Best of the Pacific International Quilt Festival 2019 (day 4)

Held annually in Santa Clara, California, the Pacific International Quilt Festival is the largest quilt show on the west coast of the U.S.A. It features a wonderful variety of beautiful quilts! Here are some of the highlights of the festival. Let us know which ones are your favorites!

P.S.  For quilt patterns, books, and vintage collectibles, please visit us on E-Bay quilt-inspiration !

Play With Me!, 90 x 90, by Inger Blood, California 

We are sure this dog will succeed in getting its owner to play... after all, who could resist that sweet face!  This original design quilt was created by Inger Blood from a photo, using commercial batiks for the motif and background piecing. In the lower border is a dog bone with the title of the quilt, Play With Me!  The quilting was done with a domestic sewing machine.

A Border of Flowers, 56.5 x 34", by Lois Evans, New Zealand

Lois Evans says, "This quilt is my personal response to the quote: "Art is like a border of flowers along the course of civilization." (Lincoln Steffens)  Like flowers, art comes in all shapes, sizes, and varieties, but hopefully all serve to make us stop, look and think... If only we would grow flowers and make art instead of creating borders."  This original design was machine appliqued and sewing machine quilted.

Transported, 56 x 55.5", by Ann Horton, California

Ann Horton says, "This quilt began immediately after wildfire swept across our property, leaving us without water, electricity, or neighbors.  We saved our home but it was a terrifying experience.  I reached for some  fabric in my smoke-filled house and began stitching by hand, knowing I would eventually use my machines to finish the piece. The colors, animals and exotic feel transported me from the blackened earth and shock to a world of color and joy." Transported was machine pieced, machine appliqued, and sewing machine quilted.

Baker Beach, 38.5 x 53.5", by Sandra Mollon, California

Featuring the Golden Gate Bridge, Baker Beach was derived from a photo by John Slot.  Sandra Mollon says, "This quilt was my attempt to interpret the movement and reflections of water of this very iconic Northern California landmark and beach." The fabric was mostly hand dyed, raw edge fused and sewing machine quilted.

Crazy In Love, 40 x 40", by Diana Vandeyar, South Africa

Diana Vandeyar says, "This flamboyant quilt was inspired by Beyonce's "Crazy in Love" song and music video featuring Jay Z.  It uses a vibrant selection of African wax prints, gold lame fabric and an improved minimalist wedding-ring pattern (a technique I developed and which I thought fitting for the theme of the quilt.)  It is machine quilted with orange thread in a freeform grid, and hand stitched with electric blue Perle cotton for texture and color juxtaposition."

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2019 Pacific International Quilt Festival.

Just for fun : Humorous quilts

Did you know that humor boosts health in six different ways ? Humor reduces stress and can help us to put situations (including the daily news!) into perspective. Laughter can even help lower the risk of heart disease.*  We hope these whimsical quilts will make you smile. :-)

Upcycle Cat by Ann Horton

Ann notes,  " [I was] inspired to use recycled shirts, buttons, trims, and pieces from my stash. This fun cat shows how an art quilter's mind works ! His belly is made from a blouse belonging to my 93 year old mother."  The cat is even carrying a book titled "Art Quilts" (see closeup below!)

Upcycle Cat won the Most Humorous Quilt award at the 2018 Road to California show.

In the sewing world, "upcycle" means to take previously used materials or fabrics and re-use them in a new project. By showing this cute kitty pedaling a bicycle, Ann makes a humorous pun by relating "upcycle" to "bicycle".  Ann's original design is very well done and most deserving of the "Most Humorous Quilt" award.

Wonky Houses by Martha Baltram

Third place winner for Best Scrap Quilt at the 2018 Quilt Arizona Show, Martha states, "This original house design was inspired by hairdos, curls, and colors. Buds and flowers were created to give it life and humor. "

Close-up, Wonky Houses

It's really  fun to stand and observe Martha's quilt for awhile, as there are all sorts of zany, very imaginative details !   Here's an owl perched in the air between the house that looks as if it's wearing a wig for a roof, and the house with valentine heart windows.

Sewing Bee by Diane Robinson, quilted by Irene Talmadge

Diane explains, "This was a block-of-the-month from an online vendor. I used the laser-cut bee [appliques] that were supplied, and I used my own fabrics for the blocks."
This adorable quilt is based on the Sew Busy Bee block-of-the-month quilt at Stitches of Love.

The center block shows a queen bee with heart-topped antennas sprouting from her crown. The expressions on the bee's faces really made us smile !

Wrinkly-Irony by Connie Griner

Connie writes about her original design, " [This quilt was] Inspired by an internet posting that defined the word 'irony' as the opposite of 'wrinkly.' My hope is to bring a smile to the viewer !"  We like the way that she very creatively divided the quilt into two distinct parts to emphasize the difference between the "wrinkly" side and the "irony" side.

Detail, Wrinkly-Irony

Connie's techniques include machine piecing, hand and machine applique, fusing, hand embroidery, improvisational piecing, fabric texturizing, and piping.

Octopus by Gay Young

Gay says, "A red octopus seemed like a fun idea ! She floats peacefully in her garden."

For her original design, Gay used hand-dyed cottons and silk broadcloth. Her techniques include machine applique, fused applique, hand-dyeing, painting, and Thermofax printing. This cheery octopus looks as if she is dancing along with the starfish in an under-the-sea party ! 

Pickles All in a Row by Nancy Walter

Nancy remarks, "Several members of the Betweens Chapter ( of the Arizona Quilters' Guild) decided to do a row challenge ! We each provided basic fabric, made a row, and pass it on with the group."
These Pickles quilting and sewing cartoons on fabric are guaranteed to bring a smile!

These cartoons are hilarious -- and very relatable to any quilter who's ever shared a space with a non-quilting but supportive friend or relative.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2018 Road to California (Upcycle cat), the 2018 Quilt Arizona show (Pickles in a Row, Sewing Bee) and the 2017 Houston International Quilt Festival.

*Hayashi et al. 2016. Laughter is the Best Medicine? A Cross-Sectional Study of Cardiovascular Disease Among Older Japanese Adults. See: J. Epidemiology 2016.
* Yim J. 2016. Therapeutic Benefits of Laughter in Mental Health: A Theoretical Review. Tohoku J Exp Med.

Best of the 2014 Pacific International Quilt Festival : Day 5

The Pacific International Quilt Festival, known as PIQF, is the biggest quilt show on the west coast of the United States. In this series, we're displaying some of the fabulous, innovative, and just plain fun quilts we saw there.  This year's theme is  "The Whole Nine Yards", meaning "to show maximum effort in work or play."  Here is Part 5 of our photos!

A Slice of Pi by Terri Budesa, Oregon

Terri says, "I have never been a quilter who seeks out fast and easy patterns. True, I probably would have completed more quilts over the years if that were true. Complexity of design and in fabric combinations drives my quilt making. 'A Slice of Pi' meets all of those requirements and then some."  We love these pretty jewel-toned hues, especially the sapphires and amethysts.

Close up, A Slice of Pi by Terri Budesa

Terri adds, If it has a gazillion pieces, applique, curved seams or other techniques that are challenging, I'm in..........for the whole nine yards."  Her elegant and intriguing stained glass pattern is machine appliqued.

Floral Fantasy by Janice L. Kelber, California

Janice notes, "[With its] whole cloth background, Floral Fantasy was machine appliqued, and flowers were made by hand jewels sewn for the center bloom." This looks like such a great dance dress, that we imagine its wearer is getting ready to really show off her exuberant dance steps.

Close- up, Floral Fantasy by Janice L. Kelber

Some of Floral Fantasy was hand quilted, and some was long-arm quilted by Lori Atwood. In this close-up, you can see the lovely three-dimension flowers with a sparkling stone in the center. She even has a jeweled necklace and earring.

Nite Owl by Sharon Hightower, California

Sharon notes," Nite Owl shows her feathers and her "Just Do It" attitude, representing my favorite quilting guild, the Nite Owls!  She is constructed of commercial cottons and is a raw-edge collage with some thread play as well as machine quilting. "

Close up, Nite Owl by Sharon Hightower

This owl has such a stately, dignified face, that we can't help but smile at his solemnity. Sharon's original design is machine appliqued and  machine quilted.

Close up, Nite Owl by Sharon Hightower

Here's an eye-catching array of warm tones; peaches, golds, and burnt umbers comprise Nite Owl's lavish feathers.

Thera by Donna L. Rice, Oregon

Donna notes of her original design,  "Thera was created by machine piecing and machine applique of cotton fabrics. I used a long arm and a sewing machine to quilt. I then added beads to represent flowers, trees, and vines." With its whitewashed houses with blue trim, "Thera" reminds  us of a fabulous island village in the Mediterranean Sea.

Close up, Thera by Donna L. Rice

These tiny windows and doors are actually machine pieced. Strong, contemporary horizontal quilting lines gracefully balance the vertical buildings as they climb up the hillside.

Poco Loco by Ann Horton, California

Blue ribbon winner for Best Use of Embellishment on a wall quilt, Ann writes, "The spiral spin of life in this crazy quilt celebrates Latino life with Guatemalan fabrics, critters, embroideries....and hand beading adding the spark we all need when we really go "the whole nine yards."

Close up, Poco Loco by Ann Horton

Poco Loco, meaning "A little bit crazy" is a modern update of the traditional crazy quilt from the Victorian era, which displayed prominent embroidery stitches between patches and rich solid colors. Ann's quilt shows many Pre-Columbian motifs of Latin America, such as lizards, salamanders, crickets, and other flora and fauna in nativist patterns.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration

Quilts (and free patterns) for Dia de los Muertos!

Dia de los Muertos (the Day of the Dead) is celebrated on October 31st, November 1st and 2nd. The tradition honors those who have passed, whose souls are thought to come back to be with their loved ones. The Day of the Dead is becoming very popular in the U.S. Its themes overlap with Halloween - including skeletons and skulls.

Please check out our eBay shop for great bargains on quilt patterns, jewelry and collectibles! 

For FREE PATTERNS for Dia de los Muertos, please see our *updated* Free Pattern Day (CLICK HERE): 

Here are some inspiring, original Dia de los Muertos quilts which we've enjoyed at quilt shows. 

Beauty Parlor de los Muertos, 76 x 59", by Nancy Arsenault

Beauty Parlor de los Muertos, which was exhibited at the 2014 AQS - Phoenix show, is another fabulous realistic afterlife quilt by Nancy Arsenault.  The skeletons are engaged in typical beauty parlor activities while under the hair dryer. The woman on the far right is reading a Quilters Newsletter magazine! Nancy says, "This salon scene was inspired by personal experience.  Does it look familiar to you too?"

This good-looking hairdresser is wearing a real white shirt, a tooled vest, and bola tie... in the shape of a skull, of course! Our favorite character is the fluffy white poodle shown below... he is all bones!

Nancy Arsenault is an award-winning Arizona quiltmaker who made the first of her series of Dia de los Muertos quilts in 2006. For more quilt inspiration, visit Pinterest and check out Nancy's AZquiltmaker board, Quilts I've Made.

Dia de los Muertos, 39 x 43", by Alice Morgan

In the tradition of Mexican folk art, this quilt is bright and colorful!  The blanket-stitched appliqued skulls are set at a jaunty angle and they have button eyes.  Alice used a broderie perse approach to embellish the blocks with big, colorful flowers. Alice Morgan says, "Don't these skulls make you smile?"

This is an adaptation of a commercial pattern but with lots of embellishments. Alice Morgan's was photographed at the 2012 River City Quilters Guild show in California; the original design by Jane Tenorio-Coscarelli is shown below.

Dia de los Muertos, approx 12 x 12", by Rebecca Navarro (Texas)

Rebecca Navarro says, “The Day of the Dead is a time to remember those who have died. The deceased are honored with food, beverages, and flowers."  Rebecca’s original design  was machine pieced, inked, and free-motion quilted. The quilt was embellished with scattered seed beads.

As you can see in the close-up photo above, the flower centers were decorated with tiny skulls. Rebecca Navarro's quilt was exhibited in the miniature quilts exhibit at the 2013 Houston International Quilt Festival.

Jose Guadalupe Posada's Door, 18 x 24", by Cathy Hawthorne (Arizona)

Jose Guadalupe Posada's Door was part of the Mavericks Art Quilters 2013 Door Challenge. The participating artists were challenged to design an 18" x 24" quilt showing the back door that an artist of their choice might have had on their house. This quilt honors the Mexican artist, José Guadalupe Posada (1851–1913) who was renowned for his drawings of calaveras (skulls).

As shown above, Cathy appliqued many fabric skulls on the quilt using broderie perse, and hung a small skeleton holding a mesh bag of skulls.

My Idea of Heaven, 41 x 53", by Janet Windsor

My Idea of Heaven is one of our favorite Day of the Dead quilts.  Janet Windsor explains: "I love the Dia de los Muertos holiday in Mexico.  I cannot imagine a happier place to end up than at my sewing machine. So I borrowed an illustrator friend’s skeleton and took photos of it sitting at a featherweight sewing machine. I did a drawing from those photos which I then fused, appliqued, and embellished with buttons, beads, ribbons, silk flowers, and milagros."  We  featured Janet Windsors' work in a post published in October, 2012.

Life Everlasting by Ann Horton

Ann Horton says, "In the tradition of The Day of the Dead celebrations, this quilt embraces life after death with happy assurance. [It was] inspired by my 89-year-old mother's faith and life."  The dancing skulls were created with digitized machine embroidery.  We first featured Life Everlasting in our post on the 2013 Houston International Quilt Festival.

Image credits: All images are copyrighted by their owners. The photo of My Idea of Heaven is shown with permission of Janet Windsor; for her gallery, see her website at Janet Windsor.com.  All other quilt show photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration.  For the free patterns and tutorials, please respect any restrictions the artists have placed on the use of their designs; complete information can be found at the websites provided in the links.  If any links are broken, we'd love to know; please email us at quiltinspiration {at} gmail {dot} com. 

From Houston: Quilts that honor The Day of the Dead

The Houston IQF is so overwhelming... at the end of the day you are dead ! But seriously.......since November 1-2 is Dia de los Muertos (The Day of the Dead), here are two show quilts that embody the theme.

Life Everlasting by Ann Horton, Redwood Valley, California

Ann notes, "In the tradition of The Day of the Dead celebrations, this quilt embraces life after death with happy assurance. [It was] inspired by my 89-year-old mother's faith and life." Ann's work is an original design utilizing the Carolina Lily block in the center. The gray you see on the words in the border is actually shiny metallic silver fabric, which gives this quilt extra sparkle.

Close up, Life Everlasting by Ann Horton

Here's only one of 8 cheerful skulls which dance around the center medallion.  For the extensive embellishment of this quilt, Ann used hand-beading and hot fix crystals. The skulls were created with digitized machine embroidery. 

Close up, Life Everlasting by Ann Horton

In the corner of this quilt, you can see a happy skeleton couple enjoying the day, surrounded by colorful lilies.

Dia de los MOOertos by Peggy Baldwin-Clayton,  quilted by Denise Green

This darling cow is part of the MOO-ston (a pun on the word "Houston")  exhibit, which featured quilts, based on the purple cow pattern from the book,  Out of the Box With Easy Blocks by Mary Lou Weidman and Melanie McFarland.

Peggy says, "This quilt was the perfect opportunity to showcase the Alexander Henry fabrics ( with printed skulls)  I collected at Festival last year."

Close up, Dia de los Mooertos by Peggy Baldwin-Clayton

Peggy adds,  "Note the skull flowers ( on the yellow background)  .... and the  skull earrings [on the cow] . This was a very fun quilt to design and make. Whoever would have thought that cows would "go viral" !

Image credits :  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration.