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.
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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.

Quilt Show catch up: Part 3

One of the things we love about quilt shows is the chance to see a broad range of quilt styles and techniques, from traditional to modern.  For our impromptu Summer Quilt Show, here are some more intriguing quilts in a variety of styles! 

Autumn Wonders by Carolyn Morris

Autumn Wonders was created by Carolyn Morris to focus on the salmon. She says: Autumn is a favorite time with salmon spawning, larch trees, and colors”.  The quilt was embellished with real stone and fuzzy yarn to represent the river bed.  This quilt won honorable mention in its category at the 2013 Arizona Quilters Guild show.

close up, Autumn Wonders by Carolyn Morris

In the close up photo you can see the detail of the cutwork salmon, which were raw-edge appliqued with a straight stitch.  The batik diamonds create a perfect watery background for the fish.

Jo and Friends in the "Heartland" by Sue Maitre, quilted by Linda Hrcka

Sue Maitre is a lifelong quilter who has been featured in the Arizona Quilters Hall of Fame.  She says: “Wanting to learn to applique small pieces, I took a four-day workshop from Pearl Pereira. After four months, this is the final result.” The pattern is the American Sampler Quilt by Pearl Pereira. Sue won 1st place and a blue ribbon in her category, plus the Mayor's Award!  Details of several of the 12 blocks are shown below.

close up, Jo and Friends in the Heartland by Sue Maitre

Our favorite block was this charming gray cat.  He has an embroidered face and is surrounded by flowers and vines.

close up, Jo and Friends in the Heartland by Sue Maitre

Each of the blocks was quilted differently, but all of them featured some form of feathers. In addition, Linda Hrcka quilted in the ditch around each of the applique pieces.  Here is a lovely fruit basket with a pineapple, pears, oranges and cherries.

close up, Jo and Friends in the Heartland by Sue Maitre

Pearl Pereira is renowned for her Baltimore album-inspired quilts, and this heart-shaped block with two birds represents a lovely classical design.

close up, Jo and Friends in the Heartland by Sue Maitre

The border was particularly lovely; it was quilted with feathers that next under the scalloped banners.

Stars Over the Rockies by Lolly Platt, quilted by Sherry Jack

The greens and blues of this quilt, and the triangle design, really drew us in.  Lolly Platt says:  "This Judy Martin pattern is packed with interest, especially in the borders."

close up,  Stars Over the Rockies by Lolly Platt, quilted by Sherry Jack

Lolly Platt says that she made this quilt for her grandson, who was born in a Rocky Mountain state.  The pattern is "Mountain Vistas" as featured on page 42 of Judy Martin's 1994 Pieced Borders book.

Spirits of the Southwest by Judy Peters

"Spirits of the Southwest" features machine appliqued batik animals with metallic thread.  Judy Peters incorporated ultra suede material and embellished the quilt with copper nuggets and buttons from her collection.  She received honorable mention in her category at the 2013 Arizona quilt show.

close up, Spirits of the Southwest by Judy Peters

We recognize these animals as a variation of the Native Flair designs by Sindy Rodenmayer at Fat Cat Quilting. Judy Peters has created an authentic Southwestern wall hanging with her choice of colors, fabrics, quilting and embellishments.

Image credits: All photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2013 Arizona Quilters Guild show. 

Fun in the Sun : Day 6 of the Arizona Quilters' Guild Show

Join us for Day 6 in the desert at the Arizona Quilters' Guild 2013 show. We have some eye-catching quilts to show you, whose colors and patterns embody the spirit of the American Southwest !

Delightful Arizona Centennial Challenge by CJ Fuhrmann

C.J. writes, "Delightful Quilters Centennial Challenge - my version. The applique motifs came from Fat Cat Patterns, and I designed the pieced blocks.  If you can't tell,  I LOVE copper!"

Close-up, Delightful Arizona Centennial Challenge by CJ Fuhrmann

The phrase "Centennial Challenge" comes from the Arizona Centennial celebration of 2012, in which Arizona celebrated 100 years of statehood. In the copper setting triangles, you can see the sunburst pattern, which replicates the sunburst on Arizona's state flag.

Jezebel by Monika Hancock, quilted by Debbie Stanton

Jezebel impressed us as having very lifelike, striking features. Blue ribbon winner for Best Pictorial Small Quilt, Monika says, "I enjoyed doing this pattern, which I enlarged by 50 percent." We recognize this as a pattern designed by Toni Whitney.

Close-up, Jezebel by Monika Hancock, quilted by Debbie Stanton

 Longarm quilter Debbie Stanton won an aqua ribbon award for Best in Show - Exemplary Machine Quilting for Jezebel.  Notice the careful rows of curved, parallel quilting on the horse's white mane, which gives texture and dimensionality to this pattern. 

Rusty Blues New York Beauty by Leslie Milde, quilted by Jessica Jones Gamez

Rusty Blues won the 2013 Arizona Quilters Hall of Fame Award for a quilt deserving of special recognition.  Leslie Milde writes, "This is my first New York Beauty [pattern], paper pieced using batiks.  It is machine quilted and embellished with crystals and thread. "

Close-up, Rusty Blues New York Beauty by Leslie Milde

 In this close-up, you can see the careful placement of many crystals along the seam lines of the blocks and the detailed quilting of each segment by longarm quilter Jessica Jones Gamez.

5 Seasons by Sue Rathjen

Sue writes,  "A tree evolving through five seasons  (two winters) in unison with earth and sky background changes. Machine pieced and quilted." Sue has done an excellent job of choosing the background colors, especially the right and left backgrounds next to the border, which symbolize the pale, icy, almost luminous skies with the high thin clouds of winter.  

Infused with Turquoise by Magdalena Castillo-Cockrum

Magdalena notes, "[This quilt was part of ] the Endless Possibilities Round Robin Challenge." In a round robin challenge, the quilt is started by one person, then a second , third, and fourth person adds more fabric and patterns, until the quilt reaches its desired size.  Infused with Turquoise starts as a traditional Dresden Plate block in black and white, then alternating borders of turquoise and black and white prints are added. The flowers you see on the white background at the top and bottom borders of the quilt are appliqued on the fabric in broderie perse style.  They are cut from the same fabric that comprises the black and white setting triangles on the right and left sides of the quilt.  

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration