The Roots of Modern Quilting Exhibit

A few weeks ago I was contacted by the curator of the New England Quilt Museum, Pam Weeks. They were finalizing an upcoming exhibit on The Roots of Modern Quilting and thought my Mod Hex 2 quilt would be the perfect addition to the exhibit.

Feeling completely humbled and honored, I of course agreed to let them use my quilt in the exhibit.

The opening reception was this past Saturday. The museum was lucky to have both Victoria Findlay Wolfe and Jacquie Gering attend the opening reception.

Here's my quilt hanging right next to Angela Walters' quilt.

Here's Victoria with her third double wedding ring quilt in a series of 12.

Jacquie Gering's quilt is on the left and Thomas Knauer's is on the right.  (I totally forgot to grab a photo of Jacquie.)

And this is a Denyse Schmidt quilt. The lighting of this quilt really made it shine.

I think the most humbling thing about being in this exhibit is the fact that my little ol' quilt is on display among some of the most wonderful names in quilting today - Denyse Schmidt, Jacquie Gering, Victoria Findlay Wolfe, Thomas Knauer, Heather Jones, Molly Upton, Angela Walters, Radka Donnell and Lucy Mingo. And then there's little ol' me.

Thank you Pam Weeks for including me in this wonderful exhibit. I am truly honored. 

Exciting News!

Last week I was neck deep in school work - spending 8:30 - 9:00 or later at school for kickoff week. It was intense, and left no time for quilting. I guess that's what I get for signing up for an accelerated MBA program.

On the plus side, I did receive some positive news on the quilting front. On Monday, I was contacted by the curator of the New England Quilt Museum, asking if they could use my "Mod Hex 2" quilt for their exhibit opening this Thursday, October 10th - "Roots of Modern Quilting, A Fresh Look at Old Quilts."  Excited, I said yes.

Given the tight time constraints, we had to meet early one morning to do the handoff. It felt like some sort of early morning deal going on outside the nearby Panera. Okay, maybe that's an exaggeration.

If you're in the area, you should check out the exhibit. It opens this Thursday, October 10th and runs until Saturday, December 28th at the New England Quilt Museum in Lowell, MA. Better yet, Denise Schmidt is visiting and giving a lecture on November 15th, so you can check both out at one time. 

Blogger Quilt Festival: Mod Hex 2

This time around we can enter two quilts into the Blogger Quilt Festival. I already shared my Pinwheel Party Quilt with you - my entry in the mini/doll quilt category. I'd also like to share with you my Mod Hex 2 quilt - my entry into the wall quilt category. I struggled with what category to enter this in, but because it's really too small to be a lap quilt and is too big to be a mini, the wall quilt category it is!

I started making this quilt as a class sampler. You see, I was asked to teach a modern hexagon class at a local quilt shop - Quilter's Way. I wanted something fun and easy, so I designed this sashed rainbow quilt (below) using the Hex N More Ruler.

Wanting to show that you could have a totally different effect by changing the sashing, I made Mod Hex 2 more scrappy, using a fat quarter bundle from Fat Quarter Shop. This was a Blogger Choice Fat Quarter Bundle pulled together by Elizabeth Hartman late last year.

The colors for this quilt are out of my comfort zone. I tend to shy away from earth tones, but there's something about these fabrics that really speak to me.

This quilt went together relatively quick and was easy to piece. I would be willing to bet that it took just as much time to quilt the top as it did to actually piece it.

One of the hardest things for me was picking a binding. I knew all along that I wanted to quilt this particular quilt in a concentric circle pattern, so that was easy. It just took some time. With concentric circle quilting, the center goes quick, but once you start to get further and further out, it can take a little while. Back to the binding... I was determined to use a fabric from my stash, but because these colors aren't ones that I typically work with, I struggled. I pulled fabric after fabric, but none of them seemed to work. Then, after about two weeks, I remembered I had some FMF in my stash and dug that out to find that this brown print went perfect with the quilt.

This quilt was made entirely out of fabric from my stash. I received the fat quarter bundle as a gift for Christmas last year. I used an off white solid for the background, and an old print from my stash for the backing. I quilted it on my Bernina 440 using So Fine! #50 #402 - Pearl, so it really blends in nice to the background.

This one finishes at 46" square!

Mod Hex 2 - Finished

Last week I put the finishing touches on my Mod Hex 2 quilt. Before work this week I swung by a local park and snagged some great pictures of this quilt. I love how the early morning light hits the quilt in some of these pictures.

I made this quilt using the Hex N More ruler for a class I taught at Quilter's Way.

This picture really shows the true colors of the fabrics. I love the lighting here.

I made this quilt using a Blogger's Choice Fat Quarter Bundle from the Fat Quarter Shop put together by Elizabeth Hartman of Oh Fransson!  I added a solid off white fabric from my stash for the background.

After much debate, I ended up binding this quilt using the perfect Flea Market Fancy print. When I finally pulled this print from my stash, I couldn't believe I didn't think of it sooner. I was determined to use a print from my stash, and because these aren't my normal colors, I was struggling with it. Once I pulled this print, I knew it was meant to be.

As you can see in a bunch of these pictures, I used one of my new favorite quilting designs - a spiraling circle. I used my walking foot to maintain even spacing. I drew a small circle in the middle and just moved out from there. This quilt finishes at around 46" square.

I'm really happy with how this turned out and I'm even more happy to have it finished! 

WIP Wednesday & A Somber Note

I swear, it is going to take me forever just to finish this quilt. I lamented on what fabric I would use for the binding, as I don't really have many of the colors of this quilt in my stash. Finally, I found a great piece of FMF that I deemed perfect for this quilt. This weekend, the first time I've had a free minute in a while, I managed to cut the binding and get it sewn onto the quilt. 

I still need to tack it down to the back, but it's one step closer to being done with the quilt. 

On a more somber note, I am heartbroken by the events that occurred at the Boston Marathon this week. As a life-long New Englander, I've gone into Boston too many times to count. I've been to numerous Boston Marathons as a spectator - three times going to the 11:00 Red Sox game and walking to the finish line of the Marathon at the end to cheer on the runners. I knew a number of people running or watching the Marathon, so needless to say, Monday afternoon was a very emotional time for almost everyone in the Boston area trying to figure out if their friends and loved ones were safe. My heart goes out to everyone affected by this cowardly attack - this hit so close to home for everyone in the area. If you are looking to help, there has been a fund set up, The One Fund where you can donate to help everyone affected by this tragedy. 

WIP Wednesday: Mod Hex 2 Quilted

This week I finished the final stitch in my Mod Hex 2 quilt.

I still need to make and attach the binding, but overall, I'm really pleased with how it turned out.

Once again I did a concentric circle quilting design, which I really love.

I really want to use something from my stash for the binding, but I'm not sure I have anything that goes with this. These aren't the typical colors I work in - they're much more earthy than I'm used to.

WIP Wednesday: Machine Quilting

It's not uncommon for me to make a quilt top and leave it unfinished for a decent amount of time. Hoping to break that habit a bit, I decided to piece the back and begin quilting my Mod Hex 2 quilt.

And after the spiral quilting I did on my Sunrise Delight quilt, I knew I wanted to do the same quilting on this quilt.

The center is the hardest part because you practically take one or two stitches before turning the quilt. That's the one part that I could really use some additional practice at.  The rest of the quilting, I think, looks really good.

Once you get going, and out of the very center, it starts to quilt up pretty quick.

But then it slows down a bit when you get to the outside of the quilt, when it takes longer to make a full circle.  This is how far I got after two hours of quilting.  I'd estimate I have another two to three hours left to go on this baby.  

BMQG Quilt Retreat

Last weekend was the annual BMQG quilt retreat. Like last year, this year was a total blast and I managed to get quite a bit done.

To start, I finished my Mod Hex 2 quilt top.

Next, I finished my Sew-vivor project, which I'll reveal later this week.

After finishing two big projects,  I decided to tackle something a bit smaller, a bag. This will be a gift for a friend.

It was a super easy pattern and I see myself making more of these in the future.

I also managed to get a sample bee block for the Simply Solids bee since next month is my month.  I'll do a separate post about that tomorrow.

I worked here and there on a few other projects, but not enough to really show any of it.  All in all, I'd say it was a very productive long weekend and an even better time hanging out with some really awesome people.  A big thank you to Aimee and Alice for helping to organize everything!

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