By Ann Deister
The Boulder Modern Quilt Guild has made a QuiltCon charity quilt since the challenge first began in 2014. Making charity quilts has always been a large part of the BMQG’s mission and I’m thrilled to say we have donated more than 50 quilts over the past three years. For a small guild, averaging around 24 members, I think that’s pretty amazing!!!
Today I’d like to share the process we went through to bring Colorado Cadence to fruition.
When the color palette and theme were announced by
TheMQG, we talked about possible directions we could use to depict the idea of scale and agreed upon the color palette we wanted to work with. We also chose to use mostly prints rather than working with solids as we have done in previous years. Using the prints allowed us to use scale at the micro level within the design which gave the final quilt even greater variety and depth.
As chairperson, I developed a few ideas to review at our the next meeting. One of those ideas came from our President, Cynthia, who had seen an article about Roberto Burle-Marx, a Brazilian landscape designer. The article included this wonderful mosaic.
At the review meeting, everyone agreed the mosaic offered wonderful opportunities for exploring the use of scale. The next step was to develop the design. Squares and circles, structured through the use of color blocking, was the basis of our concept. The super large areas of color provided an additional level of scale beyond that within each block.
I started with big blocks of color which provided the larger scale element of the quilt. Then things were broken down into 12″ blocks and the basic design elements of squares and circles came into play.
More and more details were added which provided texture and variety. And with each progressive refinement more and more movement and rhythm was introduced to the overall design.
The layout was then broken into sections based on color and packets of fabric were pulled together that included a small amount of a solid plus a few prints. Participating members were asked to sign up for 2 or more blocks of a given color and to supplement with fabrics from their own stash. In this way we added even more variety to the quilt. Sewing assignments were designed to be flexible so those who wanted could add their own twist to their blocks. The main criteria was to stick with the color scheme and basic square and circle elements. This worked well for our group and we ended up with a little of both. Some made their blocks exactly as the diagram showed and others took liberties.
Over a 2 month period, members worked at home and during our monthly sew days to make their blocks. As the blocks came in, I put them up on my design wall at home to keep tabs on the progress.
All blocks were due in September. Then, during our October sew day, many people pitched in to sew the blocks together. By the end of the day we had not only a finished top but were well on our way to a finished backing made from the leftovers.
Our talented President, Cynthia, took everything home at the end of the day. She completed the backing and then worked her free-motion magic by quilting a variety of different motifs in the various sections of the quilt. We are so lucky to have her skills in the guild. She used her sit down Juki mid-arm machine. Look at all this wonderful texture . . .
By early January it was ready for the finishing touches. Label. Sleeve. Binding.
The vast majority of our guild participated in one way or another. THANK YOU, THANK YOU quilters for all your time and talents. I am so proud of you and our quilt. This picture shows many, but not all, of the quilters who helped.
Seeing Colorado Cadence hanging in Savannah with the other charity challenge quilts will be amazing. Many of our members will get to see it in person. While I won’t make it to QuiltCon this year, I can certainly vouch for how inspirational it is to see so many quilts, all sharing the same theme and colors, hanging together in one place. AMAZING!!! And all for charity. Quilters truly are generous people.
The Boulder Modern Quilt Guild is based in Boulder County Colorado. If you live in the area or even if you’re visiting, we’d love to have you join us. Evening meetings are the first Thursday of the month and sew days are the usually the third Sat or Sun of the month. We currently meet/sew in Louisville, CO.
