29 Mar This was fun!

January’s Ann Arbor Modern Quilt Guild challenge was to make a mini inspired by a QuiltCon quilt.  Pictures of QuiltCon quilts were all over Instagram, so it was easy to be inspired even if you couldn’t do so live.  As I scrolled through all the quilts I was drawn to, I felt like they all looked like something I would make – graphic, bold, minimal, you get the idea.  I wanted to try something a little different.

I’ve admired the work of Timna Tarr for several years now.  Her map quilt, Holyoke 1938, was displayed at QuiltCon.  I love the idea of map quilts, but they have a lot of detail, which is not really my thing.  So I decided to make a map quilt that was my thing.

It was pretty easy when you are working small – internet mapping programs make it simple to find a map you like and adjust it to just the right size.  I decided to do a map of Ann Arbor, Michigan, where I’ve lived for most of my life.  I printed off a map of the area and darkened the parts I wanted to feature and then traced them onto my light blue background.

The navy strips are bias that I hand appliquéd one day at my Handwork group.  They follow the freeway ring around Ann Arbor.  The triple quilting that runs through the piece is the Huron River.  The remainder of the quilting represents some of the major streets in Ann Arbor that have played a part in my life here.  As this little quilt is only a bit bigger than 8″ x 10″, I didn’t want to add too much more.

My only regret with this little piece is the binding.  I didn’t want to use the navy as I thought it would be too dark and grab too much attention, so I went with the background lighter blue.  In hindsight, I wish I had used a third color that would have blended nicely with the background, but added some interest.