In this new showcase I’m featuring four Modern Quilters that you will love!
Betsy Vinegrad
A member of the North Jersey Modern Quilt Guild @njmqg, Empire Quilters @empirequilters and Garden State Quilters @gardenstatequilters and I have been sewing for longer than I care to admit. I started my career as a patternmaker and technical director in New York City’s fashion industry making the designer’s sketch a reality. I turned to quilting, in part, because quilts don’t have to fit. I am a self-proclaimed workshop junkie, fabric hoarder and gadget guru. I am inspired by other quilters, have written patterns for magazines and teach locally, mainly because I love to share tips and techniques I’ve learned over the years.
Kathy Cook
I’ve always been a maker, dabbling in all sorts of creative pursuits. Knitting, scrapbooking, embroidery,
beading, metalworking jewelry, sewing for the home, I’ve done them all. When I found modern quilting
eight years ago my dabbling days were over. Newly retired from teaching middle school, I jumped right
in.
At the beginning I bought so many prints! Designers who used geometric shapes and simple palettes of
two or three colors were my favorite. And text prints! I have a lovely stash of those sitting next to all the
other prints I abandoned when I found my true love, solids. I enjoy the freedom of expression and color
play solids bring to my practice. Currently I’m using lots of golds, pinks and blues in my work, but I’m not
afraid of any color! An amazing workshop at Quilt Con Savannah by the color genius @tarafaughnan
forever changed my ideas about color!
From the start of my adventure I designed my own quilts. Creating something that is uniquely mine gives
me so much joy. Shapes I see in nature, architecture and mid century design inspire me. I do a lot of
sketches on graph paper to capture an idea but not an entire quilt. My design wall is where the quilt is
realized. Improv is my favorite modern quilt design element, but I like to work slowly. It takes me a long
time to make final decisions on a quilt. So many possibilities!
When it’s time to quilt I usually go for matchstick in straight lines or curves. I prefer the look of heavily
quilted, but in simple designs, using a variety of thread weights and colors. After completing the
machine quilting, I’ve been using perle cotton to hand stitch. Adding more shapes and echoing lines to
create movement is the perfect finish.
I’m so appreciative of the IG modern quilt community. The friendship, inspiration and support I receive
is invaluable. Thank you, Carolina, for inviting me to share.
Kim HyeanYoung
Just 2 months ago I started Instagram to enjoy modern quilts. A few days ago Carolina asked me to introduce my work to you everyone. Before I upload my works on Instagram, I also think it’s a good opportunity to organize my story.
I live in Busan, Korea. It’s surrounded by beautiful sea. I’m just starting modern quilt. I have been selling modern fabric online over a decade. (My shop specializes in contemporary design fabric.) I met quilts by unusual reason. In 2003, my husband started business importing fabrics and stuffs for quilter from the US. Beautiful fabrics, art quilt books, and I were in touch of lots of quilters Even though I have worked with him for long time but didn’t try sewing until 2011. I think I took it for granted. For the first few years, I sewed myself. In 2011, I took my first machine quilt class.
Most of my quilts was for my family. I enjoy small works and making quilt blanket and sometimes I do works for the art quilt Exhibition in Korea.I became much more interested in sewing by art quilt studying with my friends. Traditional quilts was not for me. I was really happy when I met Modern Quilts first time. I liked the free formation, the bright colors and the sophisticated composition. It gave me new interests as well as vitality.
I like to create geometric patterns, non-conventional things and modern portrait quilts. I love improvisational sewing. Using very vivid solid fabrics, typographic and simple patterned fabrics. As well I really love b&w combination. I like to create and reconstruct stripe patterns, so the quilting line is simple to stand up straight line. The combination of symmetry and asymmetry is the most important thing in the design of the work.
As I said before, I’m a beginner. I love art quilts, so I work on them, but modern quilts have another one. Artquilts can be expressed emotionally even if they are a little clumsy. Modern quilts requires more delicate & complicated skills. From now on, I want to study deeper and wider, much more Modern Quilts. I am very happy to introduce my quilts for you every quilters in other countries.
Cristina de Miranda
I’ve been crafting and creating since my early years watching Art Attack. A tactile world of color, pattern, and design opened up before me when a colleague introduced me to quilting in 2018. I quickly dusted off my sewing machine and replaced construction paper with a plethora of designer fabrics. Today, I’m totally and irreversibly immersed in a whimsical world called Ships & Violins. The brand’s name refers to the exceptional craftsmanship and timelessness of those objects – a reminder to bring the same care and attention to my own craft every day.
My designs are bold, asymmetrical and dynamic. Foundation paper piecing is my technique of choice a it allows me to bring my modern designs together with accuracy and ease. In my current project, the #ConstellationsQuiltSeries, I’m exploring negative space and secondary designs.
I’m based in Toronto, Canada, and work from my home studio where my husky-shepherd, Maia, keeps me company.
