"I Heard It On The Radio" Virtual Gallery
Select the button above to view the virtual quilt show gallery for the 2024 "I Heard It on the Radio" Quilt Challenge.
Challenge Inspiration Statement
When you listen to music, what do you see? What do you feel? What do the lyrics say to you? Can you translate those sensations and thoughts into a quilt? Can you base a design on the color suggested in the song? We hope you are intrigued because our 2024 Challenge theme is “I Heard It on The Radio”!
The Challenge
The guild challenged its members to capture a part of a song, music or lyrics, as design inspiration for a modern quilt. Since we are the Seattle Modern Quilt Guild, we asked members to think how the MQG’s principles (What Is Modern Quilting? - Modern Quilt Guild) could be used in their design:
- Bold use of color
- High contrast and graphic areas of color
- Improvisational piecing
- Minimalism
- Maximalism
- Expansive negative space
- Alternate grid work
- Modern traditionalism
The challenge opened at the 2024 March guild meeting and closed at the 2024 September guild meeting.
The challenge committee will retain quilts for physical exhibition and will return quilts after the last showing. As of May 2025, that date is August 3, 2025.
The main goal of this challenge was to inspire members to do their own creative work in a way which encouraged learning and exploring in an achievable bite. Wherever each member was on their creative journey, they could do this!
A secondary stretch goal of the challenge was to exhibit the pieces. The Challenge Exhibition sub-committee explored various venues and organized 2 quilt displays for the challenge quilts. Click the links below to see more information about those quilt displays.
Guidelines
Of course, a challenge is called a challenge because there are guidelines. Limitations breed creativity!
- Design and make a modern quilt inspired by your choice of music or lyrics from any genre without using written language and music symbols in the design or quilting. Try not to use obvious symbols, or representations. Be mindful of copyrighted material and reach out to the original artist for permission if you have any copyright questions.
- The perimeter of your piece must be between 60 and 100 inches
- Your piece must be quilted (machine, hand, or tied)
- Your piece must include a 4-inch hanging sleeve on the back if it is to be exhibited. If you need instructions, here’s Jacquie Gering’s Sleeve Tutorial.
- Your piece must include a label on the back with title of the piece, inspiration song and/or lyrics, and your name to be exhibited
- Whole cloth pieces are acceptable if they meet the other challenge criteria.
- Use any material you like as long as you can tie, machine or hand quilt it! Please be aware that exhibition spaces may have limits on types of material in their space.
- Use of glitter, electronics, materials with an odor or other non-textile embellishments may limit the exhibition of your submission and our ability to safely store it.
- Make as many projects in response to the challenge as you like. Each member may enter one piece for physical exhibition and an unlimited number for virtual exhibition. All pieces must be completed by the close of the challenge. The committee will strive to include every piece in at least one physical space given the exhibit hall's individual restrictions.