The CIRCLES quilt challenge (2)

We love quilt challenges!  One of the best we've seen recently was the CIRCLES challenge, which has been traveling the country. Put on by the National Association of Certified Quilt Judges (NACQJ), the challenge was to create an original piece (up to 20") using the provided yellow and blue fabric cut into circles. There were so many creative entries. Which are your favorites?

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Circular Fusion by Maribeth Schmit (Cedarburg, WI)

Circular Fusion is a fun exploration of traditional and modern quilt design and techniques.  The blue and yellow circles (the theme of the challenge) are used as punctuation, the focus being on the asymmetrial circular design.  The straight-line quilting adds order to the design.

 Double Complements by Andi Perejda (Arroyo Grande, CA)

Complementary colors add interest to artwork, as do fascinating fabrics! Andi Perejda says,  "I decided to add complementary colors to our blue and yellow colors, using fabrics I had printed and/or dyed.  So, violet and orange were used in conjunction with blue and yellow.  Thus, a double-complementary color scheme was born!"

Inspired by Joan Miro by Linda Rasmussen (Monrovia, CA)

Joan Miro was a famous 20th century artist who combined abstract art with Surrealist fantasy.  Linda Rasmussen says, "When I saw the colors that were to be included in this piece and the challenge of a cricle theme, I searched the internet for art that featured circles and bright colors.  Who popped up but Joan Miro?  One of his pieces inspired me to make this quilt.  I loved the color and the abstract nature of his piece... this is my interpretation.)

Circling the Sun by Cindy Seitz-Krug (Luna, NM)

 

Circling the Sun shows the planets in their orbits, with fabric chosen to represent their appearances.  A corner of the sun was placed in the upper left, and thread painting was used to denote heat and flares emanating from the sun.  The names of the planets were quilted next to their image as shown below.

 Dot-Dot-Dot by Phyllis Manley (Plymouth Meeting, PA)

A really interesting clamshell design, where colorful circles punctuate the curves of the black-and-white clamshells. Phyllis Manley says, "Working with circles is not always a challenge. I enjoyed using the "fused interfacing method" to make clamshells, then applique onto the background.  I did not want the quilting to interfere with the design, so outlining the circles was an easy choice."

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

Highlights of the 2016 AQS QuiltWeek / 3

The 2016 AQS QuiltWeek in Phoenix, Arizona was one of the best shows ever!  With hundreds of quilts and very special exhibits by renowned quilters, it was an incredible show. Here are some of our favorite quilts.
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Bristlecone Spirit, 33 x 32",  by Barbara C. McElroy (Grand Lake, Colorado)

Barbara McElroy wanted to create a quilt with an ancient tree, and she picked the Bristlecone Pine, which grows between 5,600 and 11,200 ft elevation in Colorado and other arid regions of the Western United States. Barbara loves to create illusion, which is how Bristlecone Spirit came to be. Can you see the Spirit within the gnarled branches of the tree, below?

Barbara used Gloria Loughman's mosaic tiling technique to create the sun and sky behind the tree. The tiled background is created by fusing small rectangles to a background, using a variety of colors, then quilting along the edges of the strips.   This mosaic technique is explained in the book Radiant Landscapes by Gloria Loughman.  You can see the tiled strips in the closeup photo below.

Pop Art Floral, 40 x 43",  by Deborah Lord Treiber (Granby, Colorado)

The show-goers really enjoyed this quilt, and Deborah says that it gave her a chance to have fun with scraps and techniques! She included part of a Dresden plate, Mariner's Compass, folded flying geese, and appliqued circles and strips. The multicolored border fabric and black-and-white checkerboard strips really pull it all together! The Dresden blades are embellished with black and white buttons.

Floral Flashback, 58 x 65", by Jan Frazer (Elwood, Victoria, Australia)

Floral Flashback is Jan Frazers's salute to the flower power of the 1970's.  She calls it "surreal, verging on psychedelic." We'd call it magical! Flowers and leaves pop out from every corner.  Jan's technique is beautiful... the edge of each piece is finished with narrow satin stitching, and each  leaf is quilted with a different design.

Golden Temple of the Good Girls, 50 x 58", by Susan Carlson (Harpswell, Maine)

Susan Carlson is renowned for her pictorial quilts of people, fish, and other creatures.  Golden Temple of The Good Girls is "a shrine to Susan's three animal companions:  Kiiora budgie, Djinni cat, and Kali dog, whom she adores, as others do their special pets."  Susan has inspired many quilters with her technique, which she explains in Serendipity Quilts: Cutting Loose Fabric Collage. The closeup photos below show her creative use of collage to depict her animal friends.

M100, A Subtle Sermon, 52 x 58, by Ann Harwell (Wendell, North Carolina)

And here is a masterpiece by quilt artist Ann Harwell, who was inspired by a photo taken by the Hubble Telescope.  Ann says, "M100 is a spiral galaxy of grand design, 56 million light years distant.  It is a large galaxy with over 100 billion stars in well-defined spiral arms of bright star clusters and intricate winding dust lanes."  She has captured the spiral motion and the inky blackness of the surrounding space with a fascinating variety of fabrics and quilting threads.

To achieve just the right colors and values, Ann selected from prints that even included birds (can you spot the owls and hawks below?)

You can see a photo of the Ann Harwell with M100, A Subtle Sermon, along with more galleries of her work at her website, Ann Harwell Art.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration.

Best of the 2015 World Quilt Show in Florida - part 4

Florida's World Quilt Show in West Palm Beach is a great event to attend, amidst the warmth and sunshine, while most of the U.S.A. shivers under winter's blanket. We marveled at all the spectacular quilts from around the globe! Planet Earth indeed holds a huge variety of wonderful quilting talent. Here is our 4th and final post featuring the show.

Perseus Saving Andromeda, 79 x 66",  by Marilyn Belford, New York, USA

Winner of both the Viewer's Choice Award and an Honorable Mention in the Innovative Quilts category,  this quilt depicts an ancient Greek myth. Marilyn explains,  "When Cassiopeia's [pride] leads her to boast that her daughter Andromeda is more beautiful than the Nereids (the female spirits of the sea waters), King Poseidon chains Andromeda to a rock and sends a sea monster after her. [She] is saved by Perseus, her future husband. ...Made with commercial fabric, fusible web, and thread sketching. Long arm quilted.  No inks or paints applied."

Close up, Perseus Saving Andromeda by Marilyn Belford

Marilyn has created a wonderfully ferocious sea monster, with the sharpest "teeth" we've ever seen on a quilt. She has really brought the myth of Perseus and Andromeda to life. Marilyn's original design is machine appliqued and machine quilted.

Littering the Sky with Diamonds, 33 x 49", by Jane Hopkins (UK)

Jane notes, "As the song says, the diamonds are in the sky and the inspiration came from an art nouveau calendar. Techniques include hand-sewn hexagons which are quilted by machine with a diamond pattern. The figure and lamp are machined trapunto to bring extra loft. There is also machine applique using mostly hand-dyed fabric with extra embroidery and hand-crafted cords."

Close up, Littering the Sky with Diamonds by Jane Hopkins, U.K.

In this close-up you can see the background in deep hues, made from hand-sewn hexagons. You can also see the pretty embellishments of strands of pearls in pastel shades, along with crystals.  This charming "flapper girl", reminiscent of the Jazz Age of the 1920's, looks as if she's all ready for a night on the town.

Flower Fantasy, 58 x 46", by Tamar Ophir ,Israel

The ombre monochromatic fabrics in Tamar's quilt glow so beautifully, they look as if they are lit from behind. We really enjoyed this elegant, symmetrical piece which reminds us of a stained glass window.

Close up, Flower Fantasy by Tamar Ophir

Flower Fantasy is machine appliqued, pieced, and quilted. You can see the satin stitching in black thread on the edges of the pieces.  The echo quilting pattern brings out the gentle curves of the flowers and surrounding stems.

In The Fabric's Path, 42 x 42", by Orna Shahar, Israel

We love eye-catching quilts with all (or most) of the colors of the rainbow, and this one's no exception. Look at all the different fabrics in this energetic contemporary spiral! It must have been so fun and so rewarding to design and piece this vivid modern work.

Close up, In The Fabric's Path by Orna Shahar (Israel)

Tamar's vibrant creation is appliqued, pieced, and quilted by machine. She's made excellent use of  blended deep blue fabrics with lighter tints as a neutral background to showcase these radiant colors.

A Newborn Star, 62 x 54", by Atsuko Matsubara ,Japan

Blue ribbon winner for Best Use of Color in the Innovative category, Atsuko's dynamic contemporary quilt  exemplifies the "Big Bang" theory of the creation of the universe.  As the star is born from a whirling, circular vortex, chunks of angular ice and rocks fly around it.

close up, A Newborn Star by Atsuko Matsubara

Atsuko's original design is all hand pieced, hand appliqued, and hand quilted. She's done a stunning job of juxtaposing cool silver grays, blacks, and glacial whites, with warm rust, cinnamon, tangerine, and apricot hues.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration.

California Fall quilt show: part 3

Here are some inspiring contemporary quilts from the recent quilt show of the Diablo Valley Quilters in California.  As you can see below, all of these quilts feature motifs that incorporate curves or circles in their design.

Zen Bird, approx. 33 x 20", by Suzi Dillinger

Suzi says, "This is the first in a series of quilts based on Zentangle pen and ink designs. The design was freehand quilted on a longarm, then hand painted, [with] some inking."  (Quilt Inspiration note : Zentangle is a method of learning to draw using parts of structured images).

Close-up, Zen Bird by Suzi Dillinger

This fabulous pattern is actually a whole cloth quilt. Suzi painted the background, then left the foreground in neutral black and white. Working in very small spaces, she did an outstanding job with a variety of designs on the longarm machine.

Circles and Lines, 19 x 27", by Carol Roach

Carol writes, "[At] Quilter's Affair 2012, I took Hilde Morin's Curves and More class. This technique allows you to play and construct. The result is always a delightful surprise."   Carol used a variety of  prints, batiks, and stripes to construct her intriguing and imaginative work, which she quilted herself.

Where No Man Has Gone Before, approx 30 x 42", by Sally Socolich

Sally explains,  "I challenged myself to make a quilt using my extensive collection of hand-dyed fabric. My ice-dyed fabrics conjured an image of celestial bodies, my Shibori dyes, the Milky Way.  This is for all the 'Trekkies'  (fans of Star Trek) in our family. "

Close-up,   Where No Man Has Gone Before by Sally Socolich

Sally quilted this work herself; and this close-up shows her careful and evenly spaced quilting patterns, along with the fascinating color variations which give an other-worldly aspect to her hand-dyed fabrics.

Swirls 'n Whirls, 56 x 56", by Ginny Lee

Ginny notes:  "This is my entry for the Arty Chicks [of Diablo Valley Quilters] Circles and Lines Challenge, using some of my personal hand-dyed fabrics. The math required for the layout gave me a headache!"  Ginny quilted this fun creation herself.

Close-up,  Swirls 'n Whirls by Ginny Lee

We loved Ginny's use of complementary and analogous colors in these very eye-catching patterns ! They're reminiscent of giant lollipops that we used to see in our childhood at the candy store.

4 square in N.Y. Beauty, 41 x 41", by Nancy Bourns

Nancy states, "I started quilting in 2006 and right away took a class to learn how to make a New York Beauty block from Vicki Wind at The Cotton Patch Quilt Shop. There has been a lull between class attendance and project completion !"  This vibrant work with the colorful foreground and very modern background prints was quilted by Nancy herself.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration.