Wednesday, January 30, 2019

KMQG QuiltCon Charity Quilt Challenge 2019: Friendship Bound


Each year, the Modern Quilt Guild issues a challenge for QuiltCon Charity Quilt submissions. For the 2019 QuiltCon in Nashville, the challenge theme is small piecing, and the color palette is


Last year, noted quilt historian and KMQG member Merikay Waldvogel observed that the work of KMQG members often reminded her of the wild creativity and inventiveness of the Tennessee quilts from the late 19th century that she and Bets Ramsey documented in their book, The Quilts of Tennessee: Images of Domestic Life Prior to 1930 (Rutledge Hill Press, 1986). That comment was rattling around in our heads when we learned of the charity quilt challenge for the first ever QuiltCon hosted in our home state. 2018 Events Chairperson Michelle Bolt reached out to the Modern Quilt Guilds in the state of Tennessee and invited them to consider using a historic Tennessee quilt from the book for their 2019 challenge quilts. Several guilds took her up on the idea.



KMQG chose as its inspiration the cover quilt, Friendship, made by Elizabeth Matthews Baxter in rural Cocke County, TN, in 1871. It seems to be an original pattern and is not found in documented encyclopedias of quilt patterns. With elements of fine points and curves as well as an interesting interplay between squares and arches, there was a lot to be inspired by!


The KMQG officers collaborated on a group design, starting with Founding Director and resident quilt designer Emily Doane, who extracted elements of the inspiration quilt and played with the scale. Together, the officers chose the colors and placement, creating a modern quilt design that riffs off of the 19th-century original. Using a combination of paper piecing and improv tiny piecing to create monochromatic slabs, members pieced the quilt at both a Saturday sew-in and our annual quilting retreat in Sweetwater, TN.





The result is Friendship Bound, a quilt made in 2018-19 that is inspired by Friendship, a quilt made in 1871.







Quilt stats:
"Friendship Bound"
Made by the Knoxville Modern Quilt Guild 2018-19
Designed by Emily Doane, Mary Beth Meadows, Jennifer Grace, Michelle Bolt, Christy Cooper, Sarah Elliott and Elizabeth Rea
Pieced by members of the Knoxville Modern Quilt Guild
Quilted by Jennifer Grace
Bound by Elizabeth Rea

Friday, January 25, 2019

January Meeting Recap

Thank you to everyone who joined us last Saturday! It was wonderful to see so many new and familiar faces at the first meeting of the year.  We covered quite a bit of information and had a great time.

Members filled out surveys with ideas for future programming. This information will be reviewed by the Board and will help us plan upcoming meetings and special events. Thank you to everyone who completed one!

There was a brief update on the  2019 KMQG Quilt Show. The show will be held at The Arts & Culture Alliance's Emporium Center on Gay Street. The opening will be Friday, April 5 and the show will run through the end of the month. Details were sent to members and more information will be posted here in the coming months.

We discussed the next quilt block to be used in our next charity quilt for The Restoration House.  Instructions for the Susannah Block and details, including the color palette and due date, can be found in this post.


Susannah block made by Elizabeth Rea


We took a few minutes to write down our 2019 quilting and sewing resolutions. This is an annual tradition for our guild. Each member lists 5 resolutions which are then handed over to the secretary for safe keeping until the December holiday party where we read them aloud and see how well we did. Prizes will be awarded for those who complete all their resolutions!

And of course we had Show & Tell!

We started things off with our completed 2019 QuiltCon charity quilt. The quilt is called "Friendship Bound" in honor of the quilt which inspired it. That quilt, named "Tennessee Friendship", is featured in the book The Quilts of Tennessee: Images of Domestic Life Prior to 1930 by Merikay Waldvogel and Bets Ramsey. 

Be sure to check out the spectacular quilting on our quilt by Jennifer Grace!

Friendship Bound


Pat Pike's Sampler Quilt from the 2018 Quilter's Planner


The back of Pat's quilt

Lori Gibson

Sarah Elliott

Sarah's last minute Christmas quilt

Misty Benson's Halloween blocks

Phyllis Dermer's mini quilt

Phyllis's cat blocks

Yvonne Fisher

Cathy Parks


Celia Shanks' house blocks

Erin Keegan


Ana Gonzalez

Next meeting: Saturday, February 16 from 10:15 to 12 at Westminster Presbyterian Church

Thursday, January 24, 2019

TRH Charity Block: Susannah

Hello!

The KMQG's next charity quilt for donation to The Restoration House of East Tennessee will feature the Susannah block:



The tutorial for this block is from Annemarie Chany and is available here:
https://www.annemariechany.com/blog//2013/02/sisters-ten-modern-bom-february-block.html. Please note that the tutorial has cutting instructions for two sizes -- we want the 12" finished (12.5" unfinished) block.

For a bright, cheery quilt, we're using this palette of pinks and greens, paired with white. Please use only solid color fabrics and ensure that all selvages have been removed. Blocks are due at the meeting on March 16.