New Inspiration and I Finally Learned What "Modern Quilting" Means!!

I managed to get some good quality quilt vendor shopping done while I was at the Wisconsin Quilt Expo in Madison WI last Th-Sat.!! My two lectures and my Portrait 101 Class all went well and am glad to take a little break from the deadlines and do a "no brainer" quilt. I found the floral on the lower left and fell in love because of the fall color combos and I love flowers especially sunflowers. I had been showing a few of my Convergence quilts in my lectures and realized it had been about 10 months since I did one. So I found three fat queaters in orange, gold and olive to add to the floral for the Convergence quilt. I have a great Kaffe Fassett spripe for a small border and at Pine Street Quilts yesterday, while working, I found two olive greens to use as the borders. I'm pumped to start this after the GB Packer replacement hat project (next post!)

This photo shows some of the embellishments I picked up at the Expo-Fall/Halloween themed buttons from Nancys Notions, paper flowers in a box from Ragspun from Brandon WI. This shop is very primitive and "not me" in colors but her embellishments rock and the owner is a sweetheart!!. The small bag of iridescent fall leaf beads are from The Bead Ranch in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Sherrill, the owner, is so helpful and she remembered me from last year. And the plastic box of bead is from Akonye Kena from Canada which distributes paper beads made in East and West Africa. Since Ceesay is West African I was intrigue!. The guy wore a heavy weight duck fabric kilt with combat boots which got my attention. So I hope to use these four items as embellishments without overkill. I am not sure if I will add a portrait like line drawing with raw edged fused applique. I will let the quilt speak to me!

The term Modern Quilting has been popping up in quilt magazines, at the quilt expo and online and the people I asked couldn't give me a definition of what it meant. Someone suggested going to the Modern Quilt Shop vendor booth at the Expo because the man there would be able to help me out. And he did-it is a simplistic version of tradional quilt blocks or applique. Usually one background fabric and few block fabrics/very simple child-like applique pieces. Any borders and sashings are removed similar to many art quilts-no embellishments also. Very functional-almost like modern art paintings. Do I like it-not for me because I like complicated not simple but to each his own. This vendor was very friendly and helpful!!