some quilt to connect with loved ones or tradition; to move beyond consumerism; to express their creativity; to change the world. But all of them seem to fit the last section of the book: “We quilt because we can—and because we cannot help but do so.” Feast your eyes on beautiful quilts and feed your soul with these thoughtful words presented in a one-of-a-kind edition. $29.95 • Storey Publishing • storey.com THE…

geekybobbin.com Member of the Toronto MQG THIS GEOMETRIC DESIGN IS REMINISCENT of items you might find in the hardware store. In shades of gray with metallic hints, it creates a delightful optical illusion. Or, choose a hot, poppy color for a bright, mod look! DIRECTIONS Skill Level: Intermediate Cutting Measurements include." seam allowances. Templates are on page 89. Trace onto template material. Cut out and label the templates. TIP: To avoid stretching and distorting the fabric on the bias edges, starch and press the fabric before cutting. Refer to Nesting Diagrams for most efficient use of fabric. 1. From black, cut: ■ 3 (10½ " x 40") strips. From the strips, cut 24 template A. ■ 3 (7½ " x 40") strips. From the strips, cut 1 template A and…

warmfolk.com Individual MQG Member REMINISCENT OF THE GRANDEUR of Greek architecture, these basic shapes come together to create a mesmerizing vine path around four columns. Playing with ombre prints will enhance the sense of depth in the design. DIRECTIONS Skill Level: Intermediate Cutting Measurements include ¼" seam allowances. Templates are on page 103. Trace onto template material. Cut out and label the templates. Borders and sashing are cut to the exact length. You may want to make them longer to allow for piecing variations. Refer to the Nesting Diagramsfor most efficient use of fabric. 1. From navy, cut: ■ 2 (3½ " x 40") strips. From the strips, cut 24 template A. ■ 3 (3¾ " x 40") strips. From the strips, cut 48 template B. ■ 10 (3½ "…

flyingparrotquilts.com Individual MQG Member THIS DESIGN IS INSPIRED BY an oceanographic phenomenon known as the Ekman Spiral, after Swedish oceanographer Vagn Walfrid Ekman. When the wind blows across the ocean, the surface water moves at a 45° angle to the wind. Each successively deeper layer of water moves at a greater angle, but due to friction, more slowly than at the surface. As you descend down through the ocean, the currents form a spiral. The quilt is my 2-D interpretation of this 3-D phenomenon. DIRECTIONS Skill Level: Beginner Cutting Measurements include ¼" seam allowances. Top and bottom borders are cut to the exact length. You may want to make them longer to allow for piecing variations. 1. From blue, cut: ■ 3 (2¼ " x 40") strips for strip sets.…

stephskardalquilts.com Individual MQG Member THIS QUILT DESIGN IS AN updated take on a traditional Rail Fence quilt block with smaller strips—finishing at ¼ "—and more negative space for highlighted quilting. This pattern plays with scale by repeating Rail Fence blocks as you increase in granularity. DIRECTIONS Skill Level: Intermediate Cutting Measurements include ¼ " seam allowances. Border strips are exact length needed. You may want to make them longer to allow for piecing variations. 1. From each of 10 different accent colors, cut: ■ 7 (¾ " x 40") strips. − From 6 strips, cut 1 (¾ " x 21"), 1 (¾ " x 14"), and 1 (¾ " x 3½ ") strips. − From 1 strip, cut 6 (¾ " x 3½ ") strips. 2. From background, cut: ■…