Highlights of the Houston International Quilt Festival! (1)

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

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BEST of SHOW:  The Visitation by Ricky Tims

Spectactular in every way, it's no wonder this quilt won the Best of Show award. So many expert techniques were combined to create this masterpiece.

 

Silent Companions by Ting-Ying Liu

 Here is one of many outstanding portrait quilts. Intricate fabric collaging was used to create the realistic faces of the dog and cat.

 

Rusty Jane by Dena Angela Miskel

Stop my beating heart... here's a gorgeous Dear Jane quilt, made with intriguing rust-dyed fabrics and sashiko.  So beautiful! Made with over 5000 fabric pieces, this deserves a top award.

 

A bright pineapple quilt, shown below, welcomed thousands of viewers from around the world.  Stay tuned for more highlights from this fabulous show!

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

Highlights of Quilt Arizona! (1)

The 2025 Quilt Arizona show features hundreds of quilters, many of whom spend the winter months in this sunny locale.  Here are some highlights from the show.  We hope you enjoy our photos!

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PIMA, made and quilted by Deb Deaton  

Winner of 1st Place in the Art-Innovative category, and Best of Show, Deb Deaton says: "When I create art, I think of how I can make it stand out, be different. PIMA took more than a year to complete with over 1000 pieces of fabric, needle felting, and mixed media (wow!)

Inspired by a copyright-free photo found on the Unsplash photography website; the image was altered significantly in creating this work of art. The painterly effects were created with silk threads, hand dyed fabrics, and mixed media including inks, pastels, & paints.  

 To Walk in Beauty by Jane McCabe, quilted by Rose Maynes

This incredible quilt won 1st Place in its category (Pieced - Large Duet), and a special award for Exemplary Machine Quilting - Computer Guided. Jane McCabe says: "To honor Arizona Native American art aesthetics, the center medallion pattern is "Hopi Basketry" by Southwest Decoratives. 

 Jane McCabe says that pieced borders of pineapple blocks, half-square triangles, and flying geese squares echo Navajo and Zuni rugs and pottery designs.  The quilting by Rose Maynes represents tribal design forms.

Faceted Jewels in Blue by Judy Locke, quilted by Penny Boese  

Winner of 1st Place in the Modern - Duet category, this brilliant quilt was based on a published design called Faceted Jewels from Paper Pieced Modern by Amy Garro.  

Judy Locke says, "I had seen this pattern in the Paper Pieced Modern book and wanted to make it when I found the right fabrics. A new collection called Ebb & Flow from Windham Fabrics was available in the summer of 2024.  The collection's geometric designs and solids work together well creating the faceted jewels."  It was machine quilted by Penny Boese, who echoed the geometric designs of the pieced blocks using blue thread to emphasize the "jewels". 

Go West by Naomi Marin, quilted by Matt Seamons  

 This fantastic Southwestern design quilt won 1st Place in the Pieced - Small Duet category. Naomi Marin says: "The indigenous designs of tribes across the world have always been interesting to me. They express a message or tell a story. In the pattern Go West (by Bonjour Quilts) I find the colors striking and the sharp points are perfectly placed for a stunning pattern."

 Wildflowers at the Cabin, made and quilted by Jo Ann Kilgroe  

We loved this original quilt with its pineapple blocks and colorful, appliqued flowers. Winner of 1st place in the Mixed Technique - Solo category, Jo Ann Kilgroe says, "Camping in the mountains and seeing all of the brilliant wildflowers is a favorite of mine." Here you can see sunflowers, poppies, and other mountain flowers that echo the primary colors in the pineapple blocks.

Jo Ann says, "Paper pieced scrappy pineapple blocks in numerous rich colors [were used] for my background.  Then I drew up an assortment of wildflowers, placed them on a vine, and then appliqued it all on my blocks." 

Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2025 Arizona Quilters Guild show. 

Note: This post has some affiliate links for products cited by these artists. Even if you don’t want to buy the items online, you could buy them at your local craft store. If you do make a purchase from one of these links, we’ll make a small commission. There is no additional cost to you.

Fun with Fabric! (part 1)

We were delighted with the immense talent on display at the Spring quilt shows. The quilters made great use of a wide range of fabrics from batiks, to solids, to traditional and modern prints.  Join us in admiring these creations!

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Winter Crystals by Karen Kelter

 We love this quilt! Karen Kelter made Winter Crystals using Ricky Tims' simple strip-piecing techniques from his book, Kool Kaleidoscopes. She used about 20 fabrics and combined them masterfully without buying any new fabric!  Her choice of complementary purples and yellows pull the whole design together. Karen says, "I was surprised how easy this was and how quickly it came together."

Starry Patchwork Sampler by Francie McMillan, quilted by Kim Votava

The stars positively dance across this joyful quilt! Francie McMillan, describes this as a "colorful 20 block sampler with red backing with white polka dots." The pattern source was a BOM from Quilt Mama. A closeup (below) reveals some really fun fabrics, such as the red lips and the fussy-cut house.

Scrap Pineapple by Jillane Ocano

Jillane Ocano says that Scrap Pineapple was an attempt to reduce the contents of her scrap bins. "It contains scraps from most of my projects from the beginning of my quilting journey 5 years ago." This dynamic creation was expertly quilted by Jillane herself. The kaleidoscope design fits the theme of the 2022 Quilt Arizona show, "Kaleidoscope of Quilts!"

My Herd by Kate Clark

Kate Clark created My Herd with a stunning array of jewel-tone fabrics. She says, "This quilt has been a series of errors... know that this happens to others. I still love elephants and this quilt keeps us warm." We enjoyed the many beautiful prints, including some Kaffe Fassett favorites. This wonderful quilt was based on the Cirque d' Elephant pattern from Sew Much Ado.

Rainbow Starlight by Nancy Duckworth

Nancy Duckworth created Rainbow Starlight using dozens of colorful fabrics grouped by hues. She says, "Since shopping was hard during the pandemic, I needed a project using what I had.  I was hoping a scrap quilt would use a lot of fabric.  It didn't make a dent in my scrap bin!"  We loved the quilted bubbles in the sashings. Nancy used the versatile Scrap Happy Star Quilt pattern by IzySewbuzy Creations on Etsy.

Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2022 Quilt Arizona show (Scrap Pineapple) and the 2022 Tucson Quilt Fiesta (Winter Crystals, My Herd, Rainbow Starlight, and Starry Patchwork Sampler).

Pineapple Parfait

This original quilt was made by Celeste Johnson, and features a beautiful mixture of cool and warm hues. The Pineapple block design radiates from the center, and the overlapping angled strips produce a jagged edge that creates a whirl of motion. 

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Pineapple Parfait by Celeste Johnson, quilted by Melissa Turner

Celeste Johnson says that she made this quilt using the Pineapple Tool Ruler by Gyleen Fitzgerald, along witha large collection of scrappy strings.  Celeste notes that the pineapple tool made the blocks easy to construct.

Some of the fun fabrics can be seen in this closeup photo, along with Celeste's precision piecing. The computer guided quilting was done by Melissa Turner. Pineapple Parfait was entered in the Pieced Medium-Duet category at the 2020 Quilt Arizona show, where it was admired by hundreds of visitors.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration.

Welcome Fall

Fall is arriving in the North, and we've selected some autumn quilts to share.  We hope our readers had a healthy, safe and happy summer!

Note: for continual free patterns, please visit us on  Twitter!  For great bargains on quilt books and fabric, check out our eBay store!

Golden Leaves by Virginia Standley

Virginia Standley says, “The skeletonized leaves are highlighted with a wax metallic finish. They are stitched to samples of drapery fabric and framed by a small gold silk border. The piece is mounted on my ice-dyed fabric, which I could not bear to cut, so it became the background for this art quilt.”

Maple Leaves in a Color Study, group project, quilted by Audrey Hutchinson

The maple leaf blocks were made by members of the Progressive Party Friendship Group of the Amador Valley Quilters Guild and the final project was quilted by Audrey Hutchinson. Audrey chose purple for this color study. “I made one block and packed my bag with all the purple fabrics I had from the palest lavender to the deepest purples. Each member made 1 or 2 maple leaf blocks. I set the blocks on the diagonal and when completed had almost used up my purple stash. Almost !”

My Pumpkin Patch by Janice Brook, quilted by Dianne Schweikert

The pattern for this quilt was from a book called Country Quilts of Friends by Margaret Peters and Anne Sutton. Janice Brooke bought the book in 2004; she made the pumpkin blocks, then put the quilt on a shelf until last year when she decided to finish it. The leaves, stems and pumpkins were beautifully embroidered.

Wild Pineapple quilt by Susan Benson, quilted by Dianne Schweikert

Susan Benson says Wild Pineapple began in a class taught by Jean Impey. "It was a fun class given by a fun teacher who had an infectious enthusiasm. I took this home and then took it on a trip up the coast, sewing away everywhere we stopped... As with all my quilts, it’s not perfect, but I love the colors. [It was] quilted beautifully by Dianne Schweikert of Livermore (California).”

Autumn Blessings by Kia Johnson

Kia Johnson used an embroidery machine to create the blocks for this stunning quilt, which was based on the Baltimore Autumn pattern by Pearl Pereira at P3 Designs.  There is an amazing amount of applique detail in the blocks, which include all the themes of autumn: leaves, squirrels, wheat stalks, and pumpkins, in wonderful colors.

For free quilt patterns for Autumn, please check out our FREE PATTERN DAY !

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2017 Amador Valley Quilters Guild show (California).

Modern Quilt Month 2017 #2

We're keeping it simple for summer at Quilt Inspiration and featuring a showcase of modern quilts.  These original designs have a bold impact and straight or flowing lines, but the quilting is anything but simple.  We hope you enjoy these quilts as much as we did!
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Piano Razzle Dazzle by Wendy A.S. Hoag, California

Wendy explains, " [This quilt] was designed for my daughter Ashley. She filled our house with years of piano magic. The quilt design evolved after seeing her most recent body art that was inspired by ships' camouflage during World War I, called "dazzle painting."  The "dazzle" made it difficult to estimate the ships' range, speed, and direction."
Wendy's original design is machine pieced, hand appliqued, and sewing machine quilted. We enjoyed this intriguing very well-done quilt,  which reminds us of the fun "op-art" designs of the 1960's. 

Pineapple Rings #5 by Emily Parson , Illinois

Emily states, "This is my fifth quilt in a series of pineapples with an original "rings" color arrangement. I love playing with traditional blocks and making modern fresh arrangements."

Detail, Pineapple Rings #5 by Emily Parson

By setting these blocks into a motif of interlocking rings, Emily has provided an updated, contemporary look to this traditional pattern. Emily's original design is machine pieced and sewing machine quilted.

Cartwheel by Arleen Kukua, California

Arleen notes, "Cartwheels was started in an Improvisation Curve piecing workshop. The fabrics come from a sampler pack of plaids and a Cherrywood Fabrics grab bag." Arleen's original design is machine pieced and hand quilted.

Admit One to the Sands of Time by Virginia Hammon and Coleen Barnhardt, Oregon

Blue ribbon winners for Best Longarm Machine Workmanship - Innovative Quilts at the 2016 World Quilt Show in New Hampshire, Colleen and Virginia write, "Admit one to a journey over the sands of time: how people and ideas evolve through time and history. One fabric begins the story as the block centerpiece, moving into the next position as a new fabric is added and continuing until the sixth block is complete.Then, one fabric drops out as a new one is added  - a fun challenge to pick fabrics that would play well together as the color story evolved."

Detail,  Admit One to the Sands of Time

Stunning quilting motifs mirror and enhance the geometric and circular shapes of the blocks. This fabulous original design is machine pieced.

Farm Girl by Victoria Findlay Wolfe (New York), quilted by Karen McTavish

Blue ribbon winner for Best Machine Workmanship - Innovative Quilts at the 2016  Pacific International Quilt Festival, Victoria says: "I'm a farm girl living in the Big Apple (New York City). If it were not for where I came from, I would not be doing what I am doing now. I cut up my families clothes to make this quilt and to tell this story of a farm girl and all that she is proud of.  [I am] using the star as my direction to find joy and [using] the double wedding rings to show what binds us together."

Detail, Farm Girl

Victoria's dazzling original design is machine pieced and makes excellent use of gold, beige, gray, and blue cottons against a white background, enhanced by Karen McTavish's award-winning quilting.

Double Ikat by Arleen Reiko Kukua, California

"Ikat" is a tie-dyeing technique from Indonesia, in which the yarns are wrapped tightly prior to dyeing and weaving, so that when the color is applied, it appears unevenly. Arleen notes, "[This quilt] is made of treasured Japanese double ikats and Kaffe Fassett ikats. I wanted to highlight the beautiful fabrics and chose Pat Yamin's Magic Squares pattern.

Detail, Double Ikat

Arleen's colorful, eye-catching quilt is machine pieced and sewing machine quilted.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration.