Welcome to the 2021 Pacific International Quilt Festival - part 3

Welcome to the Pacific International Quilt Festival! Due to time constraints, we could not view all the quilts this year! Therefore, we are showing a small sample of the quilts in this large show. Here is Part 3 of our photos with some wonderful contemporary creations.

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Blame The Catnip, 42.5 x 53, by Katherine M. Dossman, Texas

Winner of a Judges Choice award in the Modern Quilts category, Katherine explains, "I am inspired by [painter] Piet Mondrian's use of bright primary colors and design."  Katherine has designed her quilt like an abstract painting, with different parts of the cat represented by squares, rectangles, and other geometric shapes. On the right, you can see the head, ears, body, and legs of the cat; while in the upper left is a large and distinctive paw print.

 Katherine adds, "I wanted to make a bright and cheery quilt of my cat and how silly she is after having a bit of catnip." Katherine's hand quilting on this work is fabulous, as is her hand-appliqued original design.

Eyes, 59 x 57, by Karen Foster and colleagues, California. Machine quilted by Sharyl Sheppard

Another Judges' Choice award winner, Karen notes, "[This is a] collaboration with my bee mates to create  improvisational blocks in a style of their choosing. Finished just in time for 2020, it's the perfect sight to gaze upon."  We find it fascinating that each member of this quilting bee designed an entirely different abstract eye, yet each block fits in perfectly with the theme of the quilt.

Karen adds, "They brought my vision to life, and I look forward to staring at it for years to come." Karen and the "Bee Sewcial" group's work is an original design which is machine pieced and machine quilted by Sharyl Sheppard.

Angel Fish Collage by Joy Troyer, California

Joy writes, "Lots of small pictures [are]  from fabric fussy-cut and fused to make the main fish. Other fabrics are cut to create the environment. Couched yarn [is used for the] outline."

So many fun applique motifs appear in Joy's work, that it's almost like looking at an "I Spy" quilt! Butterflies, cats, flowers, sunbeams, cabbage roses, and lively fish all add to the whimsical, energetic effects shown in this amazing work.

Loving Klimt, 50 x 61, by Kimberly Lacy, Colorado

Kimberly writes, "Circles, squares, and spirals were common design elements used by [19th and 20th century Austrian painter] Gustav Klimt. This quilt is a playful collection of these design elements painted on a pieced background of dupioni silk."

Kimberly's vibrant, spectacular original design is machine pieced and machine quilted. Dupioni silk is the perfect medium for this creation, as it is so color-saturated that each small detail is very distinct and noticeable. 

Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2021 Pacific International Quilt Festival.

Modern Quilt Month 2020 ! part 1

We're celebrating Modern Quilt Month at Q.I., and we couldn't be more excited about these quilts!  The characteristics of modern quilts may include the use of bold colors and prints, high contrast, graphic areas of solid color, improvisational piecing, minimalism, and negative space.  Here are a few modern art quilts we admire.

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Bliss by Kathy McNeil (Washington)

Kathy's modern quilt was inspired by a quote from mythologist and writer Joseph Campbell. He said, "Follow your bliss, and the universe will open doors for you where there were only walls........Wherever you are- if you are following your bliss, you are enjoying that refreshment, that life within you, all the time."  Kathy explains that her bliss is quilting, and her husband's bliss is mountain climbing.

To us, this enthralling design looks like the photo of the planet Earth as seen from outer space: a big blue marble, lit by the sun. The ombre quality of the fabrics, as they move from deeper shades to lighter shades, gives a wonderful sense of depth and dimension.

Desert Oasis by Wendy Lopez (Arizona).  Quilted by Eunice Hill

This quilt pattern is In A Nutshell by Karla Alexander. Wendy notes, " The colors used reminded me of Sedona Arizona's red rocks and monsoon rains. Blocks were made by stacking five contrasting fabrics, then cutting freehand curves."

Wendy adds, "Different centers and rays were added for interest." Wendy's intriguing and distinctive quilt contains lots of texture and clearly defined edges, much as a rock formation might exhibit rugged texture. 

Antelope Canyon Mosaic by Kimberly Lacy (Colorado)

Third Place winner in the Abstract Quilts category at the 2020 Road to California show, Kimberly notes, "This quilt was inspired by the dramatic colors of the undulating sandstone formations in Antelope Canyon, Arizona." In addition to her website, Kimberly's work is also featured at Jacquard Products.

Antelope Canyon is an example of a "slot canyon", which is a long, narrow deep channel, with steep vertical walls that are eroded into sandstone or other sedimentary rock. Some canyons like this are only 3 feet across at the top, so the sun's rays enter at all different angles, then bounce off the walls and are reflected on opposite surfaces.  By quilting these small geometric patterns into the quilt top, Kimberly has succeeded in creating a luminous, glowing effect. She adds, " The colors of the canyon wall change at different times of day."

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2020 Road to California show (Antelope Canyon Mosaic, Bliss) and the 2020 Arizona Quilters Guild show (Desert Oasis).

Welcome to the 2017 Pacific International Quilt Festival: Day 3

Welcome to PIQF! This annual quilt show takes place each October in Santa Clara, California. Here are some of the highlights of this show including more top award winners (and some that should have won). We'd love to hear which ones are your favorites!

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Fractal, 85 x 92”, by Claudia Pfeil (Germany)

Fractal won a blue ribbon as the Bernina First Runner Up. Claudia Pfeil says, "The term “fractal” was first used by mathematician Benoit Mandelbrot in 1975, based on the Latin “fractus” which means “broken.”

The pieced background was overlayed by painted circles (acrylic paint and alcohol based ink).  It was machine appliqued, organza and silk elements. The layers are enhanced by the choices of quilting designs. Finally, the quilt was embellished with 30,000 Swarovski Crystals.

Ammonite Confusion, 54 x 80”, by Kimberly Lacy (Colorado)

Winner of a blue ribbon for Best Use of Color – Innovative, this quilt was made by painting many ammonites on silk dupioni. They were then sliced horizontally and reassembled with different colors like a puzzle, then fused to the background. They were then sliced again vertically and assembled in their final positions. Kimberly Lacy says, "Because this piece is heavily fused applique, it named itself Ammonite Confusion."

Liz, from a Selfie, 24 x 24”, by Sandra L. Mollon (California)

Winner of an Award of Merit from the National Association of Certified Quilt Judges (NACQJ),  Sandra Mollon says, “My daughter Liz has taken many “selfie” shots. I borrowed this one from her social media site, posterized it, and made a quilt. Best viewed at a distance, this quilt looks just like her.

Liz is made from fused batik and hand-dyed fabric.  Up close, you can see the bits of fabric that are hand cut.

Dancing at the Pow Wow, 63 x 40”, by Marty Boles (California)

This original design quilt was machine appliqued and sewing machine quilted. It was based on a photo taken at the Great Mohican Pow-Wow in Loudenville, Ohio, 2013. Marty Boles says, "The dancer celebrates his culture with his interpretive steps. The quilter celebrates the spirit of our Native Americans."

Nobuko: Believe, 43 x 43”, by Edwina Ow (California)

This quilt's theme was based on the fabric design called Kimmidoll Nobuko (Believe).  It includes Dresden plates, flying geese, origami flowers, and Swarovski beads. It was machine pieced, machine appliqued and sewing machine quilted.

Moon Dancer | Super Moon Migration, 56 x 54”, by Joanne Howe (Wisconsin)

Joanna Howe says this quilt began in 2016 at a time of immigration, migrations, and the Super Moon. The blue circle represents the Super Moon, and multi-national women immigrating with their flocks are represented by the multi-colored lame. The flying geese go from ½” wide at the top to 1” wide at the bottom. The quilting includes flying geese motifs and thread painted accents.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration.

Quilts to warm a winter day: Antelope Canyon

Here's a quilt from the Houston International Quilt Festival  with beautiful warm hues to make us feel toasty while surrounded by wind, rain, or snow.

Antelope Canyon by Kimberly Lacy,   Colorado Springs, Colorado

Antelope Canyon is a Navajo Tribal Park, located on the reservation of the Navajo Native American people in northern Arizona, close to the Colorado border. Much of the earth on this high desert plateau is composed of sandstone rock which contains fabulous shades of pink, orange, terracotta, with lavender shadows created as the sun sets.  Kimberly writes,  "The slot canyons ...in Arizona were my inspiration for this piece. Narrow canyons of undulating sandstone capture light in unexpected and delightful turns and twists."

Close up, Antelope Canyon by Kimberly Lacy

In the native Navajo language, "Tse bighanilini" means "The place where water runs through rocks."  Rain water has sculpted the sandstone rock into beautiful corkscrew and angular patterns.  Kimberly's techniques include strip piecing by machine, machine applique, and machine quilting. She used silk and poly satin fabrics, with wool batting. This intriguing and creative quilt is a beautiful combination of pure, saturated, complementary colors.

Image credits:  photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration. For more information on Kimberly Lacy, see this 2011 interview: Quilts, the threads of our lives.