My Experience at Quiltcon!

When I first heard about the Modern Quilt Guild I was a little skeptical. I grew up learning how to sew from my mom and her friends who are all very traditional quilters. I am a southerner, and we like traditional down here in the south. I never in a million years would have considered myself a modern quilter…until now.

My early impression of modern quilts were quilts that didn’t take much time or talent to make. Boy! Was I wrong! I haven’t been this impressed by the work, the artistry or the enthusiasm at a quilt show in a long time. The modern quilter is a girl (or boy) who isn’t encumbered by some of quilting’s silly “rules” or patterns. The modern quilter looks at a traditional design, like Flying Geese, and does this:

The definition as to what makes a quilt modern is a bit loose, but my personal observations are that a modern quilt uses lots of negative space, uses fresh colors and places an emphasis on the actual quilting. The quilting of these quilts at Quiltcon in Austin, TX were amazing. Here are just a few of the examples.

Sulky sponsored the hand quilting category of this show and I couldn’t be more happy with the winners’ quilts.

Here are close ups of each quilt as well.

While we were at the show, we met lots of great people, saw some long time friends and I even got to meet one of my favorite quilting stars, Liz Porter!

Overall, this was a fantastic show. The passion and energy of these quilters was contagious. I must admit, I can’t wait until next year!

Happy Sewing!