Category: General

We had a fantastic time at our first meeting of the new program year, which runs through June 2025! The energy in the room was palpable as our theme for the year—Color—was in full swing, and it was amazing to see our members’ vibrant personalities and creativity shine through.

The meeting began with a bit of business, but once that was out of the way, we dove right into the fun! First up was a brilliant presentation on Color Theory by none other than Kate Gawler. Kate, a true expert in all things color, shared her wealth of knowledge, drawing from her experiences in art school, her years of quilting, and one of her go-to resources, “Color Harmonies” by Augusto Garau. She really opened our eyes to how thoughtful color choices can completely transform our quilt designs!

Next, we were treated to a dynamic presentation on Color Wash Quilts by Karen Wood, Veronica Seratto, and Susan Duval. Their tips, tricks, and examples were so inspiring. And Sue even gave us a live demonstration of how to turn our own scraps into a beautiful color wash quilt! The highlight of this segment was a group activity where we all worked together to lay out squares into a cohesive color wash design—such a blast!

Of course, no meeting would be complete without Show and Tell, and our talented members wowed us again. From stunning improv self-portraits to scrappy creations, color wash examples to intricately pieced masterpieces, it was a treat to see everyone’s hard work and creativity on display. Whether new or returning, our members truly inspire each other with their amazing work!

We’re already looking forward to our next meeting on October 5th at Hope Baptist Church, Manchester (726 Western Ave, Manchester), where we’ll be diving into Thread Play with Dan Pelish (machine), Anne Gould (machine), and Dominique Healy (hand). Remember it’s a SEW DAY! So bring your machine (don’t forget the extension cord & foot!), free motion foot, basic tools, and three small sandwiches to practice on. and It’s going to be another great session, and we’re always excited to welcome new members—so if you’re interested in joining, don’t hesitate to reach out, we would love to see you.

Our program year starts the first Saturday of September. Take a look at the Meetings page for a list of our 2024/2025 Program Year, it’s going to be exciting.
Our theme for the year is “Color” and we have a couple special programs (via Zoom) planned including a Trunk Show March 1 with Timna Tarr (@timnatarr) and February 1 a discussion on how to photograph quilts with Kitty Wilkin (@nightquilter)

If you have been thinking about joining our group this is the year.

The photo below is one of the two charity quilts our guild made in our 2023/2024 program year!

Hello everyone! Hope everyone is war, and safe today.
Because of the Nor’easter and the significant power outages , damage to our communities, and potential risk from travel we have decided the best course of action is to cancel our April 6th meeting.
Stay safe and warm everyone and we hope to see you on May 4th.

Maine Modern Quilters has had a busy couple of months.  As a statewide guild we are excited to split our year into in person and virtual meetings. As our guild approaches the hundred- member threshold we would love to share our love of modern quilting and friendship with anyone who would like to explore the world of modern quilting, let us know if you are interested.
During our February meeting after we shared our future project plans and show and tell
including the second of our “mini quilt” series.  Many of these 24”x24” quilts will be on display at the Maine Quilt show in July!  Afterwards, members Ann Ball and Kate Gawler (with Karen Wood providing tech support) led us in a workshop where we learned the interleave technique.
We had great fun together in this zoom meeting learning a new technique which creates a dynamic, fun, and unique block from two simple ones.  
In March after sharing our favorite quilt designers Carmen  Dickinson, Karen Wood, and Heather Walters led us in some tips and tricks around Foundation Paper Piecing (FPP).  Although many of us have experience in FPP we all learned something new and were able to share our own tips and tricks and learn from each other.  
Also, in February a dozen of our members attended QuiltCon in Raleigh, North Carolina.  During our March meeting they shared some highlights from the convention and their favorite quilts from the show.  Seeing such amazing quilts was an inspiration for all of us.   If you are interested in Modern Quilts, we would love to share inspiration with you.

Maine Modern Quilters Members at Quilt Con 2024

February Show and Tell

March Show and Tell

The Maine Modern Quilting Guild has been busy the past couple of months and are looking forward to a great 2024!  As a statewide Guild we are excited to host some of our meetings by ZOOM each year to allow participants from all over to join us for a few winter meetings. 

Our January meeting was via Zoom and was a Virtual Sew and Tell.  After a short business meeting we spent the time sewing together and sharing projects we are currently working on.  As always it’s an inspiration to see all the work our members are doing.  Colorwash quits, improv projects, data driven quilts, some quilt inspired clothing, and more!   We talked about our favorite tools, lots of techniques, and all learned a from each other, all while getting in some stitches.

Our December meeting was our annual Holiday Party and as always, was one of the highlights of the year!  We shared some good food and had a wonderful Show and Tell.  We spent some time saying THANK YOU to our outgoing President Kate Gawler, VP of Membership Carmen Dickerson, VP of Special Events Ann Ball and Co-Secretary Sandy Boland (thank you to members who donated for their gifts).  We also played some games and shared our first Mini Quilts.   This year we are doing a series of three 24×24 Quilts which demonstrate some of the attributes of modern quilting.  For our first project we all used “Minimalism” and “Bold Use of Color,” we hope you will take a look at our group display at the Quilt Show in July. 

If you are interested in Modern Quilting we are a state wide guild and are happy to have you.  It’s not too late to join and still a lot we will be doing this year.  In March we will be doing a program on foundation paper piecing; in April a Sew and Pass along project; in May a round robin of finishing techniques; and in June we finish our program year with a picnic at Winslow Park in Freeport.

Happy Quilting!

Hard to believe that Labor Day is past but the beginning of September marks the beginning of a new programming year for Maine Modern Quilts! It is going to be a great year filled with friendships, skills, and inspiration. Please see the Meetings/Events tabs for a list of planned programs for our 2023/2024 year.
We would love to have you join us!

On the eighth members of the Maine Modern Quilters joined a ZOOM meeting. We had a lot of fun sharing and having a Sewcial! During our sharing members shared their favorite resources which will be shared on this website as a “Resources our Members Love” page, which is now linked in the side bar of the website.

Some of the highlights of the meeting included seeing progress on the Harmony Quilt (used by permission from Curated Quilts (Issue #18)) which we are making as group to donate to local facility supporting children transitioning from Foster care. (More details and photos when it is done!)

Our member Veronica Serrato shared photos and the story of a recent trip to Mexico where she explored Otomi Embroidery and visited with makers in Pachuca Mexico. The art she shared was beautiful, as was the story of a community using art both as an economic engine but as a driver of community. You could not have heard her story and not wanted to go visit this amazing place and these amazing people.

After Veronica’s short presentation we had our Sewcial chatted and shared what we are currently working on, as always the talents of our members shined through. Whether sharing progress on our recent collage project session, a mystery quilt BOM, or a gift for family the diversity of modern quilting and creativity & talent of our members shone through.

As always if you are interested joining us or learning more about our group please reach out!

you choose the cover of Issue #5.

From the website of The Modern Quilt Guild:

Modern quilting is a new and rapidly growing movement in the quilting world. A group of quilters applied their current tastes and points of view to this traditional craft and shared their work online.  Their fresh approach and new designs attracted sewers and quilters and the modern quilting movement was born.

Modern quilting, like all art, changes, grows and adapts from quilter to quilter as they find their own voice. Modern quilts reflect each quilter’s personality and personal style, and as the movement has grown, a modern quilt aesthetic, a set of principles that define and guide the movement, is beginning to emerge.

Modern quilts and quilters:

Make primarily functional rather than decorative quilts

Use asymmetry in quilt design

Rely less on repetition and on the interaction of quilt block motifs

Contain reinterpreted traditional blocks

Embrace simplicity and minimalism

Utilize alternative block structures or lack of visible block structure

Incorporate increased use of negative space

Are inspired by modern art and architecture

Frequently use improvisational piecing

Contain bold colors, on trend color combinations and graphic prints

Often use gray and white as neutrals

Reflect an increased use of solid fabrics

Focus on finishing quilts on home sewing machines

Modern quilting has its roots in rebellion, in our desire to do something different, but simultaneously its feet are firmly planted in the field of tradition.  Modern quilting is our response to what has come before.  We are quilters first, modern quilters second. There are however, characteristics that set modern quilters apart from our traditional and art quilting friends.

Modern quilters are a diverse group of woman and men, young and old, experienced and novice, yet each of us feels the need to differentiate ourselves as modern quilters by how we work, the fabrics we choose, and the aesthetic of our quilts. We create in a way that supports our individual creative needs and our lifestyle preferences.  Modern quilters resist the imposition of hard and fast rules for making a quilt.  We pick and choose traditional techniques and methods that work for us and at the same time feel free to redefine or reinvent what is possible and allowable in making quilts.

Modern quilters have embraced the new options available in textiles: bold colors, graphic prints, larger scale prints, and Japanese fabrics.  Much like the Amish quilting tradition, many modern quilters are also exploring quilt designs made exclusively with solid fabrics or with just a hint of print.

The Internet has played an integral role in the development of modern quilting.  Through blogs, online tutorials and social media the modern quilting community interacts, providing inspiration and friendship for each other.  This has helped the community grow at an astounding pace, providing feedback and support at a moment’s notice.

In many ways, modern quilting has taken us back to the basics of the early quilters, when women of the day used the colors and styles of their time to express themselves creatively while finding friendship and community along the way.  Welcome to modern quilting!