Modern Quilting, Modern Women

1. Tell us about how you started quilting and how you found modern quilting.

Prior to falling in love with quilting, I had been sewing for 8+ and I had only dabbled in quilting here and there. I subscribed to All People Quilt, but I wasn’t in love with what I was seeing. When I got pregnant with my munchkin WIlliam I knew I wanted to make him a quilt. I found a pattern in a magazine and “followed” it. My seam allowances were way too big, and the quilting was horrific but it was enough to get bit by the quilting bug.

Munchkin cuddling under his first quilt.

 It wasn’t until February of 2013 right after I attended QuiltCon that I dove head first into the modern quilting world. For the first time I was able to really see what modern quilting was all about and I fell in love with the fabrics and the atmosphere of modern quilting.

For me, my love of modern quilting has always been centered around the fabrics, which is quite literally a very material way to look at it. But the bright saturated hues of today’s modern fabrics speak to me in a such a way that makes me so happy. 

2. What does it mean to you to be a modern quilter and a modern woman? 

Honestly, I have never really thought about it. I crack jokes with my non-quilty friends about my old-lady hobby of quilting. But the quilting that I do is anything but old lady (not saying that old lady’s don’t like modern quilting)  you know what I mean. You won’t ever see any civil war repro fabrics in my stash. 

Before becoming a quilter I had no idea about how wild and free the Modern quilting movement was. It is full of such amazing vibrant women who are some of the most talented people I have ever met. In terms of whether or not you can be a modern woman and a modern quilter, I feel like it is impossible to have one without the other.

3. Which quilt that you have made represents you and why?


I haven’t completed many quilts, but the one that truly represents me would be my Cosmos quilt. I feel like it captures what is going on in my crazy head. It is scrappy yet organized, which is how I feel on a daily basis. Every fabric in this quilt was placed where it was for a reason, I planned out the scrappiness in my head before sewing anything together.

I love this quilt. Seriously I haven’t even washed it yet because I have this irrational worry it will mess it up in some way (I know it’s crazy lol). Even William knows that it’s “mommy’s quilt”.

I think what surprises me the most is that this quilt is definitely one of my most recognized, heck it even got me into the top 16 for Sewvivor. To receive so much interest for something I have made is such a wonderful feeling. I started quilting because I wanted to make a quilt for my munchkin, and I never dreamed that it would become such an amazing passion of mine. 

4. How do you connect with other modern quilters? What does it mean to you to have this sisterhood of modern women? 

I am a proud member of the Houston Modern Quilt Guild, and I also the Chair of the Communications Committee for the guild. I absolutely love all our amazing members, and it has been a blast getting to know everyone and serving on the board.

I am always on my Instagram account (@youngtexanmama) and I try to keep up my blog and read others blogs frequently. The latter has been difficult since starting a full-time job at the beginning of September. I absolutely adore this amazing wonderful group of Modern quilters, and I am honored to be a part of the community!