The 50th Annual Utah Quilt Show! (4)

Welcome back to the 50th Annual Utah Quilt Show! This show features some of Utah's finest quilters. Each quilt displays a convergence of artistry and creative decision-making, with the meticulous technical work required at every step of the quilting process.  We hope you enjoy our photos!

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Boho Heart (2023), made and quilted by Marcia Peterson. 

We love the warm colors in this large sampler heart quilt. Marcia Peterson says, "My quilt group each used their own favorite fabrics to make Jen Kingwell's Boho Heart pattern. I loved seeing how each quilt turned out different.  This was my take on the pattern."

Ezi's Quilt by Mary Duke, quilted by Dawna Sine.

Mary Duke says, "This is my first collage quilt. I started this quilt when my daughter was pregnant with our sweet granddaughter, Ezi. Some people say the baby has too much hair. When our sweet girl was born, her hair was over 2 inches long in some spots. I changed the pattern a bit to look more like my daughter. It was so fun creating this quilt... This quilt now hangs over our granddaugher's bed."

My 100 Block Journey (2024), made and quilted by Helen Butler.

Helen Butler says, "What started out as one quilt ended up being a completely different quilt simply by laying these 100 "Log Cabin" blocks out a completely different way.  Each block began with a black velvet square and was surrounded by a variety of silk, batik, and cotton fabrics. One day I was playing with these blocks and I artfully laid them out in the "Barn Raising" pattern according to their color.  It turned out to be a completely different quilt!"

 

The hand quilting lines can be seen in this closeup photo, below.

My "Happy" Carnival Flower (2024), made and quilted by Diane Wilber.

Diange Wilber says, "My "Happy" Carnival Flower is merrily twirling within sun-kissed waves. I colored the quilt in Quiltster, try8ing to capture Mother Nature's vibrant organic blends with my fabrics.  This quilt features hand appliqued dots and gumdrops, original center yellow flange, scalloped/wave border with double flange split binding, and braid trim edging" [shown below].

Mariners in a Pickle with Sunset (2023) by Sherrie Chambers, quilted by Cecile Wilson.

Winner of a Blue Ribbon (Award of Excellence), Sherrie Chambers says: "I thought the pattern looked lovely, so I accepted the challenge to make this lovely quilt. The sunset came from a picture I took while on a cruise in Alaska." Details of the beautiful batiks and precision piecing are shown below.

Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the Springville (Utah) Museum of Art.

Highlights of the Utah quilt show (4)

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!

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

Autumn Forest by Jared Moore (Orem, Utah)

Jared notes, "This quilt is a unique, one of a kind design inspired various photographs and my own imagination. Each piece is hand cut and placed with purpose. Every quilt I create has an emotional connection for me."

Detail, Autumn Forest

Jared continues, "This reminds me of my childhood and the many adventures I have had in the wilderness with my family and on my own. Trees are an obsession in my art work. I say artwork with some hesitancy, as I have no skill or training in art, except perhaps with quilts." We think that Jared's quilt is indeed very artistic!  The placement of the yellow and orange fabric pieces enhance the look of dappled sunlight coming through the trees.

Cabin Crazy by Pam Wing (Summit, Utah)

Pam says, "This started out to be a table runner, but I had so much fun making the log cabin squares that I made it into a full quilt. There are 3,585 pieces designed, pieced, hand-dyed, and hand quilted by myself." 

Detail, Cabin Crazy

 In this close-up, you can see all of the hard work and color arrangement that Pam put into the piecing of her full size quilt.

Afternoon Delight by Patsy Wall (Payson, Utah), quilted by Kim Peterson

Award of Excellence winner, Patsy states, "There was no special occasion for making this quilt. Applique quilts are my favorite quilts. I love all different kinds of handwork, but needle-turned applique is my favorite." 

Detail, Afternoon Delight

Pam's center block is a beautiful example of curved applique piecing, which is set off by her very precise quilting of the background.

Devotion by Helen Butler (Alpine, Utah)

H

 Helen explains, "I rarely name my quilts, and this one is no exception. After witnessing the many hours of hand quilting this quilt, my dad commented one day, "Anyone who can stick with that no matter what, should name the quilt 'Devotion', so thus it became its name. " 

Helen adds, "Countless hours have been put into the completion of this applique and hand-quilted heirloom. Every stitch is done by hand. A small piece of my life is in this quilt! " We so much enjoyed seeing Helen's gorgeous hand work.

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

Quilts from the Springville Museum of Art (part 2)

Each year, the Springville Museum of Art (Utah) has one of the best quilt shows around.  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!

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

Exuberance by Helen Butler

Winner of an Award of Excellence, this stunning heirloom quilt was a decade in the making. Helen Butler says, "Having started this quilt 10 years ago, this is the feeling I had upon its completion.  The mere size created a degree of difficulty on my home machine to quilt. Thus the feeling of exuberance entered my soul when I was able to pronounce it done!"

It is a reproduction of an antique quilt on display at the Henry Ford Museum (in Dearborn, Michigan). Helen Butler created this masterpiece using needle turn applique, trapunto, thread painting, and piping add to the dimension of this quilt.  All of the quilting designs are original.

Beauty All Around by Myrt Gehring, quilted by Carole Lifferth

Myrt Gehring says,  "I really enjoyed working with wool.  This is my second wool quilt but [it] was a challenge for me and stretched me to learn new concepts.  I loved all the colors and felt they blended well.  All Jewel tones that I love. This quilt took me over a year to complete and most of the time was very enjoyable!"  (Note: The design is by Joyce Weeks at Geoff's Mom Pattern Company.)

Teal Unstopped by Toni Sharp, quilted by Cindy Williams

Teal Unstopped was begun in a class, and each month the class focused on a different lone star design.  Toni Sharp says, "The teal fabrics tied the stars together, and Cindy Williams' custom quilting further enhanced the stars." We loved the interesting fabric choices and colors, and admired Toni's perfect piecing technique!  Here are two closeup photos.

Seminole - Southwest by Marian Murdock

This quilt is all Seminole strip pieced, using both traditional and non-traditional Seminole designs in a large scale.  Winner of Honorable Mention at the show, Marian Murdock says, "I chose colors of the desert Southwest, but my design inspiration came from the Seminole Native Americans of South Florida.  The Seminoles are known for their brightly colored intricate pieced bands used in their traditional clothing."

Marian explains, "The most challenging part of designing it was figuring out the size of the strips so the pieced bands did not cut off in an odd place. I wanted to keep the focus on the piecing, so I kept the quilting simple, mostly in-the-ditch, which I did on a home machine."

Love Groves by Jennifer Gunnell, quilted by Lisa White

There is a bevy of colorful trees in this eye-catching quilt! Love Groves is made from thousands of diamond shapes, using hundreds of batik fabrics, and each tree has a unique quilted pattern.  Jennifer Gunnel says, "I have a tradition of making wedding quilts for my daughters.  This one was made for my youngest daugther whose nickname is "Tree". Our family tree is forever growing in Groves of Love."

Each tree canopy is made from four equilateral triangle sections, made from diamond-shaped patches in a manner similar to a Bethlehem star quilt.The source of the design was not listed on the quilt description, but it reminds us of the blocks in "From Little Things, Big Things Grow" by Sarah Fielke for Lecien Fabrics (see the free PDF download here.)

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the Springville Museum of Art.

Best of Utah quilts: The 2018 Springville show ! part 3

We had lots of fun seeing the pretty quilts at the 45th annual Utah Quilt Show in Springville, Utah. It's a juried show, featuring quilts of all styles and sizes. We hope you enjoy the "eye candy" below !

Note: For great deals on quilt patterns, fabric, and vintage jewelry, visit us on E-Bay - We're Top Rated Sellers ! And for continuous listings of free quilt patterns, please check us out on Twitter.

Joci at Meiji Shrine by Sandra Rindlesbach - Award of Excellence

Sandra notes, "Joci at Meiji Shrine is adapted from a photo of my daughter while on vacation in Japan. The quilt is completely thread painted with over 100 threads. It was started in a class by [art quilter] Jennifer Day. This is my first thread painted quilt. "

Close-up, Joci at Meiji Shrine

In this exquisite quilt, you can see every detail of Joci's face. We really admire Sandra's amazing work.

Everlasting by Helen Butler (Best of Show)

Helen explains, "This multi-faceted quilt has been year in the making and finishing. Begun in 2014, the Coxcomb pattern has intrigued me, as I was drawn to its circular design and secondary pattern. The coxcomb flower is known as an "Everlasting", being one that when it dies, it does not lose its color or shape."

Close-up, Everlasting

Helen adds, "Last, not but least, this quilt, as my family knows, has literally been everlasting in its completion, and now it's done. AMEN. This original design quilt features trapunto, stuffed work, thread play, piping, couching, and needleturn applique. Quilted on my domestic machine."  Many congratulations to Helen upon the completion of her stunning work, with such intriguing shapes and beautiful quilting.

Autumn Migration by Margo Faccini

Margo says, "I couldn't resist the wonderful colors in this [fabric] line, so I bought several yards of several pieces and have ended up with two fall colored quilts."

Close-up, Autumn Migration

We really like the center medallion of long-stemmed flowers, which is set off so nicely by the flying geese inner border. Margo's pretty work perfectly captures the moods and colors of a sunny autumn day.
  
Magnificent Mola by Ellina Poulson, quilted by Kim Peterson (Award of Excellence)

Ellina writes, "I purchased the mola several years ago in Midway, UT and then struggled with ideas to frame it. It finally came together this year."
Ellina is referring to the  textile with the circular motif in the very center of the quilt. 

detail

In this close-up of the center motif, you can see the gorgeous colors and patterns that went into its construction. Ellina adds, "The quilting by Kim Peterson exquisitely sets off the design."

Deep Blue by Aftyn Schwab, quilted by Carol Rawson

Aftyn states, "Deep Blue" is a one block wonder quilt, but it is an original design. I didn't want a normal one block wonder quilt in the way they are usually made. I wanted something completely different and organic - like the ocean. The organization of the blocks is inspired by the ocean. The lightest blocks are near the top, where the sun penetrates and causes [the water] to be lighter."
(Based on One Block Wonders: One Fabric, One Shape, One-of-a-Kind Quilts by Maxine Rosenthal)

Close-up, Deep Blue

Aftyn continues, " The symbolism between my quilt and the ocean is similar. As you go deeper in the ocean, the colors deepen due to the absence of light. This is the effect I wanted to replicate in my quilt. I chose to do the ocean because I absolutely love it. I think it's gorgeous, mysterious, endearing, and captivating. This quilt was made entirely by me, with my Grandma Evans as my technical advisor." This is such an energetic,  pretty quilt, with a perfect selection of fabrics to depict the myriad hues of the ocean against a background of sandy and gray neutrals. 

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration.

Glorious basket quilts

As spring is finally reaching the Northern states, it is a perfect time to feature some glorious basket quilts! There is no doubt that baskets are among the most popular themes in quilting.  Made with colorful prints, or filled with flowers or fruit, basket quilts are perfect for any time of the year.
p.s. Did you know that we're continually posting free patterns on Twitter ? Check us out @QuiltInspire ! 

Baskets, Baskets and more Baskets by Pat B. Fuller, quilted by Janae Tanner

This fabulous row quilt features Dresden baskets, wonky baskets, pots of tulips, and honey bees! Pat Fuller says that she was inspired by a basket quilt made by Helen Butler (for a photo see the post by Cactus Needle).

Pat explains, "With the big basket idea from a pattern by Two Peas in a Pod, some of Lori Holt’s Quilty Fun row patterns and a wonderful applique lesson presented by Helen Butler at Winter Retreat held in Bryce Canyon (Utah), I was able to not only enjoy the process, but use up some scraps and design my own colorful quilt."

Emily’s Garden by Katherine Porter, quilted by Virginia Gore

This beauty, done in muted tones on a taupe background, is based on the Green Tea and Sweet Beans quilt pattern by Jen Kingwell Designs. Katherine Porter says, "My neighbor has a beautiful ever-changing garden that I love to walk past each day. As I was making this quilt, I realized it was the colors of Emily’s Garden."

Yoshi, the Deer with Glasses by Kaye Evans, quilted by Sue McCarty

This quilt really knocked our socks off. Kaye Evans says, "I used funky Japanese and Australian Aboriginal fabric to make the quilt. Hand applique, combined with machine applique, completed the top. While completing the quilt I was watching the [2014] winter Olympics and heard the name “Yoshi”, hence the title": Yoshi, the Deer with Glasses, shown below.

We love the fun fabrics and quirky basket shapes.  The pattern, called Basket Case, was designed by Chris Jurd of PatchworkFun  (Australia).  Kaye Evans says, "Combining all of the fun fabric made it enjoyable to complete." 

My Pink Flower Baskets by Linda Williams, quilted by Kim Peterson

The look and feel of the pattern and the fabrics make this quilt one to die for. Linda Williams says,  "I have an antique that sets this quilt off just right. I knew as soon as I saw the pattern that this would be the perfect quilt for my antique white bed."

We admired Linda Williams' machine applique and embroidered French knots, shown above.  The quilt was based on the Strawberry Baskets pattern by Verna Mosquera at The Vintage Spool. The pattern is now retired but can sometimes be found on Ebay.

Rose Arbor Wonder by Marget Kunz, quilted by Marget Kunz

Rose Arbor Wonder was awarded Honorable Mention at the 2015 Springville (Utah) quilt show. Marget Kunz says that the quilt was designed by Sue Garman and was the featured BOM several years ago. The pattern is called Ruffled Roses.

This is an heirloom quilt with its medallion heart center, multiple borders and pieced baskets, and the unusual inner applique swag and outer pieced swag borders.  The outermost border is made with a bargello-like design made with hundreds of small strips.  Marget says, "The piano key border was a big hang up for me. After spending a lot of time trying to come up with an alternate, I bit the bullet and just did it. It really is the right border for the quilt."

Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2015 Springville (Utah) quilt show.  If you like basket quilts, you might also be interested in the free patterns for basket quilts in our Free Pattern Archive.