Lobster

Personally I'd call that traditional. It's not as much white space as you can see in a modern quilt, and it's certainly no more than I've seen in many old-fashioned quilts. There's a long tradition of red and white quilts, often with a fair amount of white visible. Put "red white quilt" into Google Image and you'll see what I mean. Obviously this isn't just red and white, but it does seem to fit into that tradition more than any others.

Lovely quilt, by the way. Are you sure you don't want to do curves? Those generous white areas would be lovely for showing off some nice curvy quilting designs in red thread. Are you hand or machine quilting?

maminstl

I like this quilt way too much to attempt anything other that straight lines - my FMQ skills are not nearly good enough, and colored thread.... don't even want to think about how I could make a mess of that! I doubled the size of the block and put one great big one on the back - it's 48 inches, so need to consider that also, which is why I'm thinking straight lines.

BETTY62

A quilt is a quilt and I love them all... some more than others. I do not think people who make modern quilts are lazy, I think they just like that style of quilt better than the traditional patterns. If they were lazy, they would just go out and buy one of the cheap ones made in China that are sold at the dollar store and the big box stores.

MacThayer

I've seen Modern quilts that I've liked, and some that I didn't. I think it's a matter of personal preference. I also think it's a bold statement about the times in which we live. People are more pressed for time, so they make quilts that require few or no matching points or seams, or whatever. We are also living in a recession/depression. That has an impact. I think the more "minimalistic" modern quilts are a reflection of the economic conditions we currently living through. Quilting is an art; art is often a reflection of the society. I don't know anyone who hasn't reduced, or minimalised, their standard of living in these economic times, or who isn't looking forward to more the the same, or worse.

As for me, I have yet to make a Modern Quilt, although I've seen some interesting patterns. Just not my "style".

Lobster

You reckon? I'm broke and can't afford much fabric, so I spend a long time on each quilt, making something detailed. I see people making quilts really fast, and apart from the fact that it's just not my quilting style, I do sometimes wonder how they can afford all the materials.

I think that both modern and traditional American quilting have enough possibilities that you can make either a quick and easy quilt within that framework, or a difficult quilt that takes a long time. The same goes for the other styles of making a quilt. Not necessarily all of them: I've never seen a basic-level Welsh quilt, for instance, because Welsh quilting was traditionally done by professionals, so while the piecing is sometimes quite simple, the quilting is dense and fairly advanced. And I don't know much about quilting traditions from other countries, so I can't speak for them.

I think there's a tendency to think that quilting is just traditional American quilting. That's a very big genre, yes, but it's far from being the only one. Similarly, modern quilting isn't the only type of contemporary quilting out there.

Am I the only one who finds that a lot of modern quilting actually looks very retro?

littlebitoheaven

I love your quilt. The white spaces make the star pattern stand out. Really love it so if it is contemporary, I love contemporary. Great job. May have to put it on my to do list. Sigh!!!

justflyingin

The reason I asked about the difference between modern and contemporary is because I was given some old quilt magazines (early 90's) and inside are some pictures of quilts done back then-- possibly 20 years ago with traditional patterns but done in nontraditional colors.

So, I'm really confused, overall, with what defines "modern" and what defines "contemporary" and when did it all start?

If something was being published in a quilt magazine in the early 90s, but is now being done and said it is "modern"--can that be? Was the "modern quilt movement" alive in the early 90's?

nancylee

Hi,
There are lots and lots of modern quilters who crank them out - such as the filminthefridge.com lady. Lots of wonkiness, which I started with, but ended up not liking. I think she gets most of her fabrics for free. Others, like Faith from fresh lemons quilts, takes traditional patterns and does them in bright colors. She has been researching Nancy Cabot patterns, and making them in modern colors.

Personally, I got bored very quickly with the wonkiness, no straight lines quilting. Through Faith's website, I tried a few star blocks and had success and kind of got hooked. I love stars and any star type block. I love how they come together at the end. I started paper piecing after this, but that might just be a bridge too far for this ADD woman!
So I make traditional patterns in bright modern colors! I adore bright blocks with white sashing! I think that's my favorite!
Nancy

sewbizgirl

Your quilt is a lot more FUN than a bunch of perfectly matched points!

cashs_mom

I saw a lot of modern quilts at Quilt Festival in Houston and loved them. I even bought a book and a magazine featuring modern quilt patterns. I do a lot of wearables and I think that these patterns would work nicely for jackets.