Happy Easter!

However you celebrate Easter — whether with church, family, friends, or quiet contemplation — we wish you a glorious day!  Thank you to the quilters who inspire us with their creations... like this beautiful patchwork quilt by Becky Tillman Petersen.

Radiant Cross, free quilt pattern by Becky Tillman Petersen at Quilted Twins (CLICK for PDF download) 

 

 

 

Nativity Scene with Jesse Tree Symbols

We wish you a blessed Christmas! A highlight of our quilting year was seeing this outstanding Nativity Scene. It is 17 feet long and has removable Jesse Tree symbols used to celebrate the advent. We enjoyed talking to the artist, whose work was featured at the Houston International Quilt Festival.

Nativity Scene with Jesse Tree Symbols by David LaPlaca (West Chicago, Illinois, USA)

The large quilt is comprised of four overlapping panels (6' x 17'6") that depict a colorful Nativity scene.  Included in the tree branches at the left, and extended across the sky like stars, are the 16 Jesse Tree symbols, suggesting stories from the Bible that point to God's faithfulness as people waited for the Messiah to come. Each Jesse Tree ornament and nativity figure is removable and may be added to the background layer during the weeks of Advent.  

David LaPlaca explains: "To involve congregants of all ages in advent celebration, I combined our church's tradition of Jesse Tree symbols and the traditional Nativity scene with heightened colors and patterns. The back panels were hung first with a shepherd or two, and with each following week of Advent, more symbols and characters were added until completed by Christmas week. Children progressed through the sanctuary with the nativity characters on Christmas eve."

Designer, teacher, and weekend quilter, David LaPlaca creates works of art for kids, home, and sacred celebrations. This original design combines Jesse Tree traditional ornaments; Mexican folk art (color palette); and fabric designs by Tula Pink & Kaffe Fassett, along with colorful batiks. Techniques used include hand embellishment, machine applique, embroidery, and quilting; and stitch drawing.

Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2025 Houston International Quilt Festival. For more information and a gallery of his work, please visit David LaPlaca's website.

12 Days of Christmas: Lighting the Way

Merry Christmas to all our readers! To celebrate the season, we're posting 12 of our favorite Christmas quilts from recent shows.  We hope you enjoy the beautiful details expressed in these masterpieces! 

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Lighting the Way by Joyce Strassburg, quilted by Jessica Jones.  

The Star has been lighting the way for millennia, hence the title of this quilt. Joyce Strassburg says, "The star and church are the focal points of the quilt; however, this pattern also includes the homes of PEOPLE. This is the community that imagines and creates the many artifacts for future generations to learn from and appreciate." 

 Lighting the Way was professionally machine quilted (hand guided) by Jessica Jones. This quilt was based on the "Silent Night" pattern and kit by The Quilt Factory/Debra Grogan.  The quilt won a Third Place award (yellow ribbon) at the 2025 Arizona Quilters Guild show.

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

Faith, Hope, and Love at Easter

On Easter, many of us take the time to reflect on the promise of hope and new life in the Easter story. Here is a luminous stained glass quilt with a beautiful message of Faith, Hope and Love.

Rays of Hope - Stained Glass version by Carolyn Morris

This quilt was exhibited at the 2013 Arizona Quilters' Guild show and shown on Q.I. that year. Carolyn Morris says: "Using gradation batiks, each section was cut individually, ironed in place, and quilted with irregular satin stitches.  The trapunto cross was machine embroidered and then appliqued to the front." 

You can find the pattern at Rays of Hope Quilts at Etsy and see Carolyn explain the full story on YouTube.

The design came to Carolyn Morris on Easter, 2011, in response to her own prayer. Carolyn says: "My life is dedicated to serving others. For many years that involved my three children and their training. Now that they have children of their own, I use the talents that I have to enrich the lives of others. Many of the quilts I make are small 15" squares with embroidery messages or scriptures on them. I give many away to those in need of prayers."

p.s.  If you enjoy Stained Glass quilts, you might also enjoy our Free Pattern Day (CLICK HERE!)

Faith, Hope and Love at Easter

On Easter, many of us take the time to reflect on the promise of hope and new life in the Easter story. Here is a luminous stained glass quilt with a beautiful message of Faith, Hope and Love.

Rays of Hope - Stained Glass version by Carolyn Morris

This quilt was exhibited at the 2013 Arizona Quilters' Guild show and shown on Q.I. that year. Carolyn Morris says: "Using gradation batiks, each section was cut individually, ironed in place, and quilted with irregular satin stitches.  The trapunto cross was machine embroidered and then appliqued to the front." 

You can find the pattern at Rays of Hope Quilts at Etsy and see Carolyn explain the full story on YouTube.

The design came to Carolyn Morris on Easter, 2011, in response to her own prayer. Carolyn says: "My life is dedicated to serving others. For many years that involved my three children and their training. Now that they have children of their own, I use the talents that I have to enrich the lives of others. Many of the quilts I make are small 15" squares with embroidery messages or scriptures on them. I give many away to those in need of prayers."

Image credit:  The photo was taken by Quilt Inspiration.

Journey to Bethlehem

We wish you a blessed Christmas. Today we wanted to look back at a quilt we first featured in 2016. It is an original design that recalls the journey of Mary and Joseph walking to Bethlehem.

Please check out our E-Bay shop for great bargains on patterns and vintage collectibles. For continuous free quilt patterns, please visit us on Twitter.

Journey to Bethlehem by Jared Moore

Jared Moore says, "This quilt expresses my love for various things: the stars, moon, trees, and of course, Christmas. I have always wanted to create a close up image of the moon, and I finally found the perfect subject using the journey of Mary and Joseph walking to Bethlehem."

Jared continues, "The design uses open applique with free motion quilting on a home machine. This quilt was not nearly as time consuming and complex as many of my other quilts, and yet it is one of my favorites."  Journey to Bethlehem was displayed at the 2016 Springville Museum of Art Utah Quilt Show.

Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2016 Springville (Utah) quilt show.

Twelve Days of Christmas Quilts ! Day 12

It came upon us so quickly... but believe it or not, it's that time of year again: time for Twelve Days of Christmas Quilts ! We will feature an inspiring quilt each weekday, starting today and ending on Christmas Eve.  We wish you a very happy, healthy and creative holiday season.
Merry Christmas to all...

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Silent Night by Mikelle Price,  Utah

Mikelle explains, "This quilt was my first major paper piecing and quilting project. I saw this pattern and immediately thought of three special people in my life that I wanted to make it for.

(Note:This quilt is based on the Advent Nativity Pattern at Paper Panache.)

Here, Mary holds the newborn Christ child, as the Wise Men and the animals of the manger stand by in reverence during the cold winter night.  Mikel's very precise work ensures that even the smallest details of this work can be clearly seen.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2019 Springville (Utah) quilt show.

We're counting our blessings!

Here's a wish for a happy Thanksgiving! Studies show that expressing gratitude - an integral component of the Thanksgiving season - can lift the spirits, and it's built right into the holiday. We're practicing gratitude by giving thanks for good friends, family, and nearly 10 years of Quilt Inspiration.

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Count Your Blessings Daily by Marcia Tinder, quilted by Arla Ballesteros

Marcia Tinder won a second prize ribbon for this stunning wool applique quilt, with its embroidered saying, Count Your Blessings. She says, "My quilt is about churches of old and new. My sister Arla made the suggestion for me to do this quilt... she said you just don't see churches in quilts.  Some of the churches are from memories of my past."

The angel, and the church with its steeple, provide a lovely setting for this message of gratitude. We admire the charming embroidered features and hair on the angel! 

One of our favorite blocks, this church reminds us of the mission churches in New Mexico and Arizona. The tiny appliqued cactus bring to mind the desert Southwest.


Image credits:  Photos were taken at the 2019 Arizona Quilters Guild show.

Celebrating Easter 2018

Easter is a religious holiday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. At Easter time, we wanted to share this beautiful mosaic quilt by Marie Wood. She used hand-dyed fabrics and fusible applique to re-create a mosaic image of Jesus seen at Duc In Altum in Israel.

Jesus Calling - Duc In Altum by Marie Wood (Alpharetta, Georgia, USA)

Duc In Altum exalts the presence of women in the Gospel. This image of Jesus' merciful face is from a mosaic mural dedicated to the daughter of Jairus, whom Jesus raised from the dead.  The murals at Duc In Altum "seek to express the loving power of God that is bestowed on men [and women] through the actions of his divine hand." 

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2017 Houston International Quilt Festival.  Marie Wood created this design from a photo taken by fellow traveler, Marie Reichert.