Last week I showed some street pictures from our Bainbridge Island Quilt Festival and a couple of my favorite quilts. This event is sponsored by the Bainbridge Island Modern Quilt Guild and Esther’s Fabrics. The quilt show is open to any quilter wanting to display their quilt, but many of the quilts are submitted by members of the Modern Quilt Guild. “Modern” quilts typically have a large amounts of negative space which is often white, and they tend to lack borders. The patterns are often large, relatively simple, and in bold colors. Here are some examples of quilts that I would regard as “modern”.

The quilt of the left, Polka Dots, is made by Tammy Abuan and quilted by Gladys Schulz. Tammy used a pattern, Raindrops, designed by Kimberly Jolly, Sarah Price and Jocelyn Ueng. The polka dot fabrics in combination with the solids make a great 3-dimensional boxy look and it is nicely done.  On the right, Kathy’s Taking Turns, was made by Kathy Loveless from the pattern Taking Turns, by Monica Solaria-Snow.

These zig-zags make a striking statement and are made more interesting by the variety of fabrics of each color that are used. This quilt, Last But Not Least: A Quilt For My Angel, was made by Dawn Weber and quilted by Gladys Schulz. I love the quilt on the right, Double Trouble Take Two, made and designed by Katie Pedersen. Katie writes, “I created this fun quilt to show alternative layouts for my Double Trouble workshop. The technique merges traditional half-square triangles and improvisational stitch-and-flip triangles. I love the boxy effect of turning the blocks on point and mixed use of fabrics from my scrap bins. Even the little bits can be salvaged.” This seems like a great technique to try and I like the use of scraps for a fresh and contemporary look. Using five large Double Troubles and four smaller ones makes a strong visual impact which is appealing to me.