Mary Kerr twists the rules on modern quilting, opens the door for creativity
July 22, 2016

Quilting isn’t new. Not to the blind eye, at least. The average outsider to the quilting world probably perceives quilting as an old tradition passed down from generation to generation, one in which the appeal is that the tradition maintains consistency. But nowadays, the modern quilter has found a way to combine technology with the age-old pastime to channel a different kind of creativity.

Many members of the quilting community differentiate between this modern style of quilting and traditional quilting, assuming the two are separate should stay that way.

Mary Kerr has a different perception. As an author, a teacher, and an AQS certified quilt appraiser, Kerr has found that her creative interests fall on both sides of the spectrum.

Growing up in a family of quilters, she developed an admiration for vintage quilting, and the tradition passed down by those before her. She started quilting herself in the early 1980s and eventually began teaching classes in 1987.

As technology continued to rapidly evolve, Kerr found that longarm quilting opened the community’s door to a whole array of new possibilities. And while many still believe traditional quilting remains isolated from the recent introduction of longarm quilting, she believes the two have the ability to compliment each other in numerous ways.

“To so many people, you’re either a traditionalist, or a modern quilter,” she said. “This blows those rules out of the water.”

Published this year, her book, “Twisted,” delves into the art of combining both vintage and modern quilting.

The book displays 22 vintage textiles all done on longarm quilting machines, knocking down the wall that separates the old and the new.

She has contracts for two more books and more than a dozens ideas in store for readers, with the hope of showing more people the possibilities of doing what they want to do, regardless of lingering stigmas.

“People say, ‘Vintage isn’t my thing, but I love what you do,’” she said. “I just want to blur those lines and inspire people.”

Kerr will be at Birds of a Feather teaching her class, “Quilting Old into Art,” giving gallery tours and signing books.