Connecting Our Natural Worlds - SAQA Global Quilt Exhibit (Day 7)

The Connecting Our Natural Worlds exhibit by SAQA showcases art quilts that illustrate the natural wonder of habitats around the globe. Through their own unique artistic interpretation, each artist has identified danger to flora and fauna in their own backyards. The selected pieces inspire viewers to get closer to nature and become better stewards for our environment.  We recently visited this outstanding exhibit at the Brigham City Museum in Utah.

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Desde Mi Ventana (From My Window) by Georgia B. Heller (Arizona)

Georgia B. Heller says, "This is a view of my yard in Scottsdale, Arizona.  The colorful pool and patio invite you to enjoy the outdoors, and the ambiance is accented with several native plants. The saguaro cactus defines the Sonoran Desert and its blossoms are the state flower."

A short drive away from this locale is the Sonoran Desert Preserve, a protected desert and mountain habitat.  Georgia notes, "By keeping large areas safe from human development, we hope to find a balance between preserving their natural beauty and the demands of population growth."

This beautifully rendered, photo-inspired scene was constructed with cotton, acid-free inks and markers. Many of the details were accented with thread painting.  Applique was used to construct the brightly painted Talavera pottery seen on the table, above.

Soon the Summer Sun by Brenda H. Smith (Arizona)

This fantastic art quilt honors the penstemon, which provides valuable nectar for many insects and hummingbirds.  Brenda H. Smith says, "Penstemons are some of my favorite flowers.  We have planted these low-water-use species to add color and augment the native landscaping in our yard [in Flagstaff, Arizona.]  Penstemon species native to Arizona are not endangered, but reducing non-native plants in favor of native species helps preserve local biodiversity in our urban landscapes."

Soon The Summer Sun was constructed with hand dyed and commercial cottons, which were painted, screen-printed, fused, machine appliqued and machine quilted.

Sonoran Monsoon by Debra Kay (Arizona)

People who live in the Sonoran Desert are familiar with the summer monsoons, which bring much-needed rain and spectacular lightning displays to the parched terrain.  Debra Kay says that her journey into art quilting began three years ago with a move to Tucson, Arizona.  She began to depict desert scenes with mountains, washes, and desert flora and fauna.  The jagged outlines of the Catalina Mountains are shown in this piece.

Streaks of lightning can be seen above the mountains, with  the rocks and sand rendered in muted tones of the appliqued batiks. Sonoran Monsoon was constructed with cotton and cheesecloth, using various techniques including batiking and tea dying; applique; free motion stitching; and fabric painting. We were intrigued by the use of a coiled and knotted fabric "rope" to outline the upper edge of the quilt, shown below.

Precious Reserves by Linda Syverson Guild (Maryland)

Amazing in its detail, Precious Reserves pays tribute to the High Plains aquifer, which is critical for the existence of the magnificent Sandhill cranes that live along the Platte River in Nebraska. Linda Syverson Guild says, "Our world exists in a precarious balance with nature.  What lies beneath the surface of the earth is the 'Fort Knox' of our future - the precious reserves."

The High Plains Aquifer is depicted in meticulous geographic detail with applique and embroidery, ranging from Texas to Wyoming and South Dakota. Linda explains that central pivot irrigation has depleted the reserves to the point of crisis, endangering the Sandhill cranes. Many different materials and techniques were used to create this piece, including hand-dyed and commercial fabric, polyester netting, and fabric paint.  The shading, created with black netting, can be seen in the closeup photo below.

Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the Brigham City Museum in Utah. As of August 2021, many of the pieces can be purchased at the Connecting Our Natural Worlds web page.

Quilt Arizona 2020 ! Day 5

In February, when life was still "normal" , we attended the 2020 Quilt Arizona! Show which is an outstanding display of statewide quilts from the Arizona Quilters' Guild. This year's theme was "Desert Stars". We hope you enjoy these highlights from the show !

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Perito Moreno Glacier by Georgia Heller

It's been said that if you only visit one glacier in your life, Perito Moreno would be a good one to pick. It towers above the turquoise glacial water of Patagonia’s Los Glaciares National Park. Georgia Heller's stunning quilt is based on this natural wonder. Entered in the Pictorial category, Georgia says, "I took a photo of the glacier from a boat, manipulated it in Photoshop, printed the image on fabric and quilted it."

Waterfall 1 by Rose Swarts

This beaded fabric art quilt was entered in the Theme category, Desert Stars.  Rose Swarts says, "The desert night sky has always awed and inspired me.  This is how I imagine it might look from Havasupai Falls."  This little quilt is embellished with hundreds of interesting beads, representing the falls, rocks, and stars, and hand embroidered.

Sunshine by Diana Jones, quilted by Sue Bruner

Inspired by the Phoenix (Arizona) Zoo, this quilt was constructed using 100 foundation paper pieces.  The pattern The Giraffe Abstractions is by Violet Craft.  Diana Jones says, "I changed the colors to reflect the colors I see at the Phoenix Zoo... The Phoenix Zoo is my Desert Star.  It has been designated as a Phoenix Point of Pride... This quilt is titled 'Sunshine' in honor of one of the giraffes.  Sunshine is a 5-year-old Masai giraffe, 13 feet tall and weighs 1400 pounds."

Urbanologie by Susan Fleming, quilted by Pat Roche

We admire the excellent use of color in this fun quilt.  Susan Fleming says, "This quilt pushed all my buttons. [I] loved the design... it helped me with curved piecing.  [I] used up lots of my stash and it came out looking great.  The design is Urbanologie by Sew Kind of Wonderful." 
The closeup photo, below,  shows Susan's skillful piecing, and Sue Bruner's professional quilting.

My Splendid Sampler by Wanda Dix

Sampler quilts are so much fun, and this one is exceptional in every way. It won a Blue Ribbon in the Scrap-Solo category. Wanda Dix said she used over 210 fabrics and 32 thread colors for the quilting.  The blocks are based on the online Splendid Sampler Project 1 by Jane Davidson and Pat Sloan.  Check out the cute quilting on the flower, shown below.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2020 Quilt Arizona show.

Highlights of Quilt Arizona 2019 ! part 3

The Arizona Quilters Guild has over 35 chapters, and they all get together annually for the Quilt Arizona show. The 2019 theme was Jewels of the Desert: "Every quilt is like a gemstone, the dancing colors play through patterns to endlessly fascinate and amaze. This year your quilt should convey Arizona's iridescent beauty, from golden sunsets and emerald cacti, to clear sparkling memories."

Note: please check out our E-Bay shop for great bargains on quilt patterns, fabric, and vintage jewelry ! (For continuous free quilt patterns, please visit us on Twitter !)

Mod Cactus by Ellen Born, quilted by Ellen Born

“I had fun trying this modern quilt called Mod Cactus. The curved pieces were made using the QCR ruler (Quick Curve Ruler). The quilting in the background was a foray into some different quilting, some with ruler work.” The Mod Cactus pattern is by Sew Kind of Wonderful.

Star Light, Star Bright by Linda Hopkins, quilted by Linda Hopkins

Winner of Honorable Mention, Mixed Technique, Linda Hopkins says: "I enjoy combining different techniques into each quilt. Shiva art stick rubbings, applique, embroidery and beading on hand dyed fabric make this an unusual quilt."  We love this creative use of hand embroidery, shown below.

Earl the Burro by Karen Adams, quilted by Karen Adams.

Winner of Honorable Mention, Mixed Technique, Earl the Burro was taken from a personal picture of a burro in Oatman, Arizona. Karen Adams says, "I was attracted to him with his goofy expression and tough, good eye contact and his personality. Earl became known and is a symbol of Arizona." The quilt was started in a collage quilt class taught by Susan Carlson; you can see the work in progress on Susan Carlson's website.

Prickly Pear In All Its Glory by Maureen Pastika. Quilted by Maureen Pastika.

Maureen says, “I bought the pattern in 2004. It sat in a drawer with all the fabrics I had picked out for it until September (2018) when I ‘found it’ again! The theme of this year’s quilt show (Jewels of the Desert) was a perfect fit for this quilt."

Tango, Rhythm of Buenos Aires by Georgia Heller, quilted by Georgia Heller.

Winner of Honorable Mention, Pictorial – Original Design, Georgia Heller says, "This quilt was inspired by a trip to Argentina where we watched several dramatic tango performances" This quilt incorporates all of the musical instruments of the tango, along with the graceful lines of the dancers.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2019 Quilt Arizona show.

Quilt Arizona! Part 5

Warm sunny weather greeted us upon our desert adventure to Quilt Arizona!, the new name for the 2016 annual show of the Arizona Quilters Guild in Mesa, Arizona.  Here's Part 5 of the highlights of the show, plus some of our personal favorites.
Please note: We're continually posting free patterns on Twitter !  Check us out @QuiltInspire.

Antelope Canyon by Georgia Heller

Third place winner in the Art Quilts/ Painted or Digital category, Georgia notes of her original design, "My interpretation [was] inspired by my photo of Antelope Canyon."  A small thread-painted tree, on the right-hand side of the quilt, lends perspective to the scene. We admire the gorgeous colors of this stunning quilt, which shows the nuances of sunlight and shadow, as the viewer looks upward into the blue sky.

Antelope Canyon is a picturesque canyon in northern Arizona, characterized by twisting sandstone walls. This quilting pattern very realistically depicts the striations in the spiral rock patterns. Georgia quilted this beautiful work herself, using a stationary machine.

Jam Session by Patsy Kittredge

Honorable Mention winner in the category of Art/Abstract quilts,  Patsy writes about her original design,  "Ah, music...it flows, ignites, sparkles, calms, interweaves, spills over... and moves you." This lively, energetic work clearly exemplifies Patsy's enthusiasm and love of music.

Patsy has added some very "jazzy" embellishments to her quilt, along with the use of tulle netting. We really liked this quilt, as it was so imaginative, vibrant, and fanciful.

Southwest Squares, 52 x 78, by Daryl Lynn, quilted by Laura Jansen

After 6 years of blogging here on Quilt Inspiration about other people's quilts, Daryl Lynn finally took the time to make a quilt to enter into a show ! This isn't Daryl Lynn's first effort at quilting, but it is her first quilt show entry.  Daryl Lynn used the pattern "Bright Squares" from Heritage Quilts by Kaffe Fassett. Check out the book, which is posted on our right hand sidebar ! (Just scroll down a little).  It is full of brightly colored quilts, that are really fun to make, with an easy-to-understand text and instructions.

This quilt is comprised of more than one thousand  2-inch fabric squares.  The squares are sewn into big 26 inch square blocks, which are then pieced together. Daryl Lynn would like to thank her sister and fellow blogger Marina, longarm quilter Laura Jansen, and teacher Margrit Hall.

Field of Wishes by Barbara Janson

Honorable Mention winner in the category of Art/Innovative quilts, Barbara writes about her original design,  "The vacant lot behind our house was filled with dandelions this summer while I learned to ride my two-wheeler bike." The inner border of black and white print fabric adds a very whimsical, creative touch to this softly-hued work.

Barbara continues, "Layers of tulle and dryer sheets create the puffs with embroidered seeds and beading. We think this embellishment is really pretty and gives the perfect effect of  wispy dandelions floating gently in the summer breeze. Barbara quilted this work herself using a stationary machine.

Clementine, Isabella, Mr. Nadia and many more by Rosemarie Snow, quilted by Debbie Stanton

Honorable Mention winner in the Large Applique quilts category, Rosemarie remarks, "My daughter Julie loves and has chickens. When I saw this pattern, Funky Chickens by Sindy Rodenmayer, I knew I had to make it for her.The fabrics are mostly by Kaffe Fassett." We think these chickens are just bursting with personality, and the eye-catching colors really "pop" against the black background.

Look at this chicken's neck, which is actually a floral fabric; however, Rosemarie uses it in such a skilful way here, that it looks like chicken feathers! Using a track mounted machine, Debbie Stanton did a fabulous job of longarm quilting this happy quilt.

Kate's Vintage Compass by Kathy O'Brien, quilted by Penny Boese

Honorable Mention winner in the Pieced Medium-size quilts category, Kathy notes, " [I took an] excellent class with Judy Niemeyer certified instructor Jackie Kunkel . I love the red/black combination."  We agree with Kathy that the use of red, black, and white fabric here creates a very striking and elegant combination. 

Kathy's design inspiration was the Vintage Compass pattern by Judy Niemeyer. The very artistic quilting is a digitized pattern by Penny Boese.


Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration.