modern quilting | Mystery Bay Quilt Design

A couple of months ago I saw an announcement that the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum in Golden, Colorado is having a juried show this fall of English Paper Pieced Quilts. The quilts must be at least 75 per cent paper pieced. Since I made such a quilt a few years ago, I read the requirements carefully and convinced myself that my quilt would qualify. I submitted an entry, and last week was delighted to hear that my quilt has been accepted into the show. There is a photo of the quilt in my gallery, but I took a better photo for the submittal, and here it is: “Best Wishes From The Far East”:

This quilt is pretty large – the hexagons are six inches. The Chinese characters are made from Ultrasuede and are machine-appliqued. The quilt is hand quilted.

The quilts will be exhibited in the Museum (located at 200 Violet Street, Suite 140, Golden, CO) from October 21, 2019 to January 18, 2020. There is an opening reception Friday, October 25 from 6-8 pm. I would love to go but it’s a long way; maybe I will think up another reason to be in the area!

And coincidentally, I just finished another English Paper Pieced Quilt with a modern vibe:

Still thinking about what to call this one. It wouldn’t have qualified for the show since it isn’t 75 per cent paper pieced. The fabrics are all Moda Grunge. Hexagons are 3 1/2 inches . The quilting is by machine.

Often students in my quilting classes ask about how to decide what quilting patterns to use for a particular quilt. I have been thinking about how I decide to use particular patterns and how I can better answer the question. I don’t have any great answers yet, but I’m still working on it!

Recently I visited Pacific Fabrics in East Bremerton. It happened that my visit coincided with their (free) monthly craft presentation presented by Chris Groce. I have seen a couple of her presentations before – they are always fast paced and packed with ideas using the latest products and patterns Pacific Fabrics has in their stores. I decided to stay and listen. A number of the products and patterns she featured were related to “Modern Quilting”. The presentation made me think of the need for free motion quilting patterns that fit well with modern quilts. I quickly sketched a few ideas on one of the handouts. I can’t remember if these ideas came from actual quilting on some of the projects she showed, or if they came from the prints on the fabrics. I just remember wanting to draw the basic forms so I wouldn’t forget. Here are my initial sketches:

Jotting down ideas so i wouldn’t forget!

I sketched bigger versions of these in my sketchbook and then stitched some of them out this morning. I think I will be able to make these even better with more practice, but they aren’t bad for first tries.

Here is a double loop pattern, as sketched out and then stitched out.