Going In Circles: these quilts would be aimed at entry in the AQS Ultimate Guild Challenge at the 2024 AQS Grand Rapids Show. Size: 6″ x 36″, plus or minus 1”. Bear in mind that AQS minimum size is 30”.
These quilts are due at our March 2023 meeting.
All in Line: these quilts would be aimed at entry in the AQS Ultimate Guild Challenge at the 2022 AQS Grand Rapids Show. Size: Landscape format, 31” high and up to 52” wide, plus or minus 1”. Bear in mind that AQS minimum size is 30”.
An All in Line quilt must use only horizontal or vertical lines in its design. No diagonals or curves may appear on the quilt surface. Diagonals or curves may be suggested through optical illusion. The artist is not limited to horizontals and vertical when quilting on the piece. Quilting must be done by the artist.
These quilts are due at our March 2022 meeting.
We decided to continue our annual challenge in hopes COVID would not derail this year’s round of shows.
Voting took place to decide themes of challenge projects in the coming year. A first vote yielded six top choices. A runoff round of voting produced a clear winner: Kid Art. This will be our theme for the AQS Ultimate Guild Challenge in 2020.
Andies Binkie — Terri Sankovitz
For-David, Nikole, Hans and Erich — Lisa Giesfeldt
Grand-Son Flowers — Kathleen Irons Sweeney
Ivy’s Cat — Linda Fleschner
Land of the Amazing Carrots — Judy Valentino
Mom’s Stainless Steel, French Door Art Gallery — Diane Tennant
My Granchildren’s Garden — Kathleen Hughes
School Gossip — Kathie Boucher
Snake in the Garden — Linda Fleschner
Snips & Snails — Judy Zoelzer Levine
Yipes! Stripes! Is the theme chosen for the 2019 Ultimate Guild Challenge project. Interested members must commit to making a quilt for this challenge by the December 31, 2018.
Specifications are as follows:
“Are Striped Horses Really Just Zebras?”, Diane Tennant
“Are Striped Horses Really Just Zebras?”, detail, Diane Tennant
“City Rain”, Linda Fleschner
“City Rain”, detail, Linda Fleschner
“Dancing Dots”, Linda Fleschner
“Dancing Dots”, detail, Linda Fleschner
“Either Way You Look At It. Inspired by Picasso”, Diana Dunaway
“Either Way You Look At It. Inspired by Picasso”, detail, Diana Dunaway
“Evolving Stripes”, Kathleen Hughes
“Evolving Stripes”, detail, Kathleen Hughes
“Half the Sky”, Nancy Linz
“Half the Sky”, detail, Nancy Linz
“Incoming”, Judy Zoelzer Levine
“Incoming”, detail, Judy Zoelzer Levine
“Jump Up”, Kathie Boucher
“Jump Up”, detail, Kathie Boucher
“Petrified Wood”, Lisa Giesfeldt
“Petrified Wood”, detail, Lisa Giesfeldt
“Rainbow Sticks”, Kathy Downie
“Rainbow Sticks”, detail, Kathy Downie
“Red Window”, Linda Fleschner
“Red Window”, detail, Linda Fleschner
“Redacted”, Kathleen Irons Sweeney
“Redacted”, detail, Kathleen Irons Sweeney
“Strip Tease”, Jane Walton
“Strip Tease”, detail, Jane Walton
“Stripes Gone Wild”, Deb Kinder
“Stripes Gone Wild”, detail, Deb Kinder
“Supernova Shards”, Judy Valentino
“Supernova Shards”, detail, Judy Valentino
“Technicolor Zebra Stripe”, Maribeth Schmit
“Technicolor Zebra Stripe”, detail, Maribeth Schmit
In quilting, yo-yos are small medallions sewn from circles of gathered fabric. Fabric yo-yos peaked in popularity from the 1930s to 1950s, when makers made thousands of yo-yos and stitched them together to create openwork coverlets.
A Milwaukee Art Quilters member, Diana Dunaway, happened on a partially completed yo-yo quilt project at a thrift shop. Some of the yo-yos were stitched together into the beginnings of a coverlet. There were also piles of completed loose yo-yos, fabric circles waiting to be made into yo-yos, and bits of vintage yardage. Diana bought it all, and the MArQ group decided to work with the yo-yo collection as an exercise in creativity, and as a tribute to an unknown quilter who worked hard on her yo-yos, but was never able to complete the project.
Each participant received a five by five square of assembled yo-yos, a selection of loose yo-yos, and a bit of ticking–all part of the original thrift shop purchase. Extra fabric circles and fabric were available for anyone who needed more. There were no size requirements for the challenge quilts and members could use any technique and any treatment of the yo-yos.
The quilts were completed in the fall of 2018. MArQ members made 15 quilts.
Rainbow Yo-yos by Linda Fleschner. Linda riffed on traditional quilt blocks using yo-yos as block centers for her stars.
Rainbow Yo-yos by Linda Fleschner, detail.
Wild Flowers by Linda Sweek. Linda added paint to her yo-yos in this quilt called Wild Flowers. Raw edges and hanging threads underscore the casual and contemporary mood of this quilt.
Wild Flowers by Linda Sweek, detail.
Yo-yo Garden by Lisa Giesfeldt. Lisa’s whimsical yo-yo flowers, set on a black background, use vintage ticking fabric for stems and piping.
Yo-yo Garden by Lisa Giesfeldt, detail.
From the Sea, to the Sea by Diane Tennant. Diane used yo-yos and smocking techniques to depict shoreline animal life in From the Sea, to the Sea.
From the Sea, to the Sea by Diane Tennant, detail.
Posy Patch by Maribeth Schmit. In her Posy Patch quilt, Maribeth used traditional influences and sprightly colors.
Posy Patch by Maribeth Schmit, detail.
Rescued Yo-yos by Linda Woltmann. Linda looked to children’s art as inspiration for the garden imagery in her quilt.
Rescued Yo-yos by Linda Woltmann, detail.
County Fair by Kathie Boucher. Kathie contrasted bright colors and vintage fabrics with with solid black.
County Fair by Kathie Boucher, detail.
Mesmerized by Diana Dunaway. Diana’s cats peer through a window surrounded by a garland of appliqued yo-yo flowers and greenery.
Mesmerized by Diana Dunaway, detail.
Quilter’s Garden by Kathleen Hughes. Kathleen’s fanciful flowers shine under a warm sun.
Quilter’s Garden by Kathleen Hughes, detail.
Yo-SUN by Betsy Rasmussen. Betsy used improvisationally pieced blocks to depict a house sitting under a yo-yo sun.
Yo-SUN by Betsy Rasmussen, detail
Island Girl by Judy Valentino. Judy’s applique technique and use of color sets a breezy island mood.
Island Girl by Judy Valentino, detail.
Bouquet by Nancy Linz. Nancy used oversize flowers, leaves, and careful color choices to create depth in her quilt.
Bouquet by Nancy Linz, detail.
Don’t Bother, They’re Here! by Kathleen Sweeney. Kathleen used clown appliques, yo-yos, and prairie points to create a circus theme.
Don’t Bother, They’re Here! by Kathleen Sweeney, detail.
Collision #2 by Deb Kinder. Deb used a yo-yo stamp to embellish her quilt with additional imagery.
Collision #2 by Deb Kinder, detail.
YO-SMILE by Margaret Knepper. Margaret built a fantasy undersea world with fanciful applique.
YO-SMILE by Margaret Knepper, detail.
Create a quilt using any theme, but use text as a background element, not as the main design feature. Any technique. Size: 36 X 52” (+-1”), vertical format. Quilts due at the MarQ March 2018 meeting.
“Dictionary Tangle”, Kathy Downie
“Floating”, Linda Sweek
“Leslie and Gene in Gay Paree”, Kathleen Irons Sweeney
“Mystical Garden”, Kathleen Hughes
“Autumn: Behold with Gladness” Linda Fleschner
“Red”, Mary Ellen Heus
“Chattering Shattering”, Kathie Boucher
“Explore Serenity”, Judy Valentino
“Create an art quilt, any subject you wish, using yellow. Your piece must be at least 50% yellow, and read yellow. You may use the full range of values. Use of any green yellows or orange yellows would be in addition to pure yellow values, not part of the 50%. Vertical format, 31-32” wide by 41-42” long. Any style, any technique.”
I Love Yellow, Jane Walton
A Month of Sun Days, Linda Fleschner
Yellow Brick Road, Maribeth Schmit
Yellow Tree, Mary Ellen Heus
Autumn Ginkgo Splender, Diana Dunaway
Embrace Me, Deb Kinder
Our Yellow Magnolia, LisaAnne Giesfildt
Spring’s Future Canvas, Kathy Downie
Bright, Shinning as the Sun, Kathleen Hughes
Pointy Objects, Kathie Boucher
The Gift of an Ordinary Day, Nancy Linz
Cottonwoods on the Rio Grande, Maribeth Schmit
The Green Flash, or Not, Judy Valentino
Thirteen and a Blue Box, Kathleen Irons Sweeney
“Zen:Strength”, Judy Zoelzer Levine
Create a quilt using design elements of Art Deco.
Any colors, 31″ x 50″, vertical orientation. No borders. Due at the March 2016 meeting
ADD: Art Deco Door by Kathy Downie
Vogue by Diana Dunaway
Miami Moon by Linda Fleschner
Milwaukee’s Night Light by Kathleen Hughes
Studio 15W by Sonja Pavlik
Le Dame Moderne by Kathleen Irons Sweeney
You Decide 2016 by Judy Valentino
Forty Wonderful Years by Chris Lynn Kirsch
This year’s small challenge was Shape Exploration: Choose one basic geometric shape and explore it. The shape of the quilt was up to the maker. Maximum size 31″ in any direction.
Rain Chains by Linda Fleschner
Magenta Pathways by Kathy Downie
Triangles Gone Crazy by Judy Valentino
The Humble Circle by Deb Kinder
Circle Go Round by Lisa Giesfelt
Isosceles Overlap by Chris Lynn Kirsch
The Milwaukee Art Quilters 