Happy Halloween!

As we enjoy all the Halloween decorations popping up around town, here's one of our favorite seasonal projects: Happy Halloween by Elizabeth Hartman! This sampler quilt features a ghost, bat, cat, witch, star, pumpkin, owl, spider, candy corn, and candy roll blocks.

p.s.  STAY TUNED for photos from the fabulous Houston International Quilt Festival!

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

This is a patchwork-pieced pattern. The blocks are made almost entirely of rotary-cut squares and rectangles, and everything is sewn together using conventional patchwork techniques. 18 Kona Solids were used to make this quilt - or have fun raiding your stash!

Highlights of Quilt Arizona! (1)

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!

PIMA, made and quilted by Deb Deaton  

Winner of 1st Place in the Art-Innovative category, and Best of Show, Deb Deaton says: "When I create art, I think of how I can make it stand out, be different. PIMA took more than a year to complete with over 1000 pieces of fabric, needle felting, and mixed media (wow!)

Inspired by a copyright-free photo found on the Unsplash photography website; the image was altered significantly in creating this work of art. The painterly effects were created with silk threads, hand dyed fabrics, and mixed media including inks, pastels, & paints.  

 To Walk in Beauty by Jane McCabe, quilted by Rose Maynes

This incredible quilt won 1st Place in its category (Pieced - Large Duet), and a special award for Exemplary Machine Quilting - Computer Guided. Jane McCabe says: "To honor Arizona Native American art aesthetics, the center medallion pattern is "Hopi Basketry" by Southwest Decoratives. 

 Jane McCabe says that pieced borders of pineapple blocks, half-square triangles, and flying geese squares echo Navajo and Zuni rugs and pottery designs.  The quilting by Rose Maynes represents tribal design forms.

Faceted Jewels in Blue by Judy Locke, quilted by Penny Boese  

Winner of 1st Place in the Modern - Duet category, this brilliant quilt was based on a published design called Faceted Jewels from Paper Pieced Modern by Amy Garro.  

Judy Locke says, "I had seen this pattern in the Paper Pieced Modern book and wanted to make it when I found the right fabrics. A new collection called Ebb & Flow from Windham Fabrics was available in the summer of 2024.  The collection's geometric designs and solids work together well creating the faceted jewels."  It was machine quilted by Penny Boese, who echoed the geometric designs of the pieced blocks using blue thread to emphasize the "jewels". 

Go West by Naomi Marin, quilted by Matt Seamons  

 This fantastic Southwestern design quilt won 1st Place in the Pieced - Small Duet category. Naomi Marin says: "The indigenous designs of tribes across the world have always been interesting to me. They express a message or tell a story. In the pattern Go West (by Bonjour Quilts) I find the colors striking and the sharp points are perfectly placed for a stunning pattern."

 Wildflowers at the Cabin, made and quilted by Jo Ann Kilgroe  

We loved this original quilt with its pineapple blocks and colorful, appliqued flowers. Winner of 1st place in the Mixed Technique - Solo category, Jo Ann Kilgroe says, "Camping in the mountains and seeing all of the brilliant wildflowers is a favorite of mine." Here you can see sunflowers, poppies, and other mountain flowers that echo the primary colors in the pineapple blocks.

Jo Ann says, "Paper pieced scrappy pineapple blocks in numerous rich colors [were used] for my background.  Then I drew up an assortment of wildflowers, placed them on a vine, and then appliqued it all on my blocks." 

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

Note: This post has some affiliate links for products cited by these artists. Even if you don’t want to buy the items online, you could buy them at your local craft store. If you do make a purchase from one of these links, we’ll make a small commission. There is no additional cost to you.

Cute Owls

We enjoyed seeing these cute owls at this year's Quilt Arizona show! Their autumn colors are perfect for this time of year.

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.

Attitudes by Teddie Brannin

Who doesn't love owls? The creator of this quilt, Teddie Brannin, is a member of the Night Owls branch of the Arizona Quilters Guild. She says: "I love these little 'branch buddies' with their individual attitudes."

Check out the quilted text below the lower branch, which reads, "Who Ruffled Her Feathers?"

The quilt, which was awarded a third place ribbon at the 2022 Quilt Arizona show, is based on the "Branch Diversity" pattern by Swan Sheridan. Professional long arm quilting was done by Jeannie Rogers. 

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

 

Quilt Arizona 2020 ! Day 4

In February, when life was still "normal" , we attended the 2020 Quilt Arizona! Show which is an outstanding display of statewide quilts from the Arizona Quilters' Guild. This year's theme was "Desert Stars". We hope you enjoy these highlights from the show !

Please check out our E-Bay shop for great bargains on quilt patterns, books, and collectible items !
For the latest free quilt patterns, please visit us on Twitter.

Into The Wild by Martha Sivetz-Baltram

This original design pieced and appliqued quilt is truly stunning. Martha Sivetz-Baltram says that she was inspired by forests and wild animals, after touring several national parks last summer. This creation won a well-deserved blue ribbon in the Mixed Technique, Medium/Large-Solo category. She used the silhouette animals from clip art to create the animals, and placed crows (below) in the four corners of the quilt.

We couldn't resist one more closeup photo, showing the vertical line of bees that were placed between the rows of tree blocks.  The piecing, applique and quilting were all done by Martha herself.

Desert Watch by Elizabeth Heurlin

Desert Watch is an original design by Elizabeth Heurlin, created with pieced flying geese, turned and machine applique, a crewel owl, and machine and hand embroidery.  A quilt block in the upper right corner, with quilting that echoes the flying geese theme, depicts the desert sun.  The focus point was the amazing owl, shown below.

Elizabeth says she stitched the owl around 30 years ago from an unknown crewel embroidery kit.  We love the way she perched the owl on a prickly pear at the edge of the quilt!  Elizabeth credits Ann Peterson for inspiring some of the design elements. This piece won a yellow (Third Place) ribbon in the Mixed Technique, Small - Solo category,

Count Basie Bear under The Desert Stars by Jane Wilcox

This original design by Jane Wilcox was inspired by the 2020 show theme, Desert Stars.  Jane says,  "One of the most beautiful sights at night is the Phoenix skyline illuminated by the stars and moon!"
The bear sitting near the campfire is conducting a symphony of coyotes, a familiar sound to many who live in Arizona.

The prickly pear and other cactus had three-dimensional flowers and leaves, adding depth to the surface of this art quilt.

Neighorhood Delights by Yvonne Cozart, quilted by Sue Bruner

This is such a beautiful quilt, with its bright blue background and intricate design elements!  Yvonne Cozart says,  "I love the creativity of combining colors and changing rules to make a unique composition.  The pattern [by Wendy Williams] was originally done in the round." Yvonne also added many fun details, such as the little owl sitting on the fence, below.

This quilt was entered in the Display Only category, which means it was not professionally judged, but we and many others would have given it a blue ribbon.

I Spy Scrappy Spikes by Judy Birchett, quilted by Sharon Elsberry

One of the most delightful scrap quilts we've seen, Judy Birchett's original design was based on the traditional New York Beauty block, done in rainbow colors and an "I Spy" theme. For more color, Prairie Points were added around the outside of the quilt. The red ribbon is for Second Place in the Scrap-Duet category.

Judy says it was created with "lots of partial seams" and using her stash of scraps and juvenile novelty prints.  The centers of the blocks were fussy cut to showcase these fun characters, as in the closeup photos above and below.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2020 Arizona Quilters Guild show.

Quilt Arizona 2020 ! Day 2

In February, when life was still "normal" , we attended the 2020 Quilt Arizona! Show which is an outstanding display of statewide quilts from the Arizona Quilters' Guild. This year's theme was "Desert Stars". We hope you enjoy these highlights from the show !

Please check out our E-Bay shop for great bargains on quilt patterns, books, and collectible items !
For the latest free quilt patterns, please visit us on Twitter.

Whooo's There by Pearl Sceviour

Pearl's wonderful original design won both the President's Choice Award and the Second Place Award for Best Pictorial Quilt. She explains, "Translating photos to quilts is a passion. Using commerical fabric as a medium poses serious challenges, but there's a great satisfaction in seeing the picture come to life."

Pearl quilted her strikingly handsome work herself. We really like this owl's large, clear eyes which make him (or her) appear to be very wise indeed.

Delightful Nature by Beth Norris, quilted by Cindy Paulson

Speaking of Sophie Carcaud's design, Beth says, "I love this designer's animals- they make me chuckle. The mouse choir, the courting hedgehogs, the zany zebras, the bear and squirrel discussing subtle acorn flavor.....they all just delight me."

Beth's exquisite workmanship shows in this large owl sitting in the tree with delicate, precise leaves.

Here's the mouse choir of which Beth speaks. We can imagine them singing in their squeaky little voices !

Sedona Trails With A Difference by Andrea Williams

Second place winner for Pieced Medium-Size Quilts, Andrea notes, "The top was pieced by Ellen Outten. [ I ] have been quilting for 4 years, learning with each completed project."

Andrea adds, "This quilt is a variation on a sampler quilts with a combination of 11 curved pieced blocks and straight pieced blocks. The pattern is Sedona Trails."  We admire Andrea's elegant quilting work.

Diamond Log Cabin by Mary McElvain

First place winner for Paper Pieced Quilts, Mary states, " [This is a ] paper-pieced small quilt. The pattern was from a vendor, Cindi Edgerton, at Paducah, KY, so the quilt holds many fond memories."

These fabrics are a luscious shade of raspberry pink and really made the center medallion "pop" against the pale white hues of the background.

Evening Starlet by Lois Wendling, quilted by Donna Goldbeck

First place winner for "Best Use of Theme"  (Desert Stars), Lois explains, "I chose the Deb Karasik pattern 'Audrey III'   to show the beautiful starry nights we have in Arizona."

Lois adds, "I used desert colors to highlight the beauty of this star and added Swarovski Crystals." We admire this stunning work, and the dual sun/moon motif in the center gives an extra emphasis to the theme of the sky above us.


Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2020 Arizona Quilters Guild show.

Quilts of Australia

At the recent Pacific International Quilt Festival, we saw a beautiful display of quilts from Australia, a country of many talented quilt artists !  We hope you enjoy some of the highlights of this exhibit!

Self Portrait with Machine, 38 x 38, by Ronda Hazell

Ronda explains, "This is one version of myself, in my happy place with my favorite sewing machine. I am disupted and interrupted from my activity momentarily. The background is a Drunkard's Path [pattern] in a combination of commercial fabrics, hand dyed after quilting with applique as the main design."

We love the look of contentment and productivity on Ronda's face ! She reminds us that every day is a good day to quilt. Her original design is machine pieced, machine appliqued, and sewing machine quilted.

Teatime in Wonderland, 33 x 55,  by Jessica Dobson

Blue ribbon winner for Best of Country in the World Quilt Exhibition, Jessica notes, "I love the characters out of the movie "Alice in Wonderland", and I thought it would be fun to create a quilt with them. The background has been created with fabric dyes. The characters are all raw edge fabric collage. Lace has been added to sleeves and the binding. "

What a great expression on the face of the giant White Rabbit, one of the memorable characters in classic children's literature ! Jessica's original design is machine pieced, machine appliqued, free-motion embroidered, and sewing machine quilted.

Dragon Magic, 36 x 36, by Silke Steuxner

Silke writes, "Dragon Magic is a quilt that encourages tearing down the borders of rigid beliefs that things only exist which are visible to the naked eye. Let's build bridges that open and allow us entry into a magical world where fairies and dragons exist. Be brave and curious like the little fairy that builds a bridge by approaching the majestic dragon on the wings of a dragonfly."

Silke's lovely work has such an enchanted, fanciful touch to it ! Her original design is machine appliqued and longarm machine quilted.

Night Moves 36 x 36, by Sue de Vanny

Sue notes that the subject for her quilt  is the Tasmanian Masked Owl. It was first discovered in Tasmania, which is an isolated island state off Australia's south coast. Sue says, "I've depicted him coming in and ready to pick up its prey to feed its family."

Sue continues, " [This quilt has a ] pieced and painted background with the owl and tree trunk appliqued and thread sketched, then quilting and beading added."
We love these intricate embellishments which give such an expressive, soulful look to the owl's face.

Deceptive Markings, 65" x 53", by Sue de Vanny

Sue de Vanny says that the center of Deceptive Markings is a preprinted panel from Reece Scannell of trees and statues, done in symmetry.  "I saw an elephant head [within] the image.  Piecing the base and then appliqueing the ears, tusks, and trunk created the distortion to give more roundness."

The elephant's eyes were thread sketched to make them realistic.  Sue used metallic threads to quilt around the trees, and added tulle for value and depth on ears. This very creative piece is machine pieced, machine appliqued, and sewing machine quilted.


Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2019 Pacific International Quilt Festival.