Our Canine Friends

Dogs are often our best friends, which explains why more than a third of all homes own at least one dog. As the book Marley and Me: says: "A dog has no use for fancy cars, big homes, or designer clothes. A water logged stick will do just fine. A dog doesn't care if you're rich or poor, clever or dull, smart or dumb. Give him your heart and he'll give you his.” Here's a tribute to our canine friends, as shown by some of our favorite dog quilts from the 2017 Houston International Quilt Festival.

King Charles by Virginia Greaves (Georgia, USA)

We loved this handsome dog portrait by Virginia Greaves.  Virginia says, "This is my little contribution to the 2017 IQA Silent Auction. It’s from a picture I took some time ago, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel that I saw in passing."

On her website, Virginia Greaves says: "Through the progression of years, my work has become more focused on portraits. I find them challenging when portrayed in fabric, both commercial prints and hand dyes, and I delight in finding that little spark in each individual and showing it in my work."

Cruisin' by Lea McComas (Colorado, USA)

This is the third in Lea McComas' series "A Dog's Life." She says, "This is a great way to spend an afternoon - the wind in your hair, the sun on your face, and your human at the wheel." The composition was inspired by a photo taken by Alicia Urie of Boulder, Colorado.  The image was not printed to fabric, but was the inspiration for the pattern that was made and used for this piece.

Cruisin' was created with fused applique and thread painting.  Lea McComas used commercial and hand-dyed cotton fabrics; polyester organza; and a variety of threads to create this piece.

Daddy's Boy by Kay Donges (Georgia, USA)

Kay Donges says, "A trip to our local quilt store inspired me to create this quilt. The owner of the store had her dog, Chester, there because the dog gets upset when her husband has to travel. My husband had placed his jacket and hat on a bench by the door. We walked away, then turned around, and Chester was lying on the coat and hugging the hat."

Kay used fusible applique with cotton and suedecloth fabric to create Daddy's Boy.  She really captured the dog's emotions in those eyes!

Cookie? PLEEEZE Cookie! by Sarah Ann Smith (Maine, USA)

This little quilt was created by Sarah Ann Smith to honor her beloved pug.  Sarah says, "I wanted to try a portrait in completely non-representational colors.  For the Dallas Quilt Guild 2010 challenge, I used the opportunity to make our pug's portrait.  I selected lights, mediums and darks... the turquoise became the background, quilted with doggie cookies in his dreams."

Sarah Ann Smith was one of two debut artists in the Rising Stars exhibit at International Quilt Festival Houston 2017. You can see a photo of Sarah with her dog on her website.

Green Dog with Orange Ball by Cindy Cooksey (California, USA)

Cindy Cooksey says, "Inspiration can appear like graffiti, often unbidden, and it is the job of an artist to recognize and interpret it however she can. In this case, I was inspired by the soulful gaze and graceful pose of my sister-in-law's dog, Gaia.  I attempted to elevate her into an iconic figure, and I added the orange bll, just because she seemed to need one."

Cindy achieved a wonderful modern art effect with her choice of colors, fabrics and motifs. Green Dog was hand embroidered, machine appliqued and quilted, and painted.

Puppy Love by Lea McComas (Colorado, USA)

Lea McComas says, "There is nothing so pure and joyous as the unconditional affection of a new puppy.  We should all wag more and bark less."

Puppy Love was created with fused applique using commercial and hand-dyed cotton fabrics.  The thread painting was done with cotton and polyester thread.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2017 Houston International Quilt Festival.

Exemplary Cat Quilts

If there are any animals who seem to really love quilts and are curious about them, it has to be cats.
Here's a tribute to our feline furbabies, as shown by some of our favorite cat quilts from the 2017 Houston International  Quilt Festival

An Interrupted Still Life by Pamela Seaberg , Washington, U.S.A.

Pamela says, "Last summer, I set up a still life of flowers on an old chair for a watercolor painting. Omar, my curious cat, turned my still life into this quilt."  Here's Omar, standing on his hind legs, tentatively trying to figure out the purpose of a vase on a chair, as cats will do. This quilt is made from hand-dyed and commercial fabrics, cotton, rayon, and silk embroidery threads, plus polyester threads.

Close-up, An Interrupted Still Life

We really admire Pamela's beautiful and accurate technique !  She used hand applique, hand embroidery, painting, and thread painting.

Sami, aka Tree Kitty by Lisa Steinka, Massachusetts, U.S.A.

Lisa writes,  "This is a reproduction of an original photo of my cat, Sami, that I took, developed, and printed over 40 years ago. The applique was done in the style of [quilt artist] David Taylor."

Close-up, Sami a.k.a. Tree Kitty

Lisa's original design uses cotton fabrics and cotton batting, with hand-piecing, hand-applique, and embroidery. She has done an excellent job at conveying the dignity and nobility of Sami in his devotion to enjoying life in the tree tops.

Kitten's Dreams by Hiroko Miyama and Masanobu Miyama, Tokyo, Japan

The quilters explain,  "This [work] expresses the kitten's desire to look down on dogs that chased her whenever they met. The flowers are original design, manually punch and machine embroidered. The kitten and dogs are also original design and were appliqued by using an original applique technique."

Close-up,Kitten's Dreams

What a wonderfully realistic depiction of this sweet kitten's face !  Hiroko and Masanobu used machine piecing, fused applique, machine embroidery, and original digitized embroidery to create this adorable quilt.

Can I Keep It, Pleassse?  by Kay Donges, Georgia, U.S.A.

Kay notes, "I was asked to make a quilt to be donated to the International Quilt Association to be placed in their silent auction at the  Houston International Quilt Show. The inspiration was a stock photo I purchased to use. It is fused applique and thread painting.
It is titled, "Can I Keep It, Pleassse?", because I believe that the girl is pleading  [with her voice and emphasizing the word 'Pleassse']  with her parents in order to keep this soft kitty.

Close-up, "Can I Keep It Pleassse?"

Kay has done an amazing job of  capturing the intent expressions of both the little girl and the kitten. It appears that the kitten wants to stay with the little girl as much as the little girl wants to keep it ! We also admire the elegant thread painting on the face and head of the kitten.

Cats on the Roof by Cecilia Koppmann, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Cecilia comments, "Every December, we wrap up the year with a celebratory breakfast that I host for all my students. It's a really fun party. I asked the students to bring with them a piece of fabric for me, from which I cut the cats and built this quilt. Now I have them 'meowing' in my studio all year
round."
We think that a breakfast party is a wonderful way to honor the students, and it looks as if the cats here are getting ready to do a little partying of their own !  

Close-up,  Cats on the Roof

We love Cecilia's arrangements of colors in creating a high contrast, vibrant, contemporary design that shows these nocturnal kitties with their prominent whiskers, out enjoying the night sky amongst the tall buildings.
 
Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2017 Houston International Quilt Festival.

Highlights of the 2017 Houston International Quilt Festival - part 3

The Houston International Quilt Festival is an awe-inspiring event, with more than 1,600 quilts on display, and over 60,000 visitors!! It's hard to describe the scale and visual impact of this event. Here are more highlights of this fantastic show.

Note: We've listed lovely items at very low prices at Quilt Inspiration's E-Bay store !

Somewhere My Love by Kay Donges (Georgia, USA)

Kay Donges says, "In 2016, I was invited to do a trunk show and lecture at the Russian International Quilt Festival in Suzdal, Russia.  The theme of the festival was Love.  There were reenactments of weddings from different areas and periods of history. The title of the quilt is from "Lara's Theme" from the movie, Doctor Zhivago. The subject is a Russian bride dressed in traditional Russian clothing.  The building behind the bride is the dome of the Church of the Nativity, which dates back to 1528.   I have dedicated this quilt to the loving and gracious Russian quilters."

This beautiful piece was created with cotton and synthetic fabrics, lace, ric rac, various trims, buttons. It was embellished with approximately 15,000 hand-sewn beads.

Women of Color: Jewels of Kenya by Patricia Kennedy-Zafred (Pennsylvania, USA)

Part of Patricia Kennedy-Zafred's "Women of Color" series, this piece celebrates the vivid, colorful personalities of young women in Northern Kenya.  The original images were by photographer Dietmar Temps, with permission.  This piece was created with silk screening and hand-dyed fabrics, followed by machine quilting.  

Hurry on Snowy Road, I am Late! by Keiko Morita (Toyama, Japan)

Keiko Morita says, "I tried to express a snowy morning scene in my daily life by using a Japanese traditional painting method n black and white [fabrics].  I concentrated on quilting the trees and created the sense of car speed with the snow crystals blowing toward me.  I hope viewers feel as if they are sitting in the car."  She used machine piece, applique, and embroidery; and hand applique to create this evocative scene.

Family Portrait by Danny Amazonas

Danny Amazonas created this larger-than-life piece "in remembrance of a family of furry friends who are no longer with us." His spectacular fabric collages draw on the beauty of the original textile designs on each piece of fabric used.  This special exhibit was sponsored by sponsored by FreeSpirit Fabrics & Sew Batik.

Annular Eclipse , 67 x 90", by Fumiko Nakayama (Japan)

Fumiko Nakayama is famous for her mola-style hand reverse applique work. This spectacular intricate piece was published in Art Quilts Internatonal: Abstract and Geometric by Martha Sielman and shown in a stunning exhibit called SAQA: Masterworks - Abstract and Geometric.  Fumiko Nakayama says, "I find constant inspiration from the majesty of our universe."

Summer Memory by Yoshiyuki Ishizaki (Hyogo, Japan)

Winner of Honorable Mention in the Innovative Pieced category, this fascinating quilt was pieced with strips of cotton fabric in a broad range of values, creating a watercolor effect.  Yoshikyuki Ishizaki says, "The best of summer memories is the bicycle trip with friends."

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration.

Best of the 2014 Pacific International Quilt Festival - Day 2

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 Day 2 of our photos.... let us know which quilts are your favorites !

Chinese Journey in Three Parts by Stephanie Crawford, United Kingdom

Best of World prize winner in the World Quilts category, Stephanie says, "This quilt was inspired by an extraordinary trip to China to visit my son, who was living in an ancient temple precinct in a remote part of Hubei. I have three outstanding memories of our journey together from Beijing to Wudang, and this triptych represents them. "

Close-up, Chinese Journey in Three Parts by Stephanie Crawford

These breathtaking views show us a stunning view of the scenery of China, along with some graceful and regal architecture. Stephanie continues about her original design,  "This quilt is wholecloth. It was painted and machine appliqued, then free motion quilted. "

Ruby by Kay Donges, Georgia, U.S.A.

Kay notes, "My quilt goes the whole nine yards by incorporating applique, piecing, and embellishments in order to create a stunning portrait of a mysterious woman. The brightly colored border provides a great contrast to the sophisticated deep black background of this intriguing portrait.

Close-up,  Ruby by Kay Donges (Georgia, U.S.A.)

Kay's original design uses beads, an earring, and jeweled stones are used to embellish the exotic beauty of Ruby. 

The Grapes by Aliza Inbar, Israel

Aliza writes, "One of the seven symbols of Israel is grapes. The grapes represent the richness of the land. They were the inspiration for this quilt. The background is log cabin with fusing on the top and machine quilting. We especially enjoyed the beautiful composition and symmetry of the grapevines and the fruit on Aliza's quilt.

Close-up, The Grapes by Aliza Inbar

The split-complementary color scheme of mauve, violet, aqua green, and yellow-orange really highlights the contrast between the background and the grapevines. Aliza's work is machine appliqued, machine pieced, and machine quilted.

The Peaceful Ones by Denise Havlan, Illinois

First place winner in the Innovative Quilts category of the World Quilt Competition, Denise notes, ["This quilt depicts] two Hopi maidens enjoying the morning sun." Denise has done an outstanding job of  displaying the dignity and serenity of these two Native Americans against the background of their high desert homeland. 

Close-up, The Peaceful Ones by Denise Havlan

Shimmering gold highlights enhance the traditional hairstyle of this Hopi maiden. Denise's original work is machine pieced, hand and machine appliqued, and machine quilted.

Close-up,The Peaceful Ones by Denise Havlan

These prickly-pear cacti sparkle with pretty crystals, and the cactus blossoms show an eye-catching variation of pinks, reds, and violets.

Mount Rushmore by Mary E. Barry, California

Mary writes, " Deciding to make a trip to Mt. Rushmore, I told my husband we needed to do a road trip. It was so impressive! I took many lovely photos to make the quilt, then came home and hand dyed lots of fabric to use with some stash fabric. I then dedicated it to our cherished freedom."  Note that Mary has added the word "Liberty" in block letters at the bottom;  and the bald eagle, the U.S. National Emblem, soars through the sky at the top of the quilt.

Close-up, Mount Rushmore, by Mary E. Barry

Here is a close-up of the stately countenance of George Washington, the first President of the United States. Mary has chosen the perfect shade of gray fabrics which almost perfectly match the gray stone of Mr. Rushmore. Her original design is machine pieced, machine appliqued, and machine quilted.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration