Modern Quilting Design Inspiration

Lately, I've had my eyes open for examples of great quilting design that feels fresh and Modern.  At the local guild meeting this morning, I picked up a book from the table of old library books for sale and bought it, mostly because of the quilting on this quilt.

This is Carol Armstrong's Crane quilt.

The quilt appears in her book Wildflowers: Designs for Appliqué & Quilting, published in 1998.  It is still available on Amazon in paperback or electronic (Kindle) format–clicking the link or the book image will take you there. 

Carol's work is hand-appliquéd and hand-quilted.  I doubt that she thinks of herself as part of the Modern Quilting movement or that many Modern Quilters are familiar with her work, but I think there is much inspiration to be found there.

I came home from the guild meeting and pulled out some of Carol's other books from my bookshelf–including Wild Birds: Designs for Applique and Quilting, which has the pattern for that crane–and really enjoyed re-reading them with new eyes.

I Didn't Dream This One

Dianah did. Don't you love the way one idea can spark another among quilters?

You can read more about it on her blog, here: X's or O's? I love how she set the blocks slightly off square, used different sizes and created all that great white space for quilting.

My own little spark, sparked a smaller idea . . . to use up the trimmed off bits from my Tic-Tac-Toe blocks to make smaller Tic-Tac-Toes . . . they're post card sized, but the idea of a table runner is also noodling in my head. Maybe I'll sleep on it?

Sunday Drive

Standing on a hillside, completely surrounded by bluebonnets, I felt a little like Dorothy, approaching the Emerald City, in the field of poppies, with flowers as far as the eye could see, intoxicated by the aroma.

It was incredible. And all that fresh air, blue skies and beautiful nature really inspired some design ideas today.

Obviously, I opted for getting out of the city for some nature over going to the art fair today and went in search of bluebonnets and . . . found them: alongside the highway, in meadows and pastures, in front yards, on hill sides. They were spectacular.

Here are a few photos from the afternoon. Click for larger images of any of these. The gate on the left says Bluebonnet Hill. The "Hill" itself is on the right.





This pair of artists really made me wish I had the confidence to set up an easel and spend the day painting as the parade of camera-toting tourists like me passed by.

Even these guys, grazing among the bluebonnets attracted quite a few admirers along the side of the road.




I wonder if there's a term akin to leaf peeper for everyone who, like me, followed the signs and enjoyed the countryside today.

The trail, while well marked, at some point led me in a big circle . . . I confess, at that point, I pulled out my iPhone and asked it to navigate me home–I really need to remember to put MAPS in my car. As it turned out I was only about 10 miles back to the highway and familiar ground. Yay!

My Sunday afternoon drive in the country took me back to my childhood; I know my dad would have loved this day. When I came home, cooking a big pot of beans and rice, like he would have done, just felt so right, too . . . and it smells like it might be ready soon. Bon appetit and happy Sunday.

I See Quilts in the Sidewalks of Dallas

Quilters see quilt designs everywhere--that's nothing new. So I shouldn't have been surprised, when I decided to escape the boxes for some fresh air this morning and started seeing quilts in the sidewalk.




I'm sure this was part of some interesting public art project–I'll have to find out . . . or maybe someone will leave a comment and tell me what it's all about it. Whatever it is, I like it. It was a kind of dreary, wet morning and finding these gems in the side walk was delightful.



I liked this one enough to take a close up of the "block." Wouldn't this be a fun block to hand-piece?



But back to my walk . . . I was headed to a cafe whose menu was included in the welcome packet for my loft. I got walking directions from googlemaps, consider the public transportation option, but decided to put off learning DART for another day, and was on my way, walking.

My printer is still in a box, so I didn't have a printed map or directions and at some point, I wasn't sure I had gone the right way. I passed a familiar landmark, the Mosaic Building, where I had met the realtor who had helped me find the loft. I decided to stop for coffee at the Opening Bell, where I was already a regular and in their system, and make sure I was headed in the right direction . . . plus their Carmel Latté is as good as the Carmel Marvels I used to inhale on a regular basis at Beaners in Michigan.



With reassurances and caffeine in hand, I continued toward my goal . . . I passed the Dallas Museum of Art–and was thrilled to realize I live within walking distance.



And then I found the corner of the advertised cafe, where I saw, not a quaint cafe, but a monolithic office building.



The cafe was across the street . . . in the ground floor of a smaller office building. My breakfast, a spinach and cheese quiche, was lovely. My walk home deviated slightly, enabling me to find another quilt block in the sidewalk–this month's lotto block, Bow Tie, in Lincoln Plaza.



Here's the "block" and one that I hand-pieced for the lotto in my motel room on New Year's eve.



My "knot" is smaller, but the block is the same ;-)

I thought this sidewalk art was pretty interesting too, even if it doesn't bring to mind traditional quilt blocks.



It's part of Pegasus Plaza. Here's a larger view.

Hearts & Sparks

It was probably because I had recently made these sweet 6-inch heart blocks for the February block lotto. (The pattern is here.)





Yesterday in a forum discussion on quilting.about.com, about what someone might make from a stack of 6-inch squares, people starting talking about the Disappearing 9-Patch and Christine suggested including 6-inch quilt blocks into the mix. The idea sparked for me. I immediately thought of the heart blocks.

I woke up thinking about the idea. I had to try it. But first I had to make more heart blocks.




As soon as the blocks were made, the rest was easy peasy.



Step-by-step photos and directions blogged here.

Until Christine mentioned it, I had never considered the D9P as a setting. She sparked all kinds of ideas for me now. But first I think I'll do some floral stash busting and make a colorful little hearts & flowers quilt that I know a little girl will love.

Another Maple Leaf Quilt

Last month, at the museum sale, someone asked if I would take a photo of "the African American Quilts" for her. This Maple Leaf quilt by Rosie Wilkins was one.



When we were packing up, I asked one of the staff what made this an African American quilt. Besides having known the quilter, she pointed to the use of fabrics, the way the blocks are set together and the irregular quilting design.

I was thinking about this quilt when I was struggling with those 3-inch swap blocks. Made by many quilters, using several patterns, there was a lot of variation in size in my 48 swap blocks. I realized that it would never occur to me to put them together in a freer style like this quilt, where no effort was made to line things up.

Speaking of my quilt, thanks for all the suggestions and feedback on my little quilt. I'm hoping to have it finished and hanging in my office on Monday.

If you're curious, here's the other Rosie Wilkins quilt that was for sale, labeled Rolling Star.



Yes, I wish I'd opened them up and taken photos of the whole quilt, but Carolyn–who wanted the photos–was more interested in detail shots of the blocks (which you can see here, here and here.)