another quilt day - oh, my!

Yesterday was the first meeting of the NY MetroModQuilters.  About 1/3 of us turned up to get acquainted, do show-tell, eat(of course!!), bind charity quilts, and talk about what the group wants to be when it grows up. Victoria Findlay hosted the event at her fabulous, art-filled loft.

Victoria has never taken a class with anybody, came to this way of working all by herself.  She is an artist who is now working with cloth instead of paints.

I would guess there is about a 35 year age span in this group of "modern" quilters -- and it is so exciting to those of us who are near the top of the age range to see women the same age as our daughters making quilts.  I made my first quilt at age 33 but didn't know  anybody else who did the same thing.

These newbies are reinventing quilts to fit their modern sensibilities: bright and funky fabrics, often in trad patterns...but just as often, not. These are certainly more organized and less truly scrappy than string quilts were originally (or mine on the other day's post) but that's what makes horse racing.  And I think these are beautiful.

Amy, who spearheaded the formation of this group, told us  she had had no idea there was such a pattern as Drunkard's Path and had drafted her own because she knew she wanted circles. "Modern" quilts seem to use big blocks for a highly graphic, bold look; exciting color combinations, and wonky versions of trad blocks. A lot of it, they are figuring out on their own, which is very encouraging because they are not limited by some teacher telling what they can or can't do.

After the meeting, Aleeda and I walked over to International Foods on 9th Ave., where I bought spices, olives, taramasalata, tatziki,hummus bi tahini (which I had to doctor up because it's not as good as mine - LOL) and eggplant salad. Last night's dinner.  Lured by the display of crawfish in the window, we stopped in the fish store next door, where she bought some for dinner.

I was tempted and the fish was gorgeous; prices low - but I wasn't cooking last night.

I had taken the bus and on the way home we sat in the Lincoln Tunnel for 20 minutes during a traffic jam. Unusual - there must have been an accident or stalled car on the NJ side.

Finally, skyline as we got out of the tunnel on the NJ side.

And that's enough for now.  It's already Sunday and we're off to Brooklyn to see Emma.  After that, back to NJ and Josh's birthday dinner (he was 11 earlier this week).