Quilt Arizona 2020 ! Day 1

In February, when life was still "normal" , we attended the 2020 Quilt Arizona! Show which is an outstanding display of statewide quilts from the Arizona Quilters' Guild. This year's theme was "Desert Stars". We hope you enjoy these highlights from the show !

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Yikaisdaha (Navajo for Milky Way) by Patti Kupferer

Patti notes, " I created this original quilt based on the Navajo belief of how the Milky Way was formed. I used the Superstition Mountains that I see down my street as the desert setting below the Milky way. This is a reinterpretation of my 1992 "Star Struck" award win."

Patti adds, " I recalled the Navajo belief as how the Milky Way was created by Coyote with the statement that I embroidered at the top.  The quilt's name, Yikaisdaha, is Navajo for the Milky Way."  In keeping with the theme, the twinkling stars and moonlit buttes and rocks provide a perfect backdrop for the dramatically silhouetted cactus forms. Patti quilted her intriguing creation herself.

Virginia City Miner by LeAnn Hileman

 First Place winner for Best Pictorial Quilt, LeAnn says, " Virginia City [Nevada] Miner depicts a tender moment between this prospector and his trusty companion. "

Look at this fabulous embellishment of threads to create the miner's beard ! LeAnn pieced and created her marvelous work by herself.

Two Grey Hills Pieced by Debbie Corbett and Quilted by Mike Corbett

First Place winner for Best Medium Pieced Quilt by a duet and Exemplary Computer-Guilded Machine Quilting, Mike and Debbie say that their quilt is an adaption of the Navajo rug style known as "Two Grey Hills."

 Shown above are some of the beautiful  Native American motifs, emblematic of the Two Grey Hills style.

The border above was quilted with buffalo, feathers, and vertical arrows in multicolor thread. Mike and Debbie's work is well-deserving of the awards it won.

Cactus Blooms by Anita Blain, quilted by Cindy Stohn

Third Place winner for Best Kit Quilt, Anita writes, "When I moved to this area three years ago, it was easy to fall in love with the muted desert tones and the vibrant colors of the many cactus in the area. Home is now where the cactus bloom."

This quilt, which displays patchwork and applique side by side, looks so pretty with the bright colors and purple flowers against the soft silver gray background.

Jennifer's Quilt, made by Marni MacDonald, exhibited by Jennifer Penna

Jennifer's Quilt won Best of Show back in 2002 and was part of the special exhibit titled “21^st Century Quilt Arizona! Best of Show”.  The program says:  “This year’s special exhibit is exactly that: a mind-blowing array of gorgeous quilts.  We have invited twenty AQG Best of Show winners from the last 20 years to participate in our special exhibit this year...The quilts are exceptional, as are the women who made them.” 

Jennifer Penna writes, "[This quilt is made of] hand dyed fabrics. [It is] paper pieced with hand applique. My grandma made this quilt for me; she dyed all the fabrics."

Jennifer concludes, " I was really into tie dye at the time. It was a present for my graduation."
The lavender, peach, lemon yellow, and raspberry pink hues all work beautifully together.

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

Highlights of the Pacific International Quilt Festival ! (part 2)

The Pacific International Quilt Festival is the largest quilt show on the west coast of the U.S.A. Many thanks to our good friend, quilt artist Bonita McFadden, for her excellent photos. Let us know which quilts are your favorites !

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The Musicians, 76 x 62, by LeAnn Hileman, Arizona

LeAnn explains, "The Musicians is my interpretation of my photo of these two gentlemen playing classical music on a rainy day in San Diego [California]." LeAnn's original design is hand appliqued and sewing machine quilted.
LeAnn has done an excellent job of using very subtle neutrals to depict the lighting on the musician's faces and the shadows behind them.

Coming Through by Cindy Brown (California), quilted by Sheila Connolly

Cindy notes, "This quilt is paper pieced using the Elephant Abstraction pattern by Violet Craft.
Orange is my favorite color. I want to thank Dawna Harrison for helping me pick out the material and Sheila Connolly for the machine quilting. I love that you have to get close up to see all the beautiful quilting. " All of these shades of orange provide a beautiful contrast and highlight the strong geometric components of this fun pattern.

Jazz Sax, 63 x 50, by Colleen Pelfrey (California), quilted by Sandra Bruce

Colleen writes, "I always wanted to play saxophone. When I was in the fifth grade, I told my dad I wanted to play saxophone, and he said, 'Great, we already have a clarinet you can start on!', so I ended up playing the flute into adulthood. The whole time I thought, 'That'll be the day when I can play saxophone!"

Close-up, Jazz Sax

Colleen continues, "When my fifth grade son wanted to play sax, I said, 'Let's buy two saxophones!'. Guess this is the day!" Colleen's original design is machine pieced and longarm quilted. These gold and cream tones work perfectly against the dark background, where very cute musical note symbols were quilted by Sandra Bruce.

Log Cabin Courthouse Steps Quilt, circa 1900 (Unknown Maker; San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles)

From the time of 1900-1910, this lovely antique quilt was a gift of Jennifer Berthold to the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles. The pieces were hand-stitched to a foundation, then machine quilted.
The notes from the museum say, "At first glance, this quilt appears typical in every way to quilts made around the turn of the last century. However, a closer look will reveal quite a bit of interesting 'restoration' work. A variety of very contemporary fabrics have been systematically and carefully appliqued over a number of the 'steps' throughout the design."

Don't Worry, Be Happy by Colleen Granger  (California)

Colleen remarks, "I started with a pile of hand dyed fabrics from Always Unique, and I used my Ninja Star paper piecing pattern to create the rings.  Finally, I just had fun quilting. "

Close-up, Don't Worry, Be Happy

To us, these pretty shapes look like bright spinning wheels of colorful candy ! We appreciate the sense of motion and energy in Colleen's quilt.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Bonita McFadden for Quilt Inspiration.