In this new showcase I’m featuring four Modern Quilters that you will love!
Cecilia Koppmann
Cecilia was born and lives with her family in Buenos Aires, Argentina. In 1998 she entered the world of patchwork thanks to @patriciacaffrey. Since then, the sewing machine goes with her everywhere!! Cecilia works mainly with cotton and silk fabrics that she dyes guided by her deep passion and knowledge of colour. She loves to see how the colours are made. It’s like magic!
Her work has been exhibited and obtained numerous awards in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, USA, England, Mexico, Uruguay. In 2018 she was honoured with the ‘Rising Star’ solo exhibit at the International Quilt Festival in Houston.
Cecilia has been spreading the love for patchwork and quilting through teaching in her studio and around the world for 20 years and on television for 14. Since 2020 she continues to do so online. Her classes inspire a sense of belonging. From the very beginning, at the end of every year she requests fabric, a block or some other kind of piece from her students and assembles them in a collective quilt that illustrates that year’s community. The best know of these is “Birds”.
When the lockdown began in Argentina in March 2020 and with the motto “quilting together to keep it together’ (coser para no enloquecer) Cecilia launched the “Quarantine Quilt” (quilt de la cuarentena) project in social media. She taught, motivated and guided more than 600 women from 26 countries to become a supporting community while making a traditional quilt during 60 consecutive days. The virtual gallery ideated by her sister @clementinakoppmann features the quilters, their quilts and thoughts and was part of the International Quilt Festival in Houston 2020.
Margot Stephenson
My name is Margot Stephenson, she/her, I started quilting in late 2019. I’ve always felt like an artist but had trouble finding MY art form until I started quilting. I’ve always been someone that is deeply comforted by touch. I’ve found it to be such a relief to reconnect with soft materials.
Quilting is this exciting underappreciated art that’s been going on under our noses for centuries and it feels like I’ve discovered a treasure trove of passionate and beautifully talented people. All within arms reach on Instagram. In terms of color schemes: I like all colors all the time :). I’m envious of minimalists because their work is so streamlined but I always tend towards maximalism myself.
Lately, I’ve been drawn to natural dyeing and ice dyeing my own fabric so that I can get those earthy tones that I don’t always find commercially available. Recently, I went to Taos, NM and picked Aspen leaves with my cousin. I used those leaves to dye fabrics in my latest quilt and it brings such a nice memory and connection to that piece.
Annigna Senn
Hello! I am Annigna from Switzerland, owner of a small patchwork shop in Zurich for 6 years.
I was very fortunate to grew up in a familiy with lots of interests in art. Visiting museums was ‘daily business’. That’s how I learnt a lot about colour, colour combinations and designs. On a trip to Toronto back in 1999 I visited a quilt shop in St. Jacobs for the very first time and was taken in immediately. I knew that I wanted to sew a quilt one day! Back then I ordered a king size quilt which was shipped to Switzerland a few weeks later – all hand quilted! But it took another 14 years until I started…..
In 2013 I started a beginners class tought by Hanni Schmid, a well known Swiss quilter. She showed me different techniques and I learned all about creating my own patterns. My favourite technique is FPP. I love batics because they always work well together and their prints are kind of free. I tend to use fewer colours in one quilt, but I like the whole range from light to dark. Lately I started using solids more often and I am curious about my further ‘quilting future’. There are so many options!
My shop has a class room included and I am very happy to be able to teach patchwork and quilting every day. Quilt ladies are always great company!
Megan Moore
Hi! My name is Megan, and I’m the owner and creator of The Athena Workshop, a quilt and quilt pattern design small business currently located in Nashville, TN, USA. I learned to quilt when I was about 12 years old and I was helping my mom learn to quilt. I was always her “helper” in her sewing room, so I learned as she learned. To this day we always talk to each other about what quilts we’re working on, new techniques we’ve learned, and new fabrics we’re inspired by.
Ever since starting my own pattern design business, I’ve grown even more as a quilter. My style is very minimalist and modern, but not abstract. I love working with clean lines and shapes and bright, complementing colors. I find that I’m really drawn to pinks and red, which is odd because my favorite color is actually blue! When I’m designing a quilt pattern, I usually think of what kind of quilt I wish was already out there what elements I feel like I want to work with at that time, and what colors or color combinations are calling my attention. I also find lots of inspiration from the places I’ve traveled, lived in, or love.
I’m currently days away from becoming a new parent, so I’ve had to dramatically slow down the development of new patterns over the last few months, but I’m excited for this new stage of life and returning to quilt pattern designing once I reach a new equilibrium. I have several patterns ready to go that I’m really excited about fully developing and debuting with lots of wonderful new fabrics backed up waiting to be used. And beyond that, I have lots of exciting ideas about expanding my business, trying new things, and watching The Athena Workshop grow!
