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?

p.s. Check out our E-Bay shop for great bargains on jewelry, patterns, and collectible items! For more quilt inspration, please visit us on Twitter ! 

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.

The CIRCLES quilt challenge (1)

We love quilt challenges!  One of the best we've seen recently was the national CIRCLES challenge, which has been traveling the country. Initiated 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?

p.s. Check out our E-Bay shop for great bargains on jewelry, patterns, and collectible items! For more quilt inspration, please visit us on Twitter ! 

In Tandem by Kathie Eubank (Urbandale, IA)

Whimsical and artistic come to mind when viewing this portrait quilt.  Kathi Eubank says that In Tandem reflects the right brain/left brain dichotomy. As she explains, the right side seeks creativity and is free-spirited.  The left side represents logic,and searches for precision and accuracy.  Both sides must work in tandem when judging quilts to evaluate design versus workmanship."

Is 62 Enough by Linda McCuean (New Galilee, PA)

This dynamic piece gives off great vibes! Linda McCuean says, "I had to think awhile to come up with a little quilt that screamed "circles"!  Designed from the center out, I just kept adding more circles until it told me "enough".

Phases by Mary Zesiger (Chandlersville, OH)

This simple yet elegant piece highlights the circle shapes against the black-and-white half-square triangles. The various prints add further interest. Rhis piece was well designed and well made.

Total Eclipse by Karen Kendo (Harleyville, SC)

Karen Kendo says, "My inspiration came from the solar eclipse that occurred on April 8 of 2024, along with the song "Total Eclipse of the Heart" by Bonnie Tyler.  I struggled with the design layout until I saw a meme on social media that illustrated the interaction of the sun and moon during a solar eclipse with Oreo cookies!" As shown below, embroidered flames emanate from the heart at the center of this quilt.

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

 

Optical Illusions

Optical illusion quilts give the illusion of movement, shadows, transparency, and/or depth.  We really enjoyed this optical illusion quilt at the recent QuiltCon show.  Calm Amidst Chaos positively vibrates, keeping the eye moving around the quilt! Try concentrating on a red square to see the effect.

p.s. Check out our E-Bay shop for great bargains on hand crafted items and collectibles! For continuous free quilt patterns, please visit us on Twitter!  

Calm Amidst Chaos by Patti Bourland (Colorado) 

Patti Bourland used EQ8 to draft the blocks, which were machine pieced andmachine quilted without a frame (domestic).  Patti says, "In this hectic world, it is sometimes hard to calm the mind and focus on what brings you joy.  I find that I can tune out distractions when I am creating beautiful quilts."  The machine quilting amplifies the effect; it looks as if sound waves are emanating from the centers of the blocks.

The quilt's message was hand embroidered as shown above.  Calm Amidst Chaos was displayed in the Windham Fabrics Ruby+Bee fabric challenge, which allowed quilters to use three to six fabrics from a specific palette:

Note: This type of optical illusion is also called a "Bento Box." If you enjoy optical illusion quilts, you might be interested in Free Patterns for Optical Illusion Quilts (CLICK HERE!):

Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2025 QuiltCon show in Phoenix, Arizona.

 

Windham Fabrics 2025 Challenge Quilts

One of the top exhibits at the recent QuiltCon show was the Ruby+Bee fabric challenge! The featured speaker for this show, Tara Faughnan, selected six beautiful solids from the fabric collection. Quilters were instructed to use from 3 to 6 colors in the palette to create their quilt. It was so much fun to see what quilters came up with!

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

Folk Bloom No. 2 by Jenn McMillan (Ontario, Canada) @jennmcmillan

Jenn McMillan says, "Based on an original drawing, and inspired by symmetrical folk floral motifs, the design was created as an ode to my love and obsession with the Evil Eye.  A charm to protect oneself from evil, ill intentions or inadvertent curses, I also see it as a reminder to be kind lest I unintentionally curse someone with my RBF." [We had to look up RBF to see what the acronym stands for... LOL!]

In this closeup photo you can see the blue stitching lines that make up the iris of the eye! This quilt was machine pieced and hand appliqued with needle-turn applique. The heart was foundation paper pieced and tied with matching thread.  Other areas were machine quilted without a frame, using a domestic machine with a walking foot. p.s.  Jenn made great use of the 6 fabrics offered in the challenge, shown below:

 

Reverb by Michaela Romesburg (California) @Michaela_G_Romesburg.  

Winner of 1st Place in the quilt challenge, this stunner is a modern twist on a classic log cabin design. Michaela Romesburg says: "My hope was to create movement through the utilization of color and pattern.  The combination of warm and cool colors create the illusion of space and depth. The added hand applique ring adds to the illusion of reverberation."

Michaela explains that Reverb was designed with harmony, balance and depth in mind. The exceptionally straight fabric lines were foundation paper pieced (FPP).  The final product was machine quilted without a frame using a domestic machine. 

Petal Blossom Fabric Challenge by Jenn Smith (Washington, USA) @Jenn B Quilts

Petal Blossom is a quilt pattern which Jenn Smith designed in the fall of 2024.  At first glance it looks familiar - an orange peel block.  But then you notice it's also a Drunkard's Path* block, with the orange peel sitting inside the Drunkard's path, creating a new block.  We love the way in which Jenn Smith used the challenge fabrics to maximize contrasts. This piece was machine pieced and longarm machine quilted.

 *If you enjoyed this post, you might also be interested in our Free Pattern Day for Drunkard's Path Quilts (CLICK HERE!)

 

Image credits:  Quilt photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2025 QuiltCon show in Phoenix, Arizona.

 

Pretty in Pink!

Pink is a delicate color that represents romance and femininity, and feelings of love, tenderness, and hope.  At recent quilt shows we enjoyed some beautiful pink quilts including two that came from challenges.  We hope you enjoy our post!

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

The Elvis Dress, made and quilted by Katherine Verbeke

This quilt was made for the 2020 Cherrywood Challenge, which was to take inspiration from Diana, Princess of Wales, to create a unique quilt using a limited color palette: pink and white.  The quilt was accepted among 224 other quilts and traveled the world at various prestigious quilt shows with her final destination on display at the Bohin Factory Museum in Paris, France, in 2022.

Katherine Verbeke says, "Ever since she first emerged in the public spotlight, Diana Spencer has been my favorite Royal. Lovingly named "The Elvis Dress" by her son Prince William, this particular pose is beautifully enchanting - the Princess smile, the tilt of her head, her eyes - all sum up the perfect princess. Not being a graphic artist myself, my friend Lisa Fryxell converted a lovely Lady Diana photo into a paper piecing pattern exclusively for me for the 2020 Cherrywood Challenge." The lower part was covered in silver seed beads, representing the Elvis dress as Diana wore it.

You can check out more than 200 fabulous Diana quilts from this challenge online at the Cherrywood website:

Geese Crossing by Jolene Ficklin 

 

We love this unique and beautiful quilt! Except for the flying geese border, the blocks in this quilt were createc with cross stitch embroidery!  Jolene Ficklin says, "The 6 marked blocks for embroidery were given to me at least 15 years ago by my friend who was downsizing.  Working only while traveling or when extremely bored, it is finally finished.  The color choices are mine and most interesting is the embroidery cross-stitch flying geese. Thus the piecing called out to me.  The blocks were fron Wonder Art Needle Craft Corp, dated 1985."

 

Paint Chip Challenge (2022) by Charlene Nelson (South Jordan, UT)

This quilted table topper with its giant hexagons showcases Charlene Nelson's beautiful machine quilting!  It resulted from a quilt group challenge using a paint chip to guide the color choice. (Shown below is the paint chip - Taffy Twist - in the lower left corner of the quilt.

Charlene explains the challenge: "Our quilt group decided to do a paint chip challenge in 2022.  Two people picked out some beautiful paint chips with very few extras.  They were put in a bag and we each drew one.  you had one opportunity for a second draw at the end, or you could exchange you paint chip with someone else.  The rules were that the paint chip color you drew was the main color and background, and you could use one other color.  you could use different values of the paint chip.  My quilt is a table topper.  I used Victoria Findlay Wolfe's large templates.  We had six months to finish the quilt."

Image credits: Photos were taken at the 2025 Tucson Quilters Guild show (The Elvis Dress and Geese Crossing) and the 2024 Springville (Utah) quilt show (Paint Chip Challenge).

If you enjoyed this post you might also like our Free Pattern Day for PINK quilts (CLICK HERE!)