Highlights of Quilt Arizona! (1)

The 2025 Quilt Arizona show features hundreds of quilters, many of whom spend the winter months in this sunny locale.  Here are some highlights from the show.  We hope you enjoy our photos!

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PIMA, made and quilted by Deb Deaton  

Winner of 1st Place in the Art-Innovative category, and Best of Show, Deb Deaton says: "When I create art, I think of how I can make it stand out, be different. PIMA took more than a year to complete with over 1000 pieces of fabric, needle felting, and mixed media (wow!)

Inspired by a copyright-free photo found on the Unsplash photography website; the image was altered significantly in creating this work of art. The painterly effects were created with silk threads, hand dyed fabrics, and mixed media including inks, pastels, & paints.  

 To Walk in Beauty by Jane McCabe, quilted by Rose Maynes

This incredible quilt won 1st Place in its category (Pieced - Large Duet), and a special award for Exemplary Machine Quilting - Computer Guided. Jane McCabe says: "To honor Arizona Native American art aesthetics, the center medallion pattern is "Hopi Basketry" by Southwest Decoratives. 

 Jane McCabe says that pieced borders of pineapple blocks, half-square triangles, and flying geese squares echo Navajo and Zuni rugs and pottery designs.  The quilting by Rose Maynes represents tribal design forms.

Faceted Jewels in Blue by Judy Locke, quilted by Penny Boese  

Winner of 1st Place in the Modern - Duet category, this brilliant quilt was based on a published design called Faceted Jewels from Paper Pieced Modern by Amy Garro.  

Judy Locke says, "I had seen this pattern in the Paper Pieced Modern book and wanted to make it when I found the right fabrics. A new collection called Ebb & Flow from Windham Fabrics was available in the summer of 2024.  The collection's geometric designs and solids work together well creating the faceted jewels."  It was machine quilted by Penny Boese, who echoed the geometric designs of the pieced blocks using blue thread to emphasize the "jewels". 

Go West by Naomi Marin, quilted by Matt Seamons  

 This fantastic Southwestern design quilt won 1st Place in the Pieced - Small Duet category. Naomi Marin says: "The indigenous designs of tribes across the world have always been interesting to me. They express a message or tell a story. In the pattern Go West (by Bonjour Quilts) I find the colors striking and the sharp points are perfectly placed for a stunning pattern."

 Wildflowers at the Cabin, made and quilted by Jo Ann Kilgroe  

We loved this original quilt with its pineapple blocks and colorful, appliqued flowers. Winner of 1st place in the Mixed Technique - Solo category, Jo Ann Kilgroe says, "Camping in the mountains and seeing all of the brilliant wildflowers is a favorite of mine." Here you can see sunflowers, poppies, and other mountain flowers that echo the primary colors in the pineapple blocks.

Jo Ann says, "Paper pieced scrappy pineapple blocks in numerous rich colors [were used] for my background.  Then I drew up an assortment of wildflowers, placed them on a vine, and then appliqued it all on my blocks." 

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

Note: This post has some affiliate links for products cited by these artists. Even if you don’t want to buy the items online, you could buy them at your local craft store. If you do make a purchase from one of these links, we’ll make a small commission. There is no additional cost to you.

A Joyous Celebration

A quilted Christmas tree is a creative way to celebrate the holiday.  Here's an original design wall quilt titled "Joyous"!

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Joyous by Jo Ann Kilgroe

This clever quilt was made by Jo Ann Kilgroe as part of a "My Initial x5 Challenge". The challenge asked quilters to use their first initial to pick 5 items beginning with their first initial letter to add to their quilt (in this case, the letter 'J'.)  

The juniper tree is bedecked with jingle bells. The stitched word "Joyous" can be seen in the lower right corner of the quilt, above. Jo Ann also included a jackrabbit, and the color known as jazzberry jam.

Image credit: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2022 Arizona Quilters Guild show.

Bougainvillea and Bouquets: Flower Quilts

Flowers are happy things, and we hope the flowers are blooming in your part of the world.  Capturing the beauty of nature in a quilt is every bit as difficult as creating a painting - and, according to friends who are both painters and quilters, the quilt takes more time!  Here are some fantastic flower quilts we admired at the recent show.

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

Bougainvillea in the Garden by Jillane Ocano

Jillane Ocano designed this whole cloth panel, then made it into a quilt!  She says, "I took a photo of bougainvillea in my yard and had it printed on cotton fabric (see below for source).  I double batted it and then free motion quilted this using six different thread colors. I began free motion quilting in January 2018."  This art/innovative quilt received an Honorable Mention award.

If you love the look of this panel, you can view and purchase it at Jillane Ocano's shop on Spoonflower (it's still available, at least as of May 2019)!

Bird & Basket by Susan S. Norris

We love the colors in this striking wall quilt, with its inner rainbow border. Susan Norris says, "Bird and Basket was hand appliqued and hand quilted on a lap, from a pattern  I got years ago by Nancy Pearson." (The pattern was called English Garden Basket.)  It has a batik sky background with vivid colors for the flowers, baskets and first border. The basket was made from fabric with stripes that resemble reeds.

Still Life Bouquet by Jo Ann Kilgroe, photo by Quilt Inspiration

We admire the design, applique and quilting by Jo Ann Kilgroe in this lovely work. The background quilting was divided into two sections with a diamond pattern on the left, suggesting the appearance of a window. Jo Ann says, "I drew up a beautiful floral arrangement in a wonderful vase.  Then selected the exact colors I wanted from my stash of batik fabrics." 

The quilt was made with fused applique on a pieced background. Jo Ann's precise machine quilting can be seen in the closeup photo above.

Garden Delight by Brenda Stanway, quilted by Debbie Newell

In this delightful quilt, every basket has different shapes of flowers! Brenda Stanway says, "I started on a pattern and did not like it, used just the basket and developed the appliques.  My first original design."  The flowers were hand appliqued and they have embroidered stems.  Debbie Newell's professional quilting enhances this design, which won Honorable Mention in the Applique - Small category.

Big Dreams Come True by Barb Tatera

Barb Tatera won Third Place for Big Dreams Come True, which is a whole cloth quilt with gorgeous quilting by Barb.  She says, "This quilt is a [fabric] panel designed by Jeanie Sumrall-Ajero and digitally prnted by Hoffman Fabrics.  It was so much fun quilting all of the feathers to make the petals really pop!"
As of this post, you can still see the fabric panels in various colors on the Hoffman California Fabrics website.

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

Baskets Month by Month

We love scrap quilts and sampler quilts ! Here is a lovely sampler quilt, with a different colorful basket for each month of the year.  Closeup photos of the May, June and July blocks are shown below.

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Baskets Month by Month by Jo Ann Kilgroe, quilted by Jessica Jones Gamez

Jo Ann Kilgroe writes, "The appliqued and foundation pieced blocks were adapted from a 2003 Quiltmaker magazine. Made totally from batik scraps.The setting was my original design."  (The patterns were featured as a series in Quiltmaker Magazine 2003.)
The wonderful border of nine-patch blocks, set on point and framed with half-square triangles, certainly adds to the joyous, lively look of JoAnn's quilt.

May block

This May basket has beautiful log cabin-style piecing, with delightful flowers.
One of the challenges of scrap quilts is to create a unified work without making it look too chopped up or disorganized. Jo Ann has done a terrific job of combining the scraps in color groups, so the blocks appear to be very cohesive units.

June block

This little bluebird gives the June basket lots of cheerful energy ! Notice how the entire basket is outlined in fabrics of the same periwinkle blue shade so that the viewer can easily perceive the entire motif. 

July block

What could be more appropriate for a patriotic holiday than vibrantly colored star-shaped flowers? Again, we appreciate how the same shade of batik was carried through to the flag in the center of the basket, giving an orderly look to the entire block. The "secret to success" in scrap quilts may be to organize like-colored fabrics in small sections that can be seen one at a time.


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

Happy Valentine's Day ! (1)

Happy Valentine's Day 2019! We love this holiday, dedicated to friendship, love, and romance. Join us as we take a look at some of these red and white quilts which celebrate such a fun time of the year!

My Best Friends by Jo Ann Kilgroe,  Arizona U.S.A.

JoAnn says,  "[This is] an original design inspired by [quilt designer] Carol Doak, Possibilities, and Quilter's Cache. It's a fun sampler quilt, expressing what the Arizona Quilters' Guild and my quilting friends mean to me." Here are two quilting buddies who appear to be holding out their hands with strips and squares of fabric all ready for the sewing machine.

Close-up, "My Best Friends"

At the 2018 Quilt Arizona! show in Mesa, Arizona, the theme of the year was the Ruby Extravaganza. The guild celebrated its 40th year of by inviting its members to create quilts that showed the importance of quilting in their lives.
Winner of an Honorable Mention Award,  JoAnn did an excellent job of applique, especially in the tiny, fun details like the Valentine heart, the necklace, earrings, and the facial expressions on these two friends. They look very determined to get right down to work !

Heirloom Heart by Guinevere Cassidy, Arizona

Guinevere explains about her original design, "[This is] a techniques sampler quilt. It's machine appliqued for the vintage hankie. Sharon Schamber's trapunto technique was used for the quilted heart and her piping technique was used for the binding."  We love this incredible looped edgework, which is so perfectly done.

Guinevere's exquisite work is both so delicate and so fluffy at the same time, that the two motifs provide a delightful juxtaposition. She won an Honorable Mention award for "Heirloom Heart."

Poppies and Posies by Linda Hopkins,  Arizona

Linda notes, "My interpretation of the 40th anniversary of the Arizona Quilters Guild, the Ruby Extravaganza, incorporates the elements of life 40 years ago and includes the modern as well. Hankies were an integral part of the 1970's. "

Close-up, Poppies and Posies

Elegant pearls, ribbons, and delicate embroidery embellishes Linda's work, full of dainty, brightly colored blossoms.

White Lace on Red Velvet by Lauretta Crites, California

Lauretta writes, "I am endlessly inspired by the works of art created by those who came before us. Master lace makers of the 1800's create elaborate yet delicate patterns using bobbins, needle, and thread. Here, fabric, needle and thread showcase detail of an exquisite Point de Gaze (a French phrase meaning 'gauze lace')  handkerchief I photographed in Brussels, Belgium. 

Close-up, White Lace on Red Velvet

Lauretta's fabulous work is made of cotton fabric, polyester net, tulle, cording, buttons, hand embroidery, and fabric paint.

Amaryllis Among the Stars by Kim McCloskey, Utah

A 2018 blue ribbon winner at the Springville, Utah quilt show, Kim remarks,  "This quilt was inspired by the Utah Valley Quilt Guild's red and white challenge. In Greek mythology, Amaryllis was a shy and timid nymph who fell in love with a handsome, but cold-hearted shepherd, Alteo. All he wanted was a unique flower that had never existed before. After thirty days and through her own blood, she created that flower and won his heart."

Close-up, Amaryllis Among the Stars

Kim adds, "The flowering of this late-blooming quilt came as a result of patience and a few drops of my own blood, as I'm sure every hand-made quilt does."

Close-up, Amaryllis Among the Stars

The Carolina lily block pattern spectacular here, enhanced by the strong geometric motif around the outer border. We really admire Kim's workmanship on what seems to us  very likely to be a treasured heirloom.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2018 Quilt Arizona show (My Best Friends, Poppies and Posies, Heirloom Heart), the 2018 Road to California show (White Lace on Red Velvet), and the 2018 Springville Utah quilt show (Amaryllis Among the Stars).