QuiltCon 2015 Part 2 ... the quilts!

There were over 300 beautiful quilts on display at QuiltCon 2015 in Austin, TX, sponsored by The Modern Quilt Guild. The wide variety was amazing, and the level of talent was inspiring! We couldn't possibly share every quilt with you ... but we would like to share some that spoke to us as we walked around the show.

Best in Show winner, Kathy York with her “i Quilt.”
Photo credit: themodernquiltguild.wordpress.com

A closer look at the "i Quilt"

Diving Geese by Katie Pedersen
Best Machine Quilting

Coral Reef by Marla Varner
Coats Award of Quilting Excellence Winner

Sunset Waves by Laura Hatrich

Lovely Fishbourne by Amanda Leins

Geo Applique Series #2 by Kayley Rose

Fractured Triangles by Paula Leber

Grove by Casey York

Score for Bias Strip Petals: Daisy by Sherri Lynn Wood

Spiced Chai Quilt by Katie Blakesley

Totally Spring by Dora Cory

One thing that we noticed in many of the show quilts - prints! The modern quilt movement looks like it is moving beyond only solid fabrics.

Please mark your calendars for QuiltCon West 2016 in Pasedena CA. The show dates are February 18th through the 21st.

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QuiltCon 2015

Last week we had the pleasure of exhibiting at QuiltCon 2015, a modern quilt show and conference in Austin, TX, hosted by the Modern Quilt Guild. Today we would like to share some pictures that we took at QuiltCon and let you know about all of the things that we saw!

Our booth featured "Our Town," one of our newest lines from Contempo Studios designed by Michele D’Amore.

 

The runner quilts that were displayed in our booth will be available soon as free patterns on our website! The quilt on the table is from Deanne Moore's book titled "Fabric Play." To find out more about this great quilt pattern and book, visit Creative Sewlutions.

We shared the booth space with our sister company - Brewer. They are a distributor of all things sewing, quilting, and crafting. Here is their booth display:

Check out what is available ... Benartex scissors and bias tape makers! Your local quilt shop can order them through Brewer.

And here is a picture of our entire Benartex/Brewer booth:

On Thursday we gave a talk called "Think Big" showing quilts that use big prints and/or big blocks to make a BIG impact!

Each day we had a fun little project to demonstate to the attendees - and a free pattern and kit for them to take home. One of our projects was a four patch coaster:

Watching the demo:

A lovely little girl named Emily got to sew for the very first time - making a coaster to take home:

Our other project was a luggage tag:

 

One quilter even ran home after the show on Friday to make her luggage tag and brought it back to show us!

               

We had a great time meeting and talking to all of the quilters that visited our booth! Please stop back here on Monday to see  our pictures of the magnificent show quilts--so much inspiration!

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Make it Modern: Daily Zen

Inspired by the modern quilting show QuiltCon over the weekend, we're sharing projects and fabrics with a modern twist this week, as well as some photos from QuiltCon itself. 

First up is the "Daily Zen Quilts & Projects' by Melanie Greseth and Joanie Holton. This 56-page book features' 11 projects made from Michele D'Amore's Daily Zen collection for Contempo Studio.

The projects keep with the Zen theme--in addition to quilts, you'll find a yoga mat, an eye mask and neck roll, and a carry-all tote that can hold sewing projects or your yoga class supplies.

Joanie and Melanie worked with Benartex and Landauer to develop the "Daily Zen" book, with the idea of showing quilters many different ways to use a fabric line, all in one resource. We asked Joanie to talk about the book and projects she and Melanie designed.

Why did you use the Daily Zen collection?
It was fresh and fun to work with--Michele had some neat colors blended together, and a lot of grays that worked with colors that pop. Her black and white prints are perfect for modern quilts. I think both quilters and quilt shops are drawn to the contemporary and modern fabrics (like Daily Zen) but aren't always sure how to use them in patterns. Our book addresses that.

Tell us about the cover quilt. 
The "Unified" quilt on the cover is an example of a traditional block we tweaked--it's an oversized snowball block. The design looks like a chain, but very oversized. 

Do you have a favorite quilt from the book?
We loved all the quilts, but I really liked the Zen Garden quilt. It's a very contemporary take on a Drunkard's Path square. Bright and modern, and not as hard as it looks. 

And how about some of the other projects?
Our theme for projects was based around the theme of the fabric. For us, sewing is very zen. When you work on a project and it all comes together, you have this lovely calming feeling. That's what we took from the fabric--where is that place in your life where you go to have that peaceful feeling?

The carryall tote was a super fun bag to make, and so cute!

 The eye mask and neck roll go with the "feeling zen" theme. 

What else do you want readers to know about your book?
The projects are easy to make--we tried hard to make them accessible to many skill levels. But most of all, we hope quilters and sewers can find the corner in their world where they can sit and relax and enjoy the projects they've made!
Watch for Melanie and Joanie's next book, debuting at Spring Quilt Market!

Melanie and Joanie even have a bonus project to share with you, thanks to Landauer!

Click here to download Melanie and Joanie's free pattern for a travel sewing wallet.


Click here to find the Daily Zen Quilts & Projects book. (You can also click on the "Look Inside" tab to see a short video with sneak peeks of some of the other projects featured in the book!)
Click here to see Daily Zen featured on the blog and here to see our Contempo booth from spring Quilt Market featuring these fabrics. 

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QuiltCon, here we come!

You've probably been seeing a lot of about QuiltCon on quilting and sewing blogs lately. For good reason--it's the first year for this exciting modern quilt show and conference, and it runs February 21-24 in Austin, Texas. If you're at the show, please stop by our booth, #121, and say hello!

For those of you who are not attending QuiltCon, no worries, we will be sharing some photos and impressions of the show here on the blog. 

In the meantime, we sat down Modern Quilt Relish designers  Marny Buck and Jill Guffy, who have a booth at the show and are also selling kits for some of their patterns at the show. We think you'll love these quilts made out of our Googlies fabric as much as we do! 

"Leftovers" pattern using "Googlies Allover Black" in the background.

"Cheddar No Crackers" using the Stars Pastel Googlies print in the background.

"Nibbles" using the Stars Bright Googlies print in the background.

We love how Jill and Marny combined solids with the Googlies print for a modern look. These quilts will look fantastic in the Modern Quilt Relish booth (#422)!

Jill and Marny also took the time to answer a few questions about themselves and QuiltCon.

Tell us a little bit about who you are.

Modern Quilt Relish has been in business for almost three years. We started as a pattern company, but have now just published our first book, Picnic. We design simply sophisticated designs for the modern quilter.

Why are you going to the show?

The inaugural QuiltCon is a wonderful opportunity for us to meet and learn from our supportive online community.  

What are you most excited about experiencing at QuiltCon?

The enthusiasm for modern design!!

What are you hoping to get out of QuiltCon?

We hope to further establish our presence amongst modern quilters and to learn more about our customers and to gain knowledge from the educational opportunities.

What do you expect to see at the show?

That is the big question mark.  It will be an inspiring surprise.

Give us your thoughts on the modern quilt movement. 

We base our "modern" on actual modern design elements and principles-negative space, asymmetry, color and value as focus, and simple geometric shapes.  There are lots of different interpretations of modern within the quilting world and it is rewarding to see the movement grow.  

QuiltCon, here we come!

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Modern Appeal

We're gearing up for QuiltCon later this week, a modern quilt show and conference in Austin, TX, hosted by the Modern Quilt Guild. While we're packing our suitcases for the show, it seemed like the perfect time to show off Manhattan Modern, a new collection by Michele D'Amore.

Graphic lines, blossom bursts, stripes, dots and checks...this line has a little bit of everything!

Square swatches don't do some of the prints justice, so we pulled out a couple prints to show in their entirety.

And if brights aren't your thing, the collection comes in a trendy home dec colorway of teal, olive, cream and brown.

This new collection is one of our nods to the modern movement, and when you see what designers have done with it, we think you'll agree that it's full of possibility! 

Deanne Quill of Creative Sewlutions used Manhattan Modern with her pattern, Shenandoah, and we'll be showcasing this quilt in our booth at QuiltCon. We love how this pattern uses the big, bold prints in unexpected ways! Which colorway do you like best?

Stay tuned for our next post, which will show off Manhattan Modern in a few more quilt designs and a pillowcase pattern for APQ's 1 Million Pillowcase Challenge!

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