Arizona Quilt Show 2012: The Finale

Welcome to the last day of photos from the Arizona Quilter's Guild Show this month !  We had a wonderful time attending this show, and we always love to read your comments about which quilt is your favorite.

Starfire by Audrey Longhurst. First Place, Pieced- Medium

First place winner for medium-size pieced quilts, Audrey Longhurst says, I began this quilt in a workshop taught by Judy Niemeyer.  It may not be obvious, but the quilt is composed of square blocks."  Audrey did an excellent job of color selection for this vibrant pattern. There are enough neutral hues placed around the center stars, that they really blaze forth and create a very eye-catching design.

 Royal Crown with Fans, collection of Quilt Appraiser Nora Mohr, White Mountain Quilt Studio

This elegant, stately Hawaiian quilt is believed to be created about the year 1930. Although the quiltmaker is unknown, the experts at the Hawaiian Quilt Project think it is the the work of Hannah Ku'umililani Cummings Baker (1906-1981). Hawaiian quilts made before World War II were both appliqued and quilted with white thread, using a very thin cotton batting. Nora Mohr notes that the echo outline of these quilts is described as one finger or two finger. This quilt is echo quilted at one finger, in rows 3/8 " apart.

From Quilt Inspiration's posts and research on Hawaiian quilts, we have learned that the outline of the crowns shown here is a way of honoring the Hawaiian kings and queens. The crowns motifs are a popular theme in Hawaiian quilts of past decades.

Picnic Time by Angie Steveson, quilted by Jessica Jones.

Second place winner for small mixed technique quilts, Angie Steveson writes, "My love for food was the inspiration for this original quilt. Seven different food appliques are scattered about as ants join the picnic." We really enjoyed this cheerful, whimsical quilt, with the ants (who were even carried over to the quilt back !), the red checkered tablecloth, and the realistic picnic food appliques.

Another One That Got Away by Amanda Thrall Jeffrey

Amanda Thrall Jeffrey writes, "I designed this after taking a class with Susan Carlson in 2007. I am a fly fisherwoman, but have never actually caught one (yet) !"  We love the bright complementary colors of the violets, blues, oranges and golden yellow, the excellent, realistic detail of the fish itself,  and the lively print border.

Hawk by Rita Vautrin, quilted by Rita Vautrin

Of this quilt, Rita Vautrin writes simply, "Inspired by a picture I took in Brazil."  This pictorial quilt impressed us as being very true-to-life. Rita's design and applique work captured the dignity of the hawk and his sharp, watchful eye very well. She carefully blended browns, golds, and grays to depict the nuances of light and shadow on the hawk's wings and on his perch.

Close-up, Hawk by Rita Vautrin

In this close-up, you can see some of the beautiful quilting work, including the use of thread painting to enhance the hawk's face and upper wings. The swirling designs of the sky quilting give us a sense of the wind blowing gustily around the hawk's hidden and high-up perch in the tree branches.