I've always felt that quilting is more about art than sewing. Certainly, there is a place for meticulous craftsmanship but there is plenty of space for the rest of us too. Angela Walters, mentioned by lascatx, is excellent for all kinds of instruction. Two more favorites, both on YouTube, are Leah Day and Missouri Star. Have fun with it -don't worry about it being perfect.

This site can be a good jumping-off point for all things modern. Modern Quilt Guild

Thank you, Lascatx!

Missouri Star is a great resource for all things quilting. I've watched a number of Jenny Doan's videos. Also a couple from Jordan Fabrics. There is a ton of information on the internet. Leah Day sounds familiar, but I cannot place her. Will have to check her out. Thanks for the MQG link.

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I love to buy quilts!

I find instructional videos very soothing (and often I enjoy learning about a hobby more than actually doing the hobby, unfortunately) so I will check out the tutorials!

Just for fun I watched a very in depth Tula Pink tutorial on English Paper Piecing (my friend is very into foundation paper piecing so I just wanted to know what the heck it is). I am so far from wanting to attempt it but I sure loved watching the video!

Forgot the link: https://youtu.be/CzTBbxHsj9Y

I started watching that video last night. I've heard Tula talk about loving paper piecing, but had not seen that. I was surprised that video was just 2 years ago -- she looks so much younger, but she sounds just the same. I want to do her butterfly quilt someday, and fully expect that at least parts of it will require paper piecing. I started a bag to use as a way to learn it, and I decided the fabric the person wanted to be used didn't work with the design, so I switched patterns and the piecing one is still on my to do list.

My YouTube watch history went from that to “how to sew a straight line” which I’m sure is very confusing for the algorithm 😂

Robo, paper or foundation piecing and English paper piecing are two different things! I love paper piecing but don’t care for EPP. I’m not much into hand piecing.

Donna

Robo -- LOL Sounds like my life

Donna -- I know they are different, but I can never remember which is which. From what I THINK I remember, I expect to agree with your assessment once I get there.

Donna - now I’ll have to find more videos to watch! Thank you.

Wall hanging update! Piecing is about half done.

(My artist friend’s work, not my own)

Robo,

I love, love, love your friend's quilt! This is a good example of what I mean when I say that quilting is more about art than sewing. The color choice and placement in that quilt are everything.

And yes, paper piecing and English Paper Piecing (EPP) are two different things. Paper-piecing is done by machine. EPP is done by folding a piece of fabric around cardboard templates, basting in place, and then hand stitching the pieces together and removing the cardboard template. I'm making my daughter a king-size quilt using this method, in a pattern called Grandmother's Flower Garden. I've already worked on it for a few years and will probably spend another few years on it. This sounds overwhelming even to me, LOL, but I can do it in the car while riding on a road trip, or on the sofa while watching a movie with my DH, so it fits into my life in some ways more easily at times than sequestering myself in my sewing room for projects using the matching.

This is not my quilt, but it's an example of a Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt like the one I'm making.

I wish all my GWer friends who are interested in quilting lived close by. I've taught a few friends here, and it's been so much fun to watch them really take off, and in a few instances, surpass me!

I wish I knew some quilters near me. I think learning would be easier and more fun -- and I'd probably make time for it more easily. It's so easy to push to the back burner when no one else is involved.

Lascatz, quilters are everywhere (like motorcycles).

Check around — town and community newspapers, library, organic food stores, bakers. Look up fabric in your area. You might spot quilting fabric and supplies. Ask there.

Robo, what a fa tastic looking modern quilt.

And thanks to everyone for sharing their ideas and projects. Years ago I was trying to figure out from looking at the reverse of a piece of vintage quilt how it was assembled. Looked like origami to me. I figured it out then made a simple small quilt for the back of a chair. Turkey red, ivory, some blues — a simp;e 9 patch with HSTs.

Thn I made a potholder hang think from the scrapos. Ten I made another small quilt. I used to look at a lot of quilt projects and patterns, then modern quilts. I bought fabric. But Bestyears is right. It is about art and color.

Well, my friend really did it now. She let me go through her box of 6” squares and I seem to have a work in progress on my hands.

(It’s very scrappy as her squares were a real grab bag and the prints feature birds and insects).

I had an impromptu quilting retreat (aka, sleepover) at a friend’s house! She has a lovely huge crafting room with a water view.

Got all my hst blocks squared up arranged, then took two red sets out and made new orange ones that matched better 😂 now to piece.

this friend has a neat layout wall where the quilt blocks just stick as you put them up! Great on my old knees and back.

You can see why the red had to go. i really enjoyed picking a layout for all these blocks.

I settled on somewhat scrappy diamonds. Each block features either birds or insects.

squaring up with an ocean view and coffee at 6am.

Wow, robo, that's looking awesome!!!! One trick my quilting friends and I have learned: Even when we think we are satisfied with a layout, we take a photo and study that. Amazing what different impressions we often get. And then we look at the photo in black-and-white. It shows the value more clearly than a color photo does, and again, suddenly we have a different impression.

Okay, I have one teeny edit to your layout. I realize this is very personal and you didn't ask, so fair warning -if you would rather not hear it, stop reading now!

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In your second column, you have two nearly identical teal-colored blocks. (rows 2 and 5) Because they are somewhat unique, I think you might regret having them both in the same column. But as I said, feel free to disagree and/or disregard!

Wow! What a great way to start something! And ocean view and coffee -- a friend to work with. Sounds like a great time -- and a productive one.

I like your quilt and what a nice craft room your friend has! I also do a little quilting and learned that you can make your own temporary quilt wall by hanging a vinyl tablecloth that has a fuzzy backing, with that fuzzy side out. The fabric sticks nicely to the fuzzy side and you don't always have to have a quilt wall up. Happy sewing!

Thanks so much for the great tips and feedback! Yes I really have to move that turquoise block, good eye! Whole layout needs some work. I sort of threw the HSTs up there to work on the blocks of four, was shocked how well they came together, and then couldn’t resist randomizing them a bit for a sneak preview of the whole quilt!!

Oh the agony when I accidentally put the same type of HST with two different blocks and then had to re-pair a bunch of blocks to make it work…

PS @Bestyears I LOVE feedback! At all times! Except....post quilting. Haha. Although I'm far from that step.

Robo, your comment about "the agony... and then had to re-pair" reminded me of the many times I've been in that situation. I move two blocks, then have to move three more, then.... yeah, until I collapse in a snit, and use my photo to put it all back the way it was!

And yes, my quilting girlfriends and I have an unspoken agreement that we don't offer any potential changes AFTER the point of no return. I've mentioned I'm working on an English Paper Pieced quilt for my DD, and recently two of them made a suggestion that is going to take me hours and hours to undo and then re-do. But they are right, and it is still doable, so.... re-do I will.

Wow, you go, Robo! Your quilt is looking awesome!

Bestyears, I‘d love to see your GFG quilt! I really admire them, even though I don’t want to make one.

Donna

Very nice design start!

I have a few of those same fabics that I’m working with now — an animal themed quilt for my SIL. The disappearing nine patch block is a first for me, but chosen so the bird, llama, sloth, moth, etc. of the material could be highlighted/framed.

Much thanks for the tablecloth suggestion — a much better solution than my current method of laying out the blocks on the bed in the guest room.

msmeow, here are a few pics. This pic was taken nine months or so ago, so it's larger now.

And for those interested in the process.... You first cut 2 1/2 inch squares, which you then baste around a cardstock hexagon template. After you've got a nice little pile of basted hexies, you stitch them together in a flower formation. And then once you've stitched a few together, you can remove the cardboard templates from the back.

Basted hexies:

Making flowers:

Working during a road trip:

Working at the lakehouse:

The back of the quilt with cardboard templates removed:

What an amazing heirloom —- and sooooo much work. Do you baste with a glue stick?

robo -no, I thread-basted (if you zoom in on the lakehouse photo, you can see the basting threads across the front of the flower petals). A friend of mine did hers using glue, but it just didn't feel like a big time-saver to me, and I worried about getting glue on my fingers blah, blah, blah.

Bestyears, it’s beautiful! Thanks for sharing!

Donna

Here's my first finished quilt and two tops I am currently basting! I am enjoying this hobby so far although my favorite part may be buying fabric.

Birds and bugs. This one was difficult to balance out the darker backgrounds around the diamonds. I ended up trying to put the darker backgrounds forming diagonal rows coming out from the top and bottom center diamonds. The points are...best left unsaid. But it was a good learning experience. I pieced this on three different sewing machines and that played havoc with consistency.

I bought supplies to make Suzy Quilts' Adventureland but ended up with a ton of extra jelly roll strips, so I threw together this Moda Jelly Rainbow fairly quickly to practice before attempting Adventureland. Turns out I really need to work on precision with my cutting so this looks quite improvisational which was NOT on purpose haha. But I like the colors. This is now basted and ready to quilt. I have a walking foot now so this will also be my practice for walking foot quilting.

I had a vision with adventureland which was to make a brighter version with a dark navy background. It worked out well! I had to do a patch on the green in the top right corner as my strip didn't end up quite long enough. This is also basted and ready to quilt. Check out the gorgeous backing fabric...Honorable mention by Anna Maria Horner.

Yours is beautiful! Big clap happening here!!

Beautiful work, folks.

I have made 2 small quilts and another small quilt for a baby, toddler, now school kid. UN-fininished. I am the great un-finisher. I should (shouldn’t) post pics of UFOs.

Great job, Robo! Those are so pretty. I love your bright Adventureland colors.

Donna

Robo! Well done!!!! I'm a big Anna Marie Horner fan. Wonderful job. Love your birds and bugs too. When I was first starting quilting, this was a popular pattern:

Bugs in a Jar

I always meant to make one for my son but never did.

Robo, those are great! You see the micro version and everyone else sees the macro. And with all that color, macro is pure fun. You should be very pleased. And yes, buying fabric is fun.

Thanks everyone! I just love that bugs in a jar pattern - how cute!

Penny is not as helpful as she thinks.

Penny is lovely. Poodle? Age? She’s pretty sure you put the quilt top down for her, robo.

Puppy approval is the best. Cats lay on everything -- because they can.

Penny is a six year old golden doodle but her personality is ALL poodle!!

Bumping this to say that the Quilt Canada national conference and exhibit was actually in Halifax this year so of course I had to go. I worked a friend’s booth for two days and that was super fun, then took a day long course in landscape collage. Here’s my first - but not last -collage piece in progress

Some of the exhibits I enjoyed

More exhibits

Amazing cutwork quilt - viewer’s choice award

Wow! Glad you got to go see all those and learn a=something new. Very inspiring.

So inspiring, right? I'm not very often grateful for living close to Houston, but it IS home to the Interntional Quilt Festival each year, and it's amazing!

That cut work quilt is amazing - what a talent! Your "first" landscape quilt is incredible - seems like you have some natural talent for sure.

Thanks nekotish - I enjoy learning new things!