Inspirational Sunday 7 - via the 2013 International Quilt Festival in Long Beach

OK!  So I've shown lots of great art quilts and some modern quilts so far in this series.  I think today would be a good day to go more traditional, specifically applique.  There were so many downright gorgeous applique quilts at the show; it is difficult to decide which ones I want to show you first.  Ah, what the heck, I will start with the show stoppers!

This one is called "Flowers in My Heart" by Noriko Kido of Azumino, Nagano, Japan.  It won first place in the traditional applique category.

It is hand and machine pieced, hand appliqued, hand embroidered, hand quilted, and trapunto.  The quilter says, "I love old quilts like those designed by Marie Webster.  Inspired by these classics, I created my own pattern, combining flowers with a Dresden Plate."

I just love the little yellow dots surrounding the plates, the flower buds created with the partial plates, and the hand quilting is just amazing!

This next one, literally stopped me in my tracks.  It had a crowd of people around it and I had to wait nearly 15 minutes for a lull in the crowd so I could snap a picture of it.  It is called "ElaTED" by Ted Storm from S-Gravenzande, Netherlands.  It won the "Founders Award" in Traditional Applique.

It is hand appliqued, padded appliqued, embroidered, beaded, padded trapunto, and hand quilted.  Inspired by Delftware.  The quilter says, "To challenge myself, I started with my least favorite color and fabric: brown and plaid.  From there, I took off, inspired by Delftware elements.  It was fun to create eight different asymmetrical designs in a symmetrical setting."

The hand quilting on this one is spectacular too!

I think the brown plaid really fits the design.  The results are gorgeous, no?  When was the last time you challenged yourself to work with your least favorite color and fabric?

I have plenty more applique to show you in the future.

Thanks for reading today,

Jen