Modern quilting is the buzz word
in the sewing and quilting field
and with me today is Weeks Ringle,
author, publisher, designer, teacher, lecturer,
fabric designer--
Yes.
of all things quilting, and, primarily, modern quilts.
Weeks, why don't you explain to our viewers,
what you think of as modern quilting?
Well, you know, my husband Bill Kerr and I, began, in 1999
wanting to have a new option for quilters
to look at motifs and inspiration from technology
and new types of fabric and tools
that were available to quilters.
So, we wanted to develop designs
that were different from traditional designs
that were motifs of the time in which we live.
So, we wanted to have new patterns and new techniques
and new ways of thinking about quilting
that were reflective of our current day.
I think a great example is right behind us
and it's a design called, "Swatches."
Explain how your terminology is reflected
in this fabric.
Well, this is "Swatch" right behind us
and it's all about transparency
and it looks like the fabrics
are actually translucent and you can see through them.
It's actually very simply done
with overlaying two colors and looking at
the medium value between a dark and a light.
So, it's only really possible
with modern day fabrics where you can get that
perfect color work from the variety
of fabrics available to us.
And it's not a traditional pattern.
It's not a tumbler, it's not a hexagon, it--
Churn dash or something, right.
And I have this beautiful quilt on my lap.
And it has an interesting name.
It's called "Glyphs" and it--
As in hieroglyphs or as in pictograms.
And this was inspired by--
I lived in Japan for almost eight years out of college
and studied Japanese in college
and became interested in the Chinese characters
and the derivations of them because they were pictograms
inspired by daily life.
And this really isn't a pattern.
It's an improvisational process.
Exactly. Exactly.
So, each one is different.
In modern quilting, in that "loose term,"
there's a lot of use of solids.
Yes, Yes.
And importance of the background fabric.
You know, I think a lot of people--
my theory is that women learn about
color getting dressed and decorating their houses.
And so they grow up thinking that
everything should match but I think in actuality
sometimes having the background color not match
anything else in the blocks sets them off a little bit more.
It gives it an automatic frame
even though you don't have a frame.
And we also love the combination of
drabs and color.
Because the drabs make
the color look so much more luminous.
It really pops.
The pop of color.
And your stitching is also sometimes
more linear than.. Mmm...
a traditionalist form?
Well, I think, you know, in this case
this is a technique
that we developed called... labyrinth quilting.
You can see that there's a labyrinth.
It's all one continuous line throughout
the entire quilt, but you can see that the--
it doesn't overlap the exact block.
It's an entirely different design layer.
So you're not shadowing, radiating out...
Echo quilting, feathers.
It's a design on top of a design.
Exactly.
It's a different design layer.
If it's a complex quilt like this
we go for a simple pattern.
And if it's a simple quilt, we go for a complex pattern.
Well, Weeks, this is inspirational to see...
Oh, good!
...beautiful fabric color combinations.
Interesting quilting designs, and that, really,
there are no rules that you can't break.
Other than good craftsmanship.
Which you certainly have.
Well, thank you for being our guest!
It's my pleasure. Thanks for coming in.
You're welcome. Thanks!