Highlights of Quilt Arizona! (2)

The 2025 Quilt Arizona show features hundreds of quilters, many of whom spend the winter months in this sunny locale.  Here are some highlights from the show.  We hope you enjoy our photos!

Note: Please check out our E-Bay shop for great bargains on patterns, jewelry, and collectibles. You also can follow us on Twitter!

Girl with the Pearl Earring, made and quilted by Denise Farnworth. 

Winner of 1st Place in the Kit Quilt - Solo category, Denise Farnworth says: "I saw this beautiful quilt on Instagram @PrideandJoyquilting.  I have seen this painting in Holland in The Hague, Netherlands.  I have read the fictional book about her and when I saw this quilt, I knew I had to make it." Denise's use of straight-line quilting was the perfect choice for this modern quilt. (Note: More information on the Girl with a Pearl Earring design can be found at the Pride and Joy Quilting website.)

 My Comfort Zone, made and quilted by Darla Orndorff

 This was the only quilted clothing we saw at the show, and it really caught our eye! Winner of 1st place in her category, Darla Orndorff says: "I had an old chenille robe from Lands End.  When it wore out, I tore it apart and used it as a pattern to make another chenille robe.  when that one wore out, I used the pattern to make a quilted robe - mimicking the use of chenille."

Whimsical Mystery Quilt by Janet Strafalace, quilted by Matt Seamons  

 Winner of the Laurene Sinema Award* for Exemplary Workmanship, Janet Strafalace says: "My quilt is the result of having made several raw edged applique quilts. Having lots of fabric already backed with Steam-A-Seam2, and being a no-waste kind of gal, I decided to use it all, with some entertaining modifications. Fun project!" The project was based on the Mystery Quilt pattern by Yoko Saito. 

Many intricate details were created!  See if you can spot the colorful stained glass windows in the church; a dog and cat; and a street resembling cobblestones. (*Note:  Laurene Sinema (1929-2003) was the founder of the Arizona Quilters Guild; this special award honors her legacy.)

Butterflies in the Garden Trellis by Gail Witt, quilted by Jessica Jones

 

Butterflies in the Garden Trellis was awarded Best of Show - Team, and 1st Place - Mixed Technique Duet. Gail Witt says: The quilt center is an adaptation of a traditional Carpenter's Square design.  Butterflies were added to the quilt center to echo the butterfly border.  Fussy cut Kaffe flowers and leaves were appliqued to curvy vines swirling around the trellis center.  Jessica Jones' quilting adds beauty and creativity to the quilt."

 

Birds and Birds, and Birds in the Air by Darla Orndorff, quilted by Penny Boese 

 This is most intricately pieced quilt we saw at the show, and we were amazed by the precision needed to create this beauty. Darla Orndorff says, "The quilt was designed in the style of "British Frame Quilts." The traditional block called Birds in the Air was used to create new blocks.  Winner of a red ribbon (2nd place) in the Large Pieced Duet quilts category!

Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2025 Arizona Quilters Guild show. 

QuiltCon 2022 Highlights (5)

The outstanding QuiltCon show was held in Phoenix, Arizona this year! Presented by The Modern Quilt Guild, QuiltCon is the largest modern quilting show of its kind. Hundreds of modern quilts were on display, including a juried show with entries from MQG members around the world. Here are some of the remarkable quilts we enjoyed.

Also check out our E-Bay shop for great bargains on quilt patterns, fabric, and vintage jewelry!
For more free quilt patterns, please visit us on Twitter.

Metamorphosis by Terry Smith (Greely, Ontario, Canada), quilted by Nellie Van de Ven

The excellent foundation paper piecing stands out in this stunning quilt by Terry Smith, who participated in a project that helps save Monarch butterflies. Terry says, "When my girlfriend challenged me to enter a quilt in QuiltCon 2022, of course I accepted.  I thought, what can I make that is significant? That makes a statement? Metamorphosis spoke to me, loud and clear."

Beautiful batiks make up the wings of the butterfly, which stand out brilliantly against the neutral gray background. The Metamorphosis pattern was created by Veruschka Zarate at Pride and Joy quilting.The machine quilting (by Nellie Van de Ven) was done with dense pebbles below and around the body, while light quilting was done to follow the lines of the body.

 Surf's Up by Nancy Lambert (Georgia)

Surf's Up really captured our eye with its intriguing design and complementary hues. Nancy Lambert used sunshine colors to evoke the beach and surfing. The machine-appliqued curves, which reminded us of the Art Deco style, were used to represent surf boards, water and waves. It was machine quilted without a frame (domestic).  Colors were gradated for added dimension, as shown in the closeup photo below.

May I Hug You by Gwen Edwards (Keynsham, Avon, UK)

This lovely hand embroidered, hand quilted piece was one of our favorite quilts at the show. It is so beautiful in its simplicity.  Gwen Edwards explains that May I Hug You? is the third in a series about hugs and the pandemic.  It was started as England came out of Lockdown #3 - with rules that included no hugging of anyone outside your "bubble".  Nancy poses the question: "In the future, what will the psychological barriers to hugs be?  May I? May I hug you?"

This piece was hand quilted with two sets of lines, sometimes aligning and sometimes opposing, mirroring our complex relationship with others.

We Are All Made of Stars by Melissa de Leon Mason (Utah)

We Are All Made of Stars beckons the viewer to approach and to admire the details, from the piecing and machine quilting to the hand quilting done with colored threads. The quilt plays with the idea of scale, suggesting the vast sprawl of the universe and the microscopic precision of the human eye.  The rays and sunspots are foundation paper pieced with hand quilting and hand applique in the center.  The quilt is both hand and machine quilted in a swirling galaxy motif.

Stovetop by Linda Leake (California)

There is so much energy and movement in this contemporary pieced quilt - it seems almost to vibrate!  Linda Leake says that she branched out from making traditional quilts, and created her first original design during the pandemic.  "After many hours at the stove either cooking or cleaning up the mess from quilting, the stovetop became my inspiration."

Linda continues, "I loved the experience of making my own fabrics for each spoke from scratch, not always using a ruler to cut, taking changes with color and design, and hand quilting.  Making this quilt taught me to be patient and to be willing to rearrange, start over if necessary, and give the design time to grow."

Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2022 QuiltCon show in Phoenix, Arizona.

QuiltCon 2022 Highlights (4)

The outstanding QuiltCon show was held in Phoenix, Arizona this year! Presented by The Modern Quilt Guild, QuiltCon is the largest modern quilting show of its kind. Hundreds of modern quilts were on display, including a juried show with entries from MQG members around the world. Here are some of the remarkable quilts we enjoyed.

Also check out our E-Bay shop for great bargains on quilt patterns, fabric, and vintage jewelry!
For more free quilt patterns, please visit us on Twitter.

Pride and Joy, 70 x 70", by Veruschka Zarate (California)

Winner of a 1st Place ribbon in the Piecing category, Pride and Joy is a self portrait of Veruschka Zarate and her sons. It is completely pieced together using Foundation Paper Piecing.The quilt is made up of 2,359 shapes and uses 20 cotton fabric colors of Bella Solids by Moda Fabrics. It took 4 months to complete. 

Veruschkz Zarate says, "Although the use of solid colors can increase the margin of error when piecing the quilt, I enjoy clean, modern, minimalistic approaches to quilting to give an impressionistic and modern effect." Pride and Joy was machine pieced, machine quilted on a frame (longarm). 

Blooming Saguaro by the Las Vegas Modern Quilt Guild

This stunning modern saguaro was designed by Anita Wilbur, Quilted by Gina Fiddes, and bound by Sue Green. These members of the Las Vegas NV chapter of MQG chose to celebrate the creative spirit of its membership by highlighting the City of Phoenix as the host of the 2022 QuiltCon.  The quilted stars lend a sparkling 1960's-era vibe.

The Big Fib by Brandy Maslowski (Summerland, British Columbia) 

This stunning Fibonacci swirl is made modern with its jagged edges. Designer and maker Brandy Maslowski says, "Imposter Syndrome is real for many of us. Whether you are dressing yourself for a job interview... or making your side gig your “real” career, we can all feel like we are not good enough. The Big Fib is a whimsical take on the Fibonacci Swirl as the creator (that’s me!) makes the leap from art quilter to Modern quilter, because Yes She Can!” Beautifully quilted by Sam Alberts of Quilting Curve Studio. 

Voltron by Irene Roderick (Texas) 

This striking improvisational quilt was made from strip-pieced elements. Irene Roderick says, "To make the piecing more challenging, I decided to make the quilt symmetrical along the vertical center axis. I started with a single small element in the center of my design wall and added one element at a time then its ‘partner’ until it felt balanced, interesting and joyful. When I stepped back to look at the finished quilt, it reminded me of the Japanese Voltron robots my boys collected when they were young."

Make Something from Nothing by Clara Stoikow (New York) 

This delightful quilt was made from denim scraps (mostly old, torn, sorted out jeans). It serves as a reminder and an invitation to start something new! Clara Soikow says, "A while ago I read somewhere how amazing it is to create – to make something from nothing, to bring something into this world that wasn’t there before. I found that thought fascinating and wanted to turn it into a quilt." 

Tiny Bubbles by Marla Varner (Washington)

Some fascinating optical illusions were created with large and small circles. Tiny Bubbles was quilted during the pandemic. Marla Varner says, "These tiny bubbles kept me occupied while isolated in my own small bubble. All of the quarter circles were traced from templates, cut with scissors and pieced by hand. The curved units were then assembled by machine."

Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2022 QuiltCon show.