Highlights of the Houston International Quilt Festival! (2)

We had a wonderful time at the Houston International Quilt Festival! We enjoyed seeing 1200 quilts from around the world, and are excited to share photos of our favorites... here is Part 2!

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FIRST PLACE - Pictorial:  Peony Dream by Chen Jing (Beijing, China)

Winner of a blue ribbon in the Pictorial quilt category, Peony Dream was perfect in every detail, from the portrait itself to the oversized peonies and the elaborate embroidery in the borders.

The centers of the peonies were embellished with small pieces of fabric or ribbon, giving a 3-D effect as shown below.

 

Innova Master Award for Contemporary Artistry: Color My World by Karen Kay Buckley

Color My World features applique and embroidery that completely fills the spaces. Each block contains a critter (insect, animal, bird); some are hidden and some are obvious.

Maryland by Martine Crabe-Lanux (France)

This gorgeous quilt was based on a Baltimore Album quilt, circa 1847.  It is beautifully hand appliqued and hand quilted. The quilt took 3000 hours to complete over 2.5 years. Check out the tiny hand quilting stitches!

Kaleidoscope Garden by Judy Ballance (USA), quilted by Patty Wilson 

This quilt sparkles with bright colors and strong contrasts! Wool applique and hand embroidery lend a dimensional effect to the appliqued blocks.  Winner of a Third Place award in the Balanced Piecing and Applique category, this quilt is based on the Fairground quilt pattern by Wendy Williams.

 

Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2025 Houston International Quilt Festival.
 

Quilt Arizona 2020 ! Day 4

In February, when life was still "normal" , we attended the 2020 Quilt Arizona! Show which is an outstanding display of statewide quilts from the Arizona Quilters' Guild. This year's theme was "Desert Stars". We hope you enjoy these highlights from the show !

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Into The Wild by Martha Sivetz-Baltram

This original design pieced and appliqued quilt is truly stunning. Martha Sivetz-Baltram says that she was inspired by forests and wild animals, after touring several national parks last summer. This creation won a well-deserved blue ribbon in the Mixed Technique, Medium/Large-Solo category. She used the silhouette animals from clip art to create the animals, and placed crows (below) in the four corners of the quilt.

We couldn't resist one more closeup photo, showing the vertical line of bees that were placed between the rows of tree blocks.  The piecing, applique and quilting were all done by Martha herself.

Desert Watch by Elizabeth Heurlin

Desert Watch is an original design by Elizabeth Heurlin, created with pieced flying geese, turned and machine applique, a crewel owl, and machine and hand embroidery.  A quilt block in the upper right corner, with quilting that echoes the flying geese theme, depicts the desert sun.  The focus point was the amazing owl, shown below.

Elizabeth says she stitched the owl around 30 years ago from an unknown crewel embroidery kit.  We love the way she perched the owl on a prickly pear at the edge of the quilt!  Elizabeth credits Ann Peterson for inspiring some of the design elements. This piece won a yellow (Third Place) ribbon in the Mixed Technique, Small - Solo category,

Count Basie Bear under The Desert Stars by Jane Wilcox

This original design by Jane Wilcox was inspired by the 2020 show theme, Desert Stars.  Jane says,  "One of the most beautiful sights at night is the Phoenix skyline illuminated by the stars and moon!"
The bear sitting near the campfire is conducting a symphony of coyotes, a familiar sound to many who live in Arizona.

The prickly pear and other cactus had three-dimensional flowers and leaves, adding depth to the surface of this art quilt.

Neighorhood Delights by Yvonne Cozart, quilted by Sue Bruner

This is such a beautiful quilt, with its bright blue background and intricate design elements!  Yvonne Cozart says,  "I love the creativity of combining colors and changing rules to make a unique composition.  The pattern [by Wendy Williams] was originally done in the round." Yvonne also added many fun details, such as the little owl sitting on the fence, below.

This quilt was entered in the Display Only category, which means it was not professionally judged, but we and many others would have given it a blue ribbon.

I Spy Scrappy Spikes by Judy Birchett, quilted by Sharon Elsberry

One of the most delightful scrap quilts we've seen, Judy Birchett's original design was based on the traditional New York Beauty block, done in rainbow colors and an "I Spy" theme. For more color, Prairie Points were added around the outside of the quilt. The red ribbon is for Second Place in the Scrap-Duet category.

Judy says it was created with "lots of partial seams" and using her stash of scraps and juvenile novelty prints.  The centers of the blocks were fussy cut to showcase these fun characters, as in the closeup photos above and below.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2020 Arizona Quilters Guild show.

Best of the Pacific International Quilt Festival 2019 - Day 5

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!

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Layla, 42.5 x 44.75, by Holly Adame, California

Holly says, "Layla was created in a Rod Daniel class taken at Empty Spools Seminars in Asilomar, California. He taught us to turn a photograph into fabric art. Thread painting was used to enhance Layla. The original photo was taken by my husband, an amazing shot of a leopard sitting in a tree just behind us. She seemed to be surveying the animals on the Savannah below, contemplating which one would make a tasty lunch."

We really admire the intricate thread painting here, which elegantly portrays the shadows and nuances of Layla's face and eyes. Holly's original design is machine pieced, machine appliqued, and sewing machine quilted.

Ladies of the Sea, 87 x 87, by Shirley Tchou, Ohio

Shirley writes, "I fell in love with Sue Garman's pattern for Ladies of the Sea 10 years ago, especially with the borders. That is how long it took me to complete this quilt."

Shirley adds, "After appliqueing the blocks, I postponed quilting it until I felt competent enough in my free motion quilting skills to perform a good job. I felt my quilting skills progressed significantly while quilting it. I am pleased with the results."  And, we'd like to add that we are amazed with the results, which are most stunning !  This is one of those quilts which will always be a treasured heirloom.

Bloomin Dahlias, 57 x 25, by Melanie Missin, United Kingdom

Melanie notes, "My inspiration was big, bold, fluffy, colorful Dahlias. The background was Procion dyed, and some faux trapunto was used to enhance the flower shapes. The 3D petals were made using interfacing organza and transfer dyes, 264 in total- hence the name "Bloomin" ! The cord in the center was handmade and machine stitched.

These cheerful flower petals convey such a crisp, three-dimensional effect that they almost pop right off the quilt ! The organza fabric gives the petals a pretty transparent effect, just as if the sunlight were shining through them. Melanie's original design is machine pieced, machine applique, and sewing machine quilted.

Our California, 67 x67, by Karla Dellner, California, quilted by Shireen Hattan

Blue ribbon winner for Best Visual Impact in the New Quilts of Northern California category, this very creative quilt of California landmarks really does have something for everyone. If you look around the outside of the circle, you'll find: the State Capitol building in Sacramento, the Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego, the Los Angeles skyline, and the "painted ladies" Victorian homes of San Francisco. Inside the circle, among other places, you can spy the Disneyland castle and the Santa Barbara Mission.

Karla's lovely work is all hand-appliqued! She comments, "I am hooked on wool applique, almost as much as I love quilts that reflect my family's and my own experiences and pasions. Wool felt applique and embroidery allow me to create highly pictorial quilts full of texture, wonderful color, and personal meaning. Thank you [to quilt designer] Wendy Williams for your inspiration!"

Quirky Collections, 46.5 x 57,  by Dianne Dowd, New Zealand

 

Diane explains, "This was a wonderful online class with the amazing Helen Godden, who designed this quilt. My first experience of fabric painting, this was an interesting challenge [and] great fun learning to trace, paint, and quilt using black homespun, Lumiere paints,  and heaps of free motion quilting. Diane's charming work is machine pieced and sewing machine quilted.

These Matyroshka dolls ( classic Russian folk art nesting dolls) here look adorable. We love the brilliant complementary colors in these blocks.

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

Quilts from the Springville Museum of Art (part 1)

Each year, the Springville Museum of Art (Utah) has one of the best quilt shows around.  It features award-winning quilts from Utah, a state blessed with an abundance of accomplished quilters. Here are some highlights of this year's show!

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The Circle of Life: Sunshine and Shadows by Shirley Olsen

Winner of a ribbon for Best Solitaire Machine Quilting, Shirley writes, "This quilt was begun in the 2016 Utah Quilt Guild "Quilt Fest" class taught by Jacqueline de Jonge, the pattern's creator. I love its complicated and intricate design and how it depicts the sunshine and shadows of my life."

Shirley continues, "I chose all of the fabrics from my stash and created my own quilting designs." The quilting was done on Shirley's Bernina 820 machine. Her precision workmanship on all of the delicate spiky points, plus the feathered quilting patterns, make this quilt a real show-stopper.

Caleb the Camel by Katherine Porter, quilted by Virginia Gore

Katherine explains, " This has been my year to explore new techniques. I was drawn to this particular pattern for two reasons: first, the bold beautiful colors, and second, its relationship to the Sahara Desert."

Katherine continues, "Every time I have flown over that huge space and on one occasion stood on its very edge, I have wished to be exploring the mysteries it holds. I still wish for that, but age is creeping in, and it may only happen in my dreams." Katherine has done a spectacular job on using applique and collage techniques to give the camel a dynamic and energetic look. Pattern by Laura Heine. 

Twilight by Judy Fitzgerald, quilted by Xenia Stirland

Judy notes, "This quilt was designed by Wendy Williams from Australia (Urban Owls pattern). I loved being able to use my own colors and embellishments. I loved doing the machine applique."

We love owls, and these are some of the cutest applique owls we've seen. They studiously observe the vibrant garden beneath them.. There are so many fun motifs to look at in Judy's quilt, that each section brings a fun new discovery.

Caribbean Dreams by Ruth Davis

Ruth explains, "I sit on the beach, listening to the waves crash against the shore. The hues of turquoise and teal against the cream-colored sands radiate warmth. Tropical birds perch in nearby trees with their songs, a joyful ode to the perfect weather. The sun dips below the horizon.....and [the stars] twinkle like a nursery rhyme."

Ruth adds, "I take the final stitches on my quilt using "Pearl and Mermaid" colored threads, couching re-purposed silk yarns onto the stars as the snow falls outside my window, and I dream of the Caribbean. This quilt was made using 'Lone Star' blocks made over 2018 in the Kaffe Club taught by Kaye Evans. I went totally off task this year and made my Kaffe [Fassett] fabrics the background and the cream fabric the stars! The appliques and quilt layout are my own designs." 
We love Ruth's idea to use cream fabric for the stars, and the Kaffe Fassett fabrics work beautifully, especially for the vividly colored bird sitting placidly amongst the eye-catching tropical foliage. Ruth's wonderful quilt is a great success.

Impressions of Brugge by Florence Evans

Winner of a Blue Ribbon Award of Excellence from the Utah Valley Quilters Guild, Florence says, "Brugge, often called "The Venice of the North", is a beautiful city in northwestern Belgium, full of canals, cobbled streets, and medieval buildings. This quilt is a compilation of the images of the city rather than a depiction of an actual street/canal scene."

Florence continues, "The churches, bridges, tiled roofs...and stair-step gables of Dutch architecture were constructed individually using improvisational piecing techniques. The elements were then fitted together, and the water and sky were filled in. The dense machine quilting (done on a traditional home sewing machine) adds details and texture to the piece."
Florence has done an excellent job of selecting fabrics, piecing, and quilting to emphasize the architectural details of Brugge, and the care she has taken in her work is reflected in this lovely quilt.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2019 Springville Museum of Art show.

Welcome to Twelve Days of Christmas: Day 5 !

Believe it or not, it's that time of year again: time for Twelve Days of Christmas Quilts ! We are featuring an inspiring quilt each weekday, ending on Christmas Eve.  We wish you a very happy, healthy and creative holiday season.

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Oh ! Christmas Tree, 55 x 62, by Elizabeth Eastmond  (California)

Oh ! Christmas Tree, designed by Australian quilt artist Wendy Williams, was the subject of a quilt-along by Elizabeth Eastmond at OPQuilt. Elizabeth writes, "I hand-stitched all the flowers and birds while on a trip to Lisbon [Portugal] and Spain in order to complete the quilt in under a year. This pattern... was an inspiration of fun, whimsy, and technique. I did finish the quilt just shy of Christmas Day."

Close-up, Oh! Christmas Tree

Quilt designer Wendy Williams is known for her wool applique and contemporary, simple shapes depicting elements of nature, such as birds, flowers, and trees. They are rendered here in clear, bright wool felt embellished by Elizabeth with embroidery thread that is often in analogous or complementary colors. The beautiful birds and leaves give a sunny, almost tropical mood to this tree of life motif.

Close-up Oh ! Christmas Tree

At the base of the tree is a lovely Nativity scene featuring Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus, with the Star of Bethlehem shining brightly overhead. These pure, color saturated fabrics shown against the white background, along with Elizabeth's beautiful stitchery, provide a joyous sense of energy and liveliness.


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