Lucienne Day Block

This was a tough one. I found Yahaira's inspiration very inspirational. In fact, I didn't know where to start. I also found myself wanting to make an entire quilt as opposed to one block. In fact, I will definitely be making a quilt inspired by Lucienne Day one of these days. So much eye candy.

One of the best things for me was searching for more images. When you see the designs in context you see the scale of them. I loved that. These aren't quiet designs. They are large and bold.

Thank-you Yahaira, for pointing me, us, in this direction.

Frank Lloyd Wright Fabric Designs

When we started the bee the first thing I looked for were FLW designs. I must be the worst Google searcher because I totally missed any fabric that he might have designed. Then, at the Art Gallery of Alberta I found these cards.

Stunning, gorgeous, and elegant.

Suddenly I want. Especially that bottom right one. That could be a quilt so easily. It's just two blocks!

House or Power Plant?

Here you go Debbie. I realized after I complete it that it is probably a bit too blocky for you. I'm sorry about that. I reread the directions after I finished. But there is a definitive influence from your inspiration photos. That counts for something!

It's in the mail, so don't lose it among the Christmas cards!

Chevron/Heart

The best part of the online quilt bee is working outside of your comfort zone. Making a block in these colours is definitely outside my comfort zone, as are all those solids.

This is Amanda's block. If you turn it upside down it vaguely resembles a heart. That is how I feel about this block. The size, the sparseness, the challenge in making it - all make me love it. I'm still not digging the colour. Then again, it isn't mine, so that's okay.

I hope Amanda hearts it too.

Curves

It is my month for the bee. And boy have I struggled with this. Too. Much. Influence.

Idea #1 Charlie Harper quilt. I picked up a Charlie Harper colouring book and debated sending out images to ask for blocks based on them. But a) that seemed too prescriptive for you and b) I would have ended up with blocks that seemed to beg (in my head) for a straight set with sashing and that is so not me.

Idea #2 Imitation of a Frank Lloyd Wright stained glass pieced. This was actually Hubby's idea. While I love Frank Lloyd Wright this idea again seemed too prescriptive for my liking.

Idea #3 Because I love the mid century clocks and chairs so much I thought an Ingrid Press inspired layout could be quite interesting, despite my aversion to straight sets and sashing. This idea was okay, but it didn't feel original enough for me, especially when it comes to bees.

Are you sensing a theme? Original and challenging. Bold and graphic. Colour and no straight sets.

Soooo..... This is what I've come up with. In the end I went back to two of my first mid century modern loves – atomic barkcloth and curves. Seriously, I couldn’t get curves out of my head.

But it is really hard to ask people to simply be inspired by curves. For me, it is the curve in so much of the furniture, like the Saarinen Tulip table, an Eames chair (pick any one), or the Noguchi coffee table. It is the organic shapes of Alexander Calder mobiles and sculptures or Alvin Lustig graphics. It is the George Nelson clocks. It is the fun styling in atomic designs and even things like the Jetsons’ set.

Half of you have been sent fabric to produce a curved block. If you have a fat quarter of a light background, then this is you. There doesn’t have to be curves in the piecing, just that the final block has an organic, curved shape. As for what the block itself looks like, well be inspired in your own way by my inspirations.

The other half of you were sent an alternate package of fabric for a different block. If you’ve got a teal/turquoise fat quarter, then this is you. If you could finish your blocks with right angles that would be great, so please, square it off.

I hope (and fear) that this is a challenge to all of us. But it is such a great group or artists that I have no doubt something amazing will happen.

Simple, for Jess

I was so afraid for Jess that no one would make her simple block. Sure, it would have been more fun to do the pieced blocks, but her design calls for a number of these simple blocks. This was not the easy way out, trust me!

Can't Decide

I'm having a hard time deciding between the many ideas I've got for this project. I thought I was on track, but then I picked up this book.  The girls and I have been earmarking projects. It has also introduced me to a few new-to-me designers that I now want to research. 

It really is a great book for fun craft ideas. And I adore the details on different techniques, tools, and designers.

Housekeeping!

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Bee members, here are your month assignments!

July 2010  - Rossie
August 2010 - Jess
September 2010 - Cheryl
October 2010 - Amanda
November 2010 - Debbie

January 2011 - Rebekah
February 2011 - Robin
March 2011 - Lauren
April 2011 - Blair
May 2011 - Malka Yahaira
June 2011 - Jacquie

I do believe I have accommodated everyone's wishes.
If something comes up and you need to swap your month, that's fine; but please try to arrange it yourself and let me (Rossie) or Cheryl know if you need help.

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Flickr group

If you would like to share your blocks on flickr, I recommend posting them to this group:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/quiltingbeeblocks/

That way they'll be seen by more people!  

The groups for individual bees don't seem to get much traffic, so we're not planning on setting one up.

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Blog button

As requested, here is a blog button

html code for above

<a href="http://midmodbee.blogspot.com/"><img alt="Mid Mod Quilt Bee" border="0" img="" src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1276/4672802101_3d0bb05c58_b.jpg" width="200" /></a>


In Blogger, add these by going to the "layout" tab;   click "add gadget";choose "HTML/JavaScript" as the gadget type;  paste in code; save your changes!

To make the button bigger or smaller, change the "200" to a bigger or smaller number.

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Words of wisdom

Cheryl put this so well in her email that I asked her permission to post this for posterity:
"We have a phenomenally creative group of quilters, artists, authors, and designers. We are all fans of mid century modern design. We believe that we can come together to create some amazing quilts. These quilts will capture the spirit of the artists involved. They will also, hopefully, capture the essence of mid-century modern design.

"So, instead of sending out precise rules and pre-cut fabric, please share your inspiration and a pile of fabric. Let go and see what comes back to you. We can trust each other to produce quality blocks, so trust the process."

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Please post each block you make

When you post a block you made, please attach two labels: (1) your first name  (2) ______'s quilt <--- filling in the name of the person for whom the block is destined.

This will make it easier to search back through posts. 
I have added ALL of these labels to this post so that you can add them to future posts just by clicking on "show all"



and then select the relevant labels.

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Feel free to post about other mid-mod stuff here.
I'm loving the inspiration posts, and their comments. Keep them coming and please use the "inspiration" label! 

I have figured out how to get the byline up below the title of each post, hopefully this will help us know who is talking when. (I'll try to clean up the way it looks soon).

Also, if any members want me to add their email address to the list of those who get emailed each comment, shoot me an email.  (You can also subscribe to the comments by RSS, but I like the email method myself.)


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I'm beyond pumped to get started!
Thank you all!