What's Modern: Fabric and Design

So, yesterday I said that all colors have the potential to be modern. Now I'm going to say that not all colors will look modern in all quilt layouts.

For instance, here's a sampler quilt done in pink and brown. I think this looks very "traditional". But what about this quilt? Modern, right?

Colors can be both traditional and modern...the way we feel about them is determined by the fabric choices and the block design/quilt layout.

Modern layouts have the advantage. So long as the design looks modern to the eye, it's easier to accept the color choices. Traditional quilts have unfortunate accociations that tend to get in the way. It's very hard for modern eyes to see a traditional quilt and think "whoa, now that's modern!"

This is the challenge Jennifer and I (and hopefully you!) want to take on with this project.

Deciding what's modern is complicated and there's no right answer. However, Jennifer and I have noticed a few trends that we feel are very modern and that might help us turn our traditional blocks into a modern quilt.

I'll post the first this afternoon. Until then, I'd love to hear everyone's opinion on this complicated question. What's modern to you?