MMQG May 2017 Meeting: a Poppyprint Trunk Show with Krista Hennebury

On May 11 we gathered in our usual meeting space, a little earlier than normal.

We were excited! "What would she bring?" we wondered. "Will we get to snuggle the quilts?"
But of course, we sure did. We had over 75 POUNDS of quilts to look at and cuddle, during our special Trunk Show with the lovely and talented Krista Hennebury of Poppyprint.

Krista's time with us represented the end of the whirlwhind #maritimepoppyprint2017 tour, wrapping up three weeks spent with different guilds in different places on the east coast of Canada - and a quick nip to France!

It was a packed house with 23 members and 3 guests who came to see what Krista had to share. We were also treated with the opportunity to buy patterns and Krista's book: Make It, Take It: 16 Cute and Clever Projects to Sew With Friends. My personal favorite is the needle book that has POCKETS so you can stash your needle packages and remember exactly what size top-stitch needles you may have purchased. Not that anyone ever forgets these things... 😆

We started the evening off with a little presentation from Krista called "Modern Quilting: What's it all about?" A great review of the things that make a quilt modern. For those already familiar with the concept gained knowledge of some pioneering designers and quilt artists who really built the foundation of the modern quilting movement. It was a real treat to see photos of some of the Gee's Bend quilts, where you can see the pocket outlines in the stripes. The first modern quilts were made of field clothes and old dresses, end cuts and scraps from the corduroy pillowcases made for Sears Roebuck by the Freedom Quilting Bee collaborative for some time in the 1970's.

The modern quilt is made to be loved, sat on, washed and dried, thrown in the car, taken on road trips, and picnic-ed upon, taken to school by grown and growing up kids, and gifted to newlyweds - always carried around by, and wrapped around, the people who love them.

Now, the trunk show. As Krista described the stories behind some of her pieces, you could hear a pin drop. Krista's work is absolutely infused with colour, life and love.

Now, I'll let the pictures do the talking:

We were excited to get going, after a few updates from Crystal.

It was kind of neat to talk about the digital influence on quilting, when I was documenting the meeting on Instagram!

The photos were taken at a Gee's Bend exhibit in Toronto. Note the pocket outlines on the denim.

A visual representation, by Krista, of the decision in the USA to allow same sex marriage.
The "wonky piano keys" technique, we learned in the Speed Date with Improv workshop the following Sunday.

This is where Krista's Magic Happens! :)

One of Krista's fave early pieces.

A quilt to remind Krista and her family of her mother in law.

All selvedges, all the time!

Some adorable minis!

And a pear runner.

Many of us were touched by the story of the Cutting Garden - and many of us went home with the pattern.

The Light Of May - the quilt so nice, she quilted it twice! Krista says the entire sordid tale is on her blog.

This quilt got Krista some major traction in the Modern Quilting world - rightfully so! Such a cool visual.

Pillow covers that look a little Nordic.

Improv! We love it. Quilted in the Wonky Waffle!

difficult to photograph, easy to fawn over in person!

The Lone Star. This is strip pieced - no Y seams!

This quilt hung at Quilt Con

Some of the darling projects from Make It, Take It - and the books themselves!

Perusing the wares Krista had to share with us.

We love the text element in this modified Dresden 

The quilting!

And great big hand stitching. Beautiful.

Quarter Round - our Saturday Class with Krista.

a Macaron pattern - with a neat trick for cutting/assembly!

Just vibrant.

Fingers for scale - check out those teeny checkers! 

Oakshott Cottons - so vivid!

The cutest little needle book.

And we just couldn't get enough of that text!

Hoping that even if you weren't there in person - this post will provide a taste of the wonderful evening we had with Krista.

Have you got a favorite Poppyprint pattern? We'd love to know!