The Works of Tara Faughnan (2)

Tara Faughnan is a quilter, teacher and pattern designer who began quilting in 2001. For many years she worked for Michael Miller Fabrics, Pottery Barn Kids and Riley Blake creating textile designs. Tara was the featured artist at this year's QuiltCon show, presented by the Modern Quilt Guild. It was fascinating to see her work in person! We hope you enjoy these photos.

p.s. Check out our E-Bay shop for great bargains on jewelry, patterns, and collectibles!
For continuous free quilt patterns, please visit us on Twitter !

Ramble, 85" x 88", by Tara Faughnan

This quilt would be so much fun to make! Tara Faughnan says, "An ode to embroidered ribbons, Ramble is my interpretation of a medallion quilt. I absolutely adore the colors and shapes, and the detail of this quilt. This is going to be the 2026 block of the month with Windham fabrics, and I am so excited to share this pattern with all of you."

Big Ocean (2023), 68" square, by Tara Faughnan 

This quilt is a take on a classic Amish quilt design: Ocean Waves. By working with a repeated shape, the interaction of color and value takes center stage. Tara says, "As I designed the quilt, I was thinking about the viewer's experience, inviting them to explore the close up moments of color, while allowing the interplay of values to create movement in the design.  As with everything I create, I strive to walk the line between harmony and discord."  Big Ocean was hand quilted.

Strips (2018), 60" square, by Tara Faughnan  

Tara Faughnan says that Strips started with a group of art quilters and a 4-day intensive class with Rosalie Dace.  "I have the privilege and joy to be part of a weekly quilt group comprised mostly of art quilters, who have introduced me to glue sticks and fusible web... This piece was born out of a desire to continue exploring line and form, and the subtle spaces in between." Strips was machine quilted.

 

Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2025 QuiltCon show in Phoenix, Arizona.

 

Welcome to Modern Quilt Month ! part 3

We're celebrating Modern Quilt Month at Q.I., and we couldn't be more excited about these fun quilts!  So, what makes a quilt modern? According to The Modern Quilt Guild, the characteristics may include the use of bold colors and prints, high contrast, graphic areas of solid color, improvisational piecing, minimalism, and expansive negative space.  This is the third of five feature posts.

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 !

Decision Tree, 25 x 37", by Randa Mulford

Randa Mulford began this quilt in a workshop with Rosalie Dace at Art Quilt Tahoe.  About the title, "Decision Tree", Randa says:  Approaching an opportunity to retire (and the age for wearing purple and red!), I realized that life is really a series of decisions.  Some have trivial consequences, whle others are more significant, each an opportunity.  Every "leaf" on the tree represents a decision or opportunity." Each of the leaves on Decision Tree is unique and beautiful, made with different fabrics and embellishments (shown below).

Lilac City, 29 x 29", by Joni Strother

Joni Strother began Lilac City in a workshop with Colleen Wise titled "Emerald City." Lilac City is machine pieced and quilted.  Joni Says, "Colleen was such an interesting and fun person with whom to spend time and learn."  Colleen is the author of Casting Shadows: Creating Visual Dimension in Your Quilts.  Notice how Joni's quilt has darker purple strips at the right and bottom edges of each block, which creates the appearance of a shadow (shown below), which adds a three-dimensional look to the quilt.

Riotous Stripes, 46 x 52",  by Joy Palmer

Joy Palmer started this quilt by making strata of various solid material in greens and purples.  Then she cut up the strata strips into blocks and half-square triangles.  She says, "It was a lot of fun and very challenging to arrange my blocks into the finished quilt." Joy Palmer quilted Riotous Stripes with straight lines which bring all the blocks together.  She says, "I am not really a fan of the color purple, but it is growing on me!"

Liberty Skyline by Teddie Brannin, quilted by Jeannie Rogers

Liberty Skyline was awarded First Place in the Modern Quilt category, along with a special ribbon for Exemplary Machine Quilting - Computer Guided at the 2019 Quilt Arizona show.  Teddie says, "My skyline quilt is a fascination of mine on bringing different colors and patterns together to make a simple block pattern intriguing. I love the evening skyline with glimmering lights."

The quilt was inspired by Tula Pink’s “Skyline” layout from the book, Tula Pink’s City Sampler: 100 Modern Quilt Blocks. Note how Jeannie Rogers' quilting extends the vertical lines of the blocks, creating the appearance of a skyline.  Each block is unique and beautiful, and it must have been fun to arrange these blocks.

Circles by Lora Riordan

Lora Riordan's Circles quilt was created for the Riley Blake Fabric Challenge with the black and white fabric.  The circles were created with machine reverse applique. Lora quilted this modern piece herself, using an echo quilting design that surrounds each circle.  We love the way the quilting lines overlap, which adds a feeling of energy to this modern design!

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2019 Santa Clara Valley Quilters Guild show (Decision Tree, Lilac City, Riotous Stripes) and the 2019 Quilt Arizona show (Liberty Skyline, Circles).

Diablo Valley Quilters' Guild Show Day 1 : Featured Artist: Diana McClun

Diana McClun was the featured artist at the 2017 Diablo Valley Quilters Guild show in Walnut Creek, California. Diana is the co-author of the well-known, beloved classic book Quilts, Quilts, Quilts ! along with Laura Nownes.

Color Study II by Diana McClun

For this quilt, Diana used some 30 year old quilt blocks, which are basically half-square triangles sewed side-by-side to create strips of diamonds. They are the 5 rectangles you see above:  from left, the blue/ neon orange, the purple/yellow orange, the red/green, and the grape/yellow. She used them as flower vases to collage flowers and make bouquets.

Here's a close-up of the bright, whimsical flowers which fit into the rectangular vases. What a wonderful use of 30 year old blocks from vintage fabric ! This fun, vibrant work was machine quilted by Alethea Ballard.

Addie's 13th Birthday Quilt by Diana McClun

An original founder of the famous .Empty Spools Seminars in Pacific Grove, California, Diana was inspired by Anelie Belden's Empty Spools class. Diana made this quilt in honor of her granddaughter Addie's 13th birthday.

These giant circular plates, done in restful marine colors, almost look as if they are floating languidly in a under-sea world !  Victoria McEnerney machine quilted this elegant work.

Tulips by Diana McClun

Diana explains, "The inspiration for this quilt came from tulip images on a napkin and paper plate. The design was free-hand drawn with a permanent marker and a ruler onto a grid of 6" squares of muslin pinned on a design wall."

Diana's brilliant skills in composition are highlighted here, as the giant eye-catching flowers comprise the foreground, while the tone-on-tone blues, beiges, and whites add just the right proportion of background space. Tulips was machine quilted by Victoria McEnerney.

Colorful Circles by Diana McClun 

This just looks like so much fun to design and make ! Diana's original design was inspired by a class with Rosalie Dace from South Africa at the Empty Spools Seminar.

This triadic color scheme of pastel pink, lime green, and apricot orange works beautifully together, especially when touches of silver gray are added to the background. Alethea Ballard machine quilted this lively, sophisticated work.

Trees, Trees, Trees by Diana McClun

Diana's contemporary, geometric work was inspired by a painting by German-born, American modern artist Wolf Kahn.  These strips of varied sizes of rectangles give this dazzling quilt an almost Bargello-like appearance.

Diana's original work was machine quilted by Alethea Ballard. These lovely corals and aquas are so gorgeous, especially with the hint of lime green.Trees, Trees, Trees was one of our favorites works of this show.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration.