Garden Party: Applique and Hand Quilting

Hand quilting is such an amazing art form, it always stops us in our tracks.  Here's a beautiful album quilt by Melanie Harris. Scroll down for close-up photos of the colorful batik flowers, expert hand applique, and precise hand quilting.

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Garden Party, made and quilted by Melanie Harris 

Garden Party is a quilt in the Baltimore Album tradition.  we can see  a wreath, bird, tulips, and an amazing leafy vine that encircles the border. Winner of a blue ribbon in the One-Person Applique/Hand Quilted category, Melanie Harris based this gorgeous quilt on a pattern by Lori Holt. Melanie says, "This is my first hand applique quilt, it was a joy to work on in the evenings.  It took one year to complete the applique blocks and borders, followed by a few months to hand quilt."

This is among the best hand quilting we've ever seen, with perfect even stitches and spacing.

 Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2025 Tucson Quilters Guild show.

Batik Beauties (2)

We love batiks! Their striking beauty is enhanced by incorporating strong light/dark contrasts. These quilts provide numerous opportunities for the eyes to enjoy the intense colors of the fabrics.We hope you enjoy these photos.

p.s. Check out our E-Bay shop for great bargains on quilt patterns, fabric, and new & vintage jewelry. For continuous free quilt patterns, please visit us on Twitter !

Margarita by Melanie Harris, quilted by John Harris

Gorgeous colors, contrasts, and piecing make this quilt really stand out! Melanie Harris says, "This swirling beauty looks like a blender, full of tropical flavors.  It's paper piecing from a Quiltworx pattern called "Pineapple"."  Check out the fabrics and quilting designs in the closeup photos, below.

 

Mod Box Blues by JoAnn Hinchliffe

This quilt design highlights a range of gorgeous blue batiks.  JoAnn Hinchliffe says, "This is another quilt I started during the pandemic. All the fabrics on the front are from my stash.  The pattern source is "Mod Box" by Colourwerx."  The quilting was beautifully done by JoAnn herself.

New York Beauty goes Hawaiian by Sara Quigley, quilted by Nancy Stovall

Batiks of all colors combine to make this dynamic, spiky quilt ! Sara Quigley says, "I had a blast making this quilt. I pulled out all of my batiks and sorted the light and darks.  It was fun putting contrasting colors together."  Pattern source: Karen K. Stone Quilts [book].

On Fleek by Valerie Greenwell

This sampler quilt is beautifully pieced and the quilting is out of this world!  Valerie Greenwell says, " 'On Fleek' is the smallest of three layouts in my newest book On Point: A Multi Sized Diamond in Square Sampler Quilt [2023].  I used a simple palette of batiks and densely quilted with a zentangle-like design.  There are over half a million quilted stitches and it took over 22 hours to quilt."

 

Image credits: Photos were taken at the 2024 Tucson Quilters Guild show.

Quilt Fiesta! Highlights of the Show (4)

Here are more photos from the Quilt Fiesta, the annual Tucson (Arizona) Quilters Guild show. We saw so many fabulous quilts and are sharing some highlights here.  We hope you enjoy the photos!

p.s. Please see our E-Bay shop for great bargains on patterns and vintage collectibles. For continuous free quilt patterns and blog updates, please visit us on Twitter.

Maty Colter: Builder on the Desert by Karen G. Fisher

This amazing original art quilt was made and quilted by Karen G. Fisher as a tribute to Mary Colter, the architect and on-site construction boss for the Fred Harvey Company, who designed many iconic buildings across the southwest, including several at the Grand Canyon.  In the middle of the quilt you can see the Four Corners at which Arizona, Utah, New Mexico and Colorado meet.

Karen G. Fisher notes, "Mary Colter pioneered using on-site building materials, and originated the style now called "National Parks Rustic"; many of these iconic buildings are depicted on the quilt.  Karen won multiple awards for her creation.

Cactus - Yes! by Manya Powell

Entered in the Modern Quilt category, this pieced quilt captures the beauty of the saguaro cactus which is native to the Sonoran Desert including Tucson.  The color and fabric choices and the design make this quilt really special.  [Note: The source of the cactus pattern was not listed.]

The Civil War Bride found her 'lost boy' in the old Pueblo, by Nancy Landon, quilted by Brenda Smitley

Here is a very creative adaptation of the Civil War Bride quilt, based on A Bountiful Life by Karen Mowery. Nancy says, "The design combines reproduction blocks from the famous "Civil War Bride" quilt made originally in about 1863 and original South West designs by me."   The quilt took 2 years to complete the outstanding hand applique.

The machine quilting was beautifully done by Brenda Smitley. Examples of the original elements include a hummingbird, placed below the "Bride" in the block shown below. Winner of Second Place in the Two Person, primarily appliqued, hand or machine quilted.

The block shown below depicts Mission San Xavier del Bac (The White Dove of the Desert) which is located south of Tucson.  Nancy also created a prickly pear cactus, and a pair of javelinas (collared peccary), which are native to many parts of the desert Southwest.

Jewel of the Reef by Melanie Harris, quilted by John Harris

This gorgeous quilt was based on a pattern by Quiltworx ("Glacier Star").  Melanie Harris says, "I fell in love with the blue border print.  I then selected white and gray to represent the coral reef. The jewel tones are the flashy fish, flowers and algae that populate the reef."  Winner of a 2nd place award in this show.

Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2024 Tucson Quilters Guild show.

Paper Piecing Quilts: New York Beauty

Paper piecing is a type of quilt making in which you sew patches directly onto a paper template (foundation).  You then join the different sections to construct the full quilt. The technique allows tremendous precision and can be used for nearly every type of pieced quilt, including this sparkling medallion quilt.

p.s. Please see our E-Bay shop for great bargains on patterns and vintage collectibles. For continuous free quilt patterns and blog updates, please visit us on Twitter.

Miss Kitty by Melanie Harris, quilted by John Harris

This medallion-style quilt by Melanie Harris (quilted by John Harris) really captured our eye! It features New York Beauties and flying geese in a glorious setting of fabulous colors: pink, red, aqua and a touch of greenish yellow.

The pattern was designed by Dutch designer, Jacqueline DeJonge, who can be found at BeColourful Quilts (The pattern, from Jacqueline's Collection, is called "Miss Rosie"). This quilt is expertly paper pieced.

 Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2023 Quilt Fiesta (Tucson, Arizona).

Quilt Fiesta! The annual Tucson Quilters Guild show (2)

It's quilt show time!  The annual Quilt Fiesta, held last weekend by the Tucson Quilters Guild in Arizona, is an outstanding show. We're rolling out some of our favorite photos.

p.s. Check out our E-Bay shop for great bargains on quilt patterns and collectible items ! For continuous free quilt patterns, please visit us on Twitter !

Helen Hardin - Between Two Worlds by Karen G. Fisher

 This original art quilt by Karen G. Fisher was awarded First Place in the Art Pictorial category.  Karen explains, "Painter Helen Hardin (1943-1984) was half Pueblo, half Anglo. Her Pueblo roots inspired her imagery and color palette. I’ve included her face, and the motifs and colors she used throughout her works, which are in museums all across the U.S."

We enjoyed this amazing detail, from decorative stitches to turquoise buttons and silver feathers, in these closeup photos. 

The Guardian by Stephanie Nordlin

The Guardian was award First Place in the One Person Small Pieced Machine Quilted. The design is semi-original with 3 rows from “Simply Seminole” and block from “The Seminole Patchwork Book.” We love the colors and the design, which highlights the Gambel's quail that live in the Sonoran desert. A male quail is shown watching out for the female and her chicks.

Stephanie Nordlin explains, "The Guardian started as a row-by-row challenge, but I added extra sections of desert, night sky and original appliques." The quilt was beautifully embellished with beads.

A Cactus Garden by Manya Powell, quilted by Creative Lines Quilting, LLC

What a wonderful quilt! Manya Powell entered A Cactus Garden in the Two persons – primarily pieced - hand or machine quilted category.  She says that the multiple types of cactus were fun to make!  The finished quilt was quilted by Creative Lines quilting. (Note: The pattern source was not identified, but the blocks resemble the Greenhouse quilt pattern by Elizabeth Hartman, which has 5 different cactus blocks.)

Heart & Soul in a Quilt by Athena Taylor

Winner of First Place in the One Person Large Pieced Machine Quilted category, here is a gorgeous double wedding ring quilt featuring 42 fabrics. Athena Taylor says, "The applique is needle turned, with some of the birds having more than 50 pieces! The machine quilting was done on my sit down Q20 using ruler work." The closeup photos help show Athena's expert piecing, applique, and quilting.

Celtic Horse, Sleipnir by Jeanne Deloria

Jeanne Deloria says, "Sleipnir is Odin’s eight-legged horse birthed by Loki. It was not the Norse mythology that led me to choose this design, it was the feeling of movement that it evoked and its suitability to reverse applique." The border design is a perfect complement to the crossed motifs in the quilt's center.

 Copper Mountain Springs by Melanie Harris, quilted by John Harris

The colors, precise piecing, and stunning machine quilting really drew our eyes to this quilt. The colors and shapes were chosen to represent the beautiful Huachuca Mountains and big sky in Cochise County, Arizona. Quiltworx (Judy &Bradley Niemeyer) was identified as the pattern source; we recognize this as the inner section of Quiltworx' Iceberg Ridge design.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2023 Tucson Quilters Guild show.

The 2022 Tucson Quilters Guild Fiesta (3)

Can you believe it... an in-person quilt show! WOW! We hope you enjoy these fabulous creations from the talented quilters of the Tucson Quilters Guild.  As you can see, they have been quilting up a storm for the last two years.  Here is Part 3 of our photos.

Also check out our E-Bay shop for great bargains on quilt patterns, fabric, and vintage jewelry!
For more free quilt patterns, please visit us on Twitter.

Attention! by Lisa Fryxell

This stunning original design was made with 100% cotton, with black satin for the pupil of the cat's eye.  Lisa Fryxell used foundation paper piecing, with applique for the whiskers.  Her goal was to make his eye as lifelike as possible... The paper pieced detail, shown below, is amazing!

 Heavenly Bamboo by Stephanie Nordlin

This beautiful art quilt, with its stunning complementary colors, was designed and made by Stephanie Nordlin, a member of Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA).  She says, "This has been a labor of love during the pandemic, despite a few challenges along the way."  We admired her expert applique work! (Winner of Honorable Mention award in the Art - Pictorial/Whimsical category.)

The leaves and berries were trapunto'd, while the white buds were made of ultrasuede.  Stephanie says that she tried twelve background fabrics before choosing this black/gray one.

A Gathering by Becky Wallace

This charming, playful wall quilt features appliqued quails, utilizing an assortment of brightly colored batik fabrics.  Each quail is unique and stands out against the plain white background, which is extravagantly quilted in circles and swirls.  Made and quilted by Becky Wallace, the design is by Barbara Persing.

Corona to Aurora by Gloria Bifulk, quilted by Rachel Holznienkemper

Here is a brilliant lone star variation in all colors of the rainbow. The creator, Gloria Bifulk explains: "The white star is the sun, with a corona around it.  Covered by solar flares shooting out causing the natural light in the magnetic field, making beautiful colors in the sky as auroras. The gray represents the lunar landscape."

The original design is by Joyce Hartley, and the pattern is by Roxanne Carter (Quilting with Roxanne). Four shades of eight different color families make this a stunning quilt.

Patchwork Eclipse by Carol W. Carpenter

Gorgeous batiks make this log cabin variation come alive! Carol Carpenter says that she wanted to attempt this design for several years, and last year finally put it on her "must do" list.  

Carol explains, "I love these colors and the unusual visual presentation of the pattern."  She quilted it herself using an allover design.  The Patchwork Eclipse pattern is from the book, Log Cabin Rediscovered by Brenda Brayfield. 

Dinner with Tula by Melanie Harris, quilted by Virginia McCabe

Dinner Plate Dahlia is a Judy Niemeyer paper pieced quilt design. This quilt looks spectacular in an assortment of Tula Pink fabrics ! Melanie Harris says that the quilting took "4 joyful months." The closeup photos emphasize Melanie's precise piecing. (Winner of Honorable Mention at this outstanding show.)

 Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2022 Tucson Quilters Guild show.