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My first attempt at a modern quilt was the one I just finished for our new grandson Trey Michael.

Mommy had chosen navy, green and brown for the nursery colors, and she likes a more clean, modern look. So I decided to give it a try.

I chose a tan for the background, to match the walls, and began cutting out circles of the fabrics I’d used for the curtains. I added some other circles that fit the look, and stitched them in place using Sharon Schamber’s Piece-liqué technique.

I decided to “poof” the circles using a faux trapunto technique (perhaps a future blog topic 🙂 ). And did some really fast, simple and fun echo quilting.

Then I realized the trapunto poly batt circles weren’t anchored, so I did some quilting inside each circle too. Each circle was quilted, but the “wagon wheel” in the brown circle and the spiral in the green circle are the most visible.

I also quilted in his initial, the year, and signed the quilt on the front with contrasting thread. It was an easy and enjoyable process, and Trey seems to really like it!

When the top was done and it was ready to baste, I had an “aha” moment. I like to safety pin baste my quilts in a frame (it really helps to prevent puckers on the back). I did a blog post on this many years ago (click here to read about it). My problem has always been that my boards for the frame are king sized and it’s such a pain to use them when doing a smaller quilt. So Mike and I made a trip to the lumber yard and purchased four 60″ boards for under $6. Why didn’t I do this sooner? Well, it works great, and I can easily put the frame up in the dining room, because I don’t need a 12′ open area.

This project was a joy. I don’t think I’ll become a “modern only” quilter, but I’m sure I’ll try another one soon.

Are you a modern quilter? Would you like to share one of your quilts with us? If so, please send me a picture at:

And on a personal note –

This past week Trey turned 3 weeks old and Sommer turned 3 years old. We had her birthday party this weekend and grandma made her a princess cake (Belle) to go with the party theme. It was fun, but I think I’d rather work with fabric than frosting  🙂 !

The students in my Open Lab class at WCTC are always bringing in interesting projects to work on! This semester June Puls chose to create a winter quilt from the book: Snowfolk Friends by K.P. Kids (I did a web search and the book is out of print 🙁 ). The quilt contains rows of delightful snowpeople and winter designs that are meant to be created using fusible web appliqué. In brief: each little piece needed to be traced onto fusible web, fused to the correct fabric, cut out and put together on the background fabric “jigsaw puzzle” style. There were so many tiny parts to the snowpeople row June was a bit overwhelmed:

So I suggested using Repliqué. Repliqué is the technique from my first 2 books: “Repliqué Quilts” and “Snuggle & Learn Quilts For Kids”. I know that many of you own one of these books, but perhaps you hadn’t thought of using it for this type of project! In brief: the pattern is traced full size, each part of the design is stitched directly onto this tracing from the pattern side, turned to the fabric side, trimmed close to the stitching and then the raw edges are covered with with a satin stitch finish. June seemed skeptical at first, but is now a believer!

She’s a very talented quilter and she did an amazing job! Everyone in class was very impressed:

All of the other rows in the quilt are much simpler (she tackled the tough one first). Some are pieced, but June says the other appliqué rows will also be Repliquéd!

Just about any pattern written for fusible appliqué can be Repliquéd. Also, photographs and children’s drawings can also be recreated in fabric with this technique. And one of the best benefits is that the quilt keeps a soft “hand” because there is no added stiffness from the fusible web.

Have you used Repliqué in a unique way? I’d love to hear about it!

I’ve just returned from a very enjoyable weekend teaching at the first annual Sewing and Quilting Expo held at UW-Platteville. There was a nice variety of presenters, great vendors and entertaining evening programs. Next year’s event will be held June 10th & 11th and I highly recommend it! I wish I could post a picture of some of the fun, but alas, I forgot my camera :-(.

It’s time for my next “topic of the week” and, since I just did a Saturday lecture on Repliqué and it’s fresh in my mind – satin stitching seemed like a good choice. This machine stitch is made by increasing the stitch width and decreasing the stitch length. It can be used as a design element or to cover the raw edge of an appliqué. Of all the ways to appliqué, this is my favorite. So much so that I’ve written 2 books on the subject!

Do you like to do satin stitch  appliqué? What do you like/dislike about it? Are there questions you have on how to improve your technique? Do you have a tip to share?

I’d love to hear from you. I look forward to any comments and will address them as well as some of the questions I hear most often from students in my Thursday post!

PS Yesterday my son, Brad, graduated from Madison Media Institute with a degree in audio engineering. It was a proud moment. If you happen to know of any job leads in the area of sound production or recording, please let me know :-).