Highlights of the 2026 Quilt Fiesta! (2)

In the beautiful Sonoran desert of Arizona, the Tucson Quilters Guild celebrated their 50th anniversary with a spectacular show. The Quilt Fiesta includes a fascinating mix of styles, techniques, and patterns. We hope you enjoy our photos! This is Part 2 of 5.

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Chasing Rainbows by Doreen Diaz, quilted by Athena Taylor.  

Winner of a Blue ribbon for First Place in the Two Person Large Pieced category, Doreen Diaz says "The piecing of this quilt was a definite challenge, due to the number of curves in the design. I use the complexity of a Judy Niemeyer design to make sure my mind still works as I get older." Beautifully quilted by Athena Taylor; see the closeup photos below. [The pattern for this quilt is Coral Reef by Judy Niemeyer.]

Klimt - The Kiss, made and quilted by Karen Rainford.  

Karen Rainford says that she saw the Klimt paintings in real life in Vienna, while bicycling across Europe in 2023. She was inspired by this solo fabric panel of "The Kiss" to find a way to enhance it without distracting from the central image.  Her modern pieced border picks up the colors and textures in the panel perfectly! In the non-judged category, we enjoyed this lovely work. [The fabric panel is from the Klimt collection at Robert Kaufman Fabrics, still available from various sources as of this writing.] 

Out of Darkness, made and quilted by Karen G. Fisher.  

Winner of a Blue ribbon for 1st place in the One Person Primarily Applique category, plus a special award for Exemplary Machine Applique. Celebrating her love of Medieval Art, Karen included a Gothic Rose window, Mozarabic, Romanesque and Gothic arches, stained glass, manuscript illumination, and Italian Mosaic floor, a Celtic shield, and an inlay design from the Sutton Hoo Ship Burial. (The "tile" center pattern is from Bella Bella Quilts (Norah McMeeking), the rest of the quilt is an original design.) 

Luxury Living, made and quilted by Stephanie Nordlin.  

 Winner of a blue ribbon for 1st Place in the One Person Medium Pieced category, Luxury Living was based on a 2021 The Quilt Show BOM by Wendy Williams; six blocks were an original designed by Stephanie Nordlin. She says, "Our homes were on an acre, lake and desert, all outside city limits. These, along with the Chrysler building. Oriental Pearl Tower and saguaro are my original designs."

 Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2026 Tucson Quilters Guild show.

Mona Meets Mr. Warhol

Karen G. Fisher comes from both a sewing background and an art background, with degrees in Art and Art Education. Karen has won multiple awards, both local and national, over the years. Here is her spectacular interpretation of the Mona Lisa done in the style of Andy Warhol.

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Mona Meets Mr. Warhol by Karen G. Fisher

This work was inspired by Andy Warhol's famous "faces" paintings—referring to his iconic celebrity portraits or repeated facial images. Karen created the Mona Lisa using batik fabrics in different color combinations. She achieved a painterly effect with expert machine applique.

For reference, Andy Warhol's most famous "faces" painting is from his Marilyn Monroe series. The Marilyn works (starting in 1962 shortly after her death) are widely regarded as his most recognizable and celebrated "faces" depictions.  Here is a collection of silkscreen prints from Weng Contemporary Gallery:

 

Image credits: Photos of "Mona Meets Mr. Warhol" were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2024 Tucson Quilters Guild show. 

Welcome to the Quilt Fiesta! (1)

We just attended the 2025 Quilt Fiesta in Tucson, Arizona, and had a wonderful time.  This show is produced by the Tucson Quilters Guild, and there were so many beautiful quilts to see. We hope you enjoy our photos of the show! Here is part 1.

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Leo by Lynne Saul, quilted by Athena Taylor  

 Lynne Saul says, "This quilt is paper pieced. I chose to make him green for fun." Winner of Honorable mention in its category (two persons, primarily pieced, hand or machine quilted.)  The pattern source is the Legit Lion pattern by Legit Kits.  As shown in the closeup photo, the irises of Leo's eyes were enhanced with small, jet black faceted beads!

Civil War Bride by Dureen Berg, quilted by Becky Coykendall

Heavily appliquéd blocks of flowers & leaves, birds & butterflies, animals & fruit make up this heirloom quilt. Winner of Best of Show, and of 1st place - Two-Person Applique. The applique work is truly outstanding, with so many details to appreciate in every block! 

Dureen Berg says: "I had fun searching for the 126 fabrics used in this quilt.  Many are reproduction fabrics but I did not limit myself to their use. Becky Coykendall's talented quilting enhances and completes the design."  The Civil War Bride Pattern is by Corliss Searcey.  

Gilded Cathedral, made and quilted by Karen G. Fisher

This is a gorgeous cathedral windows quilt!  Karen G. Fisher says, "I made the  copper center of this quilt years ago.  To make it bigger, I used my Graduated Grid format with bigger blocks to grow it faster.  Four block sizes celebrate metallic fabrics, with lots of small-scale golden highlights."  Winner of a 2nd place ribbon; we hope you can see all the work that went into this intricate design! 

Go Ask Alice by Kathi Shunn, quilted by B'nae Pulve

This fabulous kaleidoscope quilt won 1st Place (Two Person, Medium Pieced category) and a special award for Exemplary Piecing. Kathi Shunn says, "[This] original pattern was designed by me for my company Darty Kite Pattern Co.  The design was inspired by my friend Alice. I used mostly fabrics by Odile Bailloeul and it is English paper pieced by hand."

 Beautiful colors, shapes, and patterned fabrics make this quilt a real standout.

 Basket Bonanza, made and quilted by Kathy Ann Barry

It was wonderful to see this Amish basket quilt! We love the colors and contrasts, and it was beautifully constructed with nine-patch blocks as cornerstones. Kathy Ann Barry says, "In 2024 my daughter, Amanda, won the Fiesta Basket Bonanza. The prize was wonderful baskets and fabrics. In the Tucson Quilters Guild library I was encouraged to take a magazine, where I found a beautiful quilt pattern.  Amanda shared the fabric and the Guild shared the magazine."

Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2025 Quilt Fiesta in Tucson, Arizona.

It's Modern Quilt Month! (2)

We're celebrating Modern Quilt Month at Q.I. This is the second of FIVE posts. According to The Modern Quilt Guild, modern quilts often use bold colors and prints, high contrast, graphic areas of solid color, improvisational piecing, minimalism, and/or expansive negative space. Enjoy!

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Silk Parquetry Impression #2, made and quilted by Joyce Kaiser. 

 Original design.  This piece was created using a grab bag of silk strips from "Leilani Arts".  The raw edge strips were sewn to batik units onto a muslin foundation using Holoshimmer or gold thread. Beading of opposite corners [was] added to enhance the silk rectangles.

Gamma, made and quilted by Maria Barr

This quilt seems to vibrate with motion! Maria Barr says, "[This is] such a cool optical illusion, I almost changed the name to "Warp Speed Ahead"! Pattern source: Devon Iott (Miss Make). 

 Gridlock, made and quilted by Karen G. Fisher 

This quilt appears to glow from within, thanks to the creation of intricate dark-to-light gradients.  Karen G. Fisher says, "Gridlock combines all six "grids" I've designed over several years (five of them are in my book*): Triple Sudoku, Matrix, Miriam's Grid, Triaxial, Graduated, and Herringbone." *Pattern source: Karen Fisher's own book, titled "Easy Grid Quilts".

Embellishing, a controlled color palette, and fussy cutting control the chaos. Above, you can see large beaded spirals; other parts of the quilt (shown below) are embellished with metallic buttons and gold trim. Southwestern design fabrics add to the intricate textures. 

Cool Porte Cochere, made and quilted by Kathy Kutansky

Here is an original quilt showcasing fabrics created through surface design! Kathy Kutansky says, "This spring I took a week long Zoom workshop with Pat Pauly.  Using screens, rubbings and direct painting, I created most of these prints. It's really fun to work with these unusual fabrics."

 Kites over Cabin at Night, made by Russ Beasley, quilted by Kris Neifeld.  

This original black and white quilt is the essence of modern design, forming a tessellation. Russ Beasley only used black & white solids because he "loves simplicity".  He says, "I saw a similar picture on Google Art and thought it would be a great quilt. I configured a template for the kite and the square.  I concluded that partial seams [were] the only way to go. I then decided the rows would need to be constructed from the center out also with partial seams."  

The photo below shows the "kites" that make up the design.  Check out the perfect piecing!

Image credits and awards: Photos were taken at the 2024 Tucson Quilters Guild show. Silk Parquetry Impression #2 won 1st Place in the Art Abstract category, plus a Judge's Choice award. Gridlock won 1st place in the One Person - Large Pieced category. Kites over Cabin at Night won 2nd place in the Modern Quilt category. Cool Porte Cochere won an Honorable Mention.

Quilt Fiesta! Highlights of the Show (4)

Here are more photos from the Quilt Fiesta, the annual Tucson (Arizona) Quilters Guild show. We saw so many fabulous quilts and are sharing some highlights here.  We hope you enjoy the photos!

p.s. Please see our E-Bay shop for great bargains on patterns and vintage collectibles. For continuous free quilt patterns and blog updates, please visit us on Twitter.

Maty Colter: Builder on the Desert by Karen G. Fisher

This amazing original art quilt was made and quilted by Karen G. Fisher as a tribute to Mary Colter, the architect and on-site construction boss for the Fred Harvey Company, who designed many iconic buildings across the southwest, including several at the Grand Canyon.  In the middle of the quilt you can see the Four Corners at which Arizona, Utah, New Mexico and Colorado meet.

Karen G. Fisher notes, "Mary Colter pioneered using on-site building materials, and originated the style now called "National Parks Rustic"; many of these iconic buildings are depicted on the quilt.  Karen won multiple awards for her creation.

Cactus - Yes! by Manya Powell

Entered in the Modern Quilt category, this pieced quilt captures the beauty of the saguaro cactus which is native to the Sonoran Desert including Tucson.  The color and fabric choices and the design make this quilt really special.  [Note: The source of the cactus pattern was not listed.]

The Civil War Bride found her 'lost boy' in the old Pueblo, by Nancy Landon, quilted by Brenda Smitley

Here is a very creative adaptation of the Civil War Bride quilt, based on A Bountiful Life by Karen Mowery. Nancy says, "The design combines reproduction blocks from the famous "Civil War Bride" quilt made originally in about 1863 and original South West designs by me."   The quilt took 2 years to complete the outstanding hand applique.

The machine quilting was beautifully done by Brenda Smitley. Examples of the original elements include a hummingbird, placed below the "Bride" in the block shown below. Winner of Second Place in the Two Person, primarily appliqued, hand or machine quilted.

The block shown below depicts Mission San Xavier del Bac (The White Dove of the Desert) which is located south of Tucson.  Nancy also created a prickly pear cactus, and a pair of javelinas (collared peccary), which are native to many parts of the desert Southwest.

Jewel of the Reef by Melanie Harris, quilted by John Harris

This gorgeous quilt was based on a pattern by Quiltworx ("Glacier Star").  Melanie Harris says, "I fell in love with the blue border print.  I then selected white and gray to represent the coral reef. The jewel tones are the flashy fish, flowers and algae that populate the reef."  Winner of a 2nd place award in this show.

Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2024 Tucson Quilters Guild show.