Improvisational piecing: Round Trip!

Today's featured quilt was inspired by the quarter circle or drunkard's path shapes. Seen another way, these resemble three-quarters Dresden wheels.  We love the complimentary colors and improvisational piecing! Also scroll down for two FREE patterns for Dresden wheel quilts.

Round Trip by Mary Landon (Florida) @addictedtofabric 

Mary Landon says she began piecing these blocks improvisationally, but then switched to newspaper foundations. She says, [I'm] "still trying to use up scraps, this time green, pink and blue."   The background was improvisationally pieced as well.The techniques used include machine piecing, improvisational piecing, and machine quilting on a longarm. 

Photos of Round Trip by Mary Landon were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2025 QuiltCon show.  For similar (but conventionally-pieced) designs, check out the FREE patterns below!

Four Eyes quilt, free pattern by Tamara Kate for Michael Miller Fabrics  (CLICK for PDF download!) 

Round Robin quilt, free pattern by Natalie Crabtree for Michael Miller Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download!) 

 

A View from Above

Today's featured quilt illustrates the magic of optical illusions combined with solid color fabrics. This is modern quilting at its best!

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

Sky Top 3 by Nancy Lambert (Greensboro, Georgia)

Various circular shapes are fit into the landscape to depict the environment and have an optical illusion of a sphere.  Both variations of color intensity and hue are used to creat the illusion.  Sky Top 2 is machine pieced and machine quilted without a frame.

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

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.

Dutch Baroque meets Modern Photography

Here is a lovely art quilt inspired by Dutch Baroque still-life paintings. The artist is Anna Chupa, a Professor of Art and Design at Lehigh University (Pennsylvania).  Her one‐of‐a‐kind art quilts are created from her own photography. This piece appears to be appliqued, but is actually a whole cloth quilt! Read on for details.

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

Garden Pinks, made and quilted by Anna Chupa (Easton, Pennsylvania) 

 

 

Garden Pinks was created from multiple original photographs in Adobe Photoshop. The imagery was montaged from flowers and foliage gathered during photographic trips to botanical gardens and nurseries, then printed on fabric with professional fabric printing. The central medallion was color tinted for unity.  Anna Chupa did the free motion quilting with a longarm machine.  

The result is stunning! The flowers, although realistic, have a kind of hazy glow. For more information on Anna Chupa's work, please see her website at Anna Chupa Designs!

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

Oh My Garden: Broderie Perse!

Broderie Perse is one of our favorite quilting styles! This type of appliqué uses fussy-cut flowers (or other motifs) to create a design on a background. With the colorful fabrics available today — including Kaffe Fassett fabrics — this technique is more fun than ever! Here's a gorgeous example.

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

Oh My Garden, made and quilted by Karen West (Union Hall, Virginia). 

Oh My Garden is an original design by Karen West, done with machine applique and quilting.  Karen says, "I walk daily and admire my neighbors' gardens. Then, I search for fabrics that include beautiful, colorful flowers.  I love carefully cutting them out and spending many hours arranging them like a garden.  The most fun is adding lots of stitching."  

 

 

Butterflies and tiny bees add to the garden experience! 

The bottom edge of the quilt features appliqued coleus leaves. These remind us of the gorgeous coleus prints by Philip Jacobs for Kaffe Fassett Collective.

 

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

Enchanted Aperture Wall Art: FREE pattern!

What a clever idea for wall art! These mini quilts give the illusion of actual windows hanging on the wall.  This is a quick project: there are no Y-seams or diagonals to sew! Also scroll down to see our FREE PATTERN DAY for Attic Windows Quilts! 

p.s. Check out our E-Bay shop for bargains on jewelry, clothing, and collectibles.  And for more free quilt patterns, follow us on X (Twitter).

Enchanted Aperture Wall Art, 25" square, free pattern by Art Gallery Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)

Details of the block construction, row 1, starting with 3.5" fabric squares:

 

For MORE quilt inspiration, visit our FREE PATTERN DAY for Attic Windows Quilts (CLICK HERE)! 

 

Best Wall Quilt award

Winner of the Pfaff Best Wall Quilt Award at the 2026 AQS - Paducah Quilt Week show, today's quilt also won 1st Place in the People, Portraits, and Figures category at the 2025 Houston International Quilt Festival. We're still marveling at the realistic facial expression achieved with tiny pieces of colorful fabrics.

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

The Man Lost in His Memories by Marina Landi, quilted by Fabia Diniz (São Paulo, Brazil) 

 

This original design was created with hand cutting, painting, and dyeing; digital printing; fusing; machine applique and quilting. Marina Landi says, "My style is characterized by the fusible raw edge applique in a wide range of colors in the composition of figurative images. The challenge of transmitting expressions and feelings through small fragments of fabric leads me to represent mainly human physiognomies [facial features.]"

 

 

The incredible quilting by Fabia Diniz gives the appearance of brush strokes in an oil painting.

 

Marina Landi lives in São Paulo and graduated in engineering and plastic arts. For many years, she worked with glass mosaics and now uses that knowledge in her quilting. Her work is especially focused on portraiture and figurative imagery, capturing emotions and expressions with remarkable subtlety and depth—one small piece of fabric at a time.

 

 

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

 

Simple Splendor

If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly our whole life would change. This famous quote helps explain the appeal of the quilts we're showing today. The effect, achieved by painting and machine quilting, is stunning.

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

Simple Splendor by Sharon Baunagel (Colorado).  

This stunning flower was hand painted on fabric and machine quilted.  It is based on a photo by Giovanni Eduardo Nogaro (from Pixaby, no copyright).  As Sharon Braunagel says, "It is enough to reflect upon the beauty of a single flower." 

Iris Beauty by Teresa Schlabach (Arkansas)  

Iris Beauty is hand painted on silk and machine quilted. Teresa Schlabach says, "This flower grows in my garden and was given to me by a very special friend. I wanted to always look at this beautiful flower, so I painted it to hang in my home. This iris represents not only beauty, but also the strength to make it through hard times and bloom again." Thread painting was used to emphasize the yellow stamen, shown below.

Bugs, Butterfles & Blossoms, Texas Antelope Horn Milkweed by Christine Holden (Florida). 

In this original design, a single Texas milkwood flower has a cluster of florets, depicted with hand painting, machine piecing, embellishment, and quilting. Christine Holden says, "I always wanted to experience the Texas spring wildflower bloom in person.  It was amazing to see and photograph some of the thousands of wildflowers in bloom.  The Texas Antelope Horn Milkweed was new to me, and I was astonished by its colors, size, and the number and assortment of insects attracted to it.  Although it took me years to complete the quilt, I feel it captures the beauty and magic of my experience."

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

Highlights of Quilt Arizona! (3)

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

p.s. Please visit our E-Bay shop for great bargains on jewelry, clothing, and collectibles! For blog highlights and free patterns, follow us on Twitter!     

Here Comes the Night Shift, made and quilted by Gabrielle Ryan  

A female Thorn Moth awakens and says, "Here comes the night shift!" Gabrielle Ryan says, "Moths are overlooked as pollinators because they are nocturnal.  But their contribution to pollination is critical - they are excellent pollinators.  They outnumber butterflies ten to one and travel long distances, unlike butterflies." 

Winner of an Award of Merit for Outstanding Achievement in Quiltmaking by NACQJ, plus 2nd Place in the Pictorial - Small category, this art quilt was based on a photo by Ukrainian photographer Oleksii Kriachko (used with permission.)  

detail, Here Comes the Night Shift

Freedom Cactus, made and quilted by Kim James  

The word FREEDOM is quilted above the cactus in this miniature quilt, reflecting the quilt show theme, Let Freedom Ring! Kim James says, "My daughter inspired this piece as she has a cactus theme in her home and her pursuit of education has afforded her FREEDOM and independence... this quilt is a tribute to her journey and the vibrant life she has built."  This dynamic little quilt was based on the Cactus Specimen pattern by Swan Sheridan. 

Making Memories Road Trip Quilt, made and quilted by Francine Taylor  

Based on a Capturing Memories Road Trip design by Pride & Joy Quilting, Francine Taylor says this quilt was taught in a Sewtopia Retreat class in 2025 in San Antonio, Texas.  "Veruschka Zarate makes excellent patterns and this is no exception. I love the Arizona landscape. The colors adequately and beautifully depict the desert landscape."

Windows Into Color by Judy Locke, quilted by Penny Boese  

This stunning modern quilt was inspired by a paper pieced block used in The Bachelor pattern in Paper Pieced Modern by Amy Garro (2015).  Judy Locke utilized her own setting and five different color groups for the blocks, one color group per block. The background fabric is used again in each of the five blocks to separate the colors; this also added dimensionality to the quilt.  The outstanding quilting by Penny Boese is done in different colors and designs, shown below.

detail, Windows Into Color

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

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)!

p.s. Please visit our E-Bay shop for great bargains on jewelry, clothing, and collectibles! For blog highlights and free patterns, follow us on Twitter!     

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.

 

 

HIghlights of Quilt Arizona! (1)

The annual Quilt Arizona show is a highlight of spring!  Here are some highlights of this year's show (part one of 4)!

p.s. Please visit our E-Bay shop for great bargains on jewelry, clothing, and collectibles! For blog highlights and free patterns, follow us on Twitter!     

Zerschmettert (1), made and quilted by Victoria Nelson  

Winner of the Exemplary Hand Quilting award, and 1st Place in the Art - Abstract category, Victoria Nelson says: "I started Zerschmettert (Shattered) in a workshop with Maria Shell. "Working from my own photo, I created a simplified composition, drafted shapes for the major areas and improvisationally pieced each area of the quilt.  Largely hand quilted after machine stitching to stabilize the main sections."

 

Pedal Power and Petal Pushers, made and quilted by Patricia Charity 

Winner of Best of Show - Solo and 1st Place in the Pictorial-Medium category, this art quilt was inspired by Patricia Charity's photo of a quiet street in Syracuse, Sicily. This quilt captures the charm of everyday life - the ever-present Italian bicycle leaning against a stone wall, backpacks, and sunlit textures. She layered fabrics to evoke the time-worn beauty and warmth of Mediterranean light and color.

 

 

Color Wheel Cha Cha by Kathi Shunn, quilted by B'nae Pulve.  

 

 

This stunning English paper pieced quilt is based on the Dresden Dance Party pattern by Sami Casanova for Darty Kite Pattern Co. Kathi Shunn says, "While creating a version of my company's Dresden Dance Party pattern, I was inspired to explore the color wheel. I love playing with color, fussy cutting, and whimsical motifs, using saturated hues and circular movement to celebrate color theory through rhythm, repetition, and joy." Winner of a 3rd Place ribbon in its category (Pieced - Duet - Medium). 

 

 

Tucker, made and quilted by Leilani Purvis   

 

Such a clever quilt! Winner of 1st Place in the Pictorial - Small category, and Award of Merit from the NACQJ,  Leilani Purvis based this original quilt on a photo of her grandpuppy, Tucker. "He has brightened our family for eight years. The gear-patterned background honors our maintain-biking daughter.  This quilt is a tribute to his love, energy, and companionship."  Leafy fabric was used to represent Tucker's furry ears.

 

 

Here's the original photo that inspired this wonderful quilt:

 

  

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