Gwennie Inspired Medallion - STAR round reveal

This month we worked on round 4, a star themed border as chosen by Katy.  Check out her blog - lots to see!  If you are wondering what this medallion project is all about, here is how it all started with these five quilters choosing each theme in turn:

Lori at Humble Quilts  (center - May) - BASKETS
Yours truly (second - June) - CHILDHOOD
Cathy at Big Lake Quilter (third - July) - LOG CABIN
Katy at KatyQuilts (fourth - August) - STARS 
Wendy at The Constant Quilter (fifth - September)


For this star round, I knew I'd make casual stars (confession: I hate that other word, wonky)


but I also wanted to introduce some asymmetry, so how about some swirls:







And how about some little minimal row houses...



Will add some sashiko swirls/smoke sometime I think...



This might be shaping into a "starry night" quilt...



So far so good.... except that I have run out of this deep dark indigo.  This quilt has been harder than I'd expected (oh!  improvising isn't all easy breezy!) - I've been swimming in "problem solving" mode, which is both agonizing and exhilarating I suppose!




Speaking of swimming, he he, our next and final round - "something fishy" - was chosen by Wendy (the constant quilter).  She writes:

Being from Maine, my theme choice for the final border is
“Something Fishy”

As with those who have gone before me (Lori, Cynthia, Cathy and Katy), you can interpret this asloosely as you like. Here are a few examples:

Clamshells

Scallops

Fish fabric or appliques

Sea birds (they eat fish!)

Marine mammals (they eat fish too!)

Lighthouses (they see fish)

Boats (they catch fish)

Ovals and triangles (i.e. fish shaped)

Tartar Sauce – what???

I'm so excited to see what everyone comes up with. 

I will edit this post with a link to Wendy's post here.

Wendy, challenge accepted!  Fun theme... and I need to decide whether to wait for David to pick up more indigo in Japan... or whether a plan B is in order.

Link up on Lori's blog to show your progress with the Medallion.  So much creativity out there - freedom!  All kinds of quilters!  All kinds of quilts!  Thank you Lori for pulling us all together!

xo
Cynthia

Vermont Quilt Festival - Gwen Marston "Less is More"

One more post about the Vermont Quilt Festival.

One highlight for me was this striking exhibit of Gwen Marston's small quilts.  Stunning, stunning, stunning, and snapshots don't convey the glowing beauty of these pieces.

I was lucky enough to be around for Gerald Roy's gallery talk through Gwen Marston's "less is more" exhibit.   He was such a good communicator and I came away with a greater appreciation for color theory, and a feeling of wanting to learn more.

My mental notes:  Low contrast.  Interesting texture created by the quilting.  Solids.  Study the color wheel!  Less IS more.  

Totally inspiring!  

If you are making a Gwennie Inspired Medallion, tomorrow is the day we will share our CHILDHOOD borders and learn what the July theme will be!  I will put the linky up here first thing in the morning.  If you aren't caught up, no worries, just share what you have so far! 

xo

Cynthia 

Gwennie-Inspired Medallion Group - round one!

I have been wanting to:
1.  Make a medallion quilt
2.  Make a colorful improvisational quilt
3.  Just insert some easy fun into my quilting life

Then, Lori of Humble Quilts put out a request for ideas for collaboration with other bloggers... and I'm happy to say that five of us are teaming up to make "Gwennie-Inspired Medallion Quilts".  Yay!

I ordered Gwen's Liberated Medallion Quilts and I'm loving it!  Pure fun and inspiration.  (hint: Martha Washington knew how to improvise!)

In our Gwennie Inspired Medallion Group we will each have a turn determining the theme for one round of the quilt.

Here we are - and we are all making a start today:

Lori at Humble Quilts  (center - May) - BASKETS
Yours truly (second - June)
Cathy at Big Lake Quilter (third - July)
Katy at KatyQuilts (fourth - August)
Wendy at The Constant Quilter (fifth - September)


Can't wait to see how everyone interprets each theme.  May's theme is BASKETS as set by Lori.

I'm going to make this quilt "freehand" as much as possible, with contemporary fabrics.  FREE AND EASY.  I favor reproductions but sometimes these kinds of gorgeous modern fabrics call my name.  I went to one of my LQS's last week "for just a few solids" with this project in mind...  but came home with this (you know how it goes):

Checking the value/contrast with the black and white camera view.  Need more light-lights.

That wild print brings me back to my childhood!

Want to join in?  We would love to see what you come up with!

Here's what to do in May:

1.  Make a "liberated" (your definition of liberated) BASKET center for your medallion quilt.

2.  Check back in on June 6th for show and tell, and to get the second round's theme!

Have fun!
xo
Cynthia