Group & Bee Quilts from QuiltCon – part 2

Yesterday we looked at a bunch of the Group and Bee quilts from QuiltCon. Today let’s finish them up.

To remind you, quilts in this category must be made by three or more people.

The third place winner was…..

“Exquisite Quilt #3” by Sacramento MQG

For this quilt, each artist was tasked with making a 9-inch block with a specific 1-inch connection point and color to use in the connection. Each person made their block without others knowing what they had created. I am amazed at how cohesive the quilt is!!

Of course, the quilting helps hold it all together (both physically and design)…..

The prompt for the next quilt was the prairie architecture school which includes Frank Lloyd Wright. They independently created some blocks and then got together to work on the layout. All names were placed in a hat and one was picked to complete and quilt it….no pressure there!!!

“Mid-Atlantic Mod Prairie” by DC MQG

When I first walked by this quilt, I just saw a jumble of striped fabrics but when I stepped back I saw…..

“Horse With No Name” by Victoria MQG

The use of the striped fabric gave so much more interest to the quilt….

This next quilt was foundation pieced by 100 guild members who were given packets with block patterns and fabrics…..

“Kaleidoscope” by the East Cobb Quilters Guild

I loved the quilting on this piece…..

It will be the raffle quilt for the “Georgia Celebrates Quilts” show coming in June. If you are interested, you can buy tickets here.

Sadly, my photo of the artist statement didn’t come out in focus, so I have no information on this quilt, but I certainly do like it…..

“Ready for the Gridlock” by Calgary MQG

This next on made wonderful use of striped fabric and tucks!!

“On The Verge” by North Jersey MQG

The leader of the project shared an image of an abstract tile wall and each member brought back a block based on the inspiration. Together they selected the blocks and techniques that they wanted to use and then worked on the layout.

I LOVE how this looks….

And the final quilt from this category is…..

“Casting Call” by Jacksonville MQG

Thirty-three participants were given the fabric and requested to make a hollow shape in any size or orientation. I love the variety!!

Okay…that is it for my take on the Group & Bee Category.

Tomorrow we will start looking at the Handwork Category…..lots of good quilts there!!

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Group & Bee Quilts from QuiltCon

Well, I hope that you aren’t tired of seeing quilts from QuiltCon because there are still a LOT to go!!

Today we are going to check out the group and bee quilts. Once again, I love seeing how groups of people work on a single project!! So let’s go….

This first quilt has a cool story!! The Central Ohio Modern Quilt Guild hosted a tent at the “Big Science Celebration”, introducing the science of quilting. Visitors could create a quilt block and many chose to take their block home. The rest were made into this quilt…..

“The Science of Quilting” by Lissa LaGreca and a host of helpers

It looks as if the visitors were given shapes that they could glue onto background blocks…..

Isn’t it amazing how a seemingly disparate set of blocks can look so good together!

The next quilt was made by quilters from the Charleston MQG. They used a palette of colors based on the Rainbow Eucalyptus Tree from Hawaii….

They were each asked to make a 12″x24″ improv block that used these colors and the keyword “Strength…..

“Colors of Strength” by members of the Charleston MQG

The blocks were varied….

….and interesting…..

….and the straight line quilting tied it all together perfectly!!

This next group use “Circuit Board” for their prompt, reminding themselves of how important current circuit boards are for staying in touch…..

“BeeConnected” by Ottawa MQG

While most group quilts are pieced separately and then put together, this next one was collaboratively pieced on a long weekend retreat in the Montana mountains……

“Elements” by South Bay Area MQG

Man, wouldn’t it have been fun to be a fly on the wall and watch this develop!!

This group used the constraints of color and shape to create their masterpiece. The artist’s statement said….. “Shape Salad is a great reflection of our friendship and what we share with each other: quirkiness, vibrancy and warmth!!”

“Shape Salad” by Toronto MQG

The first place winner in this category was…..

“Subtle Secrets” by Okangan MQG

The group members used two fabrics and made traditional blocks without rulers. Black batting was used to feature the seams and subtle color differences of the light blocks and to deepend the impact of the darker blocks.

The Art Deco architecture at the Atlanta QuiltCon (2023) inspired this group of friends to make their own Deco quilt…..

“Razzle Dazzle” by Austin MQG

Each person made a 12×84″ strip and then they met and arranged them. The ombre fabrics add so much shimmer to the quilt.

Lastly for today, I leave you with the second place winner….

“Essence of Sonia Delaunay” by various Individual members from Rutland, Vermont

Sonia Delaunay is a 20th century Frenchg painter noted for her use of strong colors and geometric shapes. Each member was to make a block that captured the essence of Sonia’s work.

The echo quilting added much to the design…..

That is half of them….tomorrow we will finish up this category!!

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Community Quilts from QuiltCon – 4

Yes, we have made it to day four of Community Quilts. I hope that you enjoy the last few.

My husband is a geneticist so I have seen this next design MANY times in my life…..

“Our DNA” by Seattle MGQ

It is an abstraction of a DNA sequencing panel that looks like this….

The question of whether you can do Improvisational Piecing and yet achieve symmetry is both asked and answered by this next quilt….

“Barely Controlled Chaos” by San Diego METRO MQG

This next quilt was based on the historical and architectural aspects of the makers’ city….Greensboro, North Carolina…..

“Shining a Light on Greensboro” by Greensboro MQG

This group from Silicon Valley did an experiment to see if AI could produce blocks similar to human creativity. The prompt read…. “Design a modern square quilt block using lines, angles, curves to depict an abstract or literal representation of the ocean, mountains, sun using Bella solid fabrics in Mauve, Prune, Dovetail, Pond, Teal, Canary, Saffron, Home Town Sky”. I am such a technology nerd that I LOVE THIS!!!

“Artifical Intelligence” by Silicon Valley MQG

If you want to know which ones were designed by AI, check out their blog post…..

Technology in Quilting—ARTificial Intelligence

Here is an up close photo of some of the designs…..

As my readers know, I love 3-D quilts. Sadly, I don’t know who made this one. If you do, please let me know!!

The quilting also drew the quilt to my attention…..

This guild cut kits for members to complete their blocks…..

“Crystal Lattice” by Lancastser MQG

And last, but certainly not least……

AND….sadly, I missed the maker of this one as well. I apologize!!!

Of course, I have to end up with some wonderful straight lined quilting…..

So ends the review of Community Quilts at QuiltCon 2024!! I hope that you have enjoyed the show and are encouraged to make a quilt that “does good”!!

Keep coming back and we will move to yet another category….there are bunch to go!!

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Community Quilts at QuiltCon – #3

Well, we have now looked at about half of my favorites from the Community Quilt division.

Lace up your comfy shoes….we have more to see!!

Twenty five guild members participated in the paper piecing of this design. The designer set out to represent radial and transitional symmetry…..

“Facets in Equilibrium” by Austin MQG

The quilting was quite nice too…..

The photo of this next quilt doesn’t do it justice……

“Striking Strings” by St Louis MQG

They worked with all 8 colors suggested by the rules and almost 100 members pieced the 6-inch string blocks!!

I took SO many photos of this next quilt….

“Good Vibrations” by Edinburgh MQG

Yes the quilt is stunning but the custom quilting is out of this world…..

I love the wonky striped blocks in this one…..

“Symmetricotious” by South Florida MQG

AND….it was HAND quilted….

This next quilt contains 700 individual blocks…..

“Come Together” by Inland Empire MQG

Members were given Kona cottons in the desired colors and were told to dig through their scraps to add interest. It worked!!!

This next quilt was also a favorite….not just with me but with all attendees…..

“Taking Flight: When Improv Meetes Symmetry” by Denver Metro MQG

Do you have any idea what this design was inspired by??

I won’t keep you waiting……HANG GLIDERS!!

The paper piecing designs are wonderful…..

While I like the design of the next quilt…..

“HMQGeese” by Houston MQG

….the quilting (called Imrpov Wonky Spiral Triangles) is what won me over…..

This quilt marked the beginning of the Rhein (Germany) MQG. They brought together over 100 quilerts to work on this quilt……

“Reflections 1” by Rhein MQG

Okay….one more day to go. Come back tomorrow!!

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Community Quilts at QuiltCon – #2

Yesterday we looked a number of Community Quilts from QuiltCon. Let’s keep going…..

Each of 4 Individual MQG members interpreted the word “Reverberate” and this is the quilt that was created….

“Reverberate” by Farrah Briggs, Erin Duane, Alexandria Kinney & Justine Wilson

This next quilt is all about finding that the whole is larger than the sum of its parts…..

“Oh my God, it’s filled with stars” by Central Jersey MQG

This one was a huge favorite of mine…..

“Symmetrical Quilt Wedges” by Brisbane MQG

Apparently, it started out as a Dresden plate that morphed to be wedges placed on a spiral. To keep it symmetrical, each of the wedges was drafted in inkscape and printed out for members to sew the foundation papers.

Some of the designs are phenomenal….

This quilt was a special project with the aim to teach many of their members how to paper piece…..

“Motion of the Ocean” by Jersey Shore MQG

I would say that they were successful!!

From the artist statement for the next quilt….. “Our finished quilt is a testament to our ability to work together, work through differences, and find common ground. In the end, we all loved this quilt”…..

“Plum Blossoms” by Baton Rouge MQG

To me, that attitude is what this challenge is all about!

The makers of the next one described themselves as “Neighbors, but strangers” who met when each heard the rumor that there was another quilter in the neighborhood……