This quilt was inspired by the ceramic coaster that my cup of tea rested on while I was sewing. It is based on the Mariner’s Compass pattern, one of the oldest quilt patterns that echoes a wind rose diagram used for navigating the seas In the 13th century. I hope this quilt is a helpful inspiration for finding your way through life.
I designed the quilt using Electric Quilt. I had a few different design ideas in mind and made a test border block. I used Foundation Paper Piecing to sew all the pieces together which helped with accuracy. The center was a bit of a challenge because so many points are meeting in the center. The appliqued center piece solved the problem.
I am quite satisfied with how the quilting came out on this one. I tend to rely on my pantographs, but I knew this one needed some custom quilting.
This quilt was displayed in Boston City Hall along with an exhibit by the Boston Modern Quilt Guild March 2024. My Eclipse Quilt was also on display. I also exhibited these quilts at the BMQG Show in September of 2024.
The Boston Modern Quilt Guild has quite a few quilts on display at the Morse Institute Library in Natick, MA until the end of December.
We had to put the show together quickly so I grabbed some of my latest creations for consideration. Four of my quilts are on display. 3 of the 4 are Minnies and 3 of them are improv quilts. Definitely having fun playing with improv these days.
Jane Stickle finished her quilt in 1863. People are still enchanted and challenged by her unique quilt blocks. Even with all of my modern gadgets and fancy machines I still had a lot to learn from Jane. Could not have managed to get through all of the blocks without help from the Jane Stickle Group lead by Pat Kowalczyk at Quilters Common, which met for 4 years starting in 2013.
Checkerboard Skew Revisited, 2020
In 1973 Beth Gutcheon included this design in her book “The Perfect Patchwork Primer”. This book inspired quilters to take a fresh look at quilting and her designs are still making us ask what is a modern quilt and showing how timeless modern is.
Seeing Red, 2020
Are you seeing a red and white quilt? This is actually a pink and white quilt, but color is often a matter of opinion. The design is based on a half scale Fibonacci sequence used to determine the width of strips used. I borrowed Ricky Tims Convergence technique and sewed the strips together, rotated and then cut strips again.
Seeing Red
Storm, 2020
During the pandemic I found myself trying a virtual workshop. I took Mid Century Modern with Carole Lyles Shaw. This is improv to the max. You start out with a big pieced circle and then you just keep slicing, relocating and adding. I posted my progress online and Carole commented that I should keep slicing! At some point I was satisfied with my slicing and this is the stormy result.
Process Color, 2019
I wanted to work with the four colors of ink that I am always feeding my printer to see how bold they might look together. I had been playing with the Ricky Tims Convergence Quilts style so I went from there and here is the result.
Hope, 2020
I am working with a group of ladies in the do.Good Stitches Hope circle of quilters. We are an online community working through Instagram and Flickr to design and share quilt blocks. I designed this quilt, collected the blocks and put this quilt together. It is always amazing how the quilts come together with just a little bit of prompting for fabric selection. The rainbow of colors gives us all hope for less cloudy days ahead.
The following contributed blocks to this quilt: Sherryl Barnum, Jeanine Conner, Angie Fitzreiter, Heather Flegel, Cath Hall, Christie Kline, Suzy Lampman, Susan McKinney, Jennifer Mendola, Sarah Terry
Garden Trellis, 2020
This is another one of my Stack and Wack quilts with a new more complicated block that makes the quilt look like a Garden Trellis. I have a pattern for this quilt and was scheduled to teach it at Quilters Common, but then suddenly everything changed. Hopefully I can get back to teaching classes later this year!
And here are two Group Quilts that the BMQG have put together:
“Orange You Glad We Made This Quilt?” and “Shattered” are group quilts created through distanced and virtual togetherness. The design process began with a group brainstorming in a park. Participants then made curvy starter-blocks using materials provided by the guild, followed by a virtual workshop where the starter-blocks were altered by random prompts. The improvised blocks were brought together at a backyard design session where two quilt designs emerged. Although the two quilts were made from improvisational blocks that were essentially the same, the resulting quilts were very different. The process was truly collaborative and fun.
Orange You Glad We Made This Quilt?, 2020, Long Arm Quilting by Rebecca Loren
Shattered, 2020, Long Arm Quilting by Patrice Denault
I finished this quilt a couple of months ago on my long arm.
The back of the quilt has a few of the blocks, too.
I am still saving my scraps and sorting them by color, but maybe I should throw them all in together and try a different approach next time! No matter what, it is a great way to be thrifty and also environmentally green. Reuse, recycle, and don’t waste any of your precious fabric!
The Boston Modern Quilt Guild is making charity quilts this year and members have been asked to donate blocks made with fabrics that are from the same color family. The quilts will then be made with a rainbow of the different color grouped blocks.
I came up with a strategy for my blocks which involved sorting all of my fabric scraps by color and then selecting strips from each pile and sewing them together.
After sorting the strips I trimmed them so they were all about the same length and so that each strip was a uniform width, but the strips are various widths!
Then I sewed them together.
For the blocks that I decided to make I made sure that the pieced strips panel was 38″ long and about 15″ wide. This is enough to make several blocks. You do need a 38″ long strip for the log cabin block featured in this article.
Trim the uneven edge and don’t forget to save your scraps that are too small to sew with. These will be the stuffing for a pillow!
I cut my pieced strips 3 1/2″ wide and some are 2″ wide.
One of the block designs is a log cabin block. This block uses one of the 3 1/2″ wide strips with other fabric scraps. The center is a 3 1/2″ square bordered with 2″ strips.
Sew the strips and then trim them to the correct size. Use a square ruler to make sure your cuts are correct. The center block will be 6 1/2″ square.
Then continue adding the 3 1/2″ wide pieced strips. Sew then trim to the correct size as you go. Once the block was larger than 6 1/2″ I got out my 12 1/2″ ruler to trim the block.
The block will be 12 1/2″ square when completed. These are two of the blocks:
.
Here are some made with purple and green strips.
Of course I got carried away and will be making a lot of these blocks, so I will make my own quilt with these blocks. Usually I would use all different colors, but I really love the idea of using strips that are in the same color group. The finished blocks are sublimely wonderful.
The Boston Modern Quilt Guild is displaying their quilts at the Fabric Place Basement in Natick, MA. The quilts will be on display each weekend starting January 31st through February 15th. Here is what they are saying about their quilt show:
“The Boston Modern Quilt Guild is a group of people who are passionate about modern quilting, patchwork, and sewing. The guild is holding its annual quilt show this year at Fabric Place Basement in Natick MA. The show will run for several weekends and is open to all quilters and to everyone interested in modern quilts and quilting.
Over 50 quilts will be on display at Fabric Place Basement each weekend from January 31 through February 15. Guild members will be there to answer questions, serve as ‘white glove’ ladies (although we do allow touching; we’re modern, after all!), and conduct demos.”
LOCATION: Fabric Place Basement, 321 Speen Street (Cloverleaf Mall), Natick MA
DATES: Each weekend from January 31through February 15.
TIMES: 10:00 am – 7 pm on Saturdays; noon – 6:00 pm on Sundays.
Just a quick post to Thank Yvonne for the gift she sent me for the Boston Modern Quilt Guild Gift Swap. Yvonne didn’t make it to the meeting, so she sent me a box full of goodies … a perfectly crafted fabric basket for organizing things, a pin cushion that has programmed stitching which says “Patrice loves to Sew” (yes!!) and a jazzy, roomy wristlet wallet. But then there was more … the rest of the buttons used for the basket and also a bar of scented soap! Thank you, Yvonne!
And also thanks to Jenn for organizing the whole swap!
Here is another picture of the basket, which I have already put to work, along with the rest of my Goodies:
I decided to participate in the Modern Quilt Guild’s Michael Miller Fabric Challenge. My plan was to fussy cut some blocks and then improvise from there, although I must admit my improvisation ended up taking place on my drawing pad so that I would have an idea of how much fabric I would need to surround my blocks. Does that mean it is not really improvised? Can there be no planning with improvisation? Perhaps not!
I am calling this quilt the Garden Continuum. It is 48″ x 64″. I used all 6 of the fat eighths provided and I think I made good use of them. I used 2 yards of fabric for the background and the binding, and also added about an eighth of a yard of a solid green fabric.
In keeping with the theme of the quit, I went with edge to edge swirly quilting so that the garden blocks blend in and appear to be floating in the continuum!
I used Patricia Ritter’s Bauhaus pantograph for this quilt. I know, I know, I should have just free motion quilted, but I am a big wimp and do not trust my skills for keeping things even and consistent.
I want more time to practice and play! But, I am happy with what I have accomplished with this quilt.
