Z is for Zinnia, C is for Cosmos

Kathie Kerler is a quilter and hand embroiderer. While she creates abstract quilts and still ventures into traditional work, her niche is representational art quilts. Kathie says that her goal in creating Z is for Zinnia was to give the viewer the feeling of gazing into a lush garden. 

Z is for Zinnia, C is for Cosmos, 31.5″ x 41.5″, by Kathie Kerler (Portland, Oregon)  

As someone who began her fiber art practice with hand embroidery and a particular love of crewel work, Kathie Kerler gravitated to appliqué as her primary construction technique. She says, "This quilt brought together my skills and knowledge, beginning with the design of sylized flowers that I brought to life with hand embroidery, hand-twisted cords, and machine quilting." 

The beautiful hand embroidery adds an extra dimension and texture to the whole design. 

In addition to creating fiber art, Kathie Kerler has been judging quilts and wearables nationally since 2002 and she is certified through the National Association of Certified Judges (NACQJ). Please visit KathieKerler.com to see more of her beautiful work.

Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2025 Houston International Quilt Festival.

Highlights of Quilt Arizona! (2)

The annual Quilt Arizona show is a highlight of spring!  Here are some great quilts from this year's show (part two of 4)!

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Guidance for the Tribe by Stephanie Leuthesser, quilted by Jessica Jones.  

 Winner of 1st Place  for Machine Embroidery, Stephanie Leuthesser says she loved choosing all the colors and finally using her embroidery machine to the max.  "Because my first 12 Kachinas were done on a flannel, they puckered despite using good stabilizers... I changed the background fabric and made 12 more that you see here. The Kachinas were from the Embroidery Library. The feathers and arrows are from Anita Goodesign.

Sawyer's Pasture Paradise, made and quilted by Millie Burgheimer  

Winner of a Third Place ribbon in the pictorial category, this original quilt was based on Millie Burgheimer's own photo of her daughter's horse. The very clever binding was from her husband's saddle blanket. From a distance this looks like a painting; up close you can see the intricate stitching that creates the imagery.

Diamond Mine, made and quilted by Marianne Nowacki.  

Diamond Mine was based on the Indian Blanket pattern by Reeze L. Hanson. Marianne Nowacki says that every piece of Kaffe Fassett fabric was cut using a diamond template. "Working in diagonal rows and maintaining the pattern was a challenge! I used lots of baggies in order to keep all the colors and pieces organized."

Garden Party by Gail Witt, quilted by Jessica Jones 

Winner of Best of Show - Team, plus 1st place in the Mixed Technique - Duet category, this gorgeous quilt is an adaptation of a traditional New York Beauty quilt. Gail Witt says, "I added fussy cut Kaffe flowers, vines, leaves and butterflies to the design.  Techniques include applique, paper piecing, and embroidery. The diagonal setting was inspired by other New York Beauty quilts.  The quilting by Jessica Jones adds dimension and whimsy."

Detail, Garden Party by Gail Witt

 

Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2026 Quilt Arizona show.

 

 

Form Follows Color

Sampler quilts are a fun way to play with new colors, designs and techniques. This original sampler combines piecing, applique, and embroidery in a setting that brings it all together.  (Also, scroll down for a FREE setting pattern!)

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Form Follows Color, made and quilted by Christiane Ermke 

Christiane Ermke says, "My quilt group (Piece Makers) had a challenge in 2023. We randomly picked every month a shape and a color and created something quilty out of these two prompts." 

Christiane says that her biggest challenge was to find a way to combine all the blocks in a pleasing way. Creating a "path" that connects the blocks is a fabulous idea. We love her technique: 

p.s. We recently updated our Free Pattern Days for Easy Modern Quilts (Part 1 and Part 2).  We hope you enjoy this FREE Windham Fabrics pattern called City Cycles by Tammy Vasser.  It uses a similar setting to showcase fabrics from a collection (CLICK HERE for PDF download!)

Image credits: Photos of Form Follows Color were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2025 Quilt Arizona show.

 

New from Old: Quilts from Vintage Linens!

Are there any precious vintage blocks or linens in your cupboard? Here are some fantastic quilts made with reclaimed vintage materials. We love the way in which these quilters honored the materials and handwork, bringing them back to life. 

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Vintage Fiesta by the Pam Snow Group (Pam Snow, Marion Stearman Skaggs, Agatha Despain Stearman, Flora Warren DeSpain & Various Artists), quilted by Pam Snow. 

Vintage Fiesta was inspired by Rhonda Cox Dort's online vintage linens classes.  The quilt is made from a variety of vintage pieces including table linens, embroidery, quilt pieces, stamped items and a vintage hankie.  The center block is Saucy Senorita by Jane Tenorio Coscarelli.

Spring Morning by Carol W. Carpenter, quilted by Kris Neifeld.  

How lovely to see the cross-stitch embroidery in this quilt! Donated from the estate of Maggie Mullins, the embroidered blocks remind us of a bygone era. Carol Carpenter says, "The modern floral fabric and settings add additional richness to the original blocks and I was delighted to create something special from Maggie's handwork."

1939 Nosegay by Kathryn Bramley Clark and Katrin Bramley (d. ~10 years ago) 

Kate Clark made Nosegay from blocks originally made by her mother. Kate says, "The squares were hand pieced by a 16-year-old in 1939. Nine years later she became my mother. Complementary fabric was found, enabling these rediscovered squares to become a quilt using an original square set and machine quilting design." The choice of border fabric is brilliant!  Also check out Kate's machine quilting, which created a bouquet (in dark thread) on top of the pieced bouquet.

 Seeing Stars by Katherine O' Brien, quilted by Penny Boese.  

This is such a cool quilt! Katherine O'Brien found the antique string stars at an antique shop (in Mesa, Arizona). The block setting was inspired by the book, Smashing Sets: Exciting Ways to Arrange Quilt Blocks by Margaret J. Miller (out of print, but sometimes available on eBay).  The alternate square blocks were pieced using vintage fabrics.

detail, Seeing Stars

 Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2025 Tucson Quilters guild show (Nosegay, Spring Morning) and the 2025 Quilt Arizona show (Vintage Fiesta, Seeing Stars.) 

Native Woman: A Portrait in Strength

Today's featured quilt was created with machine embroidery and quilting on whole cloth. Made by Isabel Munoz Bueno, Native Woman was inspired by a photograph by Yulia Brodskaya, a renowned quilling paper artist. Isabel's remarkable stitchery creates a stained glass effect on cloth.

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

Native Woman by Isabel Munoz Bueno (Pozuelo de Alarcon, Madrid, Spain). 

This quilt was inspired by a photograph by Yulia Brodskaya a renowned quilling paper artist (reproduced with permission). Isabel Munoz Bueno explains, "When I saw [the photo], I asked myself what would happen if I tried to take it to my field and make a quilt. It was a magnificent opportunity, and this is the result - a colorful quilt in which the native woman transmits an incredible security and inner strength through her eyes... strength forged through generations that will be passed down to future generations."

In the closeup photo below you can see the way in which Isabel used thread painting to create different colored segments that make up the design. 

The original paper quilling work by Yulia Brodskaya can be seen at the El Hurgador blog.  Isabel Munoz Bueno did an incredible job translating this piece into fabric art.

"Native Woman",  art with paper, by Yulia Brodskaya as seen at El Hurgador

 

Image credits: Photos of Native Woman by Isabel Munoz Bueno were taken at the 2025 Houston International Quilt Festival. 

Ukrainian Quilters Association: The Cossak Mamai Quilt

The biggest group quilt in the history of Ukrainian patchwork was made by 47 quilters from the Ukrainian Quilters Group.  Based on a painting by artist Orest Skop, this collaborative work celebrates Cossak Mamai, a figure who has long represented the unbreakable spirit of the Ukrainian people. Cossak Mamai is not just a historical or folkloric figure but a symbol of the resilience of the Ukrainian people. 

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Cossak Mamai Quilt, The Ukrainian Quilters Association, curated by Mariia Nelha (Krakow, Malopolska, Poland)

The quilt consists of 65 segments, sewn by Ukrainian quilters settled in different cities and countries as refugees. A team from the Ukrainian Quilters Association made a textile reproduction of the painting by Orest Skop and converted it into a huge quilt that could be made in segments. A symbol of strength, resilience, and peace, this collaborative work unites quilters from across Ukraine and beyond, some near the frontline. 

The segments were made with hand applique, embellishment, embroidery, painting, dying, piecing, and quilting; machine applique, embellishment, embroidery, piecing, and quilting; and photo transfer.  The finished quilt is captivating in its details and impact.

Some of the hand quilting stitches can be seen in this closeup photo.

 Here is more of the stunning imagery from the quilt:

 

 

 

 

The quilters explain: "As our work represents Ukraine to the world, we are keenly aware of the weight of our responsibility.  In our creative process, pursuit of knowledge, and communicating our collective wisdom, Ukraine resides deeply within our hearts."

 

Photos of each of the quilters, and the segments for which they were responsible, are shown in this photo montage. In the upper left is Natalia Lashko, who coordinated this massive project.

Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2025 Houston International Quilt Festival.

Highlights of the Houston International Quilt Festival! (2)

We had a wonderful time at the Houston International Quilt Festival! We enjoyed seeing 1200 quilts from around the world, and are excited to share photos of our favorites... here is Part 2!

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FIRST PLACE - Pictorial:  Peony Dream by Chen Jing (Beijing, China)

Winner of a blue ribbon in the Pictorial quilt category, Peony Dream was perfect in every detail, from the portrait itself to the oversized peonies and the elaborate embroidery in the borders.

The centers of the peonies were embellished with small pieces of fabric or ribbon, giving a 3-D effect as shown below.

 

Innova Master Award for Contemporary Artistry: Color My World by Karen Kay Buckley

Color My World features applique and embroidery that completely fills the spaces. Each block contains a critter (insect, animal, bird); some are hidden and some are obvious.

Maryland by Martine Crabe-Lanux (France)

This gorgeous quilt was based on a Baltimore Album quilt, circa 1847.  It is beautifully hand appliqued and hand quilted. The quilt took 3000 hours to complete over 2.5 years. Check out the tiny hand quilting stitches!

Kaleidoscope Garden by Judy Ballance (USA), quilted by Patty Wilson 

This quilt sparkles with bright colors and strong contrasts! Wool applique and hand embroidery lend a dimensional effect to the appliqued blocks.  Winner of a Third Place award in the Balanced Piecing and Applique category, this quilt is based on the Fairground quilt pattern by Wendy Williams.

 

Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2025 Houston International Quilt Festival.
 

Which Witch's Boot

October is in full swing and so are seasonal projects! Here's an adorable embroidered wall quilt featuring a witch's boot filled with candies, jack-o-lanterns, and fun, funky flowers. The finished center medallion  is colorized with wax crayons. The custom quilting adds the perfect touch!

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Which Witch's Boot by Susan Foster, quilted by Darcy Brown.  

Susan Foster says, "Like many quilters, my list of hobbies is extensive.  I was thrilled this cute decorative Halloween piece offered me an opportunity to try my hand at wax crayon colorization and tinting and combine it with my love of embroidery and patchwork quilting.  What a fun seasonal project this was!"  

The yellow award ribbon hanging on the right of the quilt denotes a third-place finish at this 2025 show. The closeup, below, shows Susan's beautiful embroidery along with Darcy Brown's expert quilting.

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