Musings on quilting

Have been musing about quilting. I see the new "modern" quilt trend as an extenuation of Depression Era quilt. So many quilters think of pastel wedding rings and grandmother's flower gardens. They were just the most common patterns people used. Partly because they had the time to hand piece due to reduced incomes, more time at home and the desire to return to a past that lived mostly in nostalgia. Many of these quilts were best quilts and weren't given the used of everyday quilts. This is why so many have survived in such great condition.

However, there was so much more during the 30's and 40's. Many innovative blocks designs influenced by art deco style and the burgeoning quilt industry. Most of these blocks I have never seen in actual quilts. I think the designers were ahead of the times. It seems that many of these designs are still being consigned to oblivion. Mainly, it is lack of availability of these blocks that keeps many of them unused. Personally, I could spend the rest of my life making variations of Nancy Cabot blocks.

Then as now commercial patterns and those published in women's (today quilting)magazines are the most commonly reproduced. Block and quilt patterns need to appeal to many people to have the publisher of the pattern to make a profit.
This is not bad and I applaud those who make businesses out of their quilting skills, but it does narrow the field of choices. There are still many choices a quilter has to make a pattern her/his own. This is good too as it helps many people feel creative with the bounds of their imagination.

When many of us started around the time of the bicentennial calicos were the mainstay and then with better dyes and printing techniques patterns on fabric went wild. Then came designer fabrics, it started slowly and has snowballed in to coordinating lines of fabric which help most people with color choices. Now the movement has turned to solids as a reaction to busy, busy prints and quilts with little contrast. Finally a place to rest the eye before moving on to other parts of the quilt. Glad I saved all those solids from years ago, but I will have to say I didn't think they would ever come back.

In recent the reproduction fabrics got browner and browner. So the quilts got mushier and mushier. It seemed like a was to escape color choice. No quilter from long ago wanted a brown quilt; you lived with brown all fall and winter why wouldn't you like to have a colorful quilt to brighten a room. They loved color!! and they had such a limited palate. They mostly used white muslin to add some contrast to make the design pop out. There are even those who defied convention in their quilt designs (probably in utility quilts) and look as though they had fun. I think they would be appalled to see their common designs so dull when there is so much color out there. They loved Turkey Red, used Perkin's Purple (mauve from first aniline dye)and embraced the new dyes plus old dyes like indigo and madder. They loved printed patterns and were delighted with the new calicos available to everyday women.

Now we have the "modern" quilt movement. A movement away from brown and very busy prints to a modern group of pastels. A very interesting group of coral pinks, aquas, neither too yellow or too blue greens. They do appear very fresh and refreshing.
The prints remind me of the 50's and early 60's.

Also, their seems to be movement beyond the conventional block pattern ( blocks that are not symmetrical or use different shapes like a diamond). Interestingly the blocks are often put together in grids with or without sashing. There is more improvisation within the "block" format. Many of the "modern" quilters are young and have absorbed the best of the 30or so years of quilting. I understand the feeling of wanting to "break away" from the past, but we all stand on our creative foremothers shoulders. The new builds on the past and pushes it farther along, but there is so much in the past worth keeping that it doesn't go away. You just see a new perspective. After spending much time studying old quilts and their history, there isn't anything that someone else hasn't tried. It follows the old saw the more things change the more they stay the same.

Interestingly too, the blocks that people are making are vaiations on known patterns: Dresden plates, log cabins,shoofly, crosses, free-pieced squares,
Again new ideas are sprouting from quilts gone by. They have changed perspectives and added to the creative spirit of all quilters. I think quilters will be around for a long time to come!!

fresh, modern quilts

I have added a Flickr site called Fresh, Modern Quilts. Lots of great quilts to see and get inspiration and expand your horizons. This is where I began to think differently about how I want to change my quilt making. Check it out!!!

Trends

So I have noted several trends. I do see some on the young quilters doing some blocks, but I also realize that most use the patterns available to them. I am a collector of books of quilt blocks. I have a large resource to draw from. So I have a lot more to be inspired from. However, there are parts of these noted trends that I will incorporate into my quilting---solids, lighter colors, more improvisation and the newer graphic prints and large prints. So many of them make me think of when I was first on my own. I bought everything for the kitchen in turquoise.
The other part of trends seems to be Moda, who seems to have the largest number of collections. I have never been crazy for the grayed out look, but they have a large of followers. Have been buying an French quilting magazine, Quiltmania. They are into the more grayed out colors and lots of little pieces. So there is room for everyone.

A post on noted trends in patterns. There seem to be lots of rectangles, half square triangles,blocks that are like Winter Reflection--a center square with frames around it, 9-patches, strip piecing, Bento Box Blocks. Very simple piecing with the fabric itself playing a major role. Some of this, I think, has to do with limited amounts of time to quilt,the need to make quick gifts (lots of baby quilts)and a lot of sewing for home decor. But a lot has to do with the reaction to traditional block and quilt patterns. To invent a new look for quilts you would need to simplify things, because complex patterns have already been done and redone. These younger quilters also do not generally have the sewing history of older quilters nor interest in quilting history/heritage. I think it will come with time, since as we grow we become more interested in what has happened before. History/heritage seem so distant when you are young and busy with little ones or starting a career. It will certainly be interesting to see where quilting goes. By the way, these are trends and comprise a subgroup of quilters. But trends either fade away or become widely accepted. You just can't tell.

snow in january

The first significant snow fall. I took a picture of the view from my dining room of my backyard. It looks pristine and serene. However, the squirrels will soon make their little footprints all over the yard and I will make a trip to the composter. For now I will just enjoy its beauty.

new quilting

From the quilts I've been seeing on my Flickr groups, there is a trend toward large widely spaced prints, solids, and lots of lights, meaning white. It seems this is a trend among young quilters (under 35). I also see it catching on with some of us older quilters. They often do not use patterns, but if they do, they are using comtemporary quilt patterns (not traditional blocks). Is it time to try some new ideas? I will never give up blocks, but I could branch out. I would like to expand my horizons. Onwards and upwards!!!!