Quilting the New Classics

"...a single quilt does not exist in a vacuum.  Every quilt is tied to past quilts and past traditions, to other forms of visual culture, to its maker's ancestors, to its future use, and to all the stories we collectively tell ourselves about quilts...Every quiltmaker and every quilt is part of this ongoing conversation of adapting, innovating, and contributing to a larger, more beautiful whole."

from the foreword by Janneken Smucker

This quote from the foreword of Michele Muska's new book eloquently sums up the philosophy behind her new book, Quilting the New Classics.  Michele chose 10 traditional blocks and asked a group of quilters to interpret them in both a traditional and modern way with a touch of each quilter's personal stamp resulting in an eclectic mix of beautiful quilts.  I am happy to be a part of Michele's book and I am also proud to be a contributor to that "more beautiful whole."

There are ten traditional patterns featured in the book.  Each has its own chapter and Michele shares a brief history of the pattern along with historical examples and then a traditional and modern interpretation of the pattern along with instructions for each.  Whatever your quilting aesthetic, I'm sure you'll be able to find a design in this book that will intrigue you.

My assignment was a modern interpretation of a log cabin block.  I was paired with the incomparable Pat Sloan.  You can see our quilts side by side on the back cover.  My quilt, Hot Flash, is a minimalist interpretation of a log cabin and you can guess the inspiration from the title.  The quilt is lovingly subtitled, "My Hubby Wears Wool Socks and a Sweater in the Summer". 

When you get your copy, be sure to check out Michele's beautiful yoyo quilt made with Kona solids.  I never thought I could fall in love with yoyos, but that one intrigued me for sure.  I also loved Elisa Sims Albury's interpretation of the Bear Paw with her mama and baby bear blocks.

I am the last stop of the tour for Quilting the New Classics.  If you'd like to win a copy of the book, please leave a comment on this post by Wednesday at noon central time.  I'll choose a winner from the comments, or you can purchase a copy of the book so you'll be sure to get one.  

My greatest takeaway from participating in Michele's book, is that we don't own these designs and techniques, we share them, and we should be encouraged to use, adapt, redesign and put in our personal touch as we make what we love.  

The rest of the tour is listed here in case you want to hop around and check out everyone's thoughts on Quilting the New Classics and don't forget to listen to Pat Sloan interview Michele this afternoon on Pat's radio show.  Enjoy!

Oct. 20th Michele Muska

Oct. 21^st Leslie Jenison  

Oct. 22^nd Janneken Smucker   

Oct. 23^rd Valerie Bothell 

Oct. 24^th Kaari Meng 

Oct. 25^th Elisa Sims Albury 

Oct. 26^th Heather Jones 

Oct. 27th Victoria Findlay Wolfe

Oct. 28th Amy Smart 

Oct. 29th Jackie Kunkel 

Oct. 30th Pat Sloan 

Oct. 31st Shelly Pagliai  

Nov. 1st Allie Aller 

Nov. 2nd Kristin Omdahl 

Nov. 3^rd Jacquie Gering You're here now!

Nov. 3^rd Pat Sloan 4:00pm eastern time  American Patchwork and Quilting radio show!

Comments are closed.  Winner announced tomorrow!