Quilt Arizona! The 2022 Show (3)

We could hardly wait for the 2022 Arizona Quilters Guild show, where the theme was Kaleidoscope of Quilts.  And what a fantastic show it was!  Due to the pandemic, the show was cancelled last year - so there was high anticipation for this year's event. There were many amazing quilts on display... here are some of our favorites!

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Tumble-A-Round by Claire Victor

Claire Victor won a special award for Exemplary Non-Professional Machine Quilting, plus First Place (a blue ribbon) in the modern-solo category for her stunning quilt, titled Tumble-A-Round. She says, "My fascination with the tumbling block continues; this time my design takes the overall shape of a circle... This adds an additional challenge of a changing light source."

Notice how each cube is composed of a dark, medium, and light side, creating the optical illusion of blocks. Tumble-A-Round was English paper pieced and beautifully free motion quilted by Claire herself. The quilted swirls and spirals really stand out on the solid color fabrics.

Arizona Nights by Debbie Cole, quilted by Rose Maynes

Arizona Nights was intended to portray the desert nights in Arizona, with each block featuring a different creature - check out the javelina, coyote, bobcat, hummingbird, cardinal, oriole, and more!  We especially loved the handsome red cardinal, shown in the closeup photo below. Debbie Cole won Second Place (red ribbon) in the Applique, Small-Duet category for this outstanding wall quilt.

The design was a 2006 Block of the Month sponsored by the Quilt Basket shop in Tucson. The many elements were machine appliqued using blanket stitch, and additional details - such as the leaves in the above block - were embroidered.  Debbie says that this was her first attempt at machine applique, and that the quilt (which was a 2006-2007 BOM) did not get finished until 2021. All of her hard work definitely paid off!

Modern Honeycomb Hexie by Tori Benz-Hillstorm, quilted by Clara Borntreger

Modern Honeycomb Hexie utilizes modern print fabrics to form an intriguing honeycomb design.  Tori Benz-Hillstorm hand-stitched 1349 one-inch honeycomb hexies, using English Paper Piecing (EPP).  There are approximately 200,000 hand-piecing stitches in this quilt! The white and gray solids provide the perfect backdrop for all of the brightly colored prints.

Modern Honeycomb Hexie was quilted by a Mennonite quilter from Minnesota, and it won Third Place in the Hand Quilted category. We so admired the precise, tiny stitches done in straight lines to emphasize the diamond shapes of the quilt.

Vikki's Flutterby Flowers by Donna Moyer

This heirloom quilt was created by Donna Moyer, who won First Place in the Hand Quilted category.  Donna says, "When my daughter Vikki was little she said 'Flutterby' instead of 'Butterfly.'  This quilt will be hers someday... It will make her smile.  It has made me smile as I worked on it for many years." 

The applique designs were based on a class taught by Jeana Kimball.  Donna Moyers' many hours of effort and love truly show in the finished product, which features thousands of precise hand quilting stitches.

Haunted by Paducah by Barbara Polson, quilted by Laurie Tigner

Haunted by Paducah won a second place ribbon in the Mixed Technique Small-Duet category. Barbara Polston says she was haunted by this quilt pattern, first seen in Paducah, Kentucky in 2008. "I was finally able to make it when Nubin Jensen published her pattern" (Pickled Clams). The clams reflect the blue, pink and violet hues of Kaffe Fassett's 'Tree Fungi' border fabric.

The machine quilting (by Laurie Tigner) lend an art deco-style appearance to the clam shell shapes.  For even more elegance, the centers of the clams were quilted with gold thread in a filigree pattern.

Mountain Silhouettes by Christiane Ermke

We really enjoyed Mountain Silhouettes, an original design by Christiane Ermke, made with many different colorful Kaffe Fassett fabrics. This art quilt depicts the mountains in and around Scottsdale, Arizona: Tom's Thumb, Pinnacle Peak, Camelback Mountain, and Four Peaks. the center ring features the iconic saguaro cactus which reside throughout the Sonoran Desert. The spectacular piece was hand quilted by Christiane herself.

Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2022 Quilt Arizona show.

Good Friday

Good Friday is today, the Friday before Easter, the day on which Christians annually observe the commemoration of the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ. We think that this Christ in Gold quilt is a beautiful celebration of the life of Christ.

Christ in Gold by Laurie Tigner (Rapid City, SD)

Laurie Tigner is a quilt designer, teacher and artist who says that one of her "loves" is religious art.  We were mesmerized by Christ in Gold at the 2014 Road to California quilt show.  Can you imagine making a quilt from stretchy gold Spandex?  Laurie Tigner says,  "This is my newest quilt in a series of Icons, exploring different techniques in Iconography and quilting. I really enjoyed using the Spandex fabric and learning how to do beading to embellish the work."

closeup, Christ in Gold by Laurie Tigner

Many painted icons were covered in heavily worked metal and embellished with precious stones, and we thought this heavily quilted piece looked exactly liked embossed and hammered gold work.  Christ in Gold took first place honors in the large wall quilt category at the 2013 Machine Quilters Exposition in Portland, Oregon and Second Place for Wall Quilts (Longarm/Midarm Machine Quilted) at the 2014 AQS QuiltWeek in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

For more information on Laurie, check out her website at Laurie Tigner Designs.  You also might be interested in a 2013 interview of Laurie Tigner by Pat Sloan at Auribuzz (on that post there is a free pieced quilt block designed by Laurie!)

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration. We previously featured Laurie Tigner's angel patterns in a post called The elegance of angels.

A Gathering of Angels

Angels to watch over you, and angels to bring you messages of peace and love, at the holidays and throughout the New Year.  Here are patterns by talented artists who we have featured in 2011. Happy holidays to all of our fellow quilt lovers and blogger friends around the world.

Row 1: Let It Snow Angel by Diane McGregor at Castilleja Cotton;  Monterey Angel by Helene Knott as seen at Story Quilts; Angel of Light by Ravenwood Designs as seen at Quilters Treasure.
Row 2: Angel's Flight by Tracey Campbell at Top of the Range Designs; Flower Angel by Nina Lise Moen at Mrs. Moen Patterns; Winter Angel by Laurie Tigner at Laurie Tigner Designs
Row 3: Angel with Harp by Joan Bouwmeester and Debbie Bouwmeester-Fasek at Three Swans Studio; The Angel by Ursula Riegel at Designs to Share with You, wall hanging kit at Creative Quilt Kits

The elegance of angels

We were amazed when we saw these elegant art quilts, which we discovered at Laurie Tigner Designs. Laurie has created a wonderful collection of patterns for seasonal angels. These angels will adorn your home with their beauty and gracious repose throughout the year.

Winter Angel, 16 x 40",  by Laurie Tigner at Laurie Tigner Designs (South Dakota)

The Winter Angel is part of Laurie's "Seasonal Angels"series, using Hoffman 1895 Handpaints batiks. However, this lovely classic design  lends itself to many different types of fabrics. There is a color template included so face and hands can be scanned and printed onto fabric on your inkjet computer. In addition, full size templates are provided. You can see the Spring, Summer and Autumn angels on Laurie's Angels Pattern Page.

Messenger Angel, 16 x 40", by Laurie Tigner at Laurie Tigner Designs

Here's a warm and welcoming angel with prominent wings and an intricate celtic knot border. This Messenger Angel is cradling a dove, the symbol of love, faith, and peace. She would make a striking decoration in a front entry hall. For a contemporary look, her robe could be done in royal purple, with a hot turquoise background and a silver celtic border.

Christmas Joy Angels, 17 x 45",  by Laurie Tigner at Laurie Tigner Designs

The Christmas angels are delightful in restful monochromatic blue. They would also look terrific in bright red tone-on-tone or Moda marbles fabric robes, with gold halos and trumpets, complemented by a spruce green background.

Laurie Tigner is in the midst of a very accomplished life, having worked as an art teacher, Air Force nurse, and now a quilt designer, pattern maker, and long arm quilter extraordinaire. Laurie writes, ......."it became clear that the design and flow of freehand machine quilting had become my new brushstrokes, satisfying my need for creative expression. Since then, I have expanded into designing my own patterns, though I still continue to quilt for others, as time allows."

Image credits:  Images are shown with the generous permission of Laurie Tigner.  Fabric kits and instructions for some of  Laurie's enchanting Seasonal Angels are available at  Erica's Craft and Sewing.