QuiltCon 2013 and the New Era Modern Quilting

February 27, 2013 Alice Voss-Kantor

The inaugural event QuiltCon 2013, hosted by the Modern Quilt Guild, closed their doors on Sunday evening after a four-day celebration of this new art movement—Modern Quilting.

In addition to an impressive exhibition of the best quilts following the new movement, about 50 vendors were present to mingle and show off their great products, from fabrics, patterns, books, projects, sewing and quilting tools to sewing machines, amongst them our BERNINA models.

In partnership with the BERNINA store, Sew Much More , we invited event visitors of all ages and sewing skill levels to our booth to test drive our wide range of BERNINA machines. And some of them even took a BERNINA home. Congratulations, Amy, on your new 3 Series machine!

Next to the exhibit hall, QuiltCon attendees visited workshops, lectures, and demonstrations to add to their sewing and crafting skills.

The heart of the show, however, was the Modern Quilt exhibition. The selection of small and large awesomeness was presented in different categories, including Piecing, Appliqué, Modern in Miniature, Modern Traditionalism, Use of Negative Space, Improvisation and Minimalist Design, Fabric Challenge Maasai Mara Collection, and Handwork.

Here are just a few out of the different categories from a wide range of modern quilt art:

quiltcon 2013 - dream - 500px — Category Appliqué, small quilts: “Dream a Little Dream”, made and quilted by Angela Pingel, South Bend, Indiana, United States.

quiltcon 2013 - green swirl — Category Improvisation, large Quilts: “Impractically” made and quilted by Angela Walters, Kearney, Missouri, United States. Kansas City Modern Quilt Guild.

quiltcon 2013 - black-orange sawteeth 500px — Category Use of Negative Space, large Quilts: “Shattered”, made and quilted by Leanne Chahley, Edmonton, Alberta. Guild: Edmonton Modern Quilt Guild.

quiltcon 2013 pink circles — Category “Modern Traditionalism”, large quilts: “Double Edged Love”, made by Victoria Findlay Wolfe, quilted by Lisa Sipes., New York, United States. Guild: New York Metro MOD Quilters. Also won BEST IN SHOW!!

Another impressive part of the exhibition to me was Denyse Schmidt’s quilts. The former graphic designer and graduate from the Rhode Island School of Design, intrigued by the rich historical nature of quilts, changed the way we think about them. Her work reflects clean, spare lines, rich color and bold fabrics.

quiltcon 2013 red-orange 500px — Tangerine/Poppy by Denise Schmidt. New and vintage cottons, 2005.

I was also pleased to see that amongst all the advanced tools of the Modern World the handmade treasures aren’t forgotten.

quiltcon 2013 four patch plus 500 — “Four Patch” c. 1950-1975, found in Texas. Cotton, blends, corduroy, velveteen. Pieced and hand quilted.

All of you who followed my QuiltCon journey on Facebook got a sneak peek of what the event had to offer. Back in Chicago, I cannot stop looking at the great quilts on my camera.

Do I have a favorite, you ask? My favorite part of the exhibition was the witty take on the quilting art form keeping traditional American quilting techniques in mind.

I don’t want to miss sharing this part of happiness with you. So stay tuned for the upcoming QuiltCon highlights video I am putting together for you.

Best,

Alice