A note before I begin: trying to track down original posts and sources from those years is a daunting task. I may throw myself at it someday, to make the trail, but in some cases blogs don’t exist, archives aren’t available, and most of what I’m going on right now is memory, things that stood out to me at the time and set off my radar as a deliberate choice to mold the narrative to fit some greater agenda. It jives with what others remember, though, in conversations I’ve had over the years, and while I won’t out them because it could damage their careers, I hope they chime in. I plan on doing due diligence as I have time, and adding links to the relevant posts as I track them down. If you know of any, please feel free to share them in the comments. These are my personal observations, from my memories of the events as they happened.These are things I’ve personally observed and witnessed or have been related to me. And in the interests of clarity and full disclosure, I am a professional quilter, I have gone to every Quilt Market for the last four years, I have online classes, a book, magazine articles, a national quilting award (not QuiltCon) and have taught locally and nationally, and will be teaching at one or more national shows (not QuiltCon) this coming year. I am not writing as a newbie, but I do have a dog in this hunt. I’ll get to that in the post. These are my reasons for leaving, and I do not expect them to be reflective of everyone’s experiences.

I started writing out this response as a private message to those people people who asked what my reasons were for leaving the MQG. The original impulse to write this privately was that I was afraid of backlash: The MQG would see it! And my quilts would never be accepted into the show again! They have a reputation for having a shit list. And then I laughed and got over it because I’m not going to be submitting to QuiltCon any more, by personal choice. I had made that decision after the last show, actually, and it’s been a long angsty period the last few years as I’ve watched a movement I loved and supported betray its roots, not to mention its paying members.

I feel like I need to trot out some background info, so that you know my view is based on a long period of observation and not just in response to the question of “is it derivative or not”. I started reading blogs around 2002, the year I made my first quilts, (my fella worked for Bloglines back in the day), and as I was making my own things, I started looking for blogs using the software my fella was developing to help test things for him.

I watched as these new DIY/sewing/quilt/lifestyle-y bloggers were standing up and wandering around on wobbly new legs. “Here’s what I am working on!” “Look, I’m learning to use a rotary cutter! and strip piece!!” It was cute and exciting and real as everyone seemed to wake up to the idea that they could make the things they wanted for a life that was theirs.. They shared their successes and failures, and it was real and true to them, and we shared in it with them. We shared photos on Flickr, talked about things to try and patterns to explore, and where to find the fabric we loved that was new and unique. People were making cloth diapers! And selling them! And knitting! Eventually there was a chicken craze! It was a fun time.

Years passed, and in 2008 Rossie Hutchinson organized and moderated one of the (if not the first) first modern quilt Flickr groups, Fresh Modern Quilts. It’s quite an archive. Groups of people who were excited about quilting and teaching themselves started forming groups if they lived close together, and in Summer 2009 Latifah Saafir and Alissa Haight-Carlton put out the call in LA for a modern guild to form.

From what I recall, all over the country people thought “huh, we have people who could make a group like that!” and guilds started spring up on their own, from this first seed of an idea. [If you were one of these guilds and existed pre-affiliation-requirements and have firm dates on when you began, please leave a comment below. I know you’re out there. I know of Atlanta, East Bay, ] About a year later, the LA MQG (spearheaded by the leadership of the LAMQG without full knowledge or approval of the group) formalized a national guild and called for the other guilds to join them, with them as the head of the organization. From the first, I believe, the MQG was seeking control of the message, and this was the first movement towards being a brand as opposed to a true guild. After a planning committee was appointed, the first board was also appointed.

At this early point,the modern quilting groups across the country who had a group that identified with the modern movement and idea of a modern guild, could link up with the MQG’s main website, a clearinghouse for the guilds across the country, so to speak. In 2013, the MQG decided to stop offering this as a “free service” and told those guilds who had linked up that they were to join with the national guild (by paying dues and turning over a list of members to the mothership) or they had to change their name to not include “modern quilt guild” and to have their website removed from the MQG’s site. This, to me, is the second major step in the branding push. Guilds such as Atlanta, East Bay, NYC and others did not incorporate [if you know others of ’em, list ’em in the comments!] although these non-conforming guilds encouraged members to join individually if they were so moved.

At the time, I got all those emails because I had tried to start up a local chapter with a friend before they moved to assimilate everyone. I really had hoped for a local group of like-minded sewists to be with once a month, to share things with. I was really concerned at the reach the MQG was extending, and the dues were not cheap. Due to this and lack of interest, we decided to fold (I should say I decided to fold. It’s hard to have a guild when you’re the only one who shows up for meetings lol)

As the MQG became more prominent, the arguments over definitions of what was “modern” or not were also starting to pick up. Their Facebook page by 2012 or 2013 had around 8 or 9,000 members. My main reason for leaving the facebook page (2013?2014? No idea, sometime around there) was watching person after person get eviscerated for the quilts they posted. Pronouncements came from Very Famous Quilters that batiks aren’t modern. Black backgrounds were never going to be allowed on modern quilts. Riffs on traditional were no longer modern. Shadowy authority figures of the “founding members” were being quoted as the reason behind these rules, and people were kicked out and banned at increasing rates. Around this time, three members of the original board left en masse. I would like to know why, when the official transition and vote was still not in place.

About a year before the first QuiltCon, the MQG started their own website, and their own forums, and announced they would not be moderating the facebook page any more. And then, eventually, QuiltCon happened. Most of us remember the issues around that, so I won’t rehash, but I do want to point out that leaders of daughter guilds were told directly by the MQG that all quilts shown in their local guilds had to be accompanied with an explanation as to why it was modern. Craftsy, which has all of the keynote speakers on video, does not have the lecture given by Heather Grant where she laid out definitive rules as to what makes a modern quilt. That’s a shame, because it is important to this conversation. I, and others, were excited to find a place for us, and yet oddly discomfited about the messages we were receiving. This push to control the brand, control the message of a movement was entirely at odds with what made us excited to be a part of the movement.

What I most certainly believe is a pivotal moment, though, was when Angela Pingel of Cut to Pieces noticed that the original definition of a modern quilt had been changed without notice, without a vote of the members, and without any public discussion. I’ve included the first and original definition below:

“Modern quilting is a new twist on the traditional art of quilting. This may mean something as simple as using a traditional quilt block and updating it in a fresh, fun new way. That includes using modern fabrics, modifying the block arrangement or even the scale of the block. The piecing could be improvisational and wonky, or it could be very exact and measured, following a pattern or creating your won. The quilting could be traditional stippling, clean straight lines, or a very “free” have fun and quilt-as-you-go style. Fabrics could be upcycled vintage sheets, custom digital printed fabric, a yummy selection from one of the new modern fabric designers, or an old fabric from an ever growing stash.

Modern quilting is sometimes difficult to define because in many ways the definition is as individual as the quilter – changing from quilter to quilter. In addition to reflecting the individual personality and personal style of the quilter, it also reflects the current aesthetic of the day. Modern quilting is also about the attitude and the approach that modern quilters take. It respects the amazing artistry and talent of the tradition of quilting, while allowing the quilter to challenge the “rules”. In fact, if there were one rule in modern quilting, it would be that there are no rules. The concept of modern quilting is not meant to divide or segregate. It is meant to welcome new quilters, of all ages, to the world of quilting in a style that they can relate to. In many ways, modern quilting takes us back to the basics of the early quilters, when women of the day used the colors and styles of their time to express themselves creatively”

And this was the new definition that she had noticed, silently slipped in without a public comment period or vote:

“We define modern quilts as quilts that are functional, include bold colors, and are inspired by modern design. Minimalism, asymmetry expansive negative space, and alternate grid work are often a part of modern quilt compositions, as are improvisational piecing and solid fabrics.”

What’s this “we” stuff? It did not reflect me or most of the quilts in the show or the work of most of my friends. It did reflect the work of a very small subset. I also came to believe that it was a dangerous proposition to speak publicly about these types of things. I think many of us learned this lesson and became very cautious about saying anything that could be held against us.

Why is this?

At the time MQGNational was formed, those of us making these types of quilt and hunting for these types of fabrics were revitalizing an industry that was on the decline. The companies who were seeking to profit from this new influx of quilters were sometimes late to the party and didn’t understand the movement. The appointed leaders of the MQG became a convenient touchstone for these companies seeking to get a line on what was happening, and what people wanted. From the get-go, I believe this established what I think of as the gate-keeping culture: It’s not modern unless is has the MQG stamp of approval. I believe that this is a critical point to understand in how and why things are the way they are today.

As gate-keepers, they have a very real impact on who is allowed to have a voice and who is not. Don’t stay on message? You’ll never teach at QuiltCon. Point out something that goes against the openness of the community you love and work within? Forget about any recognition or links to you or your quilts. Death by silent treatment.

In that original post, which is no longer available (and which I sadly did not think to screenshot, though I should know better by now) the definition of what is “derivative” was exceptionally broad, faulty, and flat out incorrect in places. Most of that has been changed to be less extreme and egregiously wrong. I am glad for that, I guess, but they’ve been “working on this post for months” and that was what they put out? And current Board members didn’t know about it until it was published? This authoritarian and elitist culture was established from the beginning. It is why I believe the MQG fulfills the function of a brand with an agenda rather than a guild supporting its members as seen through the numerous ,continuous and persistent actions of pronouncements such as what is a derivative work or not.

And it is the real crux of the matter. The most recent post about derivative work (the current iteration of the post has been altered from the original, so keep that in mind) was presented by fiat, much as the first board was presented, much as the definitions of modern quilting were presented. Because the MQG has established itself as some sort of authority, people like me who have skin in the game are consistently afraid of speaking out because of what the damage and fallout might be. Those of us in the industry not of the Favored Few all have stories of the people we know who have been affected and the strongarm tactics that have been used. These stories are not mine to tell and I hope the people affected share them. I am only speaking out now because I want nothing more to do with the national organization. I won’t be submitting proposals, I won’t be submitting quilts. I believe I have nothing to lose except the fences and strictures that have bound me creatively and I realize this will be the end for me by speaking out, and I’m ok with that. I cannot support a national organization that says one thing, then does another. Repeatedly. To the detriment of the paying members and the modern movement as a whole.

There is much more, but I feel I have written enough to explain my reasons for leaving, which are measured and as factual as I can make them. I am not nor have I ever been “on the inside” and I know some of these actions were meant well in the beginning. I’ve observed this organization for a long time as an outsider, I have supported the idea of a place for modern quilters, actively work to encourage everyone who makes stuff, and have no confidence that the agenda of the mothership is congruent with supporting their paying membership, representing me as an individual member or the amazing daughter guilds I have had the pleasure to meet and see in action. The modern quilting community i know encompasses a truly amazing group of people, supportive and caring, excited, of all ages, genders, races, political leanings and more. I am sad that leaving an organization I had hoped to find a home in is a choice I now feel is inevitable.

A final word: My experiences may not be yours, and I appreciate that. I cannot be true to the things that I value about myself–honesty, integrity, my sense of fairness, and my desire to support and encourage people making whatever the hell they want with delight and passion–and yet stay silent. Thanks for taking the time to read this.