Inspirational Sunday (31) - via the 2013 International Quilt Festival in Long Beach

Happy Mother's Day!  Hopefully, I am lounging somewhere with a mimosa in my hand, perhaps getting a foot massage -- oh, who am I kidding??

Continuing with fabulously quilted quilts from the Quilt Festival today, allow me to share....

"Rainbow Lorikeet" by Helen Godden of Latham, Australian Capital Territory.  It won Honorable Mention in the Art-Painted Surface category.  It is hand painted, free-motion machine quilted, and is an original design.

Helen says, "The Rainbow Lorikeet soars swiftly and with grace through the tree tops like a colorful dart.  The bright primary colors of this Australian parrot are captured in detail, painted on the stunning white silk sateen, and surrounded by a burst of rainbow graded stitching celebrating his beautiful colors."

Lorikeets must be more graceful in the wild;  the ones at our local aquarium (they have a Lorikeet exhibit) are rather clumsy.  But they are beautiful!

I just love all the different quilting designs used in the backgrounds.  It is so neat!

The next quilt is called "Five Bar Blues" by Diane Loomis of Sudbury, Massachusetts.  It won 2nd place in the Merit Quilting Machine category.  It is machine pieced, machine trapunto, and machine quilted.  It is an Amish Bars pattern.

Diane says, "Inspired by antique Amish Bars quilts, this quilt was trapuntoed and quilted using many colors of silk thread.  While piecing the top, I decided I preferred rust for the borders, but didn't have enough cotton fabric left.  By happy accident, I found just the right color of silk sateen in my stash for the borders."

Just look at that gridwork!!

The next quilt is called "Lux Aurumque" by Jacquie Harvey of West Beckham, Holt, United Kingdom.  It is wholecloth, hand quilted, embroidered, couched and trapunto'd.  The design source is a Queen Anne silk embroidered bed cover.

She says, "I am a wholecloth hand quilter with a great interest in historical quilt designs.  English wholecloth quilts are traditionally made in one or two colours.  I wanted to try this out myself, but by hand.  I had not used embroidery stitches in a quilt before but this gave me an idea of how to use threads to introduce the colour I wanted.  I used many different  thickness of embroidery and quilting thread.  The centre has been quilted and the outer border has been trupunto'd with wool.  The title means "light and gold" which I thought was very appropriate."

I love those pineapples!

That's it for this week.  I think I only have a couple more weeks left from this show.  I may have to take a hiatus until I can visit another quilt show!

Thanks for reading today,

Jen

Inspirational Sunday (30) - via the 2013 International Quilt Festival in Long Beach

I really didn't think one quilt show would ever generate 30 posts, but here we are at #30 from the 2013 International Quilt Festival in Long Beach, and I still have more quilts to share!

I think for the next 2 Sundays I'm going to let the quilting take center stage.  Of course that means some wholecloth quilts!

The first quilt today is called "Creme de la Creme" by Bonnie Keller of Chehalis, Washington.  It won the Robert S. Cohan Master Award for Traditional Artist in the Merit Quilting Hand category.  She used Trapunto, boutis, beads, ink, embroidery, couching, and it is hand quilted.  It is an original design inspired by the works of William Morris.

She says, "William Morris' designs inspired me as an interior designer, and his designs continue to inspire me as a quilter.  Pulling elements from his works, I created this design for hand quilting.  I put the vibrant green Morris reproduction backing fabric with the right side facing inward in order for it to shadow through to the front, creating a subtle grayed background.

It is just stunning!

Next up is "Green Meadows" by Vicki Russell of Magnolia, Texas.  It is free-motion quilted.  Her design source is interesting, "I was thinking of the movement of willow tree in the wind. Corner motif ideas came from a building magazine article."

She says, "In my first Linda V. Taylor class, she talked about and sketched stacked feathers on a white board and referred to them as "elegant feathers".  Doodling these feathers inspired this quilt.  This shad of green cloth and pearl white thread reminds me of a the year Houston had a big freeze.  Everything was dripping with ice.  It was beautiful in the countryside."

I just love the center medallion.

That's some tiny quilting in the backgrounds!

Finally for today is "Custard Square" by Camilla Watson of Wellington, New Zealand.  It won Honorable Mention in the Miniature category.  It is machine quilted, shadow trapunto'd and is an original design.

She says, "An original design, the basket, flowers and setting were inspired by a variety of traditional, bed-size, wholecloth quilts."

I love the idea of trying out a wholecloth design on a mini FIRST!  I think bed-size would be a little overwhelming, but mini....I could get into that!

What about you?  Have you ever made or considered making a wholecloth quilt?

Thanks for reading today,

Jen

Inspirational Sunday (29) - via the 2013 International Quilt Festival in Long Beach

We've had several very colorful, bold weeks here on Inspirational Sunday, but today, I thought I would share several beautiful quilts that are more muted in color - not necessarily low volume.

The first one is so cool!  It is called "Childhood Memories" by Eileen Campbell of Kew, Victoria, Australia.  It is machine appliqued, embroidered, quilted, couched, and painted.  Her design source was her childhood memories, the beautiful forest and dancing Lyrebird.

She says, "One very special holiday my family stayed in a bush cottage in Sassafras.  The forest there has giant Mountain Ash trees, an understorey thick with smaller trees and ferns and a creek running through it.  The gully is quite dark but exciting with lots of bird life.  Every morning a male Lyrebird would come up from the gully and sing and dance to his reflection in a window.  Not many people get to see them in the wild.  It was such a privilege to have a private display each day.  Flowers have always been a passion of mine.  The yellow flowers are derived from ivy goodenia (Goodenia hederacea).

I think what I appreciated most about this quilt was the beautiful photographs that were incorporated, which she took great detail in labeling on the back of the quilt.

The second quilt is called "Late Autumn" by Hiromi Yokota of Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan.  It is appliqued, pieced, hand quilted, and embroidered.  It was inspired by autumn.

The quilter's statement says, "I wanted to be freed from a proper work, a work made precisely.  I made it with no straight lines, daringly, happily, freely.  I made the border with an image of the flower arrangement of Japan.  I did all the applique by hand.

I find the border very interesting.  It looks like found a fabric with the flowers she wanted, cut them out, and appliqued them into the border.  I think the technique has possibilities!  

The last quilt for today is called "Crosses" by Ikuko Ueno of Nagoya, Aichi, Japan.  It won 3rd place in the Traditional Pieced category.  It is English paper pieced, and hand quilted.  The design source was inspired by Lucy Boston's book, Patchwork of the Crosses.

"I have loved the quilts of Lucy Boston for years; however, I hesitated to make one.  Because it is necessary to cut the paper for piecing by oneself, it was a big challenge for me.  The scallop on the border is original.  I wanted to complete all of the quilt using the paper piecing technique.


Perhaps it is only because I started subscribing to the magazine Quilt Mania, but I feel like I am seeing more and more of these colors.  I know they were very popular in the past.

What do you think of these colors?

Thanks for reading today,

Jen

Inspirational Sunday (28) - via the 2013 International Quilt Festival in Long Beach

After finishing my modern baby quilt this week, I feel like continuing with the modern vibe for this week's inspirational post.  There are several modern quilts from the show that I haven't shared yet, so here are half.  I will share the last few next week.

This first one is called "Cantilevers" by Jessica Levitt of Bridgewater, New Jersey.  It is machine pieced and free-motion machine quilted.  The design source was a trio of windows on a building.

Jessica says, "I wanted to repeat the design elements of the windows in a structured way, but not in a traditional block format.  A longer element originates off the edges of the quilt.  Thus they are cantilevers that extend onto the quilt surface.  I chose to use vibrant solid fabrics in crisp, modern colors to echo a sparse modern building element.  I also used slight variations in the shades of both the background and the bars to add interest.  The background quilting adds movement and contrast to the straight-lined piecing."

And look!  She used my favorite swirl design for the quilting!

The next quilt is called "Zinnia" by Lynn Harris of Chelsea, Michigan.  It is machine quilted.

Lynn says, "The quilt (design and colors) was inspired by a photo I took of zinnias growing in our garden a few years ago.  The quilting is a bit "organic" in nature.  It is made up of many rows of parallel wavy lines.  With its simple, asymmetrical design on a solid gray [back]ground, this quilt fits with the modern quilt theme."

This design sure would be a great way to use up some orphan HST's!  And I like the wavy quilting.

The next quilt is called "Tilework" by Elizabeth Harvatine of Toluca Lake, California.  It is pieced.  (Don't you just love some of these descriptions?).  The design was inspired by her fabric selection.

She says, "The fabric colors have a calming, soothing feel to them and I wanted to design something clean and precise to balance that feeling.   The color scheme is modern and unusual but still pleasing to the eye."

This last one is called "Broken Plaid" by Alissa Carlton of Los Angeles, California.  It is pieced and machine quilted.  The design was inspired by her ongoing exploration of non-block based quilt design and the look of weaving with piecing.

She says, "Broken Plaid reflects the modern quilting movement in its use of negative space, color choices and bold graphic design.  The impact given by the piecing design is enhanced with the straight line quilting that maintains the plaid concept of the piecing."

I like how the quilting lines make a plaid-like texture on the quilt.

I just finished Jacquie Gerings new Craftsy class "Creative Quilting With Your Walking Foot".  It was pretty darn good!  I'm anxious to try out some of the methods she discusses to get these more modern looks in my quilting.  You would think they would be rather simple, but there is actually a bunch of preparation and accuracy needed.  Jacquie does a great job teaching you what it takes, and she is a fun/funny instructor too.

Have you tried any of the "straight-line" quilting techniques on your quilts?

Thanks for reading today,

Jen

Inspirational Sunday (27) - via the 2013 International Quilt Festival in Long Beach

I have some lovely applique quilts to share today.

The first one is called "Emily" by Kathi Carter of Orem, Utah.  It won 2nd place in Mixed Technique.  It is machine appliqued, ruched, embellished, computer-guided and machine quilted.  The design source is Irma Gail Hatcher's book, Conway Album (I'm Not From Baltimore) Quilt.

She says, "I cam across this pattern book at a friend's and wanted to make it.  I was originally going to do it in blues, as in the book, but it evolved to these colors.  I added daffodils, as they are one of my favorites.  The quilt is 90% hand-guided quilting.  I named the quilt after my granddaughter, Emily."

OK, I had to look up what "ruched" meant and I'm still wondering.  Anyone have any ideas where it might have been used in this quilt?

The next quilt is called, "If It's Purple...." by Barbara Black of Huntsville, Alabama.  It is hand appliqued, machine pieced and hand quilted.  The design source is Baltimore Album quilts from the mid-1800's.

"Based on Baltimore Album style blocks, I chose a color scheme somewhat different from the traditional red and green.  The Feathered Star is an unusual center for this style quilt.  This was made to be a wedding quilt for the first of my sons to marry.  The boys were 15 and 13 at the time this quilt was completed."

The hand quilting gives it such a traditional texture.  I wonder if I will ever have the patience to hand applique and hand quilt a quilt for any of my kids!

The last quilt for today is called "Simply Santa Fe" by Cindy Seitz-Krug of Bakersfield, California.  It is machine pieced, hand appliqued, trapuntoed by machine, domestic machine quilted.  She used Lone Star, LeMoyne Stars, sawtooth borders and a ribbon border as design sources.

She says, "This quilt is made entirely from Cherrywood hand-dyed fabrics.  I love to use them because of their rich beauty and the fact that my quilting shows up so well on them.   This pattern is my original design, as are the quilting motifs.  However, I learned many of the background quilting designs from Diane Gaudynski and Sharon Schamber."

At first glance, I thought this quilt was a little sparse, but the quilting and ribbon work are amazing.

Until next time,

Jen

Inspirational Sunday (26) - via the 2013 International Quilt Festival in Long Beach

I know while many of you appreciate art quilts in general, you prefer more traditional quilting methods.  So, this week's quilts are more traditional in nature.  Enjoy!

This first one is called, "Milady" by Sheri Hohman of Indianapolis, Indiana.  It is paper pieced and the design source is Lady of the Lake blocks.

Her quilters statement, "My 'Want to Do' quilt folder had a picture of this quilt layout for Lady of the Lake blocks, which I believe came from one of McCall's quilt magazines.  I loved it, but had no real expectations of completing such a quilt project.  Then, in 2009, Edyta Sitar sponsored a half-square triangle exchange at The Back Door quilt store, in Greenwood, Indiana.  It included a deadline in spring of 2010 to complete a project using those half-square triangles.  Having a deadline and meeting Edyta for a show-and-tell inspired me to set a goal and complete the quilt."

I think the way she finished the edges of the quilt is neat.

Here is another Lady of Lake quilt.  This one is called, "Summer at the Lake" by Rahna Summerlin of Port Orange, Florida.  It is machine pieced and machine quilted.

She says, "The quilt was inspired by a Lady of the Lake quilt in the Land's End collection by Maggie Potter.  I reinterpreted it using over 200 different reproduction 1930's style fabrics.  No two blocks are the same.  While piecing the quilt over the summer, the fabrics reminded me of vintage children's playclothes, hence the title."

Have you ever looked through a catalog and seen a quilt you would like to make?  There's a particularly attractive clamshell one in the Pottery Barn catalog I would mind trying!

The next one is called, "Sunburst" by Connie Watkins of Waco, Texas.  It is hand pieced and hand quilted!!  The design source is a picture of an antique quilt from the 1800's.

She says, "I saw a picture of an antique quilt that is in the Folk Art Museum in New York and knew I wanted to try to make it.  I didn't have a pattern, just a small picture."

Isn't this just amazing?  The hand quilting is really something too!

Have you ever tried to duplicate a quilt based on a small picture you took somewhere?

This last one is called, "Meadow Lily" by Joan Cooper of Hemet, California, and quilted by Beth Lura.  It is pieced.  The design source is At Home with Thimbleberries Quilts by Lynette Jensen, Meadow Lily pattern.

"This quilt was my first effort at quilting.  With the help of my daughter and husband, I purchased the material I'd need from the local hardware store, which also had a really nice fabric department.  My guild friends encouraged me to put this quilt in the Iowa State Fair that summer.  It won a blue ribbon for "My First Quilt".  I was both surprised and elated.  That was the summer of 2002.  I gave the quilt to my daughter who lives in Houston where she has displayed it in her home."

I think I initially snapped a picture of this quilt because the block reminded me of a similar block in the How Far Will You Go? QAL I participated in at The Elven Garden.   But really inspirational is the quilter's statement, there are so many interesting aspects!  It was her first quilt!   It is gorgeous, and here it hangs in an international quilt festival!  Also, I think I may need to go see that hardware store.  You know hardware stores are getting almost as rare as quilt shops.  I wonder if they combined if they would have better luck against the big box stores.  It sounds like the perfect date night destination for me.  Just sayin'!

Do you still have your first quilt?

Thanks for reading today,


Jen

Inspirational Sunday (25) - via the 2013 International Quilt Festival in Long Beach

For several weeks, I've been sharing nature inspired quilts, but today's quilts are more about man-made things.

First, "Tutti Frutti Village" by Susan Bleiweiss of Upton, Massachusetts.  It won Honorable Mention in the Art-Whimsical category.  She fused, raw-edge appliqued with machine stitching, and machine quilted this original design.

She says, "This quilt was inspired by a digital sketch I did on my iPad using a very simple sketching application.  I used only my hand-dyed sandwashed cotton (yes, even the black is hand-dyed!)."

I guess that answers my question about her technique with the black outline of each shape.  This quilt is just so bright and cheerful.  Susan's "The Hummingbird" quilt that I shared last week is equally colorful.

This next one is called, "Fear of Flying" by Judy Coates Perez of Sacramento, California.  It is wholecloth painted and machine quilted.  Her design source was, "A scary flight home".

She says, "On a flight home to Chicago, after filming QATV in Cleveland on March 7th last year, I happened to sit next to an aeronautical engineer.  Very high winds were causing extreme turbulence, which has always terrified me.  I will always be grateful to have witnessed the incredibly calm demeanor of this man, who knew everything about planes.  That made me realize I could let go of that all-encompassing fear.  Every flight since then has literally been a breeze."

Sounds like this mysterious man should offer this as a service to others who have a fear of flying.

"Mabel - 1952 REO" by Susan Cane of Canaan, Connecticut won 2nd Place in the Art-Pictorial category.  She machine appliqued, machine quilted and painted this original design, inspired by a workshop with Katie Pasquini Masopust.

She says, "This quilt was created from a photograph, taken by my husband, of the first antique truck we purchased together."

I recently spent some time in Canaan, CT when I visited my grandmother in January.  Rural Connecticut probably still has some of these trucks around.  Perhaps next time I visit I can snap my own picture.

This next quilt just amazes me!  It is called, "Around the Block" by Karen Eckmeier of Kent, Connecticut.  It won Honorable Mention in the Art-Whimsical category.  It uses fabric collage under tulle, topstitching, and is machine quilted.  The design source is Log Cabin Barn Raising.

She says, "As quilters, we have "been around the block" when it comes to making quilts!  I thought it would be fun to substitute the central square of the Log Cabin design with a village so that it would be like walking around the block of several different towns."

The little details in this quilt make it so interesting.  I looked at this quilt for a long time and was delighted each time I noticed something new.

Isn't that border just amazing?

I think next week, we will return to some more traditional quilts.

Thanks for reading today,

Jen

Inspirational Sunday (24) - via the 2013 International Quilt Festival in Long Beach

I have a few more flower inspired quilts to share today.  I know many of you are looking about searching for signs that spring is on its way.  Perhaps some of these quilts will lift your spirits.

First up, a quilt called "Ethereum Botanica: Bromeliads" by Deborah Beatty of San Jose, California.  It won 2nd place in the digital imagery category.  She digitally printed, machine and hand pieced, machine quilted, and hand painted this colorful quilt.  It is an original design based on her own photography.

She says, "My photography inspired this quilt.  The 730-plus pieces, as well as the borders and binding, were printed on cotton by computer and then embellished with paints.  Free-motion echo quilting followed color variances, with painted piping added to the borders and binding for a little panache."

It sounds like an interesting technique. Has anyone done anything similar?

Here is a quilt similar in look to the Dyer's Woad quilt last week.  It is called "Columbine" by Sue Reno of Columbia Pennsylvania.  It is a Cyanotype image on silk, pieced, couched, and machine quilted.  It is an original design.

She says, "This beautiful perennial plant has self-seeded in my garden and turns up in surprising new places each spring.  I am delighted by its tidy foliage, intricate blue flowers and interesting seed pods."

The columbine that I am used to seeing is a little different, but one of my favorite flowers.  I really found the border and sashing on this quilt interesting.

This fun quilt is called, "Sweet Blooms" by Pat Kroth of Verona, Wisconsin.  She used fused applique, collage, hand-dyed, and machine stitched this quilt.

She says, "There is nothing I enjoy more than the burst of new blooms in the spring after a long cold winter.  A few candy wrapper "petals" on Sweet Blooms makes it even sweeter."

I really like the mosaic effect she attained with the background.  And, she even used on of my favorite candies (well, the wrapper).

This quilt is called, "The Hummingbird" by Sue Bleiweiss of Upton, Massachusetts.  She used Raw-edge fusible applique, and machine quilted this scene.  Her design source was inspired by the colors of springtime in New England and the arrival of the first hummingbird.

Her statement, "Every year I eagerly await the sight of the first hummingbird in the garden.  It's always an exquisite moment that marks the official beginning of spring and the warm sunny days ahead."

I wish I could have gotten a little closer to this one.  I am wondering if the black outline of each applique piece is her stitching or something else.  I love the look.

Finally for today, "Weezie's Wildflowers #17" by Laura Wasilowski of Elgin, Illinois.  It won an honorable mention in the Art-Miniature category.  It uses fused applique, hand embroidery, and is machine quilted.  It is an original design.

Her artist's statement says simply, "This rare wildflower is only found in my backyard and in my imagination."

I wonder if by #17, she has made 17 little quilts in a series.

Because the quilt show had a "spring" themed exhibition, I have plenty of flower quilts to share.  BUT, I think I will take a little break from them for now and next week share some other colorful quilts that might still lift the spirits of those still surrounded by the gray and white of winter.

Thanks for reading today,

Jen