Road to California 2014: Part 2

For Day 2 of our Road to California recap, we've carefully selected some quilts we hope you will enjoy.  They did not all win awards at this show, but they were at the top of our list of show-stopping quilts.

Rainbow Nouveau, 78 x 78",  by Margaret Solomon Gunn

We appreciated all of the elements that went into Rainbow Nouveau by Margaret Solomon Gunn:  spectacular quilting, feathered stars, 8-pointed stars, Art Nouveau applique, and colorful, twining vines. This quilt has won numerous awards, including Best of Show at the 2012 Lowell Quilt Festival. The quilting combines structured feather forms with more free-form background fillers including pebbling, feathering, parallel lines, curved cross-hatching, and other designs.

close up, Rainbow Nouveau by Margaret Solomon Gunn

We are always interested in the construction of complex quilts, so we were riveted by Margaret's blog post called Lightning Strikes Twice, in which she discusses Rainbow Nouveau.  It is a fascinating story of patience, persistence, and skill.

Panning for Gold by Lea McComas

This original design was inspired by a historical photo of a gold miner working the river, this quilt was created using fused raw-edge applique and heavy thread painting. Lea McComas says: "It embodies the entrepreneurial spirit and determination of those who settled the West in search of a better life."

The thread painting was so subtle, it was difficult to distinguish between the thread and the applique work.  We had to zoom in to see how it was done. Can you see the stitches in the photo below? 

We've often thought of thread painting as going back and forth with lines that are close together, as on the man's hand in the above photo. On the man's sleeve, however, Lea McComas has used a jumble of large jagged stitches that mimic the texture one might see on a worn old shirt.  Can you see the jagged stitches on the man's sleeve? One more zoom...

Shape Shifter by Nancy C. Arsenault

In this dynamic quilt, Nancy Arsenault created an unusual setting for New York Beauty blocks and sawtooth sashing; the "X" shapes that are formed are capped with little stars. Nancy called the quilt Shape Shifter because every time you look at it, you notice different shapes in the patchwork. In her artist statement, Nancy says: "Why Shape Shifter? Well, what shape did you notice first? The big X? The center diamond? The undulating curves, or all those points?"

close up, Shape Shifter by Nancy C. Arsenault

Nancy Arsenault's original setting incorporates New York Beauty blocks and sashing from Sue Garman’s Sleeping Beauty pattern . The unusual design and the perfectly complementary chartreuse and red-violet color scheme color scheme really stood out at this show. 

Sushi III by Mary Kay Price

Sushi III is a fascinating quilt made with reverse applique batiks and hand dyed fabrics, which were used to create asymmetric overlapping shapes within each block.  The unusual effect reminded us of the gridded abstractions of artist Chuck Close. This quilt won a major award of $1000 for Best Quilt from a First Time Entrant, sponsored by Square Within Square; it previously received Best of Show at the 2013 AQS Show in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Here is a close up photo...

In this close up you can see that decorative machine embroidery was used to finish the edges of each of the the shapes. Further machine quilting was done within and around the pieces, using various designs.  The embroidery and quilting was done with rayon and polyester threads on a domestic machine.

Valley Snapshots, 36.5 x 32", by Timna Tarr

This colorful quilt, with its pleasing rhythmic curves, won the Best Modern Piecing award, sponsored by Stash Books.   We liked the clever way in which Timna Tarr created a trapunto-like effect by using dense quilting on some of the pieces, while letting others protrude from the surface of the quilt, giving the appearance of hills and valleys.  The light and dark hues also lend to the impression of sunshine and shadows.  Here is a close-up photo that shows the quilting:

In describing the inspiration for this quilt, Timna says:  "My house is located between the Connecticut River and the Holyoke Mountain Range. I look at these landscapes each day and their shapes are etched in my subconscious."  For an even better close-up, see Timna Tarr's website at Q Tailored Quilts.

My Blue Log Cabin by Chris Taylor (Lincoln, Nebraska)

Chris Taylor won honorable mention for this contemporary/traditional quilt, which merged log cabin blocks with hand-dyed fabrics in warm and cool colors. Chris says that she played with color and value in making this quilt. Note that the blocks used in the center cross are 1.5 times larger than the blocks in the four corners of the quilt; the large size blocks, along with the light colors in the cross, make the cross really stand out from the rest of the quilt.  Chris says: "Notice the plus sign... positive." My Blue Log Cabin was beautifully hand quilted, as shown below.

In this close up you can see the rich colors of the hand-dyed fabrics, along with Chris Taylor's hand quilting, which was done in circular designs with multiple colors of thread.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration.

Long Beach International Quilt Festival - Part 3

Here is Day 3 of the Long Beach International Quilt Festival, with an emphasis on international quilts and contemporary depictions of traditional patchwork patterns.

Portugal Folkloric Dancers, 92 x 118", by Leslie Gabrielse, The Netherlands,  at Gabrielse.com

Leslie Gabrielse writes that he was inspired to make this "upbeat piece" in remembrance of the folklore festivals he observed in several villages and towns as he traveled through northern Portugal. He explains, "All the village roads were decorated with colorful arches, and I tried to capture the movement of the dancers... and the variety of the colors of their folkloric costumes."

Notice how the dancers almost seem to be illuminated from behind, as Leslie has very skillfully placed the lighter values of fabrics in the center of the piece to create a focal point for the viewer's eye.

Portugal Folkloric Dancers, close-up

Take a look at the incredible detail of the fabric piecing in this close-up.  Beautiful hand embroidery accentuates the outlines of the dancer's costume.

Orphan Blossoms,  app. 60 x 60",  by Timna Tarr, at Q Tailored Quilts

The International Quilt Association used Timna Tarr's "Orphan Blossoms"  on the cover of the program and the tote bags for this year's Long Beach Festival, which was a great idea, because these traditional Dresden Plate blocks just about jump off of the vivid lime green, pink, and lavender background.  Timna found the antique Dresden Plate blocks on e-Bay and wanted to use them in an updated setting. She notes, "I took the Dresden Plate off its original muslin background and laid it on top of fabrics on my cutting table. When I saw how well the Plate fabrics looked on top of green hues, I knew I had to keep experimenting. Even though the Plates and center Arcs are made of old fabrics, I used new fabrics for everything else, including the one inch circles around the plates."

Orphan Blossoms by Timna Tarr, close-up

We loved the lively, swirling energy of this happy quilt, including the very cheerful "bubbles" carefully appliqued around the outside of the Dresden Plates. Timna has done a fabulous job updating one of the most popular traditional quilting patterns in the history of fabric art.

Majestic Bugs, app. 90 x 90 by Irena Bluhm, at Irena Bluhm Designs

Irena Bluhm writes, "This quilt was stitched first, then color was applied using colored pencils. Double batting was used to create the raised design effect for each colored piece of fabric."

What our camera does not show here, is the exquisite hand-embroidery stitching on each one of the stars, points, and apricot shapes. So many enthusiastic quilt fans were standing and admiring this piece, that we could not get near it for a close-up. This was one of the prettiest traditional-design quilts we saw at this show.

First Snow in Kyoto, by Christina Lauchenauer,  Switzerland, at Quilt-Art

Here's a very original and effective use of hand-sewn and hand-quilted blocks, done in elegant apricots, oranges, and cocoa tans and browns. Christina Lauchenauer says, "I tried to capture the feeling of a first cold ( autumn)  morning in Kyoto, Japan. A little snow covers the last bright leaves, and the rooftops of old houses." Christina adds that she wanted to create a beautiful hushed, muted atmosphere, evocative of the "contemplative quiet and peace of its (Kyoto's) temples."

First Snow in Kyoto, close-up

Christina explains that her inspiration to create this quilt was based on her fascination with sashiko stitching and patterns. In this close-up, you can see the variety of lovely embroidery designs she has created for each block. 

My Double Wedding Ring, by Keiko Goke, Japan,  at Quilt Wonderland

From Miyagi, Japan, Keiko Goke created this beautifully colored machine-pieced, machine-quilted, and hand top-stitched contemporary version of the beloved Amish double wedding ring pattern. Keiko worked without any templates to create sophisticated oval shapes that show off a variety of purples and lavenders against the solid gold and green backgrounds.

Autumn Splendor, by Susie L. Anderson

Susie notes that she was inspired by a Kaffe Fassett design to create this traditional baby blocks pattern in a fantastic color-saturated rainbow of monochromatic solids. We're very impressed by the quilter's fabric selection, as her careful use of light, medium, and deep values allows the viewer to clearly see each face or side of the baby block, thus enhancing the three-dimensional effect.

Birds Return, by Kayoko Oguri, Japan

Here's one of several magnificent quilts we saw with the theme of birds in flight. Kayoko Oguri says, "I like red colors. The pattern of the curves was arranged in my own way. The birds that returned to their nests in the evening sun was depicted." As you can see above, the birds seem to be flying through waves or streams of sunbeams, which were created by the use of shiny gold quilting threads applied to mirror the shape of their wings.