Highlights of Quilt Arizona! (2)

The annual Quilt Arizona show is a highlight of spring!  Here are some great quilts from this year's show (part two of 4)!

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Guidance for the Tribe by Stephanie Leuthesser, quilted by Jessica Jones.  

 Winner of 1st Place  for Machine Embroidery, Stephanie Leuthesser says she loved choosing all the colors and finally using her embroidery machine to the max.  "Because my first 12 Kachinas were done on a flannel, they puckered despite using good stabilizers... I changed the background fabric and made 12 more that you see here. The Kachinas were from the Embroidery Library. The feathers and arrows are from Anita Goodesign.

Sawyer's Pasture Paradise, made and quilted by Millie Burgheimer  

Winner of a Third Place ribbon in the pictorial category, this original quilt was based on Millie Burgheimer's own photo of her daughter's horse. The very clever binding was from her husband's saddle blanket. From a distance this looks like a painting; up close you can see the intricate stitching that creates the imagery.

Diamond Mine, made and quilted by Marianne Nowacki.  

Diamond Mine was based on the Indian Blanket pattern by Reeze L. Hanson. Marianne Nowacki says that every piece of Kaffe Fassett fabric was cut using a diamond template. "Working in diagonal rows and maintaining the pattern was a challenge! I used lots of baggies in order to keep all the colors and pieces organized."

Garden Party by Gail Witt, quilted by Jessica Jones 

Winner of Best of Show - Team, plus 1st place in the Mixed Technique - Duet category, this gorgeous quilt is an adaptation of a traditional New York Beauty quilt. Gail Witt says, "I added fussy cut Kaffe flowers, vines, leaves and butterflies to the design.  Techniques include applique, paper piecing, and embroidery. The diagonal setting was inspired by other New York Beauty quilts.  The quilting by Jessica Jones adds dimension and whimsy."

Detail, Garden Party by Gail Witt

 

Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2026 Quilt Arizona show.

 

 

Quilts from the Springville Museum of Art (part 4)

Each year, the Springville Museum of Art (Utah) has one of the best quilt shows around.  It features award-winning quilts from Utah, a state blessed with an abundance of accomplished quilters. Here are some highlights of this year's show!

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Mary - Queen of Bedford by Karin Crawford, quilted by Kim Peterson

Best of Show winner Karin explains, " I deconstructed a panel called the Tree of Life by Mary Koval. Then, I reconstructed the wreath of birds and flowers using Broderie Perse. This quilt has so many elements in it which I enjoy doing: English paper piecing, hand applique, reverse hand applique, serpentine borders, hand mitered corner, scallops, etc. "

Karin concludes, "It was a joy to make!"  We'd like to add that it was a joy to view this breathtaking quilting, with the broderie perse technique shown above. Karin has carefully fussy cut out the motifs of the large prints of flowers, birds, and butterflies from the original panel. She then appliqued each motif onto the new background, which gives an elegant and vintage look to her work.

Aladdin's Window by Donna Moyer

Donna notes, "Aladdin's Window is completely done by hand except for the pieced backing and the hanging device. I tried many shapes before deciding it really needed to be a circle, slightly reminiscent of some of the magnificent stained glass rose windows I have seen in Europe. This 'window' takes on a Mid-Eastern flavor with a nod to the paisley design which originated long ago in Persia."

For her lovely, unique work, Donna won the award for Best Solitaire Hand Quilting. She says, "I couldn't resist adding a personal touch by quilting eight lotus blossoms in gold. Lotus Blossom was my husband's pet name for me."

Purple Posies by Penny Adams

Penny states, "Each of the flowers was made by hand over the period of six months and then appliqued. The insects were drawn and then embroidered. Beads were added to the insects to help catch the light and add an element of life. "

Penny adds, "I used echo quilting to add movement to the quilt. I am pleased with the quilt because it reflects my love of nature."

Here are some more of Penny's hand-made flowers. We really admire Penny's creativity and inventiveness in creating these realistic flowers, including the very lifelike petals.

Scrappy Happy by Nancy Hillman Roberts, quilted by Monica Steelman

Award of Excellence winner, Nancy writes, "Above my desk as a high school teacher was a wacky plaque that asked, 'Have You Dazzled Your Teacher Today?' This is my purpose in submitting a quilt in this show. ...I hope that [people] say, 'I like this quilt. It draws me in, and I'm a little dazzled.'
We'd like to say that we are just not a little bit dazzled; we are extremely dazzled! We are very impressed with all the different fabrics, hours of work, patience, and concentration that Nancy put into her incredible work.  It really exemplifies her devotion to the quilting arts, and she has a fantastic creation to show for it.

Nancy continues, "This quilt kept me engaged, excited, and satistfied with the end product. It's not perfect, but I'm happy-scrappy happy because with my color addiction, variety is essential.
I worked on it when I was sitting (in the car, watching TV, visiting, waiting, etc.) It took twenty-one months to complete. My inspiration was a Kim Diehl wall hanging with 6 3-inch blocks, 24 orange peels, and 12 yo-yo's. Mine exploded into 960 3-inch blocks, 3,840 orange peels, and 1,983 yo-yo's."

Saddle Up by Celia Belcher, quilted by Stephanie McGee

Celia remarks, "Twenty years ago while traveling out of state, I found this pattern and desired to make it for my daughter and her new husband. She and I picked the material, and I was to begin. Not having much experience in advanced quilting, I kept putting it aside. Finally, in 2017, I determined I had to start and just do the best I could."

Celia concludes, "Working on it when I could, I finished it in August 2018. Finding pattern-detailing ideas online, I designed the saddle flowers. I also added the ribbon detail and the initials of their names." We congratulate Celia on her determination to finish what is a very colorful and precisely sewn quilt. The saddle flowers and the initials of Celia's daughter and son-in-law add a special, personalized touch to her work.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration.

Southwestern Quilts

On these winter days in the northern hemisphere, we're looking to the southwestern United States for some warm and sunny inspiration! Here are highlights of quilts with a southwestern theme.

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Kayenta Formation by Ann Petersen

Blue ribbon winner for Best Pieced Small Quilt and Exemplary Machine Quilting at the Quilt Arizona ! show, Ann says of her original design, "Originally a Hoffman Fabrics Challenge quilt, [this] remnds me of the layers of rocks in northern Arizona called the Kayenta Formation , [which often is comprised of tall vertical cliffs that are red or brown in color]."  We are impressed with the way that Ann set some of the blocks en pointe or on the diagonal to convey the impression of the vertical cliffs.

Closeup, Kayenta Formation

We love these intriguing quilting patterns which add so much to the beauty of the quilt. Ann quilted this herself on a stationary machine.

Dancing to the Sky, 41 x 64", by Janet Haefner (Arizona)

Dancing to the Sky was juried into the 2014 American Quilting Society Show in Phoenix, Arizona. This quilt was based on a clay sculpture Janet Haefner made in 1983 of Kachina children climbing a ladder to a mesa top for a dance. The figures were extensively embellished with beads, charms, buttons and embroidery threads.

She painted silk for the feathers because real feathers were too fragile. For more information on Dancing to the Sky, see the description at The Quilt Index. 

Faux Navajo Rug, 54 x 60,  by Cindy Seitz-Krug

Cindy notes, "I've always loved Navajo rugs and dreamed of owning one. But they are quite expensive ! So I decided that until I save up enough money to buy my dream rug, I'd make a quilt that resembled one"

Cindy continues, "This really isn't done in traditional Navajo rug colors, but it's beautiful nonetheless and definitely has a Southwest feel."  Cindy's striking contemporary work is machine pieced, paper-pieced, and machine quilted.

Fade In, Fade Out by Melissa Dunworth

Melissa explains, " I was inspired by the Native American rugs that my parents had hanging in our house when I was a child. The spiral quilting was done to represent ripples in a pond, as each of our lives adds ripples to the world around us, whether we realize it or not."

Closeup, Fade In, Fade Out

Melissa adds, "I wanted to keep the colors simple with a bright pop right in the center." We think the spiral quilting is very effective and perfect for this pattern, as it contrasts beautifully with the strong angular, geometric patchwork.

Desert Rose Serenade by Nancy M. Howell

Third place winner in the Small Pieced Quilts category at the Quilt Arizona ! show, Nancy's quilt is based on the Two For Us BOM quilt by Sue Nickels and Pat Holly for The Quilt Show in 2013. We admire the primitive motif style of the small turquoise bears, which add southwestern charm to this work.

Deep teal blue provides an excellent contrast to the overall rust and cinnamon colorways on the ivory background. 

Kathi's Round Robin by Kathi Martin

A "Round Robin" is the construction technique of multiple quilters adding to a quilt one by one, because the quilt is passed around the group, from one person to the next. Kathi notes, "I made a 24 inch quilt center and sent it on to 4 friends to each add a 6 inch border, then finished it off with 3 more borders."

Closeup, Kathi's Round Robin

We loved the vibrant colors of the center of Kathi's quilt, which are comprised of 8 inch blocks, done in southwestern colors of teal, orange, and copper. Kathi quilted her pretty creation herself, using a track-mounted machine.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration.