Quilts of Florida (part 2)

We're so excited to feature Quilts of Florida ! As you may know, Florida is the Sunshine State, and many Florida quilters have incorporated bright colors in their entries - along with some impressive workmanship!  All of these quilts were exhibited at the January 2015 World Quilt Show in West Palm Beach.

Words, 70 x 75", by Sarah Michael, quilted by Helia Ricci

Here's a charming quilt that was part of a special exhibit on using light and dark grays as a neutral background. Sarah explains, " [This background with its varied neutral hues] are the perfect colors to offset a rainbow colored crossword of inspiring thoughts." We love how the border's  secondary and tertiary solid tones of orange, aqua blue, and lime green complement the warm and cool hues of the quilt's focal point. This crossword puzzle quilt is based on the Express Yourself embroidery designs by Sarah Vedeler.

Close up, Words by Sarah Michael

Each block of this cheerful quilt has its own quilting motif, and each letter has its own style of machine embroidery. This positive and uplifting words really "pop" against the subdued, nuanced background fabrics.

Willow, 41 x 51",by Debra Crine

Third place winner in the Florida Quilt Competition, Debra says, "[I used] hand dyed fabric for applique and a silk background. Some applique  motifs were designed by Deborah Kemball. The border quilt design is by Sharon Schamber." We imagine spring wildflowers gently dancing in the breeze, as the first blossoms of the season come to life.

Close up, Willow by Debra Crine

A variety of intricate quilting patterns are used to embellish this delightful and elegant work, including blanket stitch and satin stitch. Debra's original design is machine appliqued and machine quilted.

Granddaughter's Flower Garden, 46 x 56", by Louise Moor

Louise explains, "I'm a very traditional quilter and found it hard to 'go Modern'. Then I saw this [Easy Breezy Hexies] design by Sonja Callaghan and felt it was modern but still let me feel comfortable in my traditional roots." Louise's use of solids and striped fabrics, along with a pale gray and white background lend a three-dimensional perspective to this well-loved pattern. The saying "Everything old is new again" is really exemplified by Louise's contemporary craftsmanship.

Granddaughter's Flower Garden by Louise Moor

Triangular, parallel line, and small circle quilt patterns give this vintage pattern such a refreshing, updated look. Louise adds, "While I would normally hand quilt this, I decided to quilt this by machine." We think the results look spectacular !

In My Garden, 48 x 46", by Phyllis Goffe

This exuberant floral quilt by Phyllis Goffe was inspired by her garden.  The border is made with a tropical hibiscus print in red, pink and green that complements all the colors of the quilt. The center of the quilt is dominated by three bright red hibiscus flowers that are machine appliqued on a silver-gray background. 

Close up, In My Garden by Phyllis Goffe

In Phyllis' original design,  bigger-than-life size flowers and leaves were embellished with an array of fun embroidery stitches.This look is so lively and tropical, that Phyllis's flowers are imbued with a personality of their own.

Points of Pride, 76 x 76", by Kim Noland, quilted by Linda Adamcik

Kim explains, "I chose this pattern because the New York Beauty design always intrigued me. This is the first guild challenge I've participated in since I was asked to join two years ago. I felt this pattern was appropriate because that's how I felt about being asked to join such a talented group:  A Point of Pride."

Close up, Points of Pride by Kim Noland

Kim adds, "The quilt (size 76 x 76)  consists of 28 gray fabrics and 22 red fabrics. I lovingly refer to it as "the elephant in the room."

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration.

Quilts of Florida

We're so excited to feature Quilts of Florida. As you may know, Florida is the Sunshine State, and many Florida quilters have incorporated bright colors and sun themes in their entries - along with some impressive workmanship.  All of these quilts were exhibited at the January 2015 World Quilt Show in West Palm Beach.

Bienvenidos, 28 x 39", by Laura Ruiz

"Bienvenidos" ("welcome") was a blue ribbon winner and recipient of Curator's Choice for Mixed Technique in the 2014 Hoffman Challenge - and we can see why!  Laura Ruiz cleverly used print motifs to create the colorful pots and plates exhibited on shelves behind the girl.  Mexican pottery is painted with many intricate details, which Laura captured with her use of Hoffman fabrics.

close up, Bienvenidos by Laura Ruiz

Everything about this quilt was lovely, including the portraiture of the girl with her dark hair, gathered Mexican blouse, and broderie perse flowers.  Even her necklace has a floral motif.

Color Wave, 42 x 42", by Beth Shutty

This is one of the most dynamic Storm at Sea quilts we've seen, with its waves of color and a yellow block reminiscent of the sun at the center. Beth Shutty says, "I arranged my hand dyed fabric so the color radiates out from the central focal point. The placement of white patches creates diagonal waves of color which influenced the quilt’s name."

close up, Color Wave by Beth Shutty

Storm at sea is such a great block pattern, with its straight lines that create the appearance of curves.  In Color Wave, Beth Shutty's spiral machine quilting adds an additional level of movement and emphasizes the yellow "sun".

Sunshine State of Mind, 42 x 50", by Susan Rienzo

This quilt really makes us smile, with its warm suns that contrast with the cool colors of blue water.  Each of the 6 circles is made of 4 blocks.  Susan says that she started by experimenting with curved raw edge strips onto 9” blocks onto different layouts, looking at the traditional Drunkards Path pattern for inspiration.  She then added the rays, thus creating the ‘suns’.

close up, Sunshine State of Mind by Susan Rienzo

Susan Rienzo says, "The wonderful sunshine in Florida is what brings everyone here to enjoy, either to visit, live part-time or year round! Are you in a Sunshine State of Mind?"

Dandelion, 35 x 46”, by Louise Moor

Louise Moor says, "Dandelions remind me of my daughter blowing the “puffs” when she was small."    Dandelion was hand appliqued.  Star-shaped embroidery stitches were used to depict the dandelion heads, as shown in the close up photo below.

True Colors (aka White Lines), 68 x 68”, by Karen Marchetti

This stunning rainbow quilt won 2nd place in the Florida Quilt Competition. It's often not easy to see the quilting on black backgrounds, but this one really stood out with lovely feathers, lines, and other fills.  The center feathered star is from a pattern by Marsha McCloskey and the remainder of the quilt is Karen Marchetti's original design.  The quilt was hand and machine appliqued, machine pieced, and long arm quilted.

close up, True Colors by Karen Marchetti

The beautiful trapunto machine quilting really shows up here. Karen says, "This quilt was started years ago. I call it the quilt that refused to be finished because it has given me so many difficult trials... All I can say is that I am happy it is finished!" To read the whole story, please visit Karen Marchetti's website.

Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration.