Luxe Rebellion

Every year, Michael Miller and The Modern Quilt Guild get together and issue a challenge in advance of QuiltCon. Usually it involves a fabric line and a few stipulations. This year the challenge was to use the new Luxe Wide Back fabric by Michael Miller. We had to use at least one print from the collection along with the solids, and, if needed, one Cotton Couture Solid.

I admin, when I got the fabric, I was rather stumped. That is, until I realized that the blue print would be the perfect fabric to fussy cut and use in a pattern I had recently designed. You see, I'm constantly designing quilt patters, and most of them rarely make it to the fabric stage. This one was sitting in a binder, and when I saw the fabrics, I had to make it.

Introducing Luxe Rebellion! (Quilt on the left, the original challenge fabric on the right.)

I designed this quilt when I was playing with different ways to manipulate a hexagon. What started as playing with a partial hexagon triangle pieced turned into a much longer, more narrow block after quite a bit of manipulated. Sometimes playing with and tweaking a design can yield cool results. I originally envisioned this quilt in greens, browns and yellows and called it Turtle Power after seeing a Ninja Turtle commercial, but that just didn't seem right after making this. With the edgy look and the rebellious way I used the print fabric, Luxe Rebellion just seemed like the right name.

You can really see how I fussy cut the fabric in the photo above! I admit, I found this fabric a bit challenging to work with. The weave was interesting and I probably should have given it a heavy starch before working with it, as I found the fabric frayed easily. If using this fabric in the future, I'd definitely recommend starching it to avoid some of the frustrations I had. 

I knew I didn't have time for a custom quilt job on this given the tight deadline for QuiltCon, so I did an all over crosshatch. I quilted lines 1/4" apart followed by an inch apart, repeating that pattern. I loaded the quilt on my longarm at a slight angle to give the quilting a little more interest.

I'm also pleased to say that this quilt was juried into QuiltCon along with my Quilters DNA quilt. So if you happen to be in Savannah in February, make sure to check it out.

If interested, you can download the pattern on Craftsy. I'm really interested in seeing how this pattern would look in different color combinations, so do share if you make a Luxe Rebellion quilt.

Fabric: Michael Miller Luxe
Thread: Pieced with Aurifil #2024 50 wt. Quilted with So Fine #50
Batting: Two layers of Quilters Dream Cotton Select
Finished Size: 35" x 48"

Butterfly Garden

Earlier this year, Northcott put out a call for quilts for their QuiltCon booth. As one that's always designing new patterns and constantly has multiple sketches and ideas running around my head, I answered their call and submitted a fun, whimsical, yet modern quilt design, which they accepted. I used a bunch of Northcott fabrics along with a tone on tone black print to come up with the quilt you see below, Butterfly Garden.

I was designing a few baby quilts for a soon-to-be baby girl in the family and this was one of my sketches. I ran with it and love the outcome. The color palette was inspired by my printer cartridge. It's amazing where you can find inspiration these days.

I quilted this quilt to look like the butterflies were flying in the wind using some simple wavy lines. Whenever I quilt a quilt, I always pick my quilting with intention, whether that quilting is complex or simple. In this case, I thought some complex quilting motifs would distract from the pattern. I thought about quilting some antenna on the butterflies, but decided against it at the last minute.

After giving a talk at a local quilt guild recently and previewing this quilt, I was encouraged to draft up a pattern for this quilt. If you'd like to make your own Butterfly Garden quilt, hop on over to Craftsy and download the pattern. If you make one, send me a picture, I'd love to see it.

QuiltCon opens this morning, so once I get a good shot of the Northcott booth and this hanging, I'll be sure to include a picture in some of my QuiltCon posts.

QuiltCon and Why I Love the Quilting Community

As many of you have seen by now, acceptance and non-acceptance (I refuse to say rejection) letters went out to the 1,800+ QuiltCon entries this week. I submitted two quilts this year and I feel very humbled and lucky that both of them were accepted into the show given the roughly 20% acceptance rate. What I'm impressed about though is what I've been seeing on Instagram and online since these announcements. If you haven't already, go search the hashtag #quiltconreject and see all of the amazing quilts that were not selected to hang at QuiltCon this year. Impressive, right?

My Every Which Way quilt will be at QuiltCon 2016

What amazes me is the apparent quality of quilts that appears to have been accepted, but also those that were not. But what might be even more impressive is the response that both the accepted and non-accepted quilts are receiving. We all knew that this quilting community that we belong to is wonderful, but to see the KIND, SUPPORTIVE, ENCOURAGING words that we as quilters are leaving for each other is exactly the reason why I love being a part of this community. With this, I want to say THANK YOU to every one of you for being the type of person that we all strive to be and for encouraging all of us to continue with our journey.

My Milky Way quilt will also be at QuiltCon 2016.

This is the first year that I didn't have a quilt rejected at QuiltCon. In 2013 I submitted two and had one accepted. Last year I submitted five and had two accepted. Here's what I learned from that process that I want to share with you. When I took a look at all of the quilts that were accepted and in the show, I got why some of my quilts were not selected. Sometimes my quilts have more of a modern-traditionalism feel to them instead of a pure modern spin. You know what, I'm TOTALLY okay with that. When I look at the quilts that were accepted, I am so incredibly inspired by the talent, creativity and execution of the quilts in the show. You know what? I can say the same thing about all of the quilts that were not accepted either. With that I say to all of you - please keep doing what you do. You inspire me.

One of my 2015 QuiltCon "rejects" that I still LOVE!

What I think I love most of all is the positive attitude of so many quilters that were not accepted into QuiltCon. I'm constantly reading about how quilters are okay with the fact that their quilt wasn't accepted because they still LOVE their quilt. And the positive comments and likes reaffirm that so many of us also love and enjoy your quilts as well. I know I've made multiple comments about loving quilts that were not juried into a show on Instagram. Because, let's face it, most of us are not show quilters. Is that really what modern quilting is about anyway? Our quilts are meant to be used and loved. They're an expression of who we are and where we are at a point in time in our lives. We should never be ashamed or disappointed about that. Own it!

My Confetti quilt hung at QuiltCon 2015.

I don't envy the judges and the tough decisions that they have to make. As we move closer to QuiltCon and the judging of the quilts, let's remember that they're human. As humans we're programmed to have opinions and they are all different. Let's embrace those differences, because those differences are what make our quilts unique. One person's preferred color palette may not be my preferred palette. I love color and and am not naturally drawn to earth tones. That being said, there are some incredibly amazing quilts out there that use those colors. I think and see things in repetitive patterns a lot and work with paper piecing frequently. While I occasionally work in improv, that process is much more of a stretch for me. To others, that comes naturally. It's those differences, unique perspectives that will continue to advance the modern quilt movement.

My Mod Hex 2 quilt hung at QuiltCon 2015.

There's always a ton of debate about what the modern quilt movement is all about and what makes a modern quilt. To me, that definition must always be fluid. One of the things that I observed is that a style of quilt that might have been accepted last year might not have made the cut this year. Take the pixilated quilt of a celebrity. Last year we saw those quilts hanging at QuiltCon but I've seen some of those in the #quiltconreject thread. Last year they were considered something new and unique. And guess what? They inspired many quilters to make their own version. That's awesome. BUT, if every modern quilt show had the same type of quilts in it, would that continue to evolve the modern quilt movement and push the limit of what we create?

One of my #quiltconreject quilts from 2015.

Here's my challenge to you, go back and compare the first quilt you made and the last quilt you made. My guess is that your styles have changed. Now go back and look at some of the quilts in the Fresh Modern Quilt group on Flickr and see some of the first quilts there vs. what we see today at QuiltCon. See the evolution? With that said, if you're goal is to get a quilt into QuiltCon 2017, my recommendation would be to look around you, at the quilts you see, the patterns and the colors of not just quilts, but life and draw inspiration from that. Now take that inspiration and push the envelope to do something that neither you or anyone else has done before. That, the creativity, the pushing of limits and the uniqueness is what modern quilting is all about and is what will help you get into QuiltCon if that's your end goal. Just continue to make quilts that you love though and you'll end up a winner regardless of the outcome. 

Every Which Way

I love a good challenge to push me beyond my comfort zone as a way to try new things. Sometimes I'm less than enthusiastic about a challenge, but I forge ahead anyway as a way to try something new and maybe experiment with something I otherwise wouldn't have. That way, if it doesn't come out the way I want, I can just blame the challenge. 

I loved attending the inaugural QuiltCon in Austin a few years back and I was super bummed that I had class the weekend of QuiltCon this year. That's why when I knew I could attend QuiltCon Pasadena in 2016, I booked immediately. I've been lucky enough to have quilts hanging in both shows to date, but with school, I haven't exactly had as much time to quilt these past few years. That meant I had a lack of quilts to submit to QuiltCon. That in and of itself was enough motivation to enter the Michael Miller QuiltCon challenge this year. 

I will admit, at first the metallic dot fabrics did absolutely nothing for me. I've never really been one to use fabric with dots or metallics, so combining them wasn't exactly motivating for me. At the same time, I had been toying with the idea of framing up flying geese blocks and combining them in some way. 

Originally I thought about stacking the geese at the bottom of the quilt and arranging them in various heights. Because I made as many geese as I could with the fat eighths provided, I had a ton of geese that allowed me to play with different layouts. One night as I was getting ready for bed, about two nights after I finished all of the geese, which are paper pieced of course, I thought about doing a design where the geese were in the center of the quilt and they radiated out from the center. After playing around a little, this design is what I came up with. 

I love Cotton Couture solids, so it was a pleasure working with them with this quilt. I pulled a mint solid from my stash that I have been obsessed over to use as the background. Since I was going out of my comfort zone, I figured I'd pull a different color palette for me. I pulled some solids including mango, periwinkle, watermelon and apricot to go with the mint. Normally I wouldn't pair these colors together, but hey, this is a challenge after all. 

And of course, because I can't do anything easy, I decided to matchstick quilt this bad boy ONE WEEK before the deadline to submit this to QuiltCon. Smart, huh? Fortunately my guide locks came in for my longarm and I was able to matchstick quilt this using a light green thread, which matched the mint fabric better than the mint thread I had (go figure). I quilted it in one day during a marathon seven hour quilting session while watching some football. Let's just say my back was killing me after I was done, but many it was so worth it. 

I bound it with the same mint solid fabric because I wanted the flying geese to be the focal point. I didn't want the binding to be distracting. 

One of the things I love about this quilt and the quilting on it is how the matchstick quilting toned down the harshness of the black fabric and really helped blend it all together. I'm really happy with how this quilt came out and while I'm excited to do more matchstick quilting in the future with my new channel locks, I'm not about to do a marathon quilting session again any time soon. 

Quilt Stats:

Size: 50" x 50"

Fabrics: Michael Miller Glitz and Cotton Couture

Thread: Pieced with Aurifil 50wt 2024 and quilted with Super Threads So Fine! 50wt Barely Green (9 bobbin's worth!)

Batting: Quilter's Dream Orient

QuiltCon - The Quilts

The quilts in the show at QuiltCon were amazing. There were so many great quilts, and quite honestly, any and every single one of them could have received a ribbon for one reason or another. I feel like a lot of people are hesitant to submit quilts to shows, especially juried shows for fear of being rejected and not juried into the show, or not winning.

I thought I'd share my two cents on the topic. I submitted two quilts into QuiltCon and one was accepted into the show.  I felt honored to have my quilt in the show with so many other great quilts.  It was fun to have people talk to me about my quilt and the other quilts.  I even got a big hug from Mary Fons when she found out I made the Dazzling Diamonds quilt in the show.

I didn't submit my quilts expecting to win.  And guess what? I didn't place in my category and I'm still extremely proud of my quilt.  I had several people tell me that they thought my quilt should have won, and my response was that I was flattered, but the winning quilts were also very beautiful and very much deserved to win.  The beauty of quilting is that we all have a variety of styles and ideas.  For some people orange is their favorite color.  It's my least favorite color.  I quilt what I like, and that's the most important thing to me.  I can only imagine how difficult judging a quilt show is and I have a deep respect for those that have to do it and a deep respect for the decisions they make. You may not agree with their decisions, but often times you have a chance to cast your vote in a viewers choice category.

So, as I get off my soapbox and show you the quilts, I just want to encourage everyone to submit quilts to shows if they want.  Don't be afraid of rejection or not winning.  If you love something, chances are someone else will.  But remember that there are things that might not be your style, just as what you create might not be someone else's.  Just don't take it personally. And, as you're walking around viewing quilts at shows, remember that there's a person out there that made and love each quilt in the show.

Here were the 1st and 2nd place Modern in Miniature quilts by Catherine A. Redford and Charlotte Newland.

This quilt by Victoria Findlay Wolfe won best in show.

I was so happy to see this quilt in person.  I've admired it online and it's my inspiration for a bee quilt I'm making.  This quilt by Karen Anderson-Abraham won the quilting excellence award.

I love HST quilts and this one by my new friend Jessica Pierre'auguste was beautiful.

I love lime green, which meant it was no surprise that I loved this houndstooth quilt by Leslie Lamb.

As a paper piecing fanatic, it's no surprise that I love this quilt by Susan Strong.

I am absolutely in LOVE with the colors Katie Bickesley used in this HST quilt.  Don't be surprised if you see me make something in these colors some day.

My love of color means I obviously love this quilt, which was pieced by Jim Smith and Andy Bunhammer.  When I first saw it, I thought it was a stack and whack quilt.

This was a great quilt by Thomas Knauer.  The quilting was awesome too!

I love the low volume and mix of prints in this quilt by Latifah Saafir.

I love both the colors and design in this quilt by Katie Pedersen.

I really like the pattern of this quilt by Lee Heinrich.

This is such a happy quilt by Janet McWorkman.

And finally, this quilt by Alison Glass won viewers choice at QuiltCon.

There are a bunch of other blog posts with other quilts from the show, so be sure to check them out.

Oh, and stay tuned for a giveaway with some loot I snagged at QuiltCon.  

QuiltCon - The Final Day

Well, QuiltCon officially wrapped up yesterday and it was one heck of a show.  Day four consisted of several lectures that were very interactive and talked a lot about the Modern Quilt Guild as a whole.

After checking out of our hotel, we went and saw Mary Fons talk about the future of quilting.  She was such an engaging, entertaining and passionate speaker.  I really enjoyed what she had to say.

This was followed by a lecture on color by Luana Rubin.

At this point, it was all MQG focused.  Alissa Height Carlton talked about all of the changes and events for the guild.

We then listened to two panel discussions on guilds, and the most interesting, various activities guilds can participate in.  I took a lot out of the last panel and came away with some great ideas for the Boston MQG.

It was then time to head to the airport, where our flight was delayed and I didn't end up getting back to my aunt's house until after 2am.  I'm all inspired to quilt after spending four days talking, seeing and hearing all about quilts.  

QuiltCon Day 3

I have to say, Day 3 was another awesome day at QuiltCon.  It was filled mainly with lectures, but there were some great lectures to listen to.

The day started with a lecture on copyrights and trademarks by Kristen Lejnieks.

Next up was David Butler from Parson Gray talking about modern lifestyle photography.  David was very entertaining and this was a great lecture to listen to.

After a quick stroll through the show floor, I went to the lecture from the other Butler - someone named Amy Butler.  You might have heard of her.  Anyway, Amy talked about color and where she gets her inspiration from.  Both David and Amy are fantastic story tellers and this was another great lecture.

We settled down for the rest of the day in the lecture hall after a quick lunch and listened to a panel on designing fabric.

Heather Grant came up next and talked about modern quilting, talking about the history of it and what defines modern quilting.  I disagreed with giving modern such a tight, rigid definition like she did, but it was still very interesting to hear her thoughts on the history of modern quilting.

Jacquie Gering was tasked with going right before the big keynote and delivered the only standing ovation lecture, presenting a passionate, engaging and heartwarming lecture on honoring tradition.  Jacquie shared her story about how she started quilting, her family history as creators and the inspiration behind many of her quilts.

To give you a sense of the lecture hall, this is what it looked like in between Jacquie's lecture and Denyse Schmidt's keynote.

Finally, Denyse Schmidt delivered her keynote talking about her roots as an artist and how she got into the quilt business.

We finished the night attending a pincushion swap meet up.  The Kansas City MQG host a pincushion swap a little while ago with several (I think seven or nine) guilds, and those of us at QuiltCon got to meet up with some of the folks who received or made our pincushion.

See, another great day! I'm said today is our last day, but I'm itching to get back in front of my beloved sewing machine.  I've gathered so much inspiration from the show that I'm ready to go back and create magic at my machine! 

QuiltCon Day 2

Yesterday was another amazing day at QuiltCon.

It started with meeting the awesome Violet Craft, the designer of Madrona Road for Michael Miller. We chatted for a while about her line, the industry and the recent Madrona Road competition.

Here we are with my quilt that is hanging in the Michael Miller booth.

I took some time to check out the quilt show after.  This quilt by Victoria Findlay Wolfe won best in show.  I'll do a separate post after the show dedicated to all of the amazing quilts.

Then it was time to listed to a lecture by Heather Ross.

And after a quick lunch at a local Tex-Mex joint, it was time for a lecture by Anna Maria Horner.

The last lecture I attended before doing a little shopping was a panel discussion on publishing your work in magazines.

We had a little Texas BBQ for dinner and went to the 80's dance party.

Talk about another amazing day.  I'm excited for days 3 and 4.  I'll be attending more lectures the next two days, which I'm really looking forward to.  Stay tuned for more details from QuiltCon! 

QuiltCon Day 1

Well, I'm sitting bag in my hotel room after a long but wonderful first day at QuiltCon. It started with a 4:20am ET wakeup call to catch our flight to Austin. Once we got here, it's been full steam ahead!

First things first, I had to stop and check out my quilts.  Here's my Dazzling Diamonds quilt.  I'm sporting an awesome ribbon letting everyone know I have a quilt in the show, which was made by the awesome Elizabeth Hartman.

My next stop was the Michael Miller booth to visit my Wonky Road quilt. The folks at Michael Miller were so friendly and I really enjoyed meeting them.

With just a little bit of time before several lectures started that we wanted to see, I had a chance to check out a few of the exhibitors.

The Robert Kaufman booth had an activity for attendees to design their own tote bags.

There was a line at the Spoonflower booth for a chance to win some fabric.

By this point, it was time to hit the lectures.  First up for us was Yoshiko Jizenji on Asian Creation: From Tradition to Modern.

Next up was Heather Jones talking about where she finds inspiration for her quilts.  I always love to see how people design quilts and where they get their inspiration from.  It was a pleasure to hear Heather speak.

Finally, we heard a great panel discussion led by Alissa Haight Carlton on publishing your first book.  I really enjoyed this lecture and found it to be incredibly insightful.

I'm excited to see what Day 2 has in store.  I haven't even had a chance to look at all of the awesome quilts on display or shop the vendors.  Don't worry, I'll be sure to visit the vendors and do a little shopping - right after I check out all of the other awesome quilts on display.

If you want to see live pictures from QuiltCon, I've been posting a ton to Instagram.