What Makes a Quilt a Modern Quilt?

We've talked a little on our Facebook page about what makes a quilt a "modern quilt."





Modern quilts have taken the quilt world by storm. The Modern Quilt Guild community is the fastest growing segment of the quilt world right now.

Why is that?

Because it's got some great ideas and attitudes about quilting. Here's some of what makes modern quilting special.

Keep it simple. 
Modern quilts tend towards simple easily achievable patterns. But make no mistake. They're lovely without being complicated






Make it big.
It's really fun to take an ordinary quilt square and blow it up into a whole big quilt. And it's showy as get out.

Don't be afraid to go wonky.
Straight seams are not a necessity. Nor are squared corners, even sides or straight sashing. It get's much more exciting to see things out of line.

Use wild colors.
Wild bold colors are all OK and experimentation is in.

Don't be stuck on rules.
If you walk out side the box there are so many cool things you can try.










Are these rules new? Sorry. No, they're not. The quilt world has it's stiff upper lip quilt police but there are always those of us who have resisted that nonsense. We make rules about life and death things like traffic control. Not about what is "right or wrong about a quilt."Breaking rules is how quilting has always grown.

But the fresh air  from the modern quilt movement is a delight.  And a very fun approach to quilting.

Threadbenders sponsers the Michiana Modern Quilt Guild every 1st Thursday of the month for an evening meeting. Come join them and see what modern quilting is all about.

Warm Yourself with Colors

Today may be winter's worst. Heavy snow, freezing temperatures, impassible driving, and a prayer that the heat holds out.

What's a girl to do?

Warm yourself with color!





Grab those oranges, yellows, pinks, plums, reds, maroons and purples. Yes, they Do go together.Here's some quilts that should warm you up. Add it to a hot cup of coffee, an extra sweater, and you may work up a sweat.

Fruit Punch by Tonya at Lazy Gal Quilting

What a great x and o quilt!

modern bee - hive 14 by sewcraftyjess on Flickr

Even against a white background these pin wheels sizzle.

Beehive Quilt by Eileen Richardson

These Beehive Quilts makes me think of flowers in the sun.
Forget the snow. Go grab some really hot fabric and warm up. The snow can't stay forever.

Colors in the Cracks

Color Wheel

We've been talking about basic colors. But anyone can tell you, that's not all there is. When we look at a color wheel, especially one colored by computer, we know there are a lot of colors that are not being shown there.




It's really easy at that point to glaze over and ask, "Why do we use a color wheel if it doesn't show us everything? What good is that?"
People forget that the color wheel isn't science. Or really just on it's own, art. It's a theory. It has points where it works and points where, as a theory it falls apart. But it does show us a lot of information about the relationships between colors.If we can get past the fact that it's not perfect, it becomes a perfectly useful tool.

When we see a range of colors, we need to imagine not just those colors but all the colors in the cracks between.
The Tertiary colors are the colors in between. If you're using cheap crayons, you can always tell, because they have 2 color names.
 Each secondary and primary color have a color to either side that's a mix between them.

 So orange has red orange, yellow orange,and orange.What do the colors in between give us? Incredibly rich colors that slide into each other.

Orange Explains it All

Here's some quilts that slide between yellow orange, orange, and red orange.

Modern Quilt Guild Block

This free block from the Modern Quilt Guild, We Love Quilts takes us all the way through that range.

Snake Charmer by Denyse Schmidt

Start thinking about the colors in between the cracks. They're rich, ripe and lovely!

Secondary Passions:Purple, Orange and Green

We've been talking about secondary colors, orange, purple and green.
Because they're mixed colors they blend much better than the primaries. They work and play well with others.They also work well with each other.

Round Robin Quilt

You'll probably find more people using two of the three, though.This round robin quilt from the Baltimore Modern Quilt Guild features purple and green.

purple and orange quilt

This quilt is from Jennifer at That Girl that Quilt. The purples and oranges are almost singing together.

It takes a little more courage to mix all three.

Lorrie Cranor, improv quilt

We love this improv quilt from Lorrie Cranor. Purple, green and orange are electric colors together. Mix them up, blend them in. You may run with scissors, but they don't. They get along great.

Primarily Speaking

So far we've talked about red, yellow and blue. You're probably already with me. These are the primary colors. They're primary because they are really separate in themselves. They aren't made of other colors. They're just themselves.

That sounds like a metaphor, but actually that's how they work in design as well. Because they aren't blended from other colors, they are incredibly loud and bossy with other colors. Why are they featured so strongly in kid's prints? Because they really stand out and children love that kind of stimulation. Although I could see it as a reason to choose something else for the hyperactive baby's room.
Of course they're a great way to make a really bold statement.

Modern Mood Circus by Sherri Lyn Wood

This quilt, Modern Mood Circus by Sherri Lyn Wood, is exactly that bold because she worked it in primaries.

Modern Crazy Quilt

This modern crazy quilt by Caroline Heinrich shines in primaries.

Kona Fabric

This new line of Kona Cotton celebrates red, yellow and blue in darker and lighter tones.

From Custom made Quilts

And even a simple patch quilt is cheery and bold.

Don't be afraid to work with primaries. They're bold, direct, bossy and sassy. Just like you!

Reach for the Sun: The Warmth of Yelllow

Color is more than the color wheel. The color wheel maps the relationships between colors. Some of us don't care about that at all. How does it make you feel? 

We have cliches about color. We feel blue, we're green with envy, we're having a purple day. We're red hot mad.

But past that, we all have our private feelings about color. We'll be exploring a number of colors and combinations.

by Deaux Petite Souris

When I was younger I used to call it my enemy color. It's not pretty on me. But now I know it's light and heat in my quilt. And right now those sound kind of good.It also can be just goodness. And it brightens everything it's near.

Modern Pickle Relish

Of course yellow comes in a range of shades. Once we stretch a bit, we're into yellow orange, or yellow green. How marvelous!

Black and Yellow Chevron

Notice how much our neutrals change the feeling. This yellow against black and grey feels more dramatic and less sunny. But I still love it.

Use this time to think about colors differently. Reach for a color you never use. It could become your next best friend

Jackie's Favorite Modern Quilt Books

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Jackie's a relatively new quilter. That doesn't mean she isn't an invaluable resource at Threadbenders. She brings the passion of a new hobbyist and an unerring good eye to her own work and to her projects for the store.

She also loves the modern quilt movement.

Modern Quilting is perfect for people beginning to quilt. It's simple, graphically exciting quilting with a contemporary flair. 

She also knows the value of a great book. She knows it's the best way to feed your eye and your soul. And to send you off on new projects and new passions.

Here are some of her newest picks. 

Cozy Modern Quilts features great graphic quilts that are scrappy and snazzy.

                                   

Who could resist this darling baby quilt?

Ready to learn about hand quilting? Utility Quilting will show you hand quilting techniques that are quick, easy and classic.

Come in and ask Jackie about all our Modern Quilt books. She'll share her excitement with you.

Threadbenders also hosts the Michiana Modern Quilt Guild every 1st Thursday night at 6 PM. Come and share your passion for this exciting fresh quilting movement.

Quilts of Valor and the Michigana Modern Quilt Guild

Threadbenders Quilt Shop and the Michigana Modern Quilt Guild have been working together on a Quilts of Valor Project.
The Quilts of Valor program is a grass roots movement to make quilts for our brave service people who are returning from service in need of support and care. It's a spontaneous reaction of the quilt community to the needs of our wounded heros.
The Michigana Modern Quilt Guild that meets at Threadbenders on the first Thursday of each month, at 6 PM has partnered with Threadbenders to make a special quilt of valor together.

We're using Thangles,  and these two great stripes in red and blue. Thangles are the quickest and easiest way to make no measure, perfect triangles. All together we're piecing the elements for a quilts of valor for our service people.

Here are some other great quilts of valor we've already given away.

Would you like to help?

Come join the Modern Quilt Guild, Thursday night at 6pm.

Or just come into Threadbenders and we'll let you sew on some thangles, just at the shop. You can have a quilt break with your lunch break. Doesn't that sound good?