Quilts of the World Part 2: Germany

Part of the 2016 Pacific International Quilt Festival was the World Quilt Competition XX, which is a special exhibition within the larger P.I.Q.F. This competition, which is open to quilters from many different countries, starts out each summer on the East Coast of the U.S.A.; then the best quilts from that show go on tour to the various regional shows in America. Each week, Quilt Inspiration will feature highlights of quilts from a different country. We hope you enjoy this presentation, continuing with quilts from Germany.

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Gear Wheel 11 - Spiral of Life, 36 x 50", by Barbara Lange

Barbara says, "Life to me evolves like a spiral - constantly in movement,, changing direction, but at the same time repeating itself in a good way. We are all a little wheel in this big machinery, contributing to the big overall movement. Nobody is unimportant, and as soon as one wheel goes missing, we all are affected."

The beautiful contemporary quilting motif really emphasizes the idea of the inter-connectedness and mutual dependency of human kind. Barbara's original design is machine pieced and sewing machine quilted.

Blattgold (Leaf Gold), 43 x 63", by Brigitte Morgenrath

Winner of a blue ribbon for Best of Country (Germany), Brigitte says this is the 10th time that she is participating in the World Quilt Competition! Her color combination was "inspired by golden silk and green cotton fabric embellished with golden blossoms, I created these leaf-bearing twigs."

Blattgold was machine pieced using a paper piecing technique for highest accuracy, then hand quilted in all the ditches to highlight the leaf pattern.

Woven Journey, 91 x 89", by Claudia Pfeil

Blue ribbon winner in the Innovative Quilts category, Claudia notes that this quilt is her interpretation of the 2016 P.I.Q.F. theme, "Then and Now." Claudia is known for her award-winning quilting; you can see her instructional videos at her website.

Claudia's original design is machine pieced, machine appliqued, and long arm quilted. Here, you can see some of the pretty beaded embellishment that Claudia has added to her quilt. This woven motif reminds us of how the strands of time weave various events in and out of our lives.

Art and Craft meet Art Nouveau, 37 x 37", by Katrin Schroeder

Katrin explains, "I'm an admirer of the Art Nouveau epoch, in particular of the work by William Morris... The motifs used in the border are inspired by a mosaic from the Art Nouveau church "Am Steintor" in Vienna, Austria. The borders have been hand-pieced in the English paper-piecing technique using gold lame and regular cotton fabrics. The binding has been applied by hand."

Katrin continues, " I made one of his most lovely flower paintings the centerpiece of my quilt. The leaves and blossoms I have cut from felt and are appliqued by hand." Katrin's lovely original design is  all hand pieced, hand appliqued, and hand quilted.

Reflections on the Nine Patch, 36 x 36", by Uta Lenk

This original design by Uta Lenk is a playful variation of a traditional nine-patch pattern using modern fabrics (scraps) and design options on the quilt top. The quilt was machine pieced and sewing machine quilted.  As shown below, the tails of the machine quilting threads were left on top of the quilt to add to the texture and improvisational feel. 

Passion Always Wins, 61 x 44", by Frauke Schramm

This dynamic quilt makes a powerful statement. It depicts the contrast between peace and human rights versus the flames and destruction created by ISIS. Frauke Schramm says, "So-called ISIS not only slaughters people – they believe they can destroy the fundamental ideas of everyone who does not share their beliefs, for instance, by burning books. Nothing does ISIS know about the resilience of ideas – they will survive. They always have."

Passion Always Wins was created with cotton, linen, and polyester fabrics using string piecing, free-motion applique, and free-motion quilting.

Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration.

Highlights of the Pacific International Quilt Festival: Day 2!

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 2 of selected highlights of this year's show!

Please note: We're selling beautiful quilting and crafting books and fabrics at low introductory prices on e-Bay! Check out all our new listings!
Also, we're continuously posting free patterns on Twitter !

Carnavaal, 74 x 52", by Thom Atkins, Santa Cruz, California

Thom Atkins notes, "I started with a kaleidoscope pattern from 2004; I had the pieces cut but not assembled. I also had lots of purple tear drop crystals I wanted to use. I was inspired by some pictures of Venetian Carnival masks, and my kaleidoscope morphed into a headdress. Then I created the lady to wear it and a window frame for her to look out."

Closeup,  Carnavaal by Thom Atkins

"Carnavaal" is an original design which is machine appliqued and long arm quilted. The elaborate embellishment with crystals gives this work a very glamorous, sophisticated look.

Street Tunes, 48 x 40", by Deborah Ann (Yakima, Washington, USA)

Deborah Ann says, "The passion that Ray has as he entertains people in The Loop of St. Louis, (an historic neighborhood in St. Louis, Missouri), inspired me to share with others."

Close up, Street Tunes

Deborah's original design is machine pieced, machine appliqued, and sewing machine quilted. Even though these fabric shades are mostly neutrals, there is still a lot of contrast and energy to this piece.

Draft Horse Classic, 74 x 57", by Linda Lasich (Grass Valley, California, USA)

Linda notes,"The Nevada Country Fairgrounds produces annually in September, the Draft Horse Classic, bringing all breeds of draft horses together. It's a fabulous event that I commemorate with this quilt. "
Draft Horse Classic was inspired by the Material Matrix technique by Sandra Bruce
which involves interpreting a gridded photograph with fabric.

Detail, Draft Horse Classic

Linda's original design is machine pieced and long arm quilted. This artist has done an excellent job of selecting both light and dark fabrics to depict both the draft horse and the background.

No L, 71 x 70",  by Janet Stone (Overland Park, Kansas, USA)

Winner of the Yuko Watanabe "Best of Show" award, Janet Stone writes, "Inspired by quilt collector Bill Volckening's antique New York Beauty quilts, I thought the large sashing interection blocks would be a great place to put the letters. Except letter "L", that is. Being fearful of curved piecing, [I made sure that] all the curvy pieces are appliqued."

Detail, No L

Janet's original design is machine pieced, machine appliqued, and sewing machine quilted.  This meticulous workmanship is certainly deserving of the Best of Show award.

Apis Mellifera, 44 x 49", by Barbara Lange (Germany)

"Apis Mellifera" is the Latin name for the Western honey bee, the most common of the 40 species of honey bees world wide. Barbara notes, "Bees have been a major topic in my work for the past few years. Insects in general are the most successful species on earth - without them, our life would not be what it is."

Detail, Apis Mellifera

This lovely embroidery work in clear tones of orange-yellow provides a stunning contrast with these pure shades of cyan blue.

Reinventing the Wheel, 60 x 65", by Erin Davis, S. Napier, S. Cureton, C. Calvert, J. Ramsey, M. Capron, and J. Passell (Morton Grove, Illinois, USA)

This is a 100% English Paper Pieced color wheel quilt and has 11 blocks by Erin Davis and fellow members of the Get Your Hex On bee. The original design is hand pieced and machine appliqued.  Every color, except one, was a Kona cotton fabric. It was longarm quilted by Melissa at Sew Shabby Quilting.

Detail, Reinventing the Wheel

Erin Davis explains, " As a relatively newer quilter, I've been very much drawn to the modern quilting movement, but as I work within that realm, I've been increasingly influenced by past styles and traditional techniques. I like to call myself a 'modern traditionalist'. Rather than seek to work with a particular quilt pattern, i chose to design a more unique approach by playing with geometrics  and palette. This......quilt has served as larger inspiration in other projects I've completed."

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration.