Sometimes quilt backs should be fronts!

Last weekend I was teaching a class in which most people were making their first quilts.

One of the students, Claire told me she had pieced a back for her quilt using her scraps. Great, I thought, until I saw it!

It's too nice for a back - I told her she should make it into another quilt!

 She learned to make these liberated blocks from watching a YouTube video.
The background is a lovely pale grey - its a great example of a modern quilt!

We discussed the quilting - I suggested parallel line quilting.
Can't wait to see it finished! No pressure Claire!

For loads more modern quilting ideas - click on the Pinterest button on the sidebar - Hazel has been very busy posting photos and links to tutorials.

Hello!

Hi! I'm Hazel and a friend of Janet (see the previous post) and I'm delighted to welcome you to the new blog for the Yorkshire Modern Quilt Guild! As Janet mentioned we met on a City and Guilds course which encouraged us to try 'art quilting' and it didn't really suit us although we did want to try something different to the very traditional techniques we were also taught. 

Janet and I both teach patchwork and quilting in our own area of Yorkshire - Janet around Barnsley in South Yorkshire and me around Wetherby on the boundary of West and North Yorkshire. The quilt above is one I made as a sample for a beginner class. The wonderful thing about patchwork and quilting is that there is always something new to learn and last year Janet introduce me to Liberated Piecing techniques. Here's a small example of what I produced then:

This was made with 'crumbs' - leftover scraps! It was a small piece so I made it into something functional:

A little zippy bag just the right size for a small sewing kit.

What am I up to now? Well today I've just taken delivery of this new book:

My first reaction is WOW!!! I'll be back in a few days to tell you more about it. In the meantime, if you live in Yorkshire, why not join this group by clicking on the link on the right. We'd love to hear from you!

Hello and Welcome to Yorkshire Modern Quilt Guild

My name is Janet  and I am co-founder of Yorkshire Modern Quilt along with Hazel.
I live in Barnsley in South Yorkshire and Hazel lives in West Yorkshire (almost North Yorkshire).
We became friends on a City and Guilds course in Patchwork and Quilting a couple of years ago.
We often rebelled against the very traditional or very arty quilting that we were taught and gradually realised that we were actually modern quilters!

Here is one of my recent quilts - Paintbox Crumbs.

Until later this year Yorkshire Modern Quilters will be an online group only but we are hoping to have Sit and Sew Days later this year.

If you live in Yorkshire and are interested in Modern Quilting, please join us by becoming a follower. Details are on the 'How to Join' tab at the top of the blog.

And if you want to know more about Modern Quilting - read on...

 

Modern Quilting - What is it?

Modern quilting is a new and rapidly growing movement in the quilting world. It is a fresh approach to the traditional skills of patchwork and quilting.
Modern quilting, like all art, changes, grows and adapts from quilter to quilter as they find their own voice. Modern quilts reflect each quilter’s personality and personal style.
A set of principles that define and guide the movement, is beginning to emerge.
Modern quilts and quilters:

• Make primarily functional rather than decorative quilts
• Use asymmetry in quilt design
• Rely less on repetition and on the interaction of quilt block motifs
• Contain reinterpreted traditional blocks
• Embrace simplicity and minimalism
• Utilize alternative block structures or lack of visible block structure
• Incorporate increased use of negative space
• Are inspired by modern art and architecture
• Frequently use improvisational piecing
• Contain bold colors, on trend color combinations and graphic prints
• Often use gray and white as neutrals
• Reflect an increased use of solid fabrics
• Focus on finishing quilts on home sewing machines

Modern quilting has its roots in rebellion, in our desire to do something different, but simultaneously its feet are firmly planted in the field of tradition.  Modern quilting is our response to what has come before.  We are quilters first, modern quilters second. There are however, characteristics that set modern quilters apart from our traditional and art quilting friends.

Modern quilters are a diverse group of women and men, young and old, experienced and novice, yet each of us feels the need to differentiate ourselves as modern quilters by how we work, the fabrics we choose, and the aesthetic of our quilts. We create in a way that supports our individual creative needs and our lifestyle preferences. 

Modern quilters resist the imposition of hard and fast rules for making a quilt.  We pick and choose traditional techniques and methods that work for us and at the same time feel free to redefine or reinvent what is possible and allowable in making quilts.

Modern quilters have embraced the new options available in textiles: bold colors, graphic prints, larger scale prints, and  modern designs from new fabric designers.  Much like the Amish quilting tradition, many modern quilters are also exploring quilt designs made exclusively with solid fabrics or with just a hint of print.

The Internet has played an integral role in the development of modern quilting.  Through blogs, online tutorials and social media the modern quilting community interacts, providing inspiration and friendship for each other.  This has helped the community grow at an astounding pace, providing feedback and support at a moment’s notice

In many ways, modern quilting has taken us back to the basics of the early quilters, when women of the day used the colors and styles of their time to express themselves creatively while finding friendship and community along the way. 

 Welcome to modern quilting!