jac quie gering

k atie peder sen

techniques and projects for improvisational quilts

modern

We were inspired to make the Urban Garden Quilt by fields

we saw from the window of a plane. We took handfuls of

orange, green, and brown scraps and started working on

our design wall. As we placed and arranged the scraps, the

fabric combinations began to appear to us as little plots in

city gardens. We embraced the look, and a quilt was born.

mater ial sAll fabric amounts are for 45" (114.5 cm) wide fabric.

+ 2½ yd (2.3 m) beige fabric for background

+ ½ yd (46 cm) total of several orange, green, and brown fabrics

+ 1⅔ yd (1.5 m) fabric for backing

+ ⅓ yd (30.5 cm) fabric for binding

+ 39" × 59" (99 × 150 cm) low-loft cotton batting

tool sModern quilter's toolbox (page 12)

f in ished s ize: 31" × 51" (79 × 12 9.5 cm)

Urban Garden Quilt

3

free

pie

cing

cut the fabricFrom binding fabric, cut 5 strips 2¼" (5.5 cm) × width of fabric

construct the quiltNote: All seam allowances are ¼" (6 mm). Press seams open unless otherwise indicated.

The Urban Garden quilt is con-structed in three columns contain-ing a total of eleven panels, as shown in the construction diagram at right. Construct one panel at a time.

Begin by reviewing the Free Piecing technique on page 35.

1. Tape the perimeter of one panel on the design wall. The area within the tape should equal the finished size of the panel.

2. Gather the fabrics and sort by color. Place scraps or pieces cut from various fabrics on the design wall within the panel, arranging the pieces into small groupings and leaving plenty of open areas for the background fabric. Create contrast and interest with the arrangement of colors and values. Consider the ratio of colorful fabrics to background fabric in each panel. As you build your design, keep in mind that you will lose ½" (1.3 cm) of each fabric in both dimensions to seam al-lowances, so the design will shrink significantly as you sew it together.

3. When you are satisfied with your arrangement, sew the patches together, adding back-ground fabric as needed. As you join pieces, return them to the design wall and monitor the shrinkage due to seam al-lowances, adding more pieces around the edges as needed. Construct the panel a bit larger than the taped area and trim back to the panel size plus ¼" (6 mm) seam allowance all around.

4. If a section is too short, add to it; if a section is too long, trim it back. Trim each panel to size as it is constructed, adding ¼" (6 mm) seam allowance all around, and place it back into position within the quilt layout.

5. When all the panels are complete, sew the panels in each column together in order from top to bottom, with right sides together and raw edges matched. Press.

15½" (39.4 cm)11" (28 cm) 11½" (29.2 cm)

19"(48.3 cm)

18"(45.7 cm)

20"(50.8 cm)

14"(35.6 cm)

17"(43.2 cm)

16"(40.6 cm)

15½"(39.4 cm)

10"(25.4 cm)

11¼"(28.6 cm)

7¼"(18.4 cm)

8"(20.3 cm)

Urban Garden construction diagram

4 quilting modern

Your scrap sizes and placement will differ from ours. Follow these steps to see how we would create a panel for this quilt.

1. Construct the center area first. Join pieces 1 and 2 along one long edge. Sew pieces 3 and 4 together, then add piece 5; join the unit to the 1 + 2 section (fig. 1). Add piece 6 to the upper corner.

2. Sew strips 7 and 8 together. Extend the top of this section with background fabric so it is the same height as the center section and sew the two sec-tions together.

3. Sew small pieces together to form the strip marked by the bracket. Extend the top of this section with background fabric to reach the height of the center section and sew it to the right side of the center section.

4. Extend piece 11 by angle- piecing a strip of background fabric to its right side. Add piece 12.

5. Extend the 11+12 section with background fabric to equal the width of the top section.

6. Sew background fabric to each side of piece 10 so that it measures the full height of the panel. Sew it to the right side of the assembled patches. The panel is complete (fig. 2).

How to Build a Panel

1211

105

3 4

219

8 7

6

fig. 1

fig. 2

5urban garden quilt

free

pie

cing

S t i t c h a n d f l i p t r i a n g l e S q u a r e S: supernova quilt

f r e e p i e c i n g: winging it pillows

M o d e r n c r a z y p i e c i n g: winter windows quilt

i M p r o v i S at i o n a l c u r v e S: sardinia table runner

gallery

In t r o d u c t I o n: t H e Im P r o v I s at I o n a l Pat H

1 tools and materials for the modern Quilter

2 Quilting Basics: sew, What do I need to Know?

3 Beyond the crayon Box: color and design

4 complete Your Quilt: Backing, Quilting, and Binding

5 Free Piecing t e c h n i q u e a n d p r o j e c t SUrban Garden Quilt, Sea Glass Quilt, Winging It Pillows

6 Improvisational log cabin t e c h n i q u e a n d p r o j e c t SLilac Crush Quilt, Tunnel Vision Quilt, Mod TV

7 slice and Insert t e c h n i q u e a n d p r o j e c t SShattered Quilt, Add It Up Quilt, Southwestern Pillows

8 stitch and Flip triangle squares t e c h n i q u e a n d p r o j e c t SSupernova Quilt, Blind Co-pilot Quilt, Swirling Medallion Quilt

9 strip Piecing t e c h n i q u e a n d p r o j e c t SFiesta Wall Quilt, Fractured Quilt, Stepping Stones Quilt

10 modern crazy Piecing t e c h n i q u e a n d p r o j e c t SMe and My Arrow Quilt, Blue Ice Quilt, Winter Windows Quilt, Going Crazy Placemats

11 Improvisational curves t e c h n i q u e a n d p r o j e c t SSardinia Table Runner, Tipsy City Quilt, Illusions Quilt

r e s o u r c e sI n d e x

S l i c e a n d i n S e r t: shattered quilt

i M p r o v i S at i o n a l l o g c a b i n: lilac crush quilt

contents

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From two pioneers of today’s modern quilting movement, Quilting Modern teaches quilters how to use iMpro v i S at i on a l t ec hniq ue S to make gr a phi c c on t eMp or a r y q uilt S and quilted projects. Ex-plore seven core techniques and multiple projects using each tech-nique, presented with detailed instructions. Authors Jacquie Gering and Katie Pedersen offer step-by-step advice on quilting basics, tools, and materials and share their knowledge of color and design.

New and seasoned quilters will love making each S t unning bed quilt, wall hanging, pillowcase, and table accessory with this must-have resource. Quilting Modern is a field guide for all quilt lovers who strive to br e a k f r ee from the constraints of tradition and yearn to successfully make contemporary, excit-ing, beautiful projects.

j a c quie gering serves on the executive board of the National Modern Quilt Guild and is founder of the Kansas City Modern Quilt Guild. She is also a board member of the popular online store and community Sew Mama Sew. Her work has been featured on Apartment Therapy and in Stitch magazine. She frequently speaks to quilters and exhibits her quilts.

k at ie pederSen is a founder of the Seattle chapter of the Modern Quilt Guild. She teaches quilting locally and is a fea-tured artist for Amy Butler Software.

Paperback :: 8½ × 10¼, 176 pagesISBN 978-1-59668-387-7 :: $26.95

ava il a b l e a p r il 2 012

break free, go bold