Modern Rose Quilts

Modern quilting has indeed begun to absorb my very soul. 

I see a rose in a modern negative space filled style of quilt. Has someone already made a version of a modern rose quilt?

I started a little search on google. Don't you just love google, you can find just about anything on google!

Emily has a great version that is most certainly on my list of great rose inspired quilts. Do visit her lovely site with lots of original patterns for sale and an awesome blog.

Carolina Patchwork

Then of course I stumbled on one of Denyse Schmidt patterns here.

But the one that really got my attention was the post from Rose City Quilter from Camrose, Alberta, Canada. Her recent posting on a brand new pattern that was recently in the QuiltCon.com conference

is purely special, you must check it out.

We're coming up on one year young!

 My new friend Mertle from Hazelton came early with all her wonderful techniques and such a kind soul, she taught me how to make a pair of earrings. Thanks goodness, it was a great refresher since another friend showed me early in the summer. I've become quite a studious learner of this new craft.

 Jo, one of our busiest quilters brought her little pet and read some magazines for inspiration.

 Myrtle and Cori chatting about how her progress is going. While Jo's bright Jellyroll quilt is finished completely, wow that is bright and cheery on a snowy day!

 Does anything look familiar here? Leave me a comment if you can remember which quilt in progress this is?

Well, I tried to get something done, but between learning new beaded jewelry techniques from Myrtle, I took home more than I came with.

 Our new friend Lucia had some inventive ideas for her hat she was crocheting.

Its a reminder of her favorite  band, The Who.

 Lovely hat on a great gal! Lucia knits so fast, its unreal!

We're not having a December Retreat, but rather a Christmas Party at one of our members home. Its right in Telkwa, email us. if you'd like to come? 

We'd love to share with you!

You know what I mean?

A little bit here and little bit there, suddenly, we have more quilts to tuck our loved in on a winter night. Many of my friends have begun to understand and embrace reusing cloth from clothing. Some of my friends think I'm a little different!

But I don't care what people say or think!

Take for instance, a blog posting that using up denim in innovative ways?

http://unrulyquilting.blogspot.ca/

In the blog above you'll see dozens of examples of scraps from all sorts of places? Does it matter? Really, I doubt if anyone who receives a lovely, handmade quilt will say, "Is this new fabric or what?"

You know what I mean?

Quilts are about the care and love that goes into a handmade item, made just for them. They will only think of the love and effort that you did,  yourself, not what kind of fabric it is.

So come and join us, let down your hair and try something new?

Velour backing/batting, denim jean circles, barkcloth background squares, wow quilt!

Modern quilt inspiration!

Where do you go for quilting inspiration?  For me, one of the most inspiring things is seeing what other people are doing with simple colours and designs.  On Flickr, there is a group called "For the Love of Solids" - all dedicated to quilting and sewing with solid coloured fabric.  They have a swap project where they enter a blind swap with other members.  All they get is a name and address, and an idea of their partner's colour and style preferences. They go out and choose the fabric and project that they will do (it's limited to "small" projects - wall hanging, placemats, sewing-machine cozies, etc..). The person they are sewing for does not get to know who is creating their "gift". At the end, everyone posts their creation and then sends it on to their recipient.

Little projects like this laptop bag make me swoon:

Laptop bag by Dashasel for Sarah at Fairy Face Designs on Flickr

But modern quilting isn't just about solid colours. This scrappy quilt will help you pare down your stash while producing something modern and lovely:

Rainbow plus scrap quilt by www.filminthefridge.com

For those of you who are more into "traditional" quilts, why not try a modern twist on a more traditional design?  Here's a lovely big quilt from a member of the Ann Arbor Modern Quilt Guild:
Point Me quilt by Little Red Hen

 So where are you getting your inspiration from these days?

BV Modern Quilters Update

Hi folks,

We had a pretty small get together yesterday.  Nola arrived early and brought her young friend Lucia. Lucia is working for a year at the nursery and comes from Vernon.  She's very crafty and has some great ideas!  Kirsten arrived a bit late and brought her one an only quilt for show and tell. Carli arrived for lunch with a demonstration of a new block.  She promises to remember all the pieces for next time so we can all try it!  Joanne arrived later in the afternoon for a visit.

Our next quilt-in will be on November 17th. Everyone is welcome (and encouraged!) to bring a friend!  The quilt-in will be at the Telkwa Reformed Church from 9 to 4.

On December 7th (Friday night), we will have a Christmas social/show&tell/recruitment drive at Kirsten's house in Telkwa.  We decided on this format so we could introduce potential new members to the group in a less intimidating atmosphere where people don't feel obligated to have a project on the go.  Proper invites will be sent out closer to the date.  Members should bring a friend or two who may be interested in our group.  Also, please bring something to show and tell, and a small gift (can be new, recycled or silly) for a game we will be playing. We need to have enough "gifts" for all of the attendees.  Ideas for gifts could be bundles of fabric, fancy thread, homemade pot holders, etc...So were getting busy with lots of little gifts for our new friends!

On February 9th, we will be holding our Found, Fancy, Frugal event.  More details will emerge closer to the date, but we ask that everyone set aside that date for participating.  We all have 4 months to make sure that date is clear in the calendar.  Remember, the objective of this event is to showcase to the community how they can reuse fabric and other household objects for creative purposes.  Start thinking of a few projects that we could showcase for that purpose.  Nola found a new magazine with a great quilt made partially out of repurposed men's ties. Carli's denim potholders are a great way to reuse old jeans.

Just imagine, cheddar quilts are a true favorite of mine. This yellow lump of fabric is almost new, very little used set of cotton drapes. I intend to use it for a quilt. I bought it  here in the Bulkley Valley at one of the thrift stores for $5.00.

You just cannot go wrong with thrift buys of fabric. Miles and miles of fabric is available and we can make great quilts with it.

See you soon.....

Quilt Guild Reminders

Hello Groupies!

Just a quick reminder that our next meet-up will be on October 27th at the Telkwa Reformed Church.

Carli has suggested that we do a stash-buster sale at out up-coming demo (November maybe?). So let us know if you have bundles you could donate - the guild would keep 50% of the commission for fund-raising, and you would take home the rest.  Check out your stashes and see what you might donate!

Also, I'd like to post a few tutorials on using technology to share and communicate with other quilters (with Carli's blessing).  Keep your eyes skinned on this space to learn a few tricks about navigating and sharing online!

-Kirsten

Summer Hiatus 2012

OK, its clear to us that most members are off somewhere having a summer!

We are all so busy this year and we're planning behind the scenes for our upcoming fair in October. Keep track of the local Bulkley Browser for more advertising about that event. We're calling it "Found, Fancy, Frugal and Fun Fair" and this event is sure to drum up more members and spread our cause out to more community members.

 Kirsten is busy working her magic on this lovely modern quilt in yellow and black and grey!

 Joanne was caught in a sneeze here! Lovely juvenile quilt of  her own design.

 Joanne is also very handy with ideas for table runners and mats.

This is a donated quilt by one of our members, Cindy Stoltenberg.

So I'll continue posting throughout the summer but we'll be back in September!

Have a great summer!

Carli

April 21, Quilt In- lots of inspiration!

We had a great time at our latest "Quilt In"in Telkwa. Members Nola Weston and Joanne Van Horn are holding the quilt top donated by member Cindy Stoltenberg. Cindy made this quilt top several years ago and has kindly decided that it can go to a good cause.

We gathered around and talked all day about what to do with the quilt top.

 Something that Kirsten is working on, love these colors and its going to be a great modern quilt!

 This is how far along I am on the hand quilting of our king size quilt. This stack and whack quilt started in 1997 and so all quilts eventually get done!

 A kids quilt made a special local boy!~

 Our next gathering was slated in May, but now the date has to change due to the long weekend! Stay tuned!

All the best,

carli

            

March 31 Quilt In for BV Modern Quilt Guild

 We gathered at the Telkwa Christian Reformed Church at around 9:30 am and soon out came some awesome show and tell. First, we were really taken with the scrappy plaid based quilt Wendy is making from all of her husbands plaid shirts. She was inspired by Bonnie at Quiltville and her two great books on reusing clothing for the pure use of fabric.

Wendy's pattern "Hodge Podge" came from a 2001 magazine and its a little tricky for reusing as the pionts must line up and its a tricky thing when reusing.

We had two guests who became members after hanging with us for a few hours! Our day was filled with many good times and lots of laughter!

 This lovely rail fence quilt was whipped up quick as a wink according to Barb who made it, lovely quilt and so fun to make!

 Then we had to see this lovely king size quilt made by Wendy who also did the machine quilting, what a great quilter!

Our next "Quilt In" is on April 28th at the Telkwa Christian Reformed Church hall.  We'll start at about 9:30 to 4 pm and its brown bag lunch.

Feb 25th Quilt In- Telkwa

 This is my quilt that I'm working on for our upcoming Quilt In in Telkwa, BC

 Close up of the "Orangey Thing"

Come and join us on Saturday Feb 25th, 9:30 am to 4 pm held at the Telkwa Christian Reformed Church Hall. Located across Highway 16 from the One Stop. Bring a potluck luncheon item, your sewing projects and equipment. Some quilts to share, a donation for the room and we're having fun.

Modern Mini Contest-Check this out

Sometimes, we cannot think and we need something to push us over the edge into our creative zone! Well, this is how my production channel gets going and I just love to see other examples of modern quilts.

At this link, Ellison Lane is a great example of what's possible and where to get great fabric.

http://ellisonlane.blogspot.com/2012/01/modern-mini-contest-challenge.html

I'm always seeking out fabric that is vintage and many of the new designer are mirroring the 'vintage feel' in the look of new designs. This is very exciting because, we cannot forget to look back at our past to see our future. I just wish more designers were going certified organic with these new designs. Its coming and its the future and its good for the environment. If you want to see some examples reusing vintage fabric, reused fabric from clothing, check out my sister blog here.

What's a Modern Quilt?

Hello friends, someone asked me yesterday what was a modern quilt? I started looking around on the Internet for some examples and these are my interpretations of what is a modern quilt. But if you keep on reading you'll find some awesome links that are far better at giving you an idea of why the term even got started!

You can't go far on the Internet you'll quickly find Vancouver Quilt Guild. 

What's below is Vancouver MQG standard information about membership with their group.

"Our membership is open to anyone interested in modern quilting and all that goes along with it.

Members benefits include the following:

• free monthly guild meetings
• discounts at local fabric shops
• members only retreats and sew-ins
• voting rights
• access to members only forums

The annual membership fee is $50.00. An extra $1.75 will be added if paying by paypal. Memberships expire annually on October 31."

I wanted you to see what others are doing and my friend Sonya has posted lots of Vancouver Modern Quilt Guild photos at the following link.

 http://www.flickr.com/photos/artisania/4713156435/in/photostream/

Check it out!

While I was there, I came across this awesome quilt from the Kansas City MQG. There are lots to look at with these two sites, they are so cool!

 http://www.flickr.com/photos/kcmodernquiltguild/6333421177/

My friend Laurraine from Patchwork Pottery is an awesome woman and she said it best in her post Habitat Challenge Quilt from November. She writes  "Why am I joining a modern quilt guild? My style is far from modern!" After the first meeting, I realized that anything can be modern. My favourite explanations of modern were the following: Modern can encompass the self-taught/just wing-it approach to quilting. It can also describe technology used in this modern age such as blog, flickr & facebook. OH! That's totally me! I guess I'm a modern quilter!

Until next time, happy quilting! If you live in the Bulkley Valley, please follow this  blog, its a great way to keep abreast of how our BV Modern Quilt Guild is going and maybe you'll come to a gathering soon in 2012?