Terraced

The Pacific International Quilt Festival is held annually in Santa Clara, California. This year's show included over 400 quilts. We're featuring some of our favorite works of art from the show!

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For continuous free quilt patterns, please visit us on Twitter.

Terraced, 61.5 x 46.25", by Thom Atkins (California)

Here is an extremely artistic depiction of rice gatherers in South Vietnam. Exhibited in the Innovative category, Terraced began as a 3.5" x 3.5" photo that originally appeared in a magazine.  Thom Atkins says, "I took the image and stretched it in Photoshop and changed the color from yellow/green to  yellow/red shades."  This striking original design was machine appliqued and machine quilted.

 Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2022 Pacific International Quilt Festival.

Best of the Pacific International Quilt Festival 2019 (day 2)

Held annually in Santa Clara, California, the Pacific International Quilt Festival is the largest quilt show on the west coast of the U.S.A.  It features a wonderful variety of beautiful quilts! Here are some of the highlights of the festival. Let us know which ones are your favorites!

P.S.  For quilt patterns, books, and vintage collectibles, please visit us on E-Bay quilt-inspiration !

Rajah, 38 x 50, by Leigh Layton, Indiana

Leigh says, "Machine work and cats are my 'Quilty Pleasure.' I use both in my work. Rajah is a resident of a rescue center, and [this quilt] started as a photo."

Leigh continues, "[The photo] was manipulated with software and printed on fabric. Lots and lots of thread painting later, then quilted." We admire this very evenly and carefully done thread painting, because in person, it gives Rajah's face an almost irridescent, glowing look. Leigh's original design is all sewing machine quilted.

Looking Toward the Light , 30 x 26, by Nell Mays, California

Nell explains, "[I am] mostly a self-taught quilter who loves mixing bright colors and interesting fabric remnants to create what the cloth ultimately tells me to do. Occasionally, I will accept institutional theme challenges or try making a traditional quilt pattern, but I find both more stressful and sometimes less creative."

Nell's lovely original design is machine pieced, machine appliqued, and sewing machine quilted. She's done a wonderful job of selecting batiks that coordinate well with each other in terms of design and also provide complementary shading in hues of gold, purple, blue, and orange.

Bricks n Gears, 86 x 71, by Claudia Pfeil, Germany

Claudia notes, "In my imagination, old used gears and wheels are piled along a wall of bricks - a still life of technical relics." Her original design is machine pieced, hand appliqued, and longarm machine quilted.

Claudia won First Place for Best Longarm Machine Workmanship in the Innovative Quilts category, and it's easy to see why she won!  Her work, including the beaded embellishments, is spectacular.

A Sunburnt Country, 121 x 81, by Terri Ahrens, Australia

Second place winner in the World Innovative Quilts category, Terri writes, "A Sunburnt Country was commissioned by my daughter, to be used as a backdrop for her final recital to complete her Masters of Flute in Antwerp, Belgium. It was inspired by a visit to Uluru, (a giant rock outcropping in central Australia) in 2004."

Terri adds, "The piece was made using Susan Carlson's fabric collage  technique. The goal was to only use fabrics from Australian indigenous designers, and only 3 fabrics used did not fit this brief. The quilt was quilted on a Handi-Quilter longarm."  Terri's three panel landscape work is stunning, and the aboriginal fabrics, with their intriguing spirals and circles, give it an extra sparkle.

Evolution,74 x 54, by Thom Atkins, California

Thom remarks, "It started with yet another Kaffe Fassett fabric I just had to have, [which was] quilt-backing material with six large rondelles across. I cut one out, then started cutting loose the rows on one side, opening them, and adding more units. Voila ! A jellyfish (sort of). The diamond shaped pieces in between the large rondelles morphed into smaller jellies."

Thom's brilliantly colored, imaginative original design is machine sewn, soft-edge appliqued, and longarm machine quilted. He's created a magical undersea world.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration.

Highlights of the 2018 Pacific International Quilt Festival ! (part 1)

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 !

Note: For quilt patterns, vintage jewelry,  and other treasures, visit us on E-Bay - We're Top Rated Sellers! And for continuous listings of free quilt patterns, please check us out on Twitter.

Marie's Treasure, 77 x 77", by Marilyn Badger (St. George, Utah)

Best of Show winner, Marilyn says, "This quilt is a tribute to my favorite Aunt. She crocheted doilies like no other. When I saw this hand-dyed doily in [fabric designer] Wendy Richardson's booth, I knew I wanted to make this quilt. Tie that together with some beautiful Paula Nadelstern fabric and lots of beads and crystals; and this is what you get."

Closeup, Marie's Treasure

This stunning center medallion, done in radiant ombre colors,  is actually a crocheted doily carefully appliqued to the quilt background. Marilyn's spectacular original design is machine appliqued and longarm machine quilted. More photos of this breathtaking award winner can be found on The Quilt Show Blog.

In the Old Way, 48 x 36", by Linda Anderson (La Mesa, California)

 Linda explains, " Traditional textiles in Oaxaca, Mexico,  are disappearing over time. Each village has its own design motif that tells their story. Trying to continue this tradition, this woman still dresses her granddaughter in the old way from time to time. That'll be the day when she is as old as gradnma and carries on the tradition of textile with her granddaughter."

Closeup, In the Old Way

Linda's very artistic original design is machine appliqued. This exquisite quilting emphasizes the tender affection expressed by the grandmother as she imparts cherished cultural adornments to her little granddaughter.

My Rhodie, 54 x 46", by Andrea Brokenshire  (Round Rock, Texas)

Blue ribbon winner for Best Innovative Quilt and Viewer's Choice Award winner, Andrea notes, "I made this to celebrate my parents. This quilt was inspired by a visit to the Rhododendron Gardens in Portland during the spring high bloom.

Closeup, My Rhodie

These delicate light and bold deep tones of pink are so lovely!  Andrea's original design is machine appliqued and sewing machine quilted.

Water is Life, So Why Are We Doing This, 61 x 44, by Thom Atkins (Santa Cruz, California)

Blue ribbon winner for Best Use of  Color in an Innovative Quilt,  Thom states   "[This was] inspired by a painting of a breaking wave by F.J. Anderson. I decided to make it a commentary on what we are doing to our oceans, hence the bits of distressed plastic embedded in the foam. "

Closeup, Water is Life

Thom continues, "I machine appliqued cotton fabric and lace, then hand-sewed on glass, pearls, and shell beads around the bits of plastic. I was looking for "beautiful" and "terrifying."  Thom's unique original creation is designed for maximum three-dimensional impact; so the the viewer feels almost like being in the ocean, looking through the pipeline effect of the wave.

In Full Bloom 83 x 69, by Claudia Pfeil ,  (Germany)

Claudia writes, "That'll be the day..........when everything is 'In Full Bloom', a magic hidden garden. The day when you relax and enjoy the peace and nature."

Closeup, In Full Bloom

Claudia's gorgeous, fanciful garden with these vibrantly colored, bead-embellished happy flowers is machine pieced, hand-appliqued, and longarm machine quilted.

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

Highlights of the Pacific International Quilt Festival: Day 2!

The Pacific International Quilt Festival (PIQF) is the biggest quilt show on the West Coast of the US. We had a great time at the 25th annual show, held last week in Santa Clara, California. There were nearly 1000 quilts on display from around the globe. Here is Part 2 of selected highlights of this year's show!

Please note: We're selling beautiful quilting and crafting books and fabrics at low introductory prices on e-Bay! Check out all our new listings!
Also, we're continuously posting free patterns on Twitter !

Carnavaal, 74 x 52", by Thom Atkins, Santa Cruz, California

Thom Atkins notes, "I started with a kaleidoscope pattern from 2004; I had the pieces cut but not assembled. I also had lots of purple tear drop crystals I wanted to use. I was inspired by some pictures of Venetian Carnival masks, and my kaleidoscope morphed into a headdress. Then I created the lady to wear it and a window frame for her to look out."

Closeup,  Carnavaal by Thom Atkins

"Carnavaal" is an original design which is machine appliqued and long arm quilted. The elaborate embellishment with crystals gives this work a very glamorous, sophisticated look.

Street Tunes, 48 x 40", by Deborah Ann (Yakima, Washington, USA)

Deborah Ann says, "The passion that Ray has as he entertains people in The Loop of St. Louis, (an historic neighborhood in St. Louis, Missouri), inspired me to share with others."

Close up, Street Tunes

Deborah's original design is machine pieced, machine appliqued, and sewing machine quilted. Even though these fabric shades are mostly neutrals, there is still a lot of contrast and energy to this piece.

Draft Horse Classic, 74 x 57", by Linda Lasich (Grass Valley, California, USA)

Linda notes,"The Nevada Country Fairgrounds produces annually in September, the Draft Horse Classic, bringing all breeds of draft horses together. It's a fabulous event that I commemorate with this quilt. "
Draft Horse Classic was inspired by the Material Matrix technique by Sandra Bruce
which involves interpreting a gridded photograph with fabric.

Detail, Draft Horse Classic

Linda's original design is machine pieced and long arm quilted. This artist has done an excellent job of selecting both light and dark fabrics to depict both the draft horse and the background.

No L, 71 x 70",  by Janet Stone (Overland Park, Kansas, USA)

Winner of the Yuko Watanabe "Best of Show" award, Janet Stone writes, "Inspired by quilt collector Bill Volckening's antique New York Beauty quilts, I thought the large sashing interection blocks would be a great place to put the letters. Except letter "L", that is. Being fearful of curved piecing, [I made sure that] all the curvy pieces are appliqued."

Detail, No L

Janet's original design is machine pieced, machine appliqued, and sewing machine quilted.  This meticulous workmanship is certainly deserving of the Best of Show award.

Apis Mellifera, 44 x 49", by Barbara Lange (Germany)

"Apis Mellifera" is the Latin name for the Western honey bee, the most common of the 40 species of honey bees world wide. Barbara notes, "Bees have been a major topic in my work for the past few years. Insects in general are the most successful species on earth - without them, our life would not be what it is."

Detail, Apis Mellifera

This lovely embroidery work in clear tones of orange-yellow provides a stunning contrast with these pure shades of cyan blue.

Reinventing the Wheel, 60 x 65", by Erin Davis, S. Napier, S. Cureton, C. Calvert, J. Ramsey, M. Capron, and J. Passell (Morton Grove, Illinois, USA)

This is a 100% English Paper Pieced color wheel quilt and has 11 blocks by Erin Davis and fellow members of the Get Your Hex On bee. The original design is hand pieced and machine appliqued.  Every color, except one, was a Kona cotton fabric. It was longarm quilted by Melissa at Sew Shabby Quilting.

Detail, Reinventing the Wheel

Erin Davis explains, " As a relatively newer quilter, I've been very much drawn to the modern quilting movement, but as I work within that realm, I've been increasingly influenced by past styles and traditional techniques. I like to call myself a 'modern traditionalist'. Rather than seek to work with a particular quilt pattern, i chose to design a more unique approach by playing with geometrics  and palette. This......quilt has served as larger inspiration in other projects I've completed."

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration.