Highlights of the 2024 Pacific International Quilt Festival

The Pacific International Quilt Festival is one of the top shows in the country. This year was especially busy because of Ladies in Hats, a quilt we helped to finish and enter in the show. Here are a few of the outstanding quilts we admired.

p.s. Check out our E-Bay shop for great bargains on quilt patterns, collectible items, and jewelry! Also, please visit us on Twitter ! 

Cat and Mouse, 40" x 36",  by Katherine Donaldson

Winner of Best Wall Quilt, Cat and Mouse was a celebration of the Year of the Tiger.  Katherine Donadlson says that this quilt was inspired by a neighbor's drawing of a tiger.  The mouse was added to soften the tiger's effect and to provide a friend.  The technique was fabric collage, combined with longarm machine quilting. 

Royal Treasure, 83 x 83", by Marilyn Badger (Utah)

Winner of Best of Show, this original design is another in Marilyn Badger's series of doily quilts using hand dyed vintage doilies by Wendy Richardson and fabrics by Paula Nadelstern and Cherrywood.  Machine pieced, machine appliqued and longarm machine quilted.  Due to crowds we were unable to photograph the full width of the quilt, but it certainly has tremendous visual impact.

Granny Squares, 44 x 45", by Melinda Gerber (California)

Melinda Gerber says, "Each week for close to a year I crafted a block using an EPP of my own design I titled Marigold.  [The block pattern] is composed of twelve honeycombs and four squares. Although all 49 blocks are the same structure, by using whole or partial motifs or pattern matching, it gives each blocks its own flavor and, in many cases, obscures the interior shapes used."

Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2024 Pacific International Quilt Festival.

Quilts Celebrating Creativity ! part 1

Welcome to the Santa Clara Valley Quilt Association 2019 show! The Santa Clara Valley lies at the southern end of San Francisco Bay in Northern California. This year's show, titled Quilts Celebrating Creativity,  featured some outstanding works by talented quilters. Here are a few of our favorites!

(Note: please check out our E-Bay shop for great bargains on quilt patterns, fabric, and collectibles ! For continuous free quilt patterns, please visit us on Twitter !)

From The Golden State by Judy Rudolph

Right now, the Santa Clara Valley Quilt Association is participating in an exchange program known as "Quilts Across the Pacific", where each member has a sister quilter in Australia with whom to share designs, patterns, and quilt ideas.

Judy Rudolph says, "This quilt was made as my exchange quilt for Patricia Keevers in Australia. I drew inspiration from California's state nickname, 'The Golden State'. The center features a Mariner's Compass block using the Ruth Robin Fat Robin ruler. 

Close-up, From the Golden State

Judy adds, "The center was hand appliqued, and the compass was hand appliqued to the background. The machine embroidery design was from the 50 States Collection by Anita Goodesign. The compass was trapuntoed with an extra layer of wool batting and big stitch quilting was used to highlight the star points and the circular designs in the background."  We appreciate all of Judy's hard work and the beautiful results !

Daisy by Mandy Fleig

Here's another quilt made as part of the quilt exchange with quilter friends in Australia. Mandy writes, "This quilt features Daisy, my Australian friend's pup. As I have become acquainted with my friend across the Pacific, I realized how similar we are. I lost my beloved pup that was also a yellow Labrador Retriever several years ago. The pictures of Daisy remind me that no matter where we live, how different we appear, really we are all the same. We all want to love and be loved."

Close-up, Daisy

Wonderful thread painting work here really emphasizes Daisy's friendly countenance and soulful eyes. Mandy has done an excellent job in using a variety of neutral fabrics to highlight this yellow Lab's attractive markings.

Yosemite Falls by Jaunell Waldo

Jaunell explains, "I wanted to create a quilt introducing my new Australian friend to one of my favorite places on the planet. Picking a specific place within Yosemite National Park was tricky, but I finally settled on the waterfalls because it will give her an idea of the overall majesty of the park." 

Close-up, Yosemite Falls

We really admire this very lifelike landscape quilt which captures the texture of the rushing water, the large trees, and the surrounding sun-dappled rocks.

La Passacaglia Unravels by Randa Mulford

Randa Mulford was a featured quilter at this show.  She states, "This quilt was my first foray into English paper piecing-- I haven't hand-pieced a quilt in many years ! It's been a fun journey, which I've been sharing with other quilters making the "La Passcaglia" pattern by Willyne Hammerstein.  One goal of this quilt was to use only fabrics from stash, mostly prints by Paula Nadelstern." 

Close-up, La Passacaglia Unravels

Randa continues, "My innovation on Hammerstein's design was to 'unravel' the portions of the rosettes that lay outside of the rectangular perimeter of her design. This quilt won first prize in the Traditional Quilts category at the 2018 Chicago International Quilt Festival."  We certainly like this quilt, which is full of beautiful jewel-tone fabrics.

Hippie Daze by Mel Beach

To describe her quilt, Mel has selected a quotation from Nobel Peace Prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu: "Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness." Mel says, "Hippie Daze" originated in response to a particularly negative world news cycle. As I stitched out the background design, I gained a renewed sense of hope. Once the quilting was complete, careful cutwork revealed more of my hand-dyed fabrics hidden underneath.
Wishing all peace, love, and happiness ! "

Close-up, Hippie Daze

These giant vividly colored flowers and the tie-dyed motifs in the center really take us back to our youth in the 1960's ! We think this quilt is so cheery and fun -- a real day brightener.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2019 SCVQA show.

The Best of Quilt Arizona ! day 1

Here are our favorite quilts from the recent Quilt Arizona show!  The annual exhibit by the Arizona Quilters Guild draws visitors from around the country - we even saw license plates from Alaska and most Canadian provinces.  The array of talent at this show is truly impressive!
p.s. Check out our E-Bay shop for great bargains on quilt patterns, fabric, and vintage jewelry !
For continuous free patterns, please visit us on Twitter !      

Navajo Star by Cindy Stohn

Cindy Stohn won Second Place in the Modern quilt category for this original design, inspired by the weavings of the Native Peoples.  Cindy created the feather star design with bold colors. The blue fabric is printed with black and white feathers consistent with the theme of the quilt.  Weaving elements also inspired the quilting designs.

Owl Katsina by Frances Murphy

Frances Murphy created Owl Katsina using fusible and machine applique with commercial and hand dyed fabrics.  According to Frances' website, the inspiration for the figure came from the modern-day Katsina carvings of Jerome Naquatewa, an artist living at the Zuni pueblo 150 miles west of Albuquerque, New Mexico. An image of an owl was quilted into the background.  The Owl Katsina symbolizes intelligence, wisdom and the destroyer of the crop-threatening rodents.

A Country Journal by Caryl Yarmchuk, quilted by Debbie Barlow

Although this was Caryl Yarmchuk's first needle turn applique project... she won a blue ribbon!  The pattern was in her UFO box, and she first thought she would "do just one chicken....!"  The Country Journal patterns are by Maggie Walker.  Debbie Barlow's quilting can be seen in the closeup photo below.

On The Road 2015 by Christine Mahon

We really enjoyed this colorful travel quilt! Christine Mahon says that patterns for the "rows" were collected in each state visited on her travel in 2015.  Fabric choices, embellishments, embroidery and final arrangement make it uniquely hers.  the Idaho block, below, features swimming fish, while the Arizona block has coyotes, saguaro cactus, and mountains.

Dear Paula, With Sincere Thanks, by Karen G. Fisher

This stunning quilt won First Place in the Large Pieced quilt category, along with a special Award of Merit from the National Association of Certified Quilt Judges (NACQJ).  A Paula Nadelstern workshop inspired Karen Fisher to design a nine pointed star.  Bilaterally symmetric fabrics created a true kaleidoscope.  Gold fabrics, buttons and beads added plenty of sparkle.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration.

Highlights of the 2017 Houston International Quilt Festival - part 1

We just returned from the Houston International Quilt Festival.  It's an awe-inspiring event with more than 1,600 quilts on display, and over 60,000 visitors!! It's hard to describe the scale and visual impact of this event.  Just weeks earlier, the Houston convention center served as shelter for more than 10,000 people displaced by Hurricane Harvey, yet the Quilt Festival was executed flawlessly! Here are some highlights of this fantastic show.

We're continually adding fun new items at very low prices to Quilt Inspiration's E-Bay site !

In the Mood for Love by Jing Chen (Beijing, China)

Created with machine piecing and machine applique, this quilt is inspired by a classic Chinese movie called In the Mood for Love (2000). The main colors in the quilt are red and black, which reflect the tone of the film and highlight the dramatic effect. Jing Chen says,  "The protagonist and background are dealt with in different tones, showing the nostalgia."  A closeup photo of the sepia-toned film strip image is shown below.

Ready by Danny Amazonas (Kaohsiung, Taiwan)

"Ready" depicts a cat with an intense stare, ready to pounce!  It was part of a special exhibit called Freehand Patchwork by Danny Amazonas. He does stunning fabric collages using scraps and slivers of fabrics that are stitched to a background using invisible thread.

Fans of Kaffe Fassett will recognize many of these colorful fabric prints.  Danny says, "Since I'm using fabric to create my artwork, I want to maintain the beauty of the original fabric designs on each piece of fabric used. I was also inspired by hundreds of people, some of them great artists, family members, friends, and especially fellow quilters, who gave me kind words of encouragement and praise." We took many photos of this exhibit, and will show more of his work in upcoming posts!

The End of the Drought by Jan Reed (California, USA)

In the Embellished Quilts category, this small quilt captivated viewers with its beadwork representing drops of rain, some of which dangle off the bottom edge of the quilt.  Jan Reed says, "After worrying for 5 years over our severe water needs due to California's drought, imagine our wonder at finally seeing it rain... and rain... and rain.  It felt miraculous."

Jan Reed used machine applique, fusing, and hand embellishment, along with colored pencils and Neo Color 11 watercolor crayons to create this photo-inspired piece. Strands of seed beads are coiled to resemble a puddle of water inside the hand.

White Knight by Patt Blair (California, USA)

White Knight won First Place in the Painted Surface category within the World of Beauty exhibit.  Patt Blair says, "I love painting powerful animals... I had anatomy drawings for this piece for 3 years before I threw caution to the wind and improvised his mane, which I felt must be massive and majestic."

Jacuzzi Jazz by Caryl Bryer Fallert-Gentry (Washington, USA)

The vortex in this quilt was inspired by the spiraling designs found in many fractals.  To create an eye-dazzling effect, Caryl used rainbow colors alternating with their complements, an arrangement she calls "intersecting color and value gradations."  The techniques used include machine piecing, hand dyeing, digital printing and painting with cotton fabric.

Slices of Opulence by Randa Mulford

Slices of Opulence won Best of Show in the special exhibit called  A Celebration of Color. The dazzling design was based on Tomoko Tohno's Orange Range quilt, published in the May 2008 issue of Quilter's Newsletter (free foundation piecing patterns can be downloaded here). While Tohno’s blocks had pieced centers, Randa redrafted the pattern so she could feature the radiating medallion designs and different colorways of Paula Nadelstern's beautiful (but out of print) Opulence fabric line.

Magic Towns of Mexico (Pueblos Magicos de Mexico), presented by Quilters de Mexico

Celebrating the 111 named “Magic Towns” of Mexico, more than 70 quilters worked to create this large, beautiful piece inspired by The Berne House Quilt. You can see a photo of the two quilts at the Quilters de Mexico Twitter page, @QuiltersMexico.  Quilters de Mexico representatives were on hand to discuss the upcoming 10th Quilt Expo in Mexico City in February, 2018.  It sounds like a fun show!

The richness of colors in the blocks bring to mind the unique look of these beautiful and historically-preserved cities.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration.

Winter Quilts: snow, ice and starry nights

We're wrapping up our Winter Quilts Series! Thanks to these remarkable artists, we've had a blast learning about all the different techniques that can be used to create snowflakes: reverse shadow trapunto, quick strip paper piecing, kaleidoscopes, Notan, sun printing and more. Here are all the quilts we've shown over the last two weeks, along with links to the original websites where you can find books, patterns, prints and other products. And now, it's time for us to move on to our next Free Pattern Day and a special featured artist. See you on Monday!

Row 1: Snow Flurries by Peggy Martin at Peggy Martin Quilts; Flurries by Cheryl Wittmayer at Sew Be It; Snowflake Delight by Angie Padilla at Angie's Quilt Pattern Shop. Row 2: Winter Wonderland by Leah Day at Day Style Designs; Notan Snowflake by Nancy Schlegel at NRS Quilter as seen at the Fast Friday Fabric Challenge; Glistening Frost by Susan Varanka at Susan's Quilt Creations. Row 3: Kaleidoscopic XXII: Ice Crystals, c. 2000, Paula Nadelstern; Floating Mariner, block and quilt, by Jennifer Ofenstein at Sew Hooked. Row 4: Kaleidoscopic XXII: Ice Crystals, detail, c. 2000, Paula Nadelstern; Frosty Window by Sue Andrus at Andrus Gardens Quilts; Dancing Twilight by Cheryl Malkowski at Cheryl Rose Creations.

Ice Crystals

It's Day 9 of our Winter Quilts Series! Have you ever looked through a kaleidoscope? When viewed through one end, a kaleidoscope displays a variety of beautiful colors and symmetric patterns as a result of mirrors that reflect the objects within the tube (the word "kaleidoscope" is derived from the Greek words meaning "beautiful form to see".) Paula Nadelstern has achieved international recognition for her innovative and complex designs inspired by the bilateral symmetry of kaleidoscopic images, including the American Folk Art Museum's first one person exhibition highlighting the work of a contemporary quilt artist (2009*). Her astonishing works of art include her precisely rendered Ice Crystals.

Kaleidoscopic XXII: Ice Crystals, 41" x 54", copyright 2000,  Paula Nadelstern 

Each of Paula's snowflakes is actually 6 identical 60 degree triangles, that are each composed of hundreds of tiny slivers of fabric. She says: "Every snow crystal that gently floats to earth is equally compelling. Our curiosity is aroused by this pure gem of nature, with its common hexagonal pattern and endless variety of structural details. The pieced snowflakes in this quilt are my attempt to translate into fabric a few of the over 6000 photomicrographs made by W. A. Bentley of Jericho, Vermont in the late 1800's and published by the American Meteorological Society in 1931."*

Kaleidoscopic XXII: Ice Crystals, detail, copyright 2000, Paula Nadelstern

The symmetry of a kaleidoscope image is a measure of how accurately the original interior image is reflected around the kaleidoscope interior; in a well-made system, there is a seamless continuity of the image sections, with the images matching up perfectly along the edge of each pie-shaped piece. Paula Nadelstern has experimented with different ways to piece the triangular wedges so that the patterns come together perfectly. She is the author of several books published by C&T Publishing that explain her process of pattern drafting, fabric selection, and piecing, including "Snowflakes & Quilts" (available as an e-book).

Last but not least, Paula designs sumptuous fabrics for Benartex - including printed panels - that can be used to create dazzling quilts with simple quilt patterns. Check out her gorgeous Patternista fabric line at Benartex.

*Image credits and links: Images are shown with the generous permission of Paula Nadelstern.  For a story about Paula Nadelstern and her snowflakes, see "A special gift--the legacy of Snowflake Bentley" by Barbara Eaglesham, The Evening Standard (London, England), December 1, 2002. A fantastic free, downloadable, full-color catalog of the exhibit, "Kaleidoscope Quilts: The Art of Paula Nadelstern", can be found at The American Folk Art Museum website. For information on Paula's upcoming exhibits and workshops, visit Paula Nadelstern's website.