I love contemporary art quilts and the creativity that goes behind them.

I like both. Recently, I have started incorporating both into my quilts. It's fun to piece a quilt and then embellish...I make traditional quilts for most of my gifts but when I want to let loose...I play and see what happens...adding a little paint, a little bit of jewelry, a few pieces of yarn....is just plain fun for me. I have a hand piecing project for when I am traveling....I have several traditional quilts on the design wall that are slowly getting finished and I have two art quilts in progress as well. For me it's the best of both worlds.

Love modern quilt designs and am personally going in that direction. Like the balance between structure and openended-ness.

Mixed feelings!

I'm always disappointed when I go to an advertised Quilt show and find they are all Modern. Not that they aren't pretty, but it just doesn't sit right.
MK

I enjoy looking at "modern" quilts, and respect the artistry, creativity, and work that goes into them. For that reason alone, I maintain my subscription to Quilter's Newsletter Magazine. But for me, I am a traditionalist at heart, and all the quilts I make are from traditional patterns.

So I guess I sit on the fence and admire and enjoy the grass on both sides.....

I don't make them but often am WOWed by the ones I see.

I tend to make traditional quilts with off-beat fabrics.

I am not much into the modern stuff; but the nice thing about quilting is that you can do what you want, how you want. I don't ever plan to "show" my quilts and I am only trying to please myself and the ones that are receiving my quilts. There are such a multitude of patterns and fabrics out there that don't limit us to this Modern stuff. I just say "Each to his own".

I always told my friend Karen I would never quilt. I admired the work that went into traditional quilts, appreciated the time and effort, but they just didn't "move" me. Then she took me into a quilt shop! Who knew there was so much gorgeous fabric out there?!? But I was only going to make pillowcases. Then I went home and started googling, and stumbled on some modern quilts. Well, it was all over! That was almost exactly one year ago: I now own a vintage Bernina, two shelves of fabric, tools everywhere, and all I think about is quilts!!

So, if it weren't for modern quilts, I would have more money, more space, and fewer friends! :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

Any quilting is good, but I'm sticking with traditional. Just a personal preference and I have seen some great "modern" looks.

While reading all of your comments, I was thinking of the pile of old quilting magazines I have been looking though lately. Last summer I got a box, at a garage sale, of 1980-2000 quilt magazines. I find I flip through those pictures thinking I don't really like what they considered "modern". The magazines also had plenty of more traditional blocks that are still being used regularly in today's quilts. Each "era" will produce their own unique style of quilt. Someday, in the future, we will look back on today's "modern" quilts and say they were unique in their own way to that period.

I like most of the modern quilts. Some are really far out there though.

Holice, will you share your thoughts on the subject with us?

I agree with this! Everyone has their own taste and skill set. I have four children - all have different tastes in decor. My math/science son does not care for complicated decorations. Neither should I expect him to fall in love with the style in his lifetime. On the other hand, my oldest son loves cathedrals and elaborate decoration. It would drive him crazy if he lived in a Frank Lloyd Wright type of home.

The same goes with quilting. If you love the challenge of getting perfect seams and love the "traditional" blocks, then I would not expect you to be drooling over landscape or modern designs. Likewise, some quilters, like me, aren't thrilled with angles and straight lines. I really like curves and story quilts. Landscapes strongly appeal to me, but haven't made one - yet. I've done applique but don't really like doing blocks - but have done the applique in blocks. My last two applique designs are whole piece smaller projects. I'm not really into the asymmetrical types of quilting - to me it feels terribly unorganized, but to others, it is delightful to look upon.

There is room for all kinds of quilters and all kinds of designs. Quilting is appealing to more people because of the flexibility of design. It's important to know what style makes you happy. Isn't quilting an art that is to be enjoyed?

Very interesting thread.......happy quilting!!!


If you love traditional and have the skills to do accomplish them, then go for it!

I love to look at them, however, I make my quilts to cover my loved ones with love and comfort!

Me, too. Went to a quilt show in Cincinnati and was disappointed. But the venders were great!

What some call traditional may have been "modern" in it's day (1930's, '40s, etc). What we call modern today, could become the traditional of tomorrow. And,"art" quilts are another way to describe fabric put together in a special way. I love them all.

I think it just adds to the do what you feel in quilting. Sometimes we have to think outside the box. I do not like some of the newer modern themes but, everything is not for everyone.

Variety is the spice of life. There are more quilt fabrics & styles that I dislike than those that I like. That's fine with me ... it gives me great pleasure to see the "stunners", both the ones that I think I might be able to make and those that I know will be forever beyond my capabilities. I like the fact that quilters feel comfortable to express themselves and their personal creativity.

I think quilt shows should either have a variety of quilt styles or, if not, should indicate clearly what type there will be on display.

It is like modern art, I just don't get it. I am really drawn to the more traditional pieced quilts. I am also in awe of art quilts that actually look like something. But saying that, Modern Quilting has it's place, it is just not my thing.

I like it very much - I enjoy pretty much all types of quilting, modern included. ;)

Holice, lots of opinions here, so what do you think of this trend in quiltmaking?
:)

Thanks - I feel the same way - love it all!

I have a friend who does all her piecing by hand and then quilts everything by hand. She started doing hand-work because she and her husband were sailing around the world for a couple of years. When they finally settled on land and she bought her first machine, she ran the needle through her finger! She boxed the machine up, took it to Goodwill and says that she'll never touch the "devil's machine" again.

I love to visit art museums and look at the paintings from all styles and eras. There is something to appreciate from each. When DH would have business meetings in large cities, I would try to tag along and spend all day in museums. I have only been to one local quilt show and saw the Gee's Bend quilts at the Boston Museum of Fine Art.

When I take the time to carefully look at all styles of art or quilts, I deepen my knowledge of how to use color and balance in composition to create a piece that rises above ordinary.

Like an art show, if I were to attend one of the larger quilt shows, I would expect to see many styles of quilts of highest quality and spend time studying as many as possible. It should be an opportunity to learn new things.

This is wholly different than what I choose to make myself. There might not be a place for modern quilts in the decor of my house, but I hope that looking at the best examples at a quilt show would improve my craft.

Fabulous trend...going back to our roots.

I love all the styles of quilts and think there is room for each. I am lucky enough to have 5 generations of quilts in my possesion. The youngest being my son. Hopefully I can get a granddaughter or grandson into it also. During one of the estate things I was in charge of, I not only got several of my great grandmother's quilts, but also a pattern ordered from a newspaper in early 1920s. I also got her treadle sewing machine. She promised me that when I was 8 years old. I cherish all of these. Aneokle

I really think you have to sew what is in your heart. Everyone has a different reason for quilting. Personally, I like to quilt with a special person in mind. By the way, have you every noticed how many quilting ladies love animals?

I am new to quilting, learning on some of the traditional patterns, but what I dearly love are some of the quilts by designers like Katie Pasquini - especially her 3D stuff. I am so grateful that there are quilt artists out there of every type, from the traditional to the modern and all in between. Even if I flat out don't like the look of a quilt, I can admire the obvious work and love that went into it. Virg.

At the end of a long, cold day, I think the main thing to ask is....

Does it keep you warm on a cold night?

Does it comfort a small child when the wind is whistling through the cracks in the window?

Does it make the owner want to cuddle up in it's comfort zone?

Does it make you feel warm and loved when you think of the one who made it?

It's all good.

Isn't it nice that you can decide what you want to do at any time for any project? You can try a traditional pattern, a new pattern or your own.

I think it is hysterical. I am 52 years old and have been quilting since I was 10. I learned from my grandmother who has been quilting all of her life. I am trying to figure out when the "trend" started. LOL

For some time I was under the impression that quilting was a dying art...boy was I wrong. I love any kind of quilting and have never seen a quilt I didn't love. Modern or traditional....you gotta love 'em all.

I've developed a real appreciation for these quilts and their makers :thumbup: :thumbup:

I love it. I am a member of both the traditional quilt guild and the modern quilt guild in my area. The modern quilters think outside the box and I love what everyone produces.

I don't think of Gee's Bend quilters as "artistic" in the sense I think most people here are referring to which is deliberately arranging fabric (and now "embelishments") to make an outstanding design or picture. No doubt they were (and are) artist, but they were extremely poor and used what they could get to make a quilt of love, not of astounding beauty. The designs were innate and organic, like their music. Perhaps if you are beautiful enough on the inside it shows on the outside. Their quilts show us an ultimate in quilting in so far as with very little you can make an object of love and astounding beauty. They were not bound (could not afford to be bound) by the limits of blocks and yet they made those wonderful quilts... and thereby freed many of us who have been stuck within the block concept. Ahhhh, thank you lovely ladies from Gee's Bend!

It depends on the quilt. It doesn't matter to me if it is traditional, modern, pictorial, or whatever.. Just like other art, I like everything from Graffiti art, tattoo art, to Rembrant, some Picasso, Monet, Manet etc. Sculpture,painting, fiber art.
Good color and good design, well done is what is important.

I agree with you on making multiple #s of the same block. I enjoy sampler quilts for the variety and challenge each block brings.

I think it depends on the purpose if the quilt. For my bed, I prefer traditional. But if I do a wallhanging I would prefer it to be a little more "artsy".