I am a sucker for a good quilt challenge. There are projects I never would have developed without a formal challenge encouraging me to focus on a particular palette, block, or theme. My favorite such events are those hosted by the Modern Quilt Guild for display at QuiltCon.
The MQG usually releases the details of two challenges during the summer, when my creativity and productivity are low, low, low. The result is a harried fall, when I try to get a project or two over the finish line before QuiltCon submissions close. It’s not an ideal schedule, and because of that, there are many years I don’t sew anything for submission.
What you see pictured here is Folk Heart, the quilt I made for this year’s Ruby and Bee challenge. Tara Faughnan chose the six colors, and participants had to use at least three of them in a quilt top.
I spent a long time spinning my wheels with these fabrics. At one point, I was determined to work with applique, figured out how I could create a particular design, and then abandoned the idea.
For me, the key was to stop thinking about shape and home in on the palette. Once I decided to place red hearts on a black background, it was easy to imagine them in off-set columns of chunky half log cabins with misplaced cornerstones.
I quilted Folk Heart with a big X and then echoed the quilting lines in each quadrant of that X. I finished by hand quilting one color in each block. The picture below shows some orchid cross-stitches and blue running stitches. Elsewhere in the quilt, there are little Vs on some of the red hearts and diagonal running stitches on some of the black backgrounds, among other embroidery motifs.
Although I didn’t set out to create a project that reflects my Pennsylvania upbringing, I think Folk Heart does just that. The juxtaposition of so much blue and black reminds me of Amish attire, and the hearts are reminiscent of Pennsylvania Dutch folk art.
Unfortunately, Folk Heart was not juried into the show. I know a lot of people were discouraged by their rejection emails. Honestly, I would have been more surprised if Folk Heart had been accepted. There’s a QuiltCon aesthetic, and this isn’t it!
I realize that, as time goes on and I delve deeper into pattern design and sales, the less modern I’ve become. I still love big blocks, negative space, new takes on old classics, but it’s a spectrum and I’ve inched away from the modern design that initially captured my quilty heart all those years ago.
I usually encourage people whose projects aren’t accepted to submit the next year, but I’m convinced QuiltCon isn’t the right venue for Folk Heart and will save myself the application fee. : )
Do you ever submit to shows? It’s not really my thing, but it sure is fun to attend an event and see my work on display!
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