Highlights of the Houston International Quilt Festival! (3)

We had a wonderful time at the Houston International Quilt Festival! We enjoyed seeing 1200 quilts from around the world, and are excited to share photos of our favorites... here is Part 3!

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Cuckoo Clock by Alethea Ballard @maverickquilts (USA) 

 

Gorgeous colors and imagery drew us into this brilliant quilt by Alethea Ballard. Read on for more details of the artist's inspiration.

  Arcane Snap by Kestrel Michaud (USA)

Winner of a 2nd Place ribbon in the Pictorial category, Arcane Snap captivated viewers with its imagery, colors, and expert quilting.  More amazing fabric art can be seen on the artist's website at Kestrel Michaud.

California Huipil by Allison Lockwood (USA)

Woven Guatemalan fabrics were used to create this lovely quilt which is embellished with yo yos. This piece was inspired by the huipil, a garment worn by the indigenous women in Guatemala. The chevrons and embroidery add even more dimension to the surface.  

detail, California Huipil

 

MASTER AWARD for TRADITIONAL ARTISTRY: Poco a Poco by Keiko Morihiro (Japan)

It's no wonder this quilt won the award for traditional artistry. You can't tell from a distance, but this quilt is made entirely of tiny hexagons: more than 30,000, to be exact. Each side of each hexagon measures only 8 mm.  WOW.

 

Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2025 Houston International Quilt Festival.

Diablo Valley Quilters' Guild Show Day 1 : Featured Artist: Diana McClun

Diana McClun was the featured artist at the 2017 Diablo Valley Quilters Guild show in Walnut Creek, California. Diana is the co-author of the well-known, beloved classic book Quilts, Quilts, Quilts ! along with Laura Nownes.

Color Study II by Diana McClun

For this quilt, Diana used some 30 year old quilt blocks, which are basically half-square triangles sewed side-by-side to create strips of diamonds. They are the 5 rectangles you see above:  from left, the blue/ neon orange, the purple/yellow orange, the red/green, and the grape/yellow. She used them as flower vases to collage flowers and make bouquets.

Here's a close-up of the bright, whimsical flowers which fit into the rectangular vases. What a wonderful use of 30 year old blocks from vintage fabric ! This fun, vibrant work was machine quilted by Alethea Ballard.

Addie's 13th Birthday Quilt by Diana McClun

An original founder of the famous .Empty Spools Seminars in Pacific Grove, California, Diana was inspired by Anelie Belden's Empty Spools class. Diana made this quilt in honor of her granddaughter Addie's 13th birthday.

These giant circular plates, done in restful marine colors, almost look as if they are floating languidly in a under-sea world !  Victoria McEnerney machine quilted this elegant work.

Tulips by Diana McClun

Diana explains, "The inspiration for this quilt came from tulip images on a napkin and paper plate. The design was free-hand drawn with a permanent marker and a ruler onto a grid of 6" squares of muslin pinned on a design wall."

Diana's brilliant skills in composition are highlighted here, as the giant eye-catching flowers comprise the foreground, while the tone-on-tone blues, beiges, and whites add just the right proportion of background space. Tulips was machine quilted by Victoria McEnerney.

Colorful Circles by Diana McClun 

This just looks like so much fun to design and make ! Diana's original design was inspired by a class with Rosalie Dace from South Africa at the Empty Spools Seminar.

This triadic color scheme of pastel pink, lime green, and apricot orange works beautifully together, especially when touches of silver gray are added to the background. Alethea Ballard machine quilted this lively, sophisticated work.

Trees, Trees, Trees by Diana McClun

Diana's contemporary, geometric work was inspired by a painting by German-born, American modern artist Wolf Kahn.  These strips of varied sizes of rectangles give this dazzling quilt an almost Bargello-like appearance.

Diana's original work was machine quilted by Alethea Ballard. These lovely corals and aquas are so gorgeous, especially with the hint of lime green.Trees, Trees, Trees was one of our favorites works of this show.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration.

Highlights of the Pacific International Quilt Festival ! Day 3

The Pacific International Quilt Festival (PIQF) is the biggest quilt show on the West Coast of the US. We had a great time at the 25th annual show, held last week in Santa Clara, California. There were nearly 1000 quilts on display from around the globe. Here is Part 3 of our highlights of this year's show!

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Dottie’s Lament, 45 x 44”, by Sue Bower,  Pennsylvania, U.S.A.

Sue explains about her original design:  "This piece was inspired by [pop artist] Roy Lichtenstein's work. I created Dottie using multiple layers of fabric and raw edge machine applique. Her foundation pieced stash, custom digitized and machine embroidered dialogue balloon, and tone-on-tone longarm quilting preserve the 2D comic book look."

Dottie continues, " The original scene appeared in the romance comic book series 'First Kiss', published in 1961. Did Brad really leave her?  Stay tuned. The answer will be revealed in 2017."
Who among hasn't felt a little twinge of guilt about adding more fabric to her already over-flowing stash? We find this quilt to be not only beautifully made, but also hilariously funny.

For the Watchers and Dreamers, 41 x 41”, by Kristin Shields, Oregon, U.S.A.

Kristin notes about her original design,  "This quilt was inpsired by the graphic illustrations from Mid Century Modern children's picture books. It is hand appliqued."

Kristin's work is sewing machine quilted, and these contemporary patterns look great against the softer neutrals highlighted by bold black lines.

The Sunrise in the Bougainvilleas, 59 x 71”, by Mihoko Tanaka, Japan

Mihoko notes, "Southwestern Japan's back country provides much serenity for everyone. When the sun rises through the bouganvilleas, you can especially appreciate this time of year. It almost seems to be the origin of our energy. Does it also give the motivation to begin something new? "

Close-up, Sunrise in the Bouganvilleas

Mihoko's original design is machine pieced, machine appliqued, and sewing machine quilted. This beautiful juxtaposition of warm and cool hues does indeed seem to radiate a dynamic sense of energy.

My Favorite Home in Each Season, 69 x 52”, by Bonnie Thomas, California

Bonnie writes, "Yo-yo's (fabric that is gathered into small, round, shapes) are the perfect project for the long drive to visit our son every Sunday. The three dimensionality of these homes really attracted me. I wish I could own all these homes in real life."

Winter

Bonnie's charming work shows yo-yo's in all four panels, one for each season. The seasonal patterns are by Marcia Layton; this one is called Lollipop Lane. Notice how yo-yo's decorate the gingerbread house and form a fence line of lollipops.

Spring

In the block for spring (Cottontail Trail), the yo-yo's are used to depict the sun, the clouds, the bunny at the gate, as well as the gate itself, and the plants emerging from the earth.

Autumn

In the Harvest Road pattern, the yo-yo's are used as pumpkins in the wheelbarrow and as leaves ready to fall from the tree.

Summer

This summer-themed pattern is Raccoon Ridge by Marcia Layton. Look closely, and you'll see that the yo-yo's are used to construct the animals and even the walls of the summer cabin at the side of the lake.

Cactus Fish, 60 x 57”, by Alethea Ballard and Freddy Moran, California

An original design, Cactus Fish is the fifth in a series of collaborative collages made by Althea and Freddy. They explain, "We chose a theme quickly. In this case, it went like this. Althea: 'I have this fish panel that I've always wanted to use in a quilt.' Freddy: 'I love fish !'. Then, we pulled out all the brightest fabrics we could find, cut them up, and made a collage. Then, Alethea quilt it. TOO MUCH FUN !"

Close-up, Cactus Fish

Althea and Freddy's vibrant, wild and crazy creation is machine pieced, machine appliqued, and long arm quilted.

The Deep Blue Glitter, 87 x 87”, by Taeko Kasai, Japan

Taeko says, “I made this work, which is somewhat like a huge, glittering blue jewel, to present to myself in memory of my sixtieth birthday. I pieced Dresden plate patterns to express this brilliant cut jewel and quilted around to give an elegant look." Thin strips give the appearance of stained glass, as shown below.

The Deep Blue Glitter was machine pieced, machine appliqued, and sewing machine quilted.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration.