Best of the Road to California - Day 2

More than 39,000 visitors from all 50 U.S. states and several foreign countries come each January to visit the Road to California show in Ontario, California.. This quilt show features traditional, art and modern quilts. Here are some of the award winners and our own favorites from the 2018 show !

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Fifteen by Joyce L. Carrier (Bluemont, Virginia)

Joyce explains, "This photo, taken 8 years ago, was recognized by the zoo attendant on another recent visit. 'Oh, that's Fifteen !', she said. The birds were originally numbered, and Fifteen came to recognize his name, so he remains Fifteen."  Color and the pose of this Lorikeet inspired me to bring him to life in a quilt."

Close-up, Fifteen

Joyce continues, "I used collage, free motion embroidery, and thread painting, with a tiny bit of fabric inks."  It's easy to tell that this gorgeous bird has a lively and intelligent personality.

When My Spirit Is Set Free by Teri L. Cherne (Henniker, New Hampshire)

Third place winner in Mixed Techniques Wall Quilts, Teri comments about her original design,  "[This quilt] was designed so I could have fun with metallic threads. I also enjoyed using my beautiful heavy threads for hand couching and bobbin work."

Close-up, When My Spirit Is Set Free

Teri adds, "Wonderfil's metallic threads were a pleasure to work with on my Innova. A layer of  Hobbs Silk and  Hobbs wool were used for the battings, plus a layer of  Hobbs Polydown was used for trapunto."  Teri has made an excellent choice of metallic threads for this vibrantly colored contemporary work. 

Polish Pottery by Chieko Shiraishi (Saitama, Japan)

Chieko states,  "I got inspiration from Polish pottery and made it a quilt. The appliqued flowers are handcrafted crochet lace. I made a quilt that has a new sense [of technique] by combining quilting and crocheted lace."

Close-up, Polish Pottery

Look at these exquisitely crocheted flowers around the inner border,  which is also surrounded by more hand crochet work.  We admire the amount of time and patience it takes to produce this lovely needlework.

Rainbow Star by Elsie M. Campbell (Ponca City, Oklahoma)

Elsie notes, "The rainbow of colorful fabrics I used for this quilt make me happy. Inspired by a tree I passed on my daily walks, I plucked one of the very large sycamore leaves and used it as the pattern for the rainbow of appliqued leaves on this quilt."

Close-up, Rainbow Star

Elsie continues, "The machine quilting was done on a small domestic sewing machine ( Bernina 730), hand guided, with no aid of ruler or stitch regulator."  Elsie's elegant quilting motifs are perfect for embellishing the white space on this multi-hued work.

Spot On by Gail Stepanek, quilted by Jan Hutchison (Sedgwick, Kansas)

Third place winners in the Mixed Techniques category, Gail and Jan write of their original design,  "Gail hand appliqued the blocks and set them surrounded by a pieced background. Jan used colorful cotton thread and silver metallic thread to create the quilted design. "

Close-up, Spot On

We really admire the delicate intricacy of these snowflake-like designs, enhanced by excellent workmanship in hand applique. Jan's award-winning quilting is evident throughout this piece.

Stepping Out by Patsy Kittredge (Sedona, Arizona)

Patsy says, " As a first-time mother at 40 years old, I took a lot of photos of my twin daughters. With
my husband's gentle presence behind them, they took some of those first steps on a grassy lawn. There may be a lot of difficulties in being a parent, but watching them here was nothing but wonderful."

Close-up, Stepping Out

Patsy's has very realistically depicted the determined look on the faces of toddlers who are learning new skills every day. She has captured the bliss and innocence of childhood extremely well.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2018 Road to California quilt show.

Quilt Arizona! Part 5

Warm sunny weather greeted us upon our desert adventure to Quilt Arizona!, the new name for the 2016 annual show of the Arizona Quilters Guild in Mesa, Arizona.  Here's Part 5 of the highlights of the show, plus some of our personal favorites.
Please note: We're continually posting free patterns on Twitter !  Check us out @QuiltInspire.

Antelope Canyon by Georgia Heller

Third place winner in the Art Quilts/ Painted or Digital category, Georgia notes of her original design, "My interpretation [was] inspired by my photo of Antelope Canyon."  A small thread-painted tree, on the right-hand side of the quilt, lends perspective to the scene. We admire the gorgeous colors of this stunning quilt, which shows the nuances of sunlight and shadow, as the viewer looks upward into the blue sky.

Antelope Canyon is a picturesque canyon in northern Arizona, characterized by twisting sandstone walls. This quilting pattern very realistically depicts the striations in the spiral rock patterns. Georgia quilted this beautiful work herself, using a stationary machine.

Jam Session by Patsy Kittredge

Honorable Mention winner in the category of Art/Abstract quilts,  Patsy writes about her original design,  "Ah, music...it flows, ignites, sparkles, calms, interweaves, spills over... and moves you." This lively, energetic work clearly exemplifies Patsy's enthusiasm and love of music.

Patsy has added some very "jazzy" embellishments to her quilt, along with the use of tulle netting. We really liked this quilt, as it was so imaginative, vibrant, and fanciful.

Southwest Squares, 52 x 78, by Daryl Lynn, quilted by Laura Jansen

After 6 years of blogging here on Quilt Inspiration about other people's quilts, Daryl Lynn finally took the time to make a quilt to enter into a show ! This isn't Daryl Lynn's first effort at quilting, but it is her first quilt show entry.  Daryl Lynn used the pattern "Bright Squares" from Heritage Quilts by Kaffe Fassett. Check out the book, which is posted on our right hand sidebar ! (Just scroll down a little).  It is full of brightly colored quilts, that are really fun to make, with an easy-to-understand text and instructions.

This quilt is comprised of more than one thousand  2-inch fabric squares.  The squares are sewn into big 26 inch square blocks, which are then pieced together. Daryl Lynn would like to thank her sister and fellow blogger Marina, longarm quilter Laura Jansen, and teacher Margrit Hall.

Field of Wishes by Barbara Janson

Honorable Mention winner in the category of Art/Innovative quilts, Barbara writes about her original design,  "The vacant lot behind our house was filled with dandelions this summer while I learned to ride my two-wheeler bike." The inner border of black and white print fabric adds a very whimsical, creative touch to this softly-hued work.

Barbara continues, "Layers of tulle and dryer sheets create the puffs with embroidered seeds and beading. We think this embellishment is really pretty and gives the perfect effect of  wispy dandelions floating gently in the summer breeze. Barbara quilted this work herself using a stationary machine.

Clementine, Isabella, Mr. Nadia and many more by Rosemarie Snow, quilted by Debbie Stanton

Honorable Mention winner in the Large Applique quilts category, Rosemarie remarks, "My daughter Julie loves and has chickens. When I saw this pattern, Funky Chickens by Sindy Rodenmayer, I knew I had to make it for her.The fabrics are mostly by Kaffe Fassett." We think these chickens are just bursting with personality, and the eye-catching colors really "pop" against the black background.

Look at this chicken's neck, which is actually a floral fabric; however, Rosemarie uses it in such a skilful way here, that it looks like chicken feathers! Using a track mounted machine, Debbie Stanton did a fabulous job of longarm quilting this happy quilt.

Kate's Vintage Compass by Kathy O'Brien, quilted by Penny Boese

Honorable Mention winner in the Pieced Medium-size quilts category, Kathy notes, " [I took an] excellent class with Judy Niemeyer certified instructor Jackie Kunkel . I love the red/black combination."  We agree with Kathy that the use of red, black, and white fabric here creates a very striking and elegant combination. 

Kathy's design inspiration was the Vintage Compass pattern by Judy Niemeyer. The very artistic quilting is a digitized pattern by Penny Boese.


Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration.

Desert Adventure: Quilt Arizona ! part 2

Warm sunny weather greeted us upon our desert adventure to Quilt Arizona!, the new name for the 2016 annual show of the Arizona Quilters Guild in Mesa, Arizona.  Here's part I of the highlights of the show, plus some of our personal favorites.

Please note: We're continually posting free patterns on Twitter !  Check us out @QuiltInspire

Arizona Starry Night by Alicia Sterna

Third Place winner in the Pictorial Quilts category, Alicia notes, " [This was] inspired by Vincent Van Gogh's painting The Starry Night. Small pieces of fabric were used as brush strokes to depict an Arizona desert night."

Closeup, Arizona Starry Night 

Alicia quilted this lovely creation herself, using a stationary machine. In the original work, Van Gogh painted a dark stalk of wheat in the foreground. She has replaced the wheat with dark stalks of saguaro cactus, the state plant of Arizona. We really admire the innovative way that Alicia has modified the famous painting by adding ideas of her own - the cacti that typify the Arizona landscape.

Small Moments by Patsy Kittredge

Second Place winner in he Pictorial Quilts category, Patsy says of her original design, "This quilt shows  my parents taking a break from raking leaves. Not much happening, but the love shines through. And it did, for 63 years." 

Closeup, Small Moments

Patsy quilted her heartwarming work by herself on a stationary sewing machine. Here you can see all the different fabric and thread colors used to depict the angles, lines, and shadows of the subjects' faces. This quilt was one of our favorites, as this artist's creation is so expressive. We found ourselves drawn to the representation of fondness and joy of life this couple displays for each other.

Tangled Up in Blue by Debbie Stanton

Honorable Mention winner for Medium Size Pieced Quilts, Debbie states, "Starting with a commercial pattern for the central motif, I designed my own borders. Quilting was inspired by Zentangle Doodle Designs. [I] used Cindi Edgerton's tissue paper foundation for the feathered star. All else is original."

Closeup, Tangled Up in Blue

In this closeup, you can see some of Debbie's outstanding workmanship on the appliqued border.  The cute heart in the middle of the applique gives a charming touch. Debbie quilted her work on a track mounted machine.

At Sunset by Alicia Sterna

Third Place winner for Abstract Art quilts, Alicia explains, " A failed graduated bargello piece provided the perfect background for a sunflower quilt. I wanted the flowers to float on the background. "
By the way, we at Quilt Inspiration do not see anything  "failed" about this work ! We love the color contrasts of the fabric and the circles of print fabric that cap the tops of the green bargello design.

Closeup, At Sunset

Alicia quilted this beautiful work herself on a stationary machine. These sunflowers done in gold thread give such an elegant look to this lovely quilt.

Japanese Fans by Judith Salb, quilted by Jessica Gamez

Second Place winner for Medium Size Pieced Quilts, Judith writes, "Asian inspired fabrics remind me of my memorable visits to Japan, China, and Thailand. I hope the re-create this quilt someday in oriental kimono fabrics. [The pattern for this quilt is] Japanese Fan by Judy Niemeyer for Quiltworx.

Closeup, Japanese Fans

Jessica Gamez quilted this stunning work on a track mounted machine. The softly muted warm colors give "Japanese Fan" such a gracious and dignified look.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration.