12 Days of Christmas: Amaryllis Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all our readers! To celebrate the season, we're posting 12 of our favorite Christmas quilts from recent shows.  We hope you enjoy the beautiful details expressed in these masterpieces! 

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Amaryllis Christmas by Betsy Wycislak, quilted by Valeria Greenwell.  

When choosing fabrics for a quilt, many experts start with the border. Here's a great example! Betsy Wycislak says that the amaryllis fabric (chosen for the border) inspired her to make the 2023/24 Bonnie Hunter Mystery quilt ("Indigo Way") into a Christmas quilt.  "It's the first Christmas quilt I've made, that I get to keep." Snippets of the amaryllis fabric can be seen in the centers of these blocks:

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

A Spooktacular Quilt

Halloween is coming up fast.  It's time to celebrate with a spectacular (spooktacular) quilt or two! Here is a fabulous quilt made during a sew-along during the 2020 pandemic.  Spooktacular is made with Halloween fabrics and colors, but the only thing really spooky is how much time it must have taken to sew!

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Spooktacular by Betty Wicislak, quilted by Longarm Bob at Quilters Quest (Woodridge, IL)

Betty Wicislak created this quilt as part of Bonnie K. Hunter 2020 Sew Along, titled Unity.  To quote Bonnie K Hunter: "During the early shelter-at-home days of Covid-19, we sewed together from all over the world, making one round a week to complete this quilt in UNITY." 

Betty used a wide range of fun Halloween fabrics and colors, including spiders, cobwebs, candy corn, and fabric printed with the words "SPOOKY" and  "BOO".  Stars, pinwheels, and flying geese make this quilt positively vibrate with energy. 

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

Highlights of the Utah quilt show (3)

Each year, the Springville Museum of Art (Utah) has one of the best quilt shows in the country.  It features award-winning quilts from Utah, a state blessed with an abundance of accomplished quilters. Here are some highlights of this year's show!

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Vintage Southwest by Marian Murdock (Mapleton, Utah)

We love the Southwest colors and images in this striking wall quilt with its cloud-shaped appliqued scenes. 

Marian Murdock designed the quilt around a rare vintage Alexander Henry fabric. Marian says, "After I received [the fabric], the big question was how do I use it and show the print?  After several failed attempts I finally came up with this design that didn't take away from the fabric I had fallen in love with." 

 Perspective by Megan Cresap Legas (Provo, Utah)

Hundreds of 1-inch fabric strips were used to create this tumbling blocks quilt! Each block was made with 24 different strips. Megan Cresap Legas says, "I have a very deep basket of 1" strips that I like to experiment with.  This is the result of one of those experiments.  I thought the strips would add extra depth to a large Tumbling Blocks design.  The setting was designed to enhance the illusion of real stacked blocks."

 The Boys on the Block by Marian Eason (Moab, Utah)

Winner of a blue ribbon (Award of Excellence), this very artistic quilt features three charming guinea fowl.  Marian Eason says, "This year our guild's annual challenge theme was 'Lotsa Dots'. At least 50% of the top had to be dotted fabric. Guinea Fowl are naturally dotted so they seemed a good choice for my quilt. They come in a range of colors so I made one blue. I was surprised to find so many dotted fabrics already in my stash, so I only bought a few additional pieces."

 Happy Dolphin Family by Jean Thornock (Provo, Utah), quilted by Amity Golding

Dolphins frolic among the "waves" of this lovely baby quilt. Batik fabrics from light to dark give the impression of the deep blue sea. Jean Thornock says this is one of a series of baby quilts which she has made over the years. "Since I didn't start quilting until my grandchildren were all grown these are for my future great grandchildren."

 Straits of Mackinac by Lani Brower (Orem, Utah), quilted by Peggy Cameron

We can never resist a storm-at-sea type quilt, and this one is a real beauty. Lani Brower says, "I pieced this quilt in a Bonnie Hunter class on Mackinac Island, Michigan at the Grand Hotel (think Somewhere in Time...) It was magical! Loads of string piecing and Tri-Recs [ruler] work, but definitely worth it!" Close inspection reveals tons of fun fabric prints which add interest.

Urban Cabin Vibes by Deanne Kuhni (Park City, Utah), quilted by Emily Herrick

Deanne Kuhni won a blue ribbon (Award of Excellence) for this very contemporary log cabin quilt! She explains, "I quilted when I was a young mother until I became too busy... now I am a grandmother and I have recaptured the luxury of free time. All my life I have loved subdued colors, so when I approached this quilt, I relished the bold design and colorful fabrics. A complete departure from "me!"

Deanne's colorful log cabin blocks are made with skinny strips, which are wider on the outside of the block and skinnier in the middle, creating an optical illusion of depth. A similar design can be seen in Tara Faughnan's Modern Log Cabin pattern. Deanne set off her large log cabin blocks with smaller pieced squares so that each block really stands out.

 Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2022 Springville (Utah) quilt show.

Quilting in the Garden 2016

On a sunny autumn day last week, we took a trip to the Alden Lane Nursery in Livermore, California, to see the annual Quilting in the Garden Outdoor Show. Quilts are hung on lines strung between giant oak trees on the nursery grounds.
Because most of these quilt hang high overhead, there are no description cards, which would be difficult to read. We hope you enjoy the quilts in this lovely outdoor scene!

Thankful by Karen Lewis

Close-up, Thankful by Karen Lewis

Idaho Square Dance by Bonnie K. Hunter 

From the book Addicted to Scraps

Bear Family by Martina deMann

Pattern by The Stitch Connection

Close-up, Bear Family by Martina deMann

Close-up, Bear Family by Martina deMann

My Cozy Village by Felicia Brenoe

 Close-up, My Cozy Village by Felicia Brenoe

 Ombre Star by Lora Zmak

 Close-up, Ombre Star by Lora Zmak

Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration,

Best of the Utah Quilt Show! (part 2)

Here are more of our favorites from the the 43rd Annual Springville (Utah) Quilt Show! This outstanding juried exhibition features quilts of all styles and sizes created by some of the State’s finest quilters. We are always impressed by the quality and beauty of the quilts in this show!

Jethro by Charm Crumrine. Award of Excellence.

Charm Crumrine says, "His name came to me as soon as I saw his eyes. Jethro, the American Buffalo. Our national mammal. Several months ago I drew a buffalo and didn’t know what to do with him. I thought of all the texture a buffalo has and began assembling the beads. He needed a simple background to contrast the beads so I chose muslin. This quilt was a joy to make."

Tripping by Megan Legas

Megan Legas says, "The “Scrappy Trip” craze was the impetus for this little quilt… “I wonder what it would look like if I used one inch strips.” This quilt is a little scrappier than the typical process demands, due to a mathematical error. Oops! But my error added more color variety, so I am happy!"
The Scrappy Trip around the World craze was started by Bonnie Hunter. We enjoyed seeing Megan's hand quilting on the tiny squares!

Hidden Beauty by Marian Eason. Honorable mention.

Marian Eason says, "I made this quilt for our quilt guild’s “Color Me” challenge. We were required to use colors that started with our initials. My initials are MEE and my colors are Mandarin Red, Electric Yellow-Green and Evergreen. When hiking in the La Sal Mountains, my husband photographed a small patch of Western Red Columbines."

Marian continues, "These diminutive flowers measure about an inch and a half long; but I chose to magnify one with the sun shining through it to show off its beauty. I chose straight-line quilting to finish my quilt."

A Flock of Feathered Stars by Sherry Newbold, quilted by Debra Simons

 
Sherry Newbold says, "Each block was paper pieced. Fabric choices were made from varied patterns and shades of beiges and blacks."

Village by Karin Crawford, quilted by Kim Peterson.  Award of Excellence.

Karin Crawford says, "I started the applique while serving on the USNS Comfort for 6 months. I was able to do the stitching as we sailed from country to country...  Village is made entirely of Kaffe [Fassett] fabric which I love and have been collecting for ages. Note that the houses, trees and shrubbery are located inside a garden path of hexagon flowers. This is surrounded by the fence which keeps out all the wild animals."

Karin says that it took her over a year to do all the handwork. Kim Peterson quilted Village for Karin and did a beautiful job!  The Village quilt pattern is by Kim McLean.

Jewel Tone Jewel Box by Barbara Colton, quilted by Dixie Sargent.

Barbara Colton says, "My quilt group, Gone to Pieces Quilters, had a trade of jewel-tone fabrics to make jewel box or another pattern of quilts. Since I had made a scrap jewel box quilt, I wanted something a little different, so I looked online for other settings. I got my inspiration there, although I made my quilt taller and less wide than the square quilt I saw on the internet. My choice of contrasting purple was my own."

Note: Jinny Beyer has a free pattern for a Jewel Box quilt.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration.

Free pattern day! House quilts

We've got dozens of FREE house quilt patterns... which ones will you choose? NOTE: This post has been UPDATED.  For the latest Free Pattern Day for House Quilts, CLICK HERE!

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Image credits:  Note: This post was updated on January 16, 2026. All images are copyrighted by their owners. Please respect their generosity in sharing their free patterns, and the restrictions they have placed on the use of these designs.  If any links are broken, we'd love to know so we can fix it; email us at quiltinspiration {at} gmail {dot} com.

Q.I. classics: Free Pattern Day ! Patriotic Quilts

'Tis the season for red, white and blue ! Memorial Day, Flag Day, and America's Independence Day are just around the corner.  This post was recently updated... please link over to our latest Free Pattern Day for Patriotic Quilts !

Image credits:  All images are copyrighted by their owners. Please see the latest Free Pattern Day post for links to the original websites for these images.