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.