Quilting with Kaffe Fassett fabrics! (3)

What do we love about Kaffe Fassett's fabrics? Their vibrant colors! For more than two decades, Kaffe Fassett has inspired quilters to go wild with color and texture. Here is a gorgeous applique quilt showcasing fabrics from Kaffe Fassett Collective.

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Whimsical Vases by Monique Baczewski, quilted by Beck Coy Kindall 

This award-winning quilt is based on the elaborate Whimsical Vases pattern by Kim McLean (for a source, please visit Glorious Color).  Monique Baczewski says: "I am addicted to applique. So, I was very excited when a good friend texted me a picture of this pattern.  I had heard of Kim McLean patterns and her use of Kaffe [Fassett] fabrics. I had so much fun making this quilt."  

The quilt show attendees were fascinated by the beautiful applique and quilting, as shown in the above photo (we had to wait a while for the crowds to clear!)  We took numerous closeup photos of the beautiful applique work (enjoy!)

Detail,  Whimsical Vases by Monique Baczewski, quilted by Beck Coy Kindall  

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

 

Lollypop Trees

"April is the sweetest month of the year, the mellow season of rebirth and renewal." This quote by Mary Sojourner reminds us of the promise of spring.  And there is nothing more springlike than this "lollypop tree" quilt, which showcases Kaffe Fassett's cheerful fabrics!

Left-over Lollypop Trees by Pat Morris

Pat Morris based this wonderful quilt on the Lollypop Trees pattern by Kim McLean.  Pat says, "It is hand appliqued using Kaffe Fassett fabrics in my stash. I made a larger quilt and had six left over blocks." She alternated cool and warm color blocks for a harmonious design.  

 Per Kim McLean, the inspiration for this quilt design was a photograph of an antique red and green quilt.  The design looks totally modern in these cheerful fabrics!  Pat Morris did the quilting as well. This quilt won honorable mention at the 2024 Tucson Quilters Guild show.

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

Kaffe Fassett Quilt Inspiration: The Flower Garden

Kaffe Fassett has inspired people across the world with his creative, colorful fabrics. We love seeing these fabrics in creative settings! Here is a glorious "flower garden" where each section has a particular flower planted in it.We admire this level of detail and craftmanship.

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.

Flower Garden by Pat Morris

This wonderful one-person quilt is primarily appliqued & machine quilted by Pat Morris. Pattern source: The Flower Garden by Kim McLean. Pat Morris says, "I love hand applique and Kaffe Fassett fabrics. I made this quilt during 2020. I used all the different prints in my 'stash' to make this 'prepared edge', hand-appliqued quilt."  Fanciful flowers climb and twine up the borders, transporting us to another world.  Pat won a ribbon for her work on this quilt.

 

p.s. For free patterns for Kaffe Fassett quilts, check out our FREE PATTERN DAY (CLICK HERE):

Image credit: Photos of Flower Garden were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2023 Quilt Fiesta (Tucson, Arizona).

Stars and Sprigs

This gorgeous quilt by Nancy James was a blue ribbon winner at last year's Quilt Arizona show, and one of the most outstanding examples of this design we've seen. Alternating sawtooth stars with floral sprigs, and surrounded by a lush appliqued border, this quilt takes our breath away.

~ p.s. Check out our eBay shop for great bargains on books, magazines, and collectible items. For free quilt inspiration, please visit us on Twitter. 

Stars and Sprigs by Nancy James, quilted by Jessica Jones

 Nancy James says, "Kim McLean's designs always make me smile and I began this quilt top at a time when I needed a pop of positivity.  I love the exuberant sprigs offset by the variety of stars." The Stars and Sprigs pattern was inspired by an antique quilt made in the 1800s, made modern by Nancy's use of bright contemporary fabrics. This quilt won First Place in the Scrap-Duet category at the 2020 show. Examples of some of the brilliant fabric choices - along with Jessica Jones' expert quilting - can be seen in the closeup photo below.

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

International Quilt Invitational Exhibition 2019 - Part 2 of 2

"Out of this world" quilts from around the world are presented each summer at the Brigham City Museum of Art and History in Brigham City, Utah. We think you'll agree that each of these quilts is a masterpiece.

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 !

Esfahan by Megan Farkas (New Hampshire, USA)

The inspiration for this quilt captured Megan Farkas' imagination two years before she felt she had the skills to actually attempt making it.  The design was inspired by a tile mosaic in the Jameh Mosque, Esfahan, Iran, and was based on a photo by Sebastia Giralt (used with permission). Completing it took three years of intensive work; Megan estimates it took at least 3.000 hours.

At first, Megan thought she might be able to draft a pattern based on the underlying geometry; she says this was overly optimistic.  She ended up creating one set of floral filigree templates for each block type. The completed blocks were reverse appliqued into a single piece of fabric. Esfahan was beautifully hand quilted by Megan herself.

Once There Were by Kathryn Harmer Fox (South Africa)

This quilt is a magnificent tribute to rhinos, which are an endangered species. Kathryn Harmer Fox used several photographs of both rhinos and birds to create this image. She says, "These glorious thundering behemoths are on the brink of extinction - the unreasonableness of it all saddens Kathryn to the core."

The quilt was created with assorted dress materials and sewing threads, using free motion machine embroidery, fiber embedment using scribble stitch, and quilting. The layering of fabrics and threads creates a gauzy, artistic image.

Zoologist's Quilt by Karen Miller (Oregon, USA)

Karen Miller's passion for Japanese stencil dyeing (katazome) is matched only by her love of nature.  Originally a marine biologist, she transferred her love of the natural world to art 22 years ago when she learned this amazing technique, used in Japan for 600 years. She hand cut a paper stencil and used it to apply a rice paste resist before indigo dyeing.  This quilt was made for an exhibit in Japan, thus the names of the animals are in English and Japanese around the border, as shown below.

The Trouble With Magenta - Hot or Not by Annelize Littlefair

Annelize Littlefair was inspired by the color magenta.  She asks, "What color is a car that is described as hot magenta?" That is the question she sought to answer, asking her friends to write on a piece of paper what color they thought it was.  She made the quilt using all the colors they suggested. She says that it took longer to stitch out the background of the outside border than it did to stitch the center section.

The materials used were radiance silk and kimono silk threads.  This stunning piece was created with machine quilting and freehand needlework. The whole quilt took around three months from start to finish, working on it most days.

Choose to Bloom by O.V. Brantley

Choose to Bloom is a delightful folk art sampler quilt made with an array of brightly colored fabrics and an impressive amount of detail: flowers, baskets, trees, leaves, animals, birds, fruit, and more. About the name, "Choose to Bloom", O.V. Brantley says: "I believe life is about choices.  We can choose to accept our circumstances or we can get busy changing them. We all bloom in different ways. How will you bloom?"

The quilt, based on a pattern by Kim McLean, was lovingly appliqued using a wide variety of fabrics to convey the diversity of choices.  The African fabrics give the quilt its uniqueness (see the closeup photo, above.)  It was custom quilted by Ina Sanders.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the Brigham City Museum.

Quilts of the World part 4: New Zealand

Part of the 2016 Pacific International Quilt Festival was the World Quilt Competition XX, which is a special exhibition within the larger P.I.Q.F. This competition, which is open to quilters from many countries, starts out each summer on the East Coast of the U.S.A.; the best quilts from that show then go on tour to the various regional shows in America. We hope you enjoy this presentation, continuing with quilts from NEW ZEALAND.

Please note: We're selling beautiful quilting and crafting books and fabrics at low introductory prices on e-Bay! Also, we're continuously posting free patterns on Twitter!

Tranquility, 36 x 40", by Sonya Prchal

Sonya Prchal writes," Mimiwhangata Coastal Park is a favorite destination of mine. This beautiful sunset inspired me to create a quilt to capture the memory. My design was composed from my photos. Whole cloth painting was my primary technique, as I felt it would depict the intensity of the sunset beautifully."

Sonya adds, "I used extensive free motion quilting to enhance the work, with a variety of thread types and weight. Tranquility was both challenging and satisfying to make."  This original design is sewing machine quilted. We admire the elegant sophistication of this work and the way that the colors of the water perfectly reflect the setting sun.

Fabulous Feathers, 94 x 94", by Carol Newsham

Fabulous Feathers won a Judge's Choice award at the 2016 Great New Zealand quilt show. The Princess Feathers quilt pattern is by Kim McLean; for the pattern see Glorious Color.  The fabrics are by Kaffe Fassett.

Carol Newsham notes, "I love doing hand applique. From the first moment I saw this pattern by Kim McLean, I was going to do it, but not in Kaffe Fassett fabrics. They were too big, bold, and bright, even for me. However, I soon realized that everything else would not give me that 'zing' I was looking for. Kaffe's magenta Bekah fabric grabbed my attention and subsequently provided the inspiration for the colors I would use in my quilt." Carol's lovely work is hand appliqued and hand quilted.

This Beats Chopping Firewood, 54 x 64", by Maree Le Comte

Maree Le Comte explains, "I learned the hexagon techniques at a class run by Shirley Mooney. I did the class because I was interested in the technique and so that I could have a day off from cutting firewood." We certainly agree with Maree. We'd much rather enjoy a day of quilting than cutting firewood, doing housework, or pretty much any other kind of work that we can imagine!

Maree continues, "Once I saw the technique, rather than following one of the suggested layouts, I played with the pieces to come up with my own layout. This is the layout which worked best with the quantity of fabric I had." This original design is machine pieced and sewing machine quilted. We really appreciate the quality of  Maree's worksmanship and her sewing accuracy, which gives these bold geometric lines a stunning appeal.

My Nearly Insane Journey, 95 x 96", by Sue Flego

This wonderful "Nearly Insane" quilt was based on the 1870 Salinda Rupp quilt, patterned by Liz Lois. The Salinda quilt has 93 six-inch blocks and the finished quilt has over 5,500 pieces. Sue Flego says, "All the 6” blocks were paper foundation pieced and I tried to replicate the colors on the front of the book." Sue's intricate and precise piecing of these small blocks can be seen in the photo below. My Nearly Insane Journey was quilted by Judi Schon from Auckland on a longarm machine.

For more information on the Nearly Insane quilt and other 19th-century samplers, see our 2010 post: Crazy About Jane, Nearly Insane, and Just Plain Nuts.

Abstraction, 28 x 52", by Rosemary Rush

Rosemary Rush says, "This quilt was started as an exercise in design, emphasizing line and shape. I challenged myself to then use colors which I would not normally juxtapose. This quilt is my own design which I machine appliqued and free motion stitched on a domestic sewing machine."  Rosemary's beautiful quilting stands out on this glorious, flowing applique design.

At The Bach, 57 x 48", by Rachel Cadwallader

Rachel Cadwallader says, "A bach is a small rustic holiday home and often found at the beach. A quilt hanging over a door as an advertisement for thread evoked memories of an old beach towel my father used. I wanted to replicate the memory and so the quilt, originally designed by Heather Jones, was made. I used my domestic machine to piece and quilt it.”

At The Bach was based on the free Around the World quilt pattern by Heather Jones at Olive and Ollie shown below.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration.

Best of the Utah Quilt Show! (part 2)

Here are more of our favorites from the the 43rd Annual Springville (Utah) Quilt Show! This outstanding juried exhibition features quilts of all styles and sizes created by some of the State’s finest quilters. We are always impressed by the quality and beauty of the quilts in this show!

Jethro by Charm Crumrine. Award of Excellence.

Charm Crumrine says, "His name came to me as soon as I saw his eyes. Jethro, the American Buffalo. Our national mammal. Several months ago I drew a buffalo and didn’t know what to do with him. I thought of all the texture a buffalo has and began assembling the beads. He needed a simple background to contrast the beads so I chose muslin. This quilt was a joy to make."

Tripping by Megan Legas

Megan Legas says, "The “Scrappy Trip” craze was the impetus for this little quilt… “I wonder what it would look like if I used one inch strips.” This quilt is a little scrappier than the typical process demands, due to a mathematical error. Oops! But my error added more color variety, so I am happy!"
The Scrappy Trip around the World craze was started by Bonnie Hunter. We enjoyed seeing Megan's hand quilting on the tiny squares!

Hidden Beauty by Marian Eason. Honorable mention.

Marian Eason says, "I made this quilt for our quilt guild’s “Color Me” challenge. We were required to use colors that started with our initials. My initials are MEE and my colors are Mandarin Red, Electric Yellow-Green and Evergreen. When hiking in the La Sal Mountains, my husband photographed a small patch of Western Red Columbines."

Marian continues, "These diminutive flowers measure about an inch and a half long; but I chose to magnify one with the sun shining through it to show off its beauty. I chose straight-line quilting to finish my quilt."

A Flock of Feathered Stars by Sherry Newbold, quilted by Debra Simons

 
Sherry Newbold says, "Each block was paper pieced. Fabric choices were made from varied patterns and shades of beiges and blacks."

Village by Karin Crawford, quilted by Kim Peterson.  Award of Excellence.

Karin Crawford says, "I started the applique while serving on the USNS Comfort for 6 months. I was able to do the stitching as we sailed from country to country...  Village is made entirely of Kaffe [Fassett] fabric which I love and have been collecting for ages. Note that the houses, trees and shrubbery are located inside a garden path of hexagon flowers. This is surrounded by the fence which keeps out all the wild animals."

Karin says that it took her over a year to do all the handwork. Kim Peterson quilted Village for Karin and did a beautiful job!  The Village quilt pattern is by Kim McLean.

Jewel Tone Jewel Box by Barbara Colton, quilted by Dixie Sargent.

Barbara Colton says, "My quilt group, Gone to Pieces Quilters, had a trade of jewel-tone fabrics to make jewel box or another pattern of quilts. Since I had made a scrap jewel box quilt, I wanted something a little different, so I looked online for other settings. I got my inspiration there, although I made my quilt taller and less wide than the square quilt I saw on the internet. My choice of contrasting purple was my own."

Note: Jinny Beyer has a free pattern for a Jewel Box quilt.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration.