Showing posts with label bird house. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bird house. Show all posts

Thursday, May 18, 2017

Amador Valley Quilt Show (California) : Day 4

We recently attended the annual quilt show of the Amador Valley Quilters in Livermore, California, with the theme "Colors of the Vineyard". This prolific guild had two big rooms full of fabulous quilts. It's difficult to decide which quilts to feature, as they were all wonderful ! Here is Part 4 - the finale - of our photos.

(We're featuring fun books, patterns, and fabrics at very low prices on Quilt Inspiration E-Bay !)

Self Portrait by Virginia Standley


Virginia notes, "When I am old, with silver hair, I will wear sequins and sparkly earrings and rhinestones in my hair."  To us, this sounds like a wonderful goal in life ! It's never too late to create "glamour moments" and to be kind to ourselves as we progress through life. 


In this close-up of Virginia's  original design, you can see her dangly earrings, her metallic silver top, her hair made out of what appears to be soft cotton, and the little rhinestone crown in her hair. We really enjoyed seeing this whimsical quilt, which created some fabulous "bling" with its embellishments !

Zoo Holiday, submitted by Mary Ann Anderson, design by Nancy S. Brown


Mary Ann explains, "The 'Bulbs' group have been appliqueing with Nancy Brown for over 10 years. We needed another group project. We decided on a theme, and Nancy created another unique and fun pattern for us. Laura Lee Fritz did the quilting."  In these blocks, you can see many depictions of San Francisco area attractions, such as the Golden Gate Bridge, the San Francisco Zoo, and the bear in the kayak ( lower right) wearing the jersey of the San Francisco Giants baseball team. 


We really liked the sweet face, complete with eyelashes, of this giraffe, rising out of the fog, with the Oakland Bay Bridge behind him. This quilt turned out to be such a wonderful applique project !

Home Tweet Home by Susan Mangels, quilted by Lora Zmak


Susan writes, "While on the Shop Hop 'Quilt Rush', I saw this design offered as a class. This was an opportunity to do a small quilt and spend the day with a friend. I had purchased this fabric line because of its designs of punctuation and text - colors not so much. The quilt, when finished, was a very happy surprise." The description says that the design is by Vicki Bellino at Bloom Creek.


 In this close-up, you can see the punctuation marks  (commas and periods) of which Susan is speaking.  These black and white fabrics with intriguing motifs add a lot of personality and sparkle to Susan's contemporary quilt. 

EspaƱa by Charlotte McConkie


Charlotte explains, This is a "Memory Travel Quilt' of one of the countries my husband and I have traveled to since our retirement. The culture of Spanish art, architecture, and music leave a lasting impression.  I have picked a few of those images in this quilt. " `



In this close-up, you can see the silhouettes of Don Quixote and his friend Sancho Panza, two personages made famous in the year 1605 by the Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes. In the block to the right of  Don Quixote are the windmills which he often imagined to be living giants. The windmills are part of the landscape of La Mancha ,the elevated plateau of central Spain, south of Madrid. Charlotte's innovative border, done in various shades of red, adds to the beauty of her original design.

The Tornado Quilt, OKC Modern Quilt Guild, submitted by Diane Chambers


Diane explains, "Oklahoma City was ravaged by a Category 5 ( very strong) tornado on May 20, 2013.... Members of my daughter's quilt guild, the OKC Modern Quilt Guild, rose to he occasion by making quilts to donate to those displaced by the tornado and by raffling off two quilts to raise money for the victims. This is one of those raffled quilts.



Diane adds........"In a project titled 'Moore Love' ( named after the city of Moore, Oklahoma) , over 400 quilts were collected and distributed. This pretty pattern, which in our opinion resembles an Amish "bricks" quilt, is titled "Tulsa Town" by Villa Rose Designs.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration.

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Houston International Quilt Festival Part 4

Here are some more photos of great quilts from the International Quilt Festival, held November 2-6, in Houston , Texas, U.S.A.

Out On a Limb by Joyce Paterson, with Ann Horton (Ann Horton Quilts) and Renee Gannon, Mendocino Quilt Artists, Ukiah, California


Second place winner for group quilts, this original design of very eye-catching panels shows the cats in the birdhouses, waiting hopefully for "dinner".  We enjoyed the vibrant colors, thread embellishment, and crisp applique workmanship.

Close-up of Out on A Limb


Here's a clever fellow, draped over the roof, who advertises himself as just "house sitting." We thought this was the most creatively humorous quilt of this year's festival and enjoyed seeing the smiles on the faces of fellow viewers. 

An Athlete On Ice by Yoshiko Miyamoto, Nishinomiya City, Hyogo Ken, Japan



Second place winner for Portrait Art Quilts, Yoshiko says," I was fascinated by an athlete's performance on ice in the figure skating competition during the Winter Olympics. I got completely jolted by his energy and spirit. It was so powerful, it jumped out of the television."   This is a beautifully executed original design, using hand embroidery and applique, plus machine piecing and quilting.

New York Sunset by Marco Sarzi-Sartori and Daniela Arnoldi, Milano, Italy


The artists were inspired by a photo taken during their last trip to New York. They write, "This quilt reproduces the partial view of the city of New York, with the warm colors of the afternoon. The higher the heat of the day, the greater the deformation of buildings, of verticality, and of parallels. The sky lights up in color and is full of vibrations."

Close-up of  New York Sunset 


If you click on the photo to expand it you will be able to see some of the pretty strands of yarn, twine, and fiber that the artists used to create the "deconstructed"  effect of the building shimmering in the sunlight. This work was truly unique, and we were impressed by the extremely innovative design and construction.

Monday, September 5, 2011

Free pattern day ! Bird Houses

Check out these FREE patterns for birdhouse quilts!  Bird houses make us happy... we hope you enjoy them too!  To go to a pattern: Scroll down the page until you see the quilt you like, then click on the words "CLICK for PDF download" (or the hyperlinked website name) in the title above the quilt.

p.s. Check out our E-Bay shop for great bargains on quilt patterns, fabric, and vintage jewelry !
For continuous free quilt patterns, please visit us on Twitter !  


Home Tweet Home Mini quilt, ~15" square, free pattern by Jen Daly for Moda Bakeshop (CLICK for PDF download)


Birdhouse Quilt, 52 x 66", free pattern at Tilda's World (CLICK for PDF download)


No Place Like Home, 60 x 80", free pattern by Nancy Mahoney for Hoffman California Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)


Autumn is for Birds, 38 x 49", free pattern by Linda Fitch for Hoffman California Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)


Tweetly Dee wall quilt, ~21 x 31", free pattern by Lisa Swenson Ruble for Windham Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)


Pecking Order quilt, 35 x 39", free pattern by Debby Kratovil for PB Textiles (CLICK for PDF download)


Garden Glory quilt, 50 x 62", free pattern by Karen Embry for Blank Quilting (CLICK for PDF download)


Cuckoo clock quilt, 48 x 48", free pattern by Kelly Lee-Creel for Andover Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)


Flight of Fancy quilt, ~56 x 70", free pattern by Heidi Pridemore for Studio E Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)


Tweet Me Quilt, 46 x 46", free pattern by Heidi Pridemore for Michael Miller Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)


Perch quilt, 47 x 59", free pattern by Heidi Pridemore for Timeless Treasures (CLICK for PDF download) 


Blue Bird quilt, 56 x 66", free pattern by Heidi Pridemore for Studio E Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)


Birdhouse Neighborhood quilt, 44 x 54", free pattern by Wendy Sheppard at Ivory Spring (CLICK for PDF download)


Tweet Street quilt, 55 x 65", free pattern by Sue Zipkin for Clothworks (CLICK for PDF download)


Tweet Street quilt, 31 x 41", free pattern by Pat Sloan (CLICK for PDF download)


Garden Party,  free paper-pieced patterns by Megan at Monkey Beans (CLICK for PDF download)


Home Tweet Home by Janet Page Kessler for Benartex (CLICK for PDF download)


Wingin' It quilt, 68 x 80", free pattern by The Buggy Barn for Henry Glass (CLICK for PDF download)


Bird houses, a free paper piecing pattern by Cheryl Lynch at Cheryl Lynch Quilts (CLICK for tutorial)


Bug-a-Boo quilt, 37 x 46", including templates for the birdhouse, flowers and bugs, by Hilary Gooding for Makower UK (CLICK for PDF download)


Birdcage on a Chain, free pattern, by Anna Maria Horner for Free Spirit (CLICK for PDF download)


Bird House blocks, free pattern at Apple Avenue Quilts (CLICK for PDF download)


Bird Cage Hoop embroidery, free pattern at Fabric Editions (CLICK for PDF download)


Summer Garden quilt, 68 x 68", free pattern by Lynette Anderson for Lecien (CLICK for PDF download)


Machine embroidered birdhouse, free pattern and tutorial by Kathy Beymer at Merriment Design (CLICK for tutorial)



Image credits:  This post was updated on October 8, 2023. All images are copyrighted by their owners. Please respect their generosity in sharing their free patterns, and the restrictions they have placed on the use of these designs. Complete information can be found at the designers' websites provided in the links.  If any link is broken, we'd love to know so we can fix it; email us at QuiltInspiration {at} gmail {dot} com.

Related Posts with Thumbnails