Highlights of the 2014 Arizona Quilters Guild show : Day 1

This is our 5th year attending the spring Arizona Quilters' Guild show.  It's always like finding treasure in the desert!  As you can see, many folks from around North America agree.  It was fun to see cars from Alaska, California, Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota... plus Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario (among others!)

Agave Sunset by Jo Ann Kilgroe

Jo Ann says, "Working from an agave (cactus) in my yard, I created this design. I pieced, appliqued, and painted colorful batiks." We loved this stunning quilt which depicts the flora of the Southwestern U.S. so well.

Close up, Agave Sunset by Jo Ann Kilgroe

Agave Sunset won the City of Mesa, Arizona Award exemplary work and also won Second Place for Best Mixed Technique in the small quilts category. Here's a great example of how to blend traditional techniques with a contemporary motif:  Jo Ann made a "flying geese" patchwork panel and spiky piecing to enhance the colors of this vibrant quilt.

O Burrito Mia by Margot McDonnell

Second place winner for Large Pictorial Quilts, Margot says,"From children and a donkey, inspired by a 1970 greeting card, I added background details, employing applique, paint, and embroidery for a folk art effect."

Close- up, O Burrito Mia by Margot McDonnell

This adorable landscape quilt, showing a peaceful village by a mountain lake and darling children off to an adventure on their pet burro, really inspired our imagination. We were impressed by Margot's use of vibrant, clear colors.

Purple Agave by Vicki Bohnhoff

Second place winner for Digital Imaged Quilts, Vicki notes of her original design, "I used a negative, purple, variegated Agave image by photographer Camille Spurlock to print with archival inks onto silk charmeuse for a cactus beaded quilt."

Close up, Purple Agave by Vicki Bohnhoff

Vicki embellished her work with elegant, tiny blue beads which outline and enhance the luminous quality of these spiny, symmetrical leaves.

Koi Pair by Georgia Heller

First place winner for Pictorial Small Quilts, Georgia explains, "[This original design was] made for a 2013 exhibit at the Phoenix Japanese Friendship Garden. A vital part of the beauty and ecology of a Japanese garden are the colorful koi [fish]."

Close up, Koi Pair by Georgia Heller

We enjoyed this lovely machine applique work, along with the pretty thread painting of the undersea plants along the bottom of the quilt.

Roman Tiles, 76 x 76", by Ann L. Petersen

Best of Show and First Place - Large Pieced Award winner this year, Ann writes, "My original center star, borders, layout, and painted quilting designs were added to Norah McMeeking's  St. Mark's Wallhanging  pattern of Roman mosaic tiles."

Close up, Roman Tiles by Ann L. Petersen

Ann notes that after quilting the motifs around the star, she painted them with metallic paint to give them added luster and clarity. This show stopper also won the award for Excellence in Machine Quilting at the 2013 Road to California Quilt Show.


Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration.