Well, I decided that this “old, grayed quilter” would see if it was possible to make a modern quilt. Guess what, I made my first modern quilt and liked it, even had fun doing it. All quilted now and ready for binding…ugh! This started with several groupings of pieces of fabric exemplifying a study of space. Then I decided that even though I had just used old stash without much consideration of color, I didn’t want to waste my efforts. So..here it is. It does look better in person but hopefully it will pass the “modern” movements inspection. Either way, I called it ugly when I started and have grown kind of fond of it now.

Bee Happy…Karen

Well, even though I’m one of those “gray haired old quilters” I am intrigued by the modern quilters movement. I have been watching and reading about modern for a couple of years now. I love the bright, clean colors and the clean quilting lines. I’m intrigued by the movement but really have trouble seeing the wide divide between “traditional quilters” and this modern movement. Our “traditional” quilt guild is so receptive to all types of quilting, traditional piecing, appliqué, art and innovative, so many techniques, the more the merrier. Our members range from age 9 to age 90. Anyway, just rambling and wondering why the quilting world, always such a friendly place, seems to be morphing into a “them and us” group.

Meanwhile I am starting to work on a modern quilt, at least one that I would define as modern, lots of negative space, more solid colors than I normally use, and it is a challenge. I love jumping out of my box and exploring this movement. Here is a pic of my beginnings… This is just a grouping of various blocks that were a study in space and shape. I intend to slice and dice them into more shapes and set them in a sea of plain white then play with textural quilting. I’ll post as this project progresses. You never know I might dip dye my hair before its all over!

Meanwhile here’s a traditional quilt I just finished, just fun! Good job Keeley!

Have fun and Bee Happy! Karen

…to change a light bulb? Well, have you ever put such mundane things off (like changing a light bulb) just because you don’t want to stop your sewing/quilting project? The answer is only ONE, I just had to stop long enough to do it, after all the bulb(s) were in the potty room and the hall to the utility room, NOT MY Sewing room! Who needs light in those rooms? Anyway, light has come back into the Shively house!

Meanwhile back at sewing I have been quilting away, making memory pillows for some middle schoolers, and making my way through an Art For Quilters online class. So much fun and so little time!

Thought you might like to see the memory pillow project. Quick, easy, and another option for a favorite t-shirt. I used my trusty serger and an embroidery machine, but, of course, you could use a DSM and even hand embroider. First cut through the t shirt straight up the side seams. In this case I used a 12 inch square ruler and fussy cut the artwork. Mine was too big so I had a great natural spot to cut another piece as large as possible, using the natural hem of the shirt. Then I used the back piece to cut another square about two inches shorter. These pieces will overlap and provide the back of the pillow pocket. Just sew around all four sides and you have a cute memory pillow. Hope these pics give you a better idea. First pic is finished pillow, second shows the front of the T-shirt cut into two pieces, the third was the original tshirt before I cut in apart, and the last is the finished pillow. Super simple and took less than ten minutes (not counting the embroidery of course).

Back to having fun. Hope you get a chance to try the pillow. In this case I used a 14″ pillow for stuffing, no backing on the shirt, worked perfectly!

Bee happy…Karen