"I Heard It On the Radio" PNQFAM Artist Reception

 I Heard It On the Radio

Seattle Modern Quilt Guild

June 11 - August 3, 2025

Back in December, I shared about the Seattle MQG "I Heard It On the Radio" challenge exhibit being displayed at the KEXP Gathering Space in Seattle. Well, it was our good fortune to have the exhibit shown again at the local (about an hour from my home)  Pacific Northwest Quilt & Fiber Arts Museum in La Connor, WA. The Artist Reception was last Saturday, and happily my husband and I were able to attend.

The quilt shown above is Golden Blunders, inspired by Golden Blunders by The Posies, created by Christa Poel. I wasn't able to get photos of the entire exhibit, but have several of the quilts shared below. If you want to see more, be sure and look back at my post from December.

And finally, here is my entry on the left, Surrounds, inspired by Seattle by Perry Como. 

I guess I got a little distracted, and didn't get close-ups of the two quilts hanging next to mine, but here are the cards hanging next to them, Major Tom in the center, and The Neon Lights Are Bright on the right. Hopefully you can zoom in a bit and see them better. Totally missed getting a photo of my card, darn.

Anyway, that was very fun! Surrounds will be coming home in August, but it was really a joy to participate in this challenge with nearly 40 of my guild mates. Thankfully Beth @goolaffgirl got good shots of the entire exhibit, so check out her post if you'd like to see more.

"I Heard It on the Radio" Exhibit Celebration

On December 2 at the KEXP Gathering Space in Seattle, the artwork of nearly 40 members of Seattle MQG opened to the public for viewing. The exhibit was the culmination of the "I Heard It on the Radio" challenge that we had been given months ago. Works were inspired by a song chosen by the maker, each between 60" and 100" in diameter, with tenets of modern quilting kept in mind. 

Many thanks to the Challenge Committee – Bridget, Chandra, Jackie, Karen, Kae, Kelty, Lorinda and Martha - for making the vision a reality.

During the challenge, a playlist had been made of all the inspiration songs. You can have a listen too, by scanning the QR code above.



I had the pleasure of visiting the exhibit on December 4, the evening of the opening reception, and it was good to gather with members to celebrate and enjoy the exhibit, most of us seeing the quilts for the first time.

You may remember my "Surrounds," made for the challenge earlier this year. I shared the quilt, but not my inspiration song, which was "Seattle" sung by Perry Como. Or as I think of it, "The bluest skies you've ever seen are in Seattle." I remember it often being on the radio here in the Seattle area when I was a kid.

It was actually composed by Hugo Montenegro with lyrics by Jack Keller and Ernie Sheldon. It was the theme song for "Here Come the Brides" TV show, and also sung by Bobby Sherman, my teenage heartthrob. Yeah, I have fond memories around this song, and think of it often when the skies are blue here in the PNW.

"Surrounds," inspired by Seattle by Perry Como, created by Debbie Jeske

I took photos of several other quilts that caught my eye (and that I was tall enough to get a photo of), and I hope you enjoy seeing just a smattering of the gorgeous work displayed.

"Hooray for Hazel," inspired by Horray for Hazel by Tommy Roe, created by Cordelia Nance @notmadebyrobots

"Modern Pop Sunrise," inspired by Here Comes the Sun by The Beatles, created by Karen Braitmayer @kbrtymr

"Into the Woods," inspired by Into the Woods by Stephen Sondheim, created by Jackie Benedetti @tinwoman48

"They Say the Neon Lights are Bright," inspired by On Broadway by George Benson, created by Martha Peterson @onceawingnut

"A Day for You," inspired by If I Had Words to Make a Day for You by Scott Fitzgerald and Yvonne Keeley, created by Linda Kucera @lkhomework

"Hum Along with Me," inspired by Stop by Jane's Addiction, created by Louise Wackerman @imfeelincrafty

"Sunshine and Spider Webs," inspired by Sunshine by Frozen Orange, created by Rachel Berryhill @rachel_lynn000

"Fade to Black," inspired by Fade to Black by Metallica, created by Rachel Singh @liketosew

"They/Them," inspired by Deadname by Flasch, created by Tiffany Muskrat

So hope you enjoyed a little glimpse of the exhibit. Honestly, I was so impressed with the exquisite modern quilts created by my fellow members. The exhibit was a joy to see and experience.

I Heard It On the Radio

Seattle MQG is having a quilt challenge! It's been several years since we've had one, but hopefully a lot of members will participate. Entries are due by our September meeting, and thus far, at least two exhibitions (three counting online) are planned. I knew right away I wanted to participate.

The theme of the challenge is "I Heard It On the Radio." Honestly, I don't listen to the radio a lot these days, but a song came to me that I remember hearing a lot in the '70s, so I decided to go with it. The perimeter of our pieces needed to be between 60 and 100 inches, without any obvious symbols or representations from our chosen song. So, with a song in mind, I chose some fabric from stash, a mix of solids, prints, wovens, and linen-cotton blends.

I'm keeping my song a secret for now, but I do have a 'hint' of a photo, taken on one of my walks. AND one of our guild members, Lorinda @lorinda.b.davis, made a play list of all our songs! Isn't that cool?

I began my quilt by making four types of improv blocks. I'm not going to say anything more about them now, but you can see there are wavy horizontal lines, stacks, straight horizonal lines, and straighter vertical lines. I decided to use an even amount of each block type in my composition.

Gotta say, the quilting was the funnest part! Using four coordinating Aurifil threads - 50wt 2625 [Pigeon] and 2784 [Dark Navy] + 40wt 2870 [Green] and 2730 [Delft Blue] - I quilted differently in each section of color. In the top blue section, there were actually lines 1/8" apart, 1/2" apart and 3/4" apart (shown best in the top photo). In the green section, I did vertical matchstick quilting; in the dark blue, wavy lines, and in the gray, a dense uneven grid. Whew! 

For the back, I had used extra blocks and scrap basket finds to create a pieced backing I really loved. 

Then I finished it all off with a faced-binding using the tutorial by Audrey of Cotton & Bourbon. The quilt, which I'm naming "Surrounds," measured just over 18" x 27" (90" perimeter), which fit cleanly into the guidelines.

If you want to see more of the entries, check out the #SEASongQuilt hashtag on Instagram. I'll share just a bit more about this quilt's inspiration and the guild's exhibits later on. 

Linking up with Quilting JETgirl's Favorite Finish for July!