Mini Trunk Show: Meet the Quilters

Our June meeting will feature mini trunk shows from seven accomplished PMQG members, who will show some of their work and talk about what modern quilting means to them.  

Who are these talented ladies, you ask? Read on—and check out their blogs for more!  

Pétra Anderson

When I was growing up there was always some form of art in my life. My Granny painted; my Mom did ceramics, sewed, and eventually made art quilts. I received a BFA in painting from the Kansas City Art Institute and continued my "art career" in the retail industry as a makeup artist and working at Art Media after moving to Portland in 1993. Then I ventured into teaching art to children, and also started an Etsy business making knitting-needle holders.

Then everything turned into kids and family.  After my life calmed down a bit I was ready to be creative again. My goal was to start painting again but then I made my first quilt and I was hooked! I also started a blog in 2009 (here is my first post). I had no idea what I was doing, or that there were other bloggers doing exactly what I was doing—and then I found this wonderful community through PMQG. 

My quilting philosophy stems directly from my fine art background, where I painted a lot of abstract art landscapes and had a bold use of color. I approach a lot of my quilts by starting with sketches and also just improvising on my design wall with blocks of fabric. I love improv piecing and quilting but I also enjoy working from patterns some and focusing more on fabric choice and color. Of course I have always been addicted to fabric and hope to take things a step further by getting into fabric design in the future. 

Blog: Sew Paint Create

Instagram, Flicker, Twitter: @CreativeMomPDX

Jen Carlton Bailly is a self-taught sewist who learned to sew from online tutorials. Before she began sewing she graduated from the Art Institute of Seattle in fashion marketing. Having a love of textiles, fashion, and art, sewing/quilting was a natural progression and a quick addiction. She finds inspiration in everything from an old dresser drawer to a run-down Portland building. Currently working full-time from home as the communications manager for the Modern Quilt Guild, she spends every free minute sewing.

Blog: bettycrockerass.com

Susan Beal is the author of seven books, including Modern Log Cabin Quilting, Sewing for all Seasons, Bead Simple, and Button It Up. She’s also the historian for the Modern Quilt Guild, a contributing editor at Stitch magazine, and the mother of two little children, Pearl and Everett. Her Pearl's Rainbow Charm Bracelet (quilted by Nancy Stovall) is part of the PMQG Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show special exhibit for 2014, and a new version of the quilt pattern will be published in Scraps, Inc. later this year.

Susan also teaches log cabin quilting classes for Creativebug, and her new book of sewing projects with Pendleton wool, Hand-Stitched Home, comes out in September.

Blog: West Coast Crafty

Instagram:  @westcoastcrafty

Christina Cameli fell in love with quilting as a folk art more than a decade ago. She spends her sewing time experimenting with fabric, using up scraps, and finishing her quilts on her home sewing machine. She works primarily without patterns, enjoying the surprise of letting quilts develop as they go. She loves to share enthusiasm for quilting with anyone who is

excited to try it. Christina believes quilting is for everyone, regardless of budget or style or experience. She sees quilting as an art—a living, breathing art that we are all creating together.

Christina's special interest is in helping quilters become comfortable with free-motion quilting. She has a series of free-motion quilting tutorials on her blog, and is the author of “First Steps to Free-Motion Quilting: 24 Projects for Fearless Stitching”.

Blog: A Few Scraps

Rachel Kerley

A founding member of the Portland Modern Quilt Guild, Rachel has been quilting ever since she found some squares, drafted her own pattern, and proceeded to make every mistake imaginable. After making a couple of hundred tops, quilting and finishing a couple hundred more, Rachel has grown her piecing and quilting skills and can easily communicate her vision of creating simple, artful utility quilts. Drawing on her art education, her love of Art Deco, and her ongoing delight with the simple circle, Rachel designs most of her own patchwork and applique.

Rachel quilts freehand on an Innova 22" longarm machine.  "I like the idea of the quilting being uniquely mine, no quilt is ever repeated exactly the same. And the idea of being able to reinterpret older quilting motifs from my own perspective gives me great joy.  Quilting is something that gives me a chance to connect to the women before me, to connect with my own sense of Womanhood and to women around me."

 Rachel tends to work in series in her home studio, making bed quilts of various sizes, with each quilt as an opportunity to express herself.  She has also collaborated with other artists and worked for manufacturers.

Instagram: @2ndavestudio

Christina Lane

I have been sewing since I was a little girl, when my mom gave me many pushes to try it.  I can't say I was particularly interested, but I had a lot of fun making things with her and my grandmother.  I loved to dissect objects and figure out how they were made and then make them myself, to my own specifications.  I started quilting in my teens, but really went full force into it after my step dad died in my early 20s.  It was my therapy, and still is today.  I especially love drawing graphic quilts, figuring out the math and placement for a quilt top, and making it happen.  I love the whole process.

My quilting philosophy: Enjoy the process.  Society has this instant gratification problem.  We want it now.  Quilting isn't an instant kind of thing.  It takes time.  You have to figure out your pattern, cut your fabric, sew your pieces, rip a few seams, square your blocks, assemble the top, assemble your backing, sandwich the quilt, quilt it, bind it...  A lot goes into making a quilt.  You're going to be working on it for awhile, so you should enjoy the process.  See the beauty in each step.  By taking your time and enjoying the process you will not only have a greater love for quilting, but also an end product you are happier with.  Taking your time has never been a bad thing in any endeavor.

Christina is the author of Quilting Happiness (Aug 2013, Potter Craft)

  

Blog: Sometimes Crafter 

instagram: @SometimesCraftr

Cherri Langley

I love surface design, unusual color combinations and clever cutting and piecing techniques. I have made over 100 rotary cut, paper pieced or improv quilts. I love quilts with fussy cut elements and traditional block designs reinterpreted in a modern way. I appreciate quilts that are full of pattern and color and showcase quality construction techniques.