Flying High: For the Love of Birds

The International Quilt Show in Salt Lake City, Utah, was a fun place for us to visit last month! There were a number of special exhibitions and quilts grouped by theme, which we really enjoyed. Here are some of the highlights of this excellent show!

This visually exciting collection of art and contemporary traditional quilts celebrates our feathered friends and the many ways in which they help sustain our ecosystems.

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White Raven by Virginia Greaves (Georgia)

Virginia writes, "Legend holds that black ravens were kept at the Tower of London (shown in the background) to protect the monarchy. My piece presents a rare white raven and asks the question of what that would mean for the monarchy and the Tower."

 Close-up, White Raven

Virginia's excellent, detailed original design was machine stitched. We enjoyed learning about the legend of the ravens in protecting the monarchy.

The Lord of Birds: Hunting in Magnolia by Mary Jane Sneyd (New Zealand)

Mary Jane created her quilt based on a photo by Leo Thomas in Cologne, Germany. She explains, "I was blown away by the obvious bond between a young Kazakh woman hunting with her eagle in Mongolia. In a male-dominated activity, this woman is working to keep a 4,000-year-old traditional alive and has found a way to connect to her traditions and her roots. In Kazakh, 'qusbegi' refers to falconers and comes rom the words 'qus', meaning 'lord', and 'begi', meaning 'bird', thus, 'lord of the birds'. "

 Close-up, The Lord of the Birds

Mary Jane's fascinating quilt is fused, raw-edge appliqued, and plaited, with machine and hand quilting.

Cockles Magic Circle by Denise Griffiths (Australia)

Denise notes, "Most days, I have two cockatoos that visit me looking for seeds or crackers. I call them Mr. and Mrs. Cockles. The male one is especially friendly and quite a character. I could think of nothing nicer than to make this quilt for them. " 

Close-up, Cockles Magic Circle

Denise's colorful, enchanting quilt is an original design which is photo printed. We especially like the pretty pink and mauve floral embellishment in the upper left background.

 My Feathered Friends by Laura Ruiz (Florida)

Laura Ruiz comments, "My Feathered Friends began with an 8 x 10 colored pencil drawing that I drew, photographed, enlarged, and printed on cotton. I added patchwork, followed by ghosted patchwork, created with paintsticks to blend into the background color." 

Close-up, My Feathered Friends

Laura continues,  "Since I love both kinds of feathers, the quilted kind and the living kind, I thought I would combine the two."  Laura's enchanting creation is pieced, appliqued, machine quilted, stenciled, and digitally printed.

Pelican Rescue by Michelle Jackson (New Mexico)

Michelle says, "This [quilt] is to bring attention to and educate the public about those who rescue, care for, rehabilitate, and release wild birds, such as the pelican, so that they can thrive in their natural habitats.

Close-up, Pelican Rescue

Michelle very creatively portrays this pelican from a side profile, so that the bird's striking, dramatic plumage can be shown. Her lovely original design is done with raw-edge fused applique.

 

Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2022 International Quilt Festival in Salt Lake City, Utah.  Note: Many of the contributors to the Flying High exhibit are members of Studio Art Quilt Associates.

Best of the 2015 World Quilt Show in Florida Part 3

Florida's World Quilt Show in West Palm Beach is a great event to attend, amidst the warmth and sunshine,  while most of  the U.S.A. shivers under winter's blanket. We marveled at all the spectacular quilts from around the globe!  Planet Earth indeed holds a huge variety of wonderful quilting talent. We're happy to be sharing this series of photos from Florida.

In Flanders Fields by Catherine Millar, United Kingdom

Catherine states,"2014 is the centenary (100th anniversary) of the outbreak of the First World War. I was inspired by the last lines of a poem by John Macrae (who died of war-related illness in 1918), 'If ye break faith with us who die, We shall not sleep, though poppies grow in Flanders Fields.' "  The poet was speaking of the red poppies which grew among the graveyards of soldiers in the Flanders area of Belgium.

The red poppies are a symbol for Remembrance Day which is celebrated each November 11 in the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth Nations, as a tribute to members of the armed forces who died in the line of duty.

Close-up,In Flanders Fields by Catherine Millar
 

Catherine adds, "The symbolic poppy is made in circular bargello pattern on a background of patchwork fields, some growing crops, some mud as in the battlefields."  Catherine has created a heartfelt and radiant tribute in the form of a giant poppy, done in varied shades of red, orange, and rose.

ISabella by Rahel Elran, Israel

Rahel notes that ISabella (with first two letters deliberately capitalized) is machine pieced and machine quilted. It appears to be a modern, abstract art quilt of human face, in the style of painter Pablo Picasso. If you look closely for awhile, you'll be able to find ISabella's hair, eyes, nose, mouth, and perhaps her eyebrows.

Close-up, ISabella by Rahel Elran

We nicknamed this fun quilt "the red lips quilt", because ISabella's mouth is so prominent. Note the straight lines of quilting which provide structured contrast to the random curves and circles of this whimsical, lighthearted design.

Ena's Pink Waratahs by Denise Griffiths , Australia

Denise writes, "My inspiration comes from Australian native flowers and my beautiful Mum, as this is the last quilt she has seen before she went blind. I use a technique I call "Baglique", a very easy way to applique without having to turn edges... I use a mixture of hand dyed and commercial fabrics and shade the piece with Neocolor II watercolor pastels."

These giant flowers are so overwhelmingly cheerful, that they would brighten up even the darkest winter day. The beautiful pink and rose tones are a great  complement to the medium and dark green stems.

Close-up, Ena's Pink Waratahs by Denise Griffiths, Australia

Denise's original design is hand and machine appliqued, machine pieced, and machine quilted. We admired the pretty embroidered embellishment on the leaves and blossoms.

Sunset Over Africa, 69 x 79", by May-Gene Terblanche , South Africa

This quilt reminds us of a safari across the plains of  Africa, with its artistic animals  and its resplendent earth tones. May-Gene says, "The design was inspired by "Storm Over Africa" by Jenny Williamson from her book Quilt Africa, co-authored by Pat Parker. The quilt center was constructed from half-square triangles, with a machine appliqued border of African wild animal silhouettes. "Sunset Over Africa" was made.... to be auctioned off at a fund-raising event with a "Proudly South African" theme. My husband bought the quilt, he loved it so much!"

Diminishing Creatures by Hiroko Soeta, Japan

Hiroko explains, "I made this quilt to express my gratitude to my father-in-law, who was gentle, yet strong as a tiger. It is machine pieced and appliqued, hand quilted, embroidered, and painted." This is a strikingly interesting quilt, with a vibrant background.

Close up, Diminishing Creatures by Hiroko Soeta

Hiroko has created wonderfully realistic expressions on the faces of the tigers. She has embellished their faces with whiskers made from clear monofilament, which enhances their life-like countenances.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration.