Fun in the Sun: Day 7 of the Arizona Quilters' Guild Show

What could be more entertaining than a show full of beautiful quilts?  Here we go for Day 7 of  "Fun in the Sun"  from the 2013 Arizona Quilters' Guild Show. You be the judges and let us know which ones are your favorites, in the Comments section below. 

Lilies, 50" x 35", by Rita Blocksom

These beautiful day lilies make an excellent subject for a quilt, as so much of the detail of their intricate petals, stamens, and pistils shows up perfectly. Second place winner in the Art/Painted or Digital quilts category, Rita writes, "This is from a digital image I took outside my dad's back door at the family farm in Illinois." The quilt is made on one sheet of fabric, not tiled like so many digital quilts are done.  Rita has been been teaching imagery on fabric for 20 years; you can see her website at Rita Blocksom.com.

Close up, Lilies by Rita Blocksom, quilted by Sharon Brooks

Sharon Brooks' excellent longarm quilting skills really show up here, especially on the gorgeous blended hues of reds, corals, and pinks which create a striking monochromatic and analogous color scheme.

Sundance, approximately 12 x 12", by Christy Schliesmann

Blue ribbon winner for miniature quilts, Christy says,  " The Cindy Richards design uses twenty different fabrics cut into 325 pieces, giving a twirling effect around the golden sun." 

Close up, Sundance by Christy Schliesmann

These tiny, perfectly sewn pieces measure anywhere from one-fourth inch to one inch long in a great display of Christy's workmanship.

Wild Woman by Donna Goldbeck

Donna says of her self-portrait, "The 3-D effect was achieved using yarn colors and textures. The paint makeup gives her [face] the wildness that I may have secretly longed for when I was younger." This quilt really appeals to the tactile senses with the juxtaposition of dozens of different yarn types, colors, and thicknesses.

Little Amsterdam by Marilyn Wood

Marilyn notes, "This pattern is from the [ North Sea Quilters of ] the Netherlands. The flowered fabrics in the houses and border are antique Dutch reproduction fabrics from Amsterdam, my husband's favorite city."  Marilyn's striped border adds to the lively, upbeat personality of this charming quilt.

Close up, Little Amsterdam by Marilyn Wood

Floral fabrics are perfect for portraying the highly stylised, almost baroque facades of traditional Dutch and Flemish architecture.

Jeremy's Quilt by Joan McNamara

Joan says, of her quilt in the Nearly Insane pattern, " I did this to learn to piece. Each block was drafted from a picture and some 6" blocks had over 280 pieces. Over 100 fabrics were used."  Joan has truly created a fascinating array of challenging block patterns, using predominantly reds and purples against a soft taupe background.

Close up photos, Jeremy's Quilt by Joan McNamara, quilted by Jessica (Jones) Gamez

Here's a montage of the intricate and precisely sewn 6 " x 6" blocks, many of which contain more than 50 pieces of fabric.

Quilt Inspiration has previous featured the Nearly Insane quilt pattern, which was inspired by an 1870's sampler quilt by Salinda W. Rupp.  In recent years, the Nearly Insane pattern has been re-created and popularized by quilt teacher and author Liz Lois. We've never seen a Nearly Insane quilt in person; it was fascinating to see Joan McNamara's quilt!

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration.

Quilt inspiration 2010: Houses

Did you know that 2010 was our first year blogging? That might explain why we've spent a few days recalling some of our most popular themes.  This is our last "recap" post, before we start a fabulous New Year of inspiration (tomorrow !)

In 2010 we did a series called "Our Town", featuring quilts with schoolhouses, homes, and entire villages.  Methods of construction ranged from log cabin to stained glass, traditional and foundation piecing, and appliqué. As a Realtor would say: We hope you see some houses you like !

Row 1, L-R: Row Houses, by Flavin Glover; Magnolia Quilt,  by Sue Spargo; Hillside Houses,  by Daphne Greig and Susan Purney Mark; Welcome Home, by Alex Anderson. Row 2: Little Houses, and Little Old One Room Schoolhouse, by Ruth Powers; Little Amsterdam,  by the North Sea Quilters; Pedestrian Friendly, by Pat Dicker. Row 3: Wonky Houses, by Carol Morrissey; Firelight and Chimney Smoke, by Martha Milne;  There's No Place Like Home, block and full quilt, by Sonya Chinn. Row 4: Night before Christmas quilt and block, by Sue Garman; Welcome to the North Pole, by Becky Goldsmith and Linda Jenkins; Waiting for Santa, by Lynette Anderson. Row 5:  Up on the Housetop quilt and detail, by Cynthia England; and It Takes A Village, by Pippa Moore.

*For more information, see the following articles:  Our Town, Our Town Part 2, Our Town Part 3, Our Town Part 4, Our Town Part 5, and Our Town Part 6.

Our Town Part 2

We've decided that some of the cutest quilts in the world are the ones with houses on them. They really appeal to us, maybe because "home is where the heart is."  Part One of Our Town was posted earlier this month.  Here are some more house quilts which really caught our eye.

Schoolhouse Block, 19 x 22, from "There's No Place Like Home" by Sonya Chinn, at Sonya's Snippets

Long-arm quilter Sonya, creator of the Sonya's Snippets blog, sewed this charming applique scene as one of the blocks for a block-of-the-month quilt which she calls 'There's No Place Like Home'. Sonya has added an individualized touch by placing the initials of her children's school on the quaint schoolhouse. The quilt was based on the "Home Is Where the Heart Is"  pattern.  The entire pattern is available from The Stitch Connection, which sells an array of seasonal block-of-the-month quilt patterns.

Little Amsterdam, 72 x 72, by the North Sea Quilters

The North Sea Quilters have produced this beautifully pieced and intricately quilted work which shows the classic houses of Amsterdam, plus one of the famous canals. Owned by Maria Laza, Leslie Carol Taylor, and Marybeth Tawfik, the North Sea Quilters in The Netherlands offers long arm machine quilting, workshops, retreats, fabric, and patterns. The North Sea Quilters website sells the Little Amsterdam Pattern Book, with a full set of instructions on creating this award-winning quilt, as well as a complete kit.  They have an interesting North Sea Quilters blog where they write about the quilt shows and workshops of Europe and the United States.  Products can be ordered directly from the North Sea Quilters, who are also launching a distribution channel in North America.

Pedestrian Friendly, 60 x 60, by Pat Dicker

Pat Dicker used high-energy colors to create a lively town adapted from Sue Garman's Block of the Month Quilt,  "All Around the Town".  Pat tells us, "I named the quilt 'Pedestrian Friendly' because the original design has cars on it, and I chose to leave them out, so that the 'residents' would just walk from house to house."  The result is a fascinating "green scene",  greatly enhanced by the playful polka dots and the serene striped border.

Here's a vivid close-up of "Pedestrian Friendly", where you can see Pat's excellent applique technique (click to enlarge the image). Can you spot the people in the house?  Pat writes,  "Here I had a little fun with crowds in the window and added the poppies, since they are the California state flower."

Magnolia Quilt,   64 x 61,  by Sue Spargo, at Sue Spargo Folk-Art Quilts

The gracious old homes and flower gardens of  Magnolia, Ohio, inspired Sue Spargo to create her enchanting appliqued "Magnolia" quilt. Her accompanying book and quilt kits for "Magnolia" are sold at Sue's website, where she also offers lovely hand-dyed wool and textural fabrics, patterns, books, and embellishments. Sue writes,  "My folk-art imagery reflects my multi-cultural background and my fascination with folkart from around the world. Inspiration comes from memories collected during my African childhood with its animals and grasslands, a sojourn in the green South of England and time spent in Connecticut, Tennessee, Utah and Ohio." For great photos of the creations from her latest class,  please take a look at Sue's blog to see how well her students are doing. "Magnolia" and other projects are also in the new book called Contemporary Folk, published by Quiltmania.

Row Houses,  86 x 104, by Flavin Glover, at Flavin Glover.com

Named one of the 100 Best American Quilts of the 20th Century, "Row Houses" was inspired by Flavin Glover's fascination with landscapes and architecture. The contrasting roofs, windows, and border really help the quilt sparkle with light and dark values.  As well as teaching classes, designing, and conducting workshops, Flavin is the author of a great book,   A New Look At Log Cabin Quilts,  which gives clear, easy-to-understand directions and ideas for creating many different patchwork designs in the log cabin format. Flavin Glover's online gallery also has many different houses which are fun to look at.  Flavin is a renowned teacher; to see if she is visiting a town near you, please see her workshop schedule as well as pattern information.

It Takes A Village,  44 x 36,  by Pippa Moore, at Kitambaa Designs

Pippa Moore is a Canadian quilter whose creations are inspired by the 3 years she spent living in Lesotho, South Africa.  Pippa says,  "I love working with rich, bright, saturated colour -- from the warm and vibrant colours of Africa and Mexido, to the blues and greens of my home in Vancouver Island."  Pippa has recently launched Kitambaa Designs, which features fabrics, patterns and kits like the one above, buttons, and African art. For news about Pippa's travels, classes, and workshops with the quilters of Uganda, please take a look at her blog  Kitambaa: The Colourful World of Pippa Moore.

Image credits:  Images are shown with the generous permission of the artists.