This quilt was made for the 2022 Phoenix Modern Quilt Guild Row of the Month challenge run by Kim Davis. The 88” x 90” quilt was inspired by the Gunta Stolzl Jacquard weaving, 5 Chore, created in 1928 during the Bauhaus period in Germany. Gunta was the first woman Master at the Bauhaus school. Her life and work can be reviewed at https://www.guntastolzl.org/

The quilt pattern, Dear Gunta, was designed by Carrie Strine http://carriestrine.com/blog for Robert Kaufman fabrics https://www.robertkaufman.com/quilting/quilts_patterns/dear_gunta/.

For my color palette, I photographed the pattern picture and converted it to monochrome to identify the dark, medium, and light values. I determined the fabric colors by selecting paint chips from a coordinating color set. First I converted the photo of the paint chips to determine the colors’ values. Then I matched them to the values determined from the pattern to plan each color's placement. The paint chip color set I selected reminded me of vibrant Santa Fe colors: blue, green, gold, and turquoise and thus, my name for the quilt is Santa Fe.

The 14 Kona Cotton and Dream Cotton fabrics and the 108” backing were all pre-washed. The backing was pressed by a dry cleaner. The batting is wool to minimize creases caused by folding . When washed, the wool will shrink 3-5%, giving the quilt more texture. It was quilted by professional long arm quilter Cindy Stohn: https://sewcoolquilts.com/.

Santa Fe was entered in the Modern Quilt category of the There’s No Place Like Home quilt show. The show was presented the weekend of 2/24 - 25/2024 by the Palo Verde Patchers club at the Palm Ridge Recreation Center in Sun City West, AZ. Santa Fe won first prize in the Modern Category. Cindy Erickson, a National Certified Judge, provided the following comments:
Best Features of the Quilt Are:
     •Variety of piecing and bright colors add to your theme.
     •Alternate grid work and negative space areas add to modern aesthetic.
     •Angular grid quilting is appropriate and generally well handled.
     •Piecing generally good.
     •Finishing technique is well done.
Areas that Need Improvement:
     •Long seams should be straight.

Click here to see the evaluation.