Highlights of the 2016 AQS QuiltWeek / 5

The 2016 AQS QuiltWeek in Phoenix, Arizona was one of the best shows ever. With hundreds of quilts and very special exhibits by renowned quilters, it was an incredible show. Here are some more of our favorite quilts.
Please note: We're continually posting free patterns on Twitter ! Check us out @quiltinspire.

Dazzling Dahlia, 58 x 32",  by Andrea Brokenshire (Round Rock, Texas)

Andrea Brokenshire specializes in appliqued botanical quilts, and Dazzling Dahlia was inspired by a flower from her mother's garden in Oregon.  Andrea loved how light danced and reflected off the vibrant color and delicate texture of the petals and bud.  We are fascinated by the way in which Andrea translates her photographs into cloth.  As you can see from the blue ribbon, this quilt won 1st place in the Wall Quilts - Home Machine Quilted category.

Starry Ocean - For All Mother Humpback Whales, 59 x 48", by So Young Chung (Yongin, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea)

So Young Chung says,  "This quilt expresses a mother humpback whale's sacrifice for her baby as she protects and guides it through the ocean.  So Young was reminded of her daughter studying abroad in the U.S."   Using dark and light raw-edge strips, So Young created a scene that looks almost like a painting.  We hope the detail shows in the close-up photos below.

The King, 43 x 36", by Sherry Turpenoff (Glen Carbon, Illinois)

On a trip to Kenya, a male lion walked by the safari vehicle that Sherry's family was in.  Her daughter's photograph caught the lion's strength and beauty, thus inspiring The King.  The quilt is made with applique and extensive, artistic quilting.  Some of the texture you see on the lion's is from the batik print fabric, which is then overlaid with thread sketching.

You can see more of Sherry's art quilts at Mad Kat Lane Designs.

Chateau de Vincennes, 34 x 35", by Jan Soules (Elk Grove, California)

We were so happy to come across Chateau de Vincennes by Jan Soules, whose work we admire.  Jan was enchanged by a chateau in Paris and wanted to convey her joy in this fanciful quilt!  The quilt began in a class with Barbara Olson where Jan drafted her own pattern.  Each of the  pieces is fused to the background, then finished with blanket stitching. The colors and stitching are beautiful.

Family Circle - Farmer's Delight, 41 x 41",  by Julia Graber

You might recognize this quilt from the cover of the 2016 QuiltArt Engagement calendar!  Family Circle was displayed in the Author's showcase at AQS.  We love the pieced design, Dresden plates and gorgeous red colors.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration.

Highlights of the Pacific International Quilt Festival - Part 5

We had a fabulous time at the 2015 Pacific International Quilt Festival, the largest quilt show on the Pacific coast of the U.S.  Beautiful quilts were displayed from around the world. All the quilts were designed and constructed at a high level of talent. We are showing some prize winners, but we also will be showing some real gems that did not win. For a complete list of prize winners in the World Quilt category, please click here. Last week, we featured Part 4; and now, here is Part 5!

Summer in Norway, 36 x 40", by Charlene Dakin (Lafayette, California)

Charlene notes of this original design, "While visiting  [the town of ] Undredal, Norway, I was inspired by the lovely church siting beside the great fjords. I purchased a small watercolor painting, and with the permission of the artist, re-created my Norway experience in this quilt."

Charlene adds, "I began my quilt in a class with Kathy McNeil at the Empty Spools Seminars in Asilomar, CA and completed the many small houses later at home. " Undredal is known for its small stave church , which is lovingly depicted here in this enchanting, elegiac scene amidst the natural splendor of the fjords. Charlene's charming work is machine pieced and appliqued and sewing machine quilted.

Song of the Sea, 49 x 36", by Kathy McNeil (Tulalip, Washington)

Blue ribbon winner for Best Wall Quilt, Kathy says," I had no idea where my lovely sea creature would take me. She ended up in an art nouveau design playing with / or eating her little friends." We were impressed with the textures shown on Kathy's quilt, and the lifelike sense of motion created by the waving tentacles.

At first, this sea creature (perhaps an octopus?) is a little startling with its other-worldly eyes, and then it started to grow on us,as it has such a humorous look to it.  Kathy's very creative original design is hand appliqued and sewing machine quilted.

Pop Corn, 31 x 47", by Jan Soules (Elk Grove, California)

Jan explains, "This quilt began in a class with Lenore Crawford. I used one of my favorite California State Fair photos as an inspiration. I worked on one section at a time, and it was exciting to see the photo come to life in fabric. Now I can make fabric popcorn!"

Very pretty thread painting in clear colors of butterscotch and lemon yellow really make this applique "pop."  Jan's vibrant, energetic original design is machine pieced and appliqued, and sewing machine quilted.

Foldy Rolly Patchwork Pzzazz, 65 x 65", by Jennie Rayment (Emsworth, Hampshire, UK)

Jennie writes, "All the designs are named after fireworks and can be found in Foldy Roldy Patchwork Pzzazz - each design is created from simple shapes, and the folded edges are rolled to create curves. [These are] nine of the amazingly manipulated and totally ingenious designs that can be found in Jennie's book. The border is just rectangles and squares - it is the way they get folded that creates the effect -- magic !

Lovely split-complementary colors of green, blue, yellow-orange, and tangerine characterize these fascinating blocks. To see more of her innovative work, or to purchase books and DVD's, please check out Jennie Rayment's website.

Misty Mountain Pond, 76 x 78", by Renee Perlman (New Fairfield, Connecticut), quilted by Christian Lane Quilters

Renee's stunning quilt is paper pieced and machine pieced. Nine Mariner's Star blocks are each encircled by a ring a flying geese triangles. Such balanced, elegant symmetry is very pleasing to the eye.

The Misty Mountain Pond quilt pattern is by Bradley and Judy Niemeyer.  Here is the closeup photo:

This variegated color quilting thread done in a feather pattern looks so pretty on the deep rose red and red violet batiks, surrounded by cream color and light blue points.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration.

Highlights of the 2014 River City Quilters' Guild Show - The Finale

The River City Quilters Guild is a prominent guild established in 1977 in Sacramento, the capital city of the state of California. We really enjoyed seeing the over 200 quilts in this year's show.  Here are the last of our show photos (well, not the last of the photos, but the last of the highlights!)

Two Red Poppies, 22 x 46", by Jan Soules

Jan notes, "Two Red Poppies began in a class with Donna Greenwald. I think her method of building a flower really lends life to the piece!"  This cheerful quilt would brighten up even the darkest winter day.

Close up, Two Red Poppies by Jan Soules

Pretty purple beads really add a glamorous three dimensional  embellishment to the center of the poppies. Jan's use of  split complementary colors gives a radiant quality to these eye-catching flowers.

Dragon Tale, 70 x 70", by Linda Bergmann, quilted by Lin Squires

Se

Second place winner in the Two Person Pieced Medium Size Quilts category, Linda writes, " This is a Judy Niemeyer design [Celtic Wave]; I thought the design that developed looked like a dragon.  I enjoy paper piecing and find it relaxing."

Close up, Dragon Tale by Linda Bergmann, quilted by Lin Squires

A background fabric of red-orange, gold, and smaller gray fans add to the vibrant Asian motif created by this intriguing design.

Blue Kaleidoscope, 57 x 72", made and quilted by Chrissie Reiswig

Chrissie is the blue ribbon winner in the Adult First Quilt category, which means that this as an adult quilter, this is her first creation. She writes, "I knew I wanted to learn quilting since I was in high school, but never found the right entry point. When I finally learned about a Kaleidoscope Quilt class for beginners taught by Carol Smith in 2010, I jumped at the chance."

Close up, Blue Kaleidoscope by Chrissie Reiswig

Chrissie adds, "This was my first finished quilt top, and I haven't stopped since!"  She quilted it herself, using a contemporary free-motion pattern which contrasts nicely with the bold geometric motif of the blocks.

Fiesta Stars, 36 x 42", made and quilted by Diane Ferrel

First place winner in the category of Medium Size Challenge Quilt,  Diane writes, " Like the lanterns at a fiesta, these stars are festive and shine bright. They actually sparkle!  No two star blocks are quilted the same." Diane has done a great job in constructing and quilting this dynamic pattern.

Close up, Fiesta Stars by Diane Ferrel

According to A Field Guide to Quilts, the basic block is "Texas Trellis".  It's a variation of the Whirligig design, published by the Kansas City Star newspaper in 1936 and updated in 1943. These blocks are six-sided hexagons, comprised of six triangles which fit together like slices of a pie.  One side of each triangle is comprised of the deeper colored fabric, and the black fabric comprises the base of the triangle. These blocks have an additional, lighter wedge that adds dimension to the stars.  Note added on January 31, 2015:  See the Bloom Bloom Pow quilt tutorial by Freshly Pieced Modern Quilts.

Stars and Flowers, 74 x 81.5", made and quilted by Jaime Watson

Jaime says, "This is a Piece O' Cake design.  It's mostly hand-quilted, except for the border." Jaime has used a variety of green fabrics for the twining inner border and lively striped fabric for the diamond, which provides visual interest energy to this large quilt. Extra charm is added by the two happy little blue birds at the bottom.

Close up, Stars and Flowers by Jaime Watson

A beautiful LeMoyne star center piece provides a striking focal point for this heartwarming traditional pattern.  You can see Jaime Watson's precise hand quilting inside the pink star.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration.

Welcome to the 2014 River City Quilters' Guild Show: Day 2

The River City Quilters Guild is a prominent guild established in 1977 in Sacramento, the capital city of the state of California. We really enjoyed seeing the over 200 quilts in this year's show, and we'd like to share some of the highlights with you in these posts.

View of Arles With Irises, 80 x 65”, made and quilted by The Fab 5 Group (Carole Pirruccello, Cathy Brorby, Phyllis McCalla, Jan Bawart and Jan Soules.) First Place, Group Quilt-Large

These five panels represent five different views of the flowers in the fields of Arles, France. The artists say about themselves, " The Fab 5 art group took on the daunting task of trying to render, artistically, in fabric, [Impressionist painting] Vincent Van Gogh's  "View of Arles With Irises". Each artist worked independently on her slice [of the total panel shown here]. The resulting interplay of colors, techniques, and embellishments convey a "joie de vivre" ( a joy of life) to this amazing landscape.

Closeup photo, View of Arles with Irises by The Fab 5 Group

An amazing sense of movement is created here with with the circular quilting pattern, and the fabric appliqued in three dimensional rounded pieces. You can almost feel the wind blowing through the trees.

Closeup photo, View of Arles with Irises

These lovely three dimensional origami flowers in shades of purple remind us of little Dutch windmills. Tiny patchwork pieces provide a  dappled sunlight effect to the field behind the blossoms.  We're posting  more closeup photos of "View of Arles" at Quilt Inspiration on Pinterest.

Lava Lamp, 97 x 91.5”, made by Laurel Anderson, quilted by Lin Squires. 2nd place, 2-person quilt - Pieced and Applique

This quilt was inspired by designs of the 1960's and the Shimmer fabric line from Northcott. The fabric colors move from dark to light in 9 shades with shimmers of gold or silver.

close up, Lava Lamp by Laurel Anderson

The ovals are machine appliqued and all the other curves are pieced. A pattern is available at Laurel Anderson's website, Whisper Color.

Twilight Star of Indonesia, 37 x 37”, made and quilted by Susan Kooiman

Susan notes, "I chose this pattern to challenge myself and my paper piecing skills. It was the perfect opportunity to use my beloved batiks."  We love the vibrant split complementary color scheme of orange, red, and gold, combined with a deep blue violet. The circular flying geese border provides an especially innovative and creative effect. This quilt was based on a pattern by Judy Mathieson.

Close up, Twilight Star of Indonesia by Susan Kooiman

In the center of the pastel chartreuse star is a pretty gold brooch with a gleaming purple jewel. Circular gold stitching around the purple background ties the components of this center medallion all together.

Cats Rule, 65 x 80”, made by Kathy Mack, quilted by Shannon Freeman

We love cat quilts, and this one is a beauty!  This quilt was completed by Kathy Mack as a block-of-the-month quilt taught by Anelie Belden, using the Folk Art Cats design by John Simpkins for The Stitchin' Post.  Kathy says: “This is my first attempt at needle-turn applique.” The quilt won Honorable Mention for a Two-Person Pieced and Applique quilt. Each of the cats has button eyes and other embellishments. We couldn't resist taking lots of close-up photos!

Close up photos, Cats Rule by Kathy Mack

The cat jumped over the moon...

This cat has button eyes, embroidered whiskers, and an inscrutable expression...

Here is a cat with a beach ball and a daisy collar:

This cat is totally happy with his mouse... check out the halo over his head!

The stylized bushes are decorated with buttons shaped as gears...

Here is a sunny yellow cat...

This cat is chasing a dragonfly:

"Santa Claws" is comin' to town on his little green cat feet that look as if he is walking on stilts. He look all ready for Christmas Eve with his jaunty hat and belt with star round his belly.

 

Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration.