Project Modern: Challenge 3 Winners!

In Challenge 3 of Project Modern, The Modern Quilt Guild challenged the quilting community to design a quilt inspired by the word “organic.” You can see all of the entries in this flickr group. (Just join the group to see all the photos.) Our judge for Challenge 3, Pokey Bolton, loved a lot of the quilts that were entered but in the end there had to be three winners picked! Thanks to Pokey for time she took to do the judging!

Without further ado… the winners are:

Challenge winner #1: Alison Schmidt

Pokey said: This quilt is the perfect example of how sometimes when you don’t begin with a Grand Plan for a quilt, you can still create a gorgeous quilt. I can tell this quilter had a lot of fun during the creation of this quilt, making color and pattern decisions as she went.

Alison’s description: One of the definitions of the word ‘organic’ is ‘developing naturally’. I started this quilt with one basic idea: quilting is about cutting fabric into little pieces and sewing them back together again. I was inspired by a quilt created by Joelle Hoverson in her book Last-Minute Patchwork + Quilted Gifts called the Little Bits Quilt. I had no other ideas where I was going to go. I started with several strips of little bits and pieced the rest of the quilt completely improvisationally. I laid out my first pieces on a design wall, and stared and thought, and added in some long strips of green, trying to balance out the colors and move your eye around the canvas….quilt.  I kept finding myself using the word ‘organic’ when I was trying to explain how I wanted the quilting to look. I tried to mimic the ripples that wind makes on a body of water with my stitching, and I think it looks just right for the quilt, a natural choice. I believe my entire process making this quilt was organic, doing what I enjoy and what just felt right at the time.

Challenge winner #2: Dana Kuhnline

Pokey said: I love this quilt and relate to the yearning for blooming forsythia in early spring after a hard, snowy winter! I also thought this quilt brings a fresh aesthetic to the modern quilt movement.

Dana’s description:
First, while my fabrics aren’t organic, they are used sheets and reclaimed vintage fabrics, and thus earth friendly. I planned out this quilt in early spring, when I was so hungry for those first yellow leaves of forsythia. We had a snow in April, so the idea of yellow leaves on a field of white is not too far-fetched. I machine-quilted echo after echo around the fuse-applique raw-edged leaves and was pleased to see the ripples spread out like the rings around a raindrop in a puddle. Overall, this quilt has so many of my favorite spring features in it! It also has 4 spools of yellow thread!

Challenge winner #3:Trisch Price

Pokey said: This is a very striking and graphic quilt that to me is very original. I love the inspiration of petrified wood. I can see it!

Trisch’s description:
After reading the challenge, I sat down with a piece of blank paper and started sketching organic shapes. This quilt evolved from one of the sketches. The shapes and colors remind me of petrified wood in the desert.

Another Winner

Did  you enter to win the Janome Horizon? We will be picking the winner at the end of the contest period in September, 2011 (you’ll have one final chance to enter over the course of Challenge 4).  To coincide with each of the Project Modern Challenges we are picking a winner of a smaller prize pack. Of course we used the random number generator and number 284 won! Congrats, Marge Paton of Riverview, MI You will receive a  copy of the Quilting Arts DVDs and fabric bundles from Daisy Janie and Cloud 9 Fabrics.

Congrats to all of the winners and thanks to all the entrants!

Also a huge thank you to all of the generous Challenge 3 sponsors, Daisy Janie, Cloud 9 Fabrics, Quilting Arts and Janome America. 

Lastly, please check back here on July 18th to enter to win the Janome Horizon and we hope that you are all working away at Challenge 4!