Wednesday, May 8, 2013

the new modern quilting?

There has been a lot of talk in the last few years and a bit of a movement called modern quilting. I find it strange to use this term "modern" over and over again throughout the years. What is modern?

I remember reading about the "modern housewife" from the 1950's who stayed at home to take care of her household, her husband and the children. She would have a drink for her husband as soon as he walked through the door, his slippers and the current newspaper. The daily tribulations with the kids would not be discussed in order to shone her husband the extra stress. Now, by today's standards, this is anything but modern. So, I think the term is always relative and should be given some sort of anchor like 20-ten modern, 21st century color blocking or something else. The actual term will probably be printed 20 years from now. Were the 1980's called the "Big 80's" back then?

Thinking back through the centuries to see the pioneers in quilting who were probably kicked out of quilting circles, because they were doing something different, innovative, or just not normal. What did people think about the women of Gee's Bend? There was not a lot of 5x7 layouts nor were there written patterns to follow. Yet we have those available for mass public. Look for a true pioneer in our decade - their talents will probably not be value for many years to come.

Think about the women who sewed applique quilts in the 1920's or in the 1930's when they used primarily pastel colors such as pinks, green, and white. How is that really different from today? In the 20-ten modern we are using white, gray and lots of solids to make geometric designs. I tend to think the geometrics come from the 1950-1960's. Does our current movement come from a combinations of those decades?


How do YOU feel about the current movement or trends? I wanted to go "modern" but stopped and told myself to find my own style. I could classify myself as "rustic modern" but don't really think I should put myself in any "Schubladen." I love to mix it up. I love color. I love traditional. I love spotting trends. I love to learn new techniques. I love a challenge. I Iove to design. I love to share my knowledge and experiences.

Stay true to yourself and quilt/sew/patch according to YOUR tastes. Be aware of the trends and most importantly, make your own!

Karen Ackva signing out. Have a great day.

7 comments:

  1. Also ich meine jeder sollte das machen was ihm gut gefällt, wie sich das dann nennt ist nebensächlich.
    LG
    KATRIN W.

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  2. Da hast du aber in ein Wespennest gestochen -
    well maybe not directly related but - my music Prof just "ranted" for most of Monday's lecture about not to use terms like "classic" or "baroque" when talking about music - there is no such thing. Those terms "Schubladen" are always made up to give the general audience something to hold on to when they enter a complex world.
    Well I guess you could say the same about quilting - yes sure it makes it easier to call modern quilts modern (maybe minimalistic would be a better term? or background quilts? as they seem to put so much emphasis on the negative space) anyway they make it easy when you present the quilts in a show to someone new, who has no idea abotu the matter.

    Well I always say I do what I like - I guess some would fall under what's called modern, some use traditional patterns with today'S fabric other use traditional fabric with todays patterns ... well you see no chance to classify it really.

    One quilt should always be looked at as an itemn in connection with the other items of the maker and in connection with other quilts made at the same time and with quilts made in the same way in other times.

    I better stop now - I could go on and on and on about the uselessness of making "schubladen" ..

    Hätt ich eigentlich auf Deutsch schreiben sollen? Ich übersetzt das jetzt aber trotzdem nicht.

    Grüße an Schwaben aus dem Pfälzer Exil.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, Leo for putting so much thought into the question!! :-) It excites me when I see others really thinking and most importantly sharing their ideas/thoughts. Keep on patching!

      Delete
    2. Ohh lucky me - if I hadn't gone to check out who's the new Member at doll Quilters MonthlyI would never have seen the reply - that's something blogger still needs to work on - it really should inform me about replies to my own comment.

      Well I never see the use in writing comments along the lines of "That's very nice" "I agree" - I admit sometimes the replies become a bit lengthy. Aye and the point of comments is to comment on somethign in the post - sometimes with the "That's nice"-comments I have the feelign people never really took the time to actually read the post.

      O yeah - Welcome to the Doll Quilters!

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  3. Welcome! to Doll Monthly, I joined in January and Love it!!....so much fun to meet other quilters and do a quilt for them and receive one back!!

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  4. I'll add my 2 cents. I'm just getting into this quilting stuff and (being brutally honest here) Out of the thousands of quilt blogs I haven't seen much in the way of true original imagination. I've spent the last couple days working on a Hoffman Challenge of my own design and cruising the quilting blogosphere. This era of 'modern' quilting doesn't appeal to me at all. I have no idea what category or era of quilter I fall into. A lot of work goes into making a quilt so I don't begrudge anybody of the effort they put into the quilt, but if I didn't know how much work goes into a quilt I'd label the 'modern' quilt era we're in now as lazy and unimaginative. Ok off the soapbox...Looooong day.

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