Highlights of the Pacific International Quilt Festival - Part 6

We had a fabulous time at the 2015 Pacific International Quilt Festival, the largest quilt show on the Pacific coast of the U.S.  Beautiful quilts were displayed from around the world. All the quilts were designed and constructed at a high level of talent. We are showing some prize winners, in addition to some real gems that did not win. For a complete list of prize winners in the World Quilt category, please click here. Last week, we featured Part 5; and now, here is Part 6 (the finale!)

Don Juan, 30 x 50", by Margaret Stimson (Eureka, California)

Margaret explains, "Don Juan is the depiction of a Humboldt Bay brown pelican in full mating plumage. Having no idea that a brown pelican could be so colorful, I was startled and entranced by the beauty of this courting gentleman.  'Don Juan' is my part of the Fiber Art Friends 2015 Challenge: A Day at Woodley Island."

Margaret has created a wonderful sense of texture in her fabric arrangement and her quilting patterns, which shows off Don Juan in all his splendor and dignity. Her original design is machine appliqued and hand and sewing machine quilted.

Spiral Galaxy, 68 x 68", by Jean Hughes (Morgan Hill, California), quilted by Margrit Schwanck

Jean says of her modern quilt, "I was inspired by the 3-D art of Victor Vasarely (who is sometimes known as the grandfather of the 'optical art' movement.) I used Electric Quilt 7 and designed the quilt using a special effects layout and a seven grid chain block. I made the oval shape by changing the colors in the blocks. The long arm quilting was done by Margrit Schwank."

This intriguing quilting design is done in interlocking circles, reminiscent of the "Winding Ways" pattern. Jean's fascinating quilt is a machine pieced original design.

King's Garden, 59 x 59", by Mary Transom (New Zealand)

Blue ribbon winner for "Best of Country- New Zealand", Mary notes, "I read a book describing the restoration of the gardens of Brighton Palace in the United Kingdom. Wallpaper used in the interior of the palace inspired my quilt. I re-drew and styled the peacock for my original design." Look closely at the upper right hand corner, and you'll see an image of the fanciful palace spires that Mary quilted into the background ! 

Gorgeous quilting work reflects the elegant plumage of this graceful bird. Mary's stunning original design is machine appliqued and pieced, sewing machine quilted,  with hand-embroidered accents. 

Early Spring, Fantastic Blooms - Still Chilly (Japan Apricot), 47 x 59", by Mihoko Tanaka (Japan)

Mihoko gives an excellent narrative of the change of seasons in Japan:  "When spring arrives in chilly February, it is tool cold for almost all the trees to bloom in the front yards along our streets, and they look dead. On these trees, that look dead, many pretty flowers in red, pink, and scarlet suddenly blossom and smell nice. These are the Japanese plum trees, adding colors to our garden when there are not any other flowers in bloom." Mihoko has aptly described the way that springtime subtly creeps up on us, even as we appear to be in the midst of winter.

Mihoko's choice of colors depicts vibrant yet delicate blossoms arriving amidst the gray and white neutrals of winter. Her lovely original design in machine appliqued and sewing machine quilted.

Yellow Submarine by Cheryl P. Stanczyk (Centreville, Virginia)

Yellow Submarine is the mini-quilt  featured on the cover of Inspired by the Beatles- An Art Quilt Challenge by Donna De Soto. It commemorates the 50th anniversary of the British rock group The Beatles' first visit to the U.S.A. in 1964.  The quilt artists whose work is shown in this book each chose a different Beatles song to portray as a quilt. We loved this quilt which took us back to our childhood, as it depicts a playful, happy world under the sea.

Here you can see the humorous eye of the submarine's periscope, while a pink octopus gaily dances nearby. The quilt artist used cotton fabric, angelina fibers, crystals, sequins, spangles, and buttons, Cheryl's work is hand embellished and machine pieced and quilted.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration.

Highlights of the Pacific International Quilt Festival - Part 5

We had a fabulous time at the 2015 Pacific International Quilt Festival, the largest quilt show on the Pacific coast of the U.S.  Beautiful quilts were displayed from around the world. All the quilts were designed and constructed at a high level of talent. We are showing some prize winners, but we also will be showing some real gems that did not win. For a complete list of prize winners in the World Quilt category, please click here. Last week, we featured Part 4; and now, here is Part 5!

Summer in Norway, 36 x 40", by Charlene Dakin (Lafayette, California)

Charlene notes of this original design, "While visiting  [the town of ] Undredal, Norway, I was inspired by the lovely church siting beside the great fjords. I purchased a small watercolor painting, and with the permission of the artist, re-created my Norway experience in this quilt."

Charlene adds, "I began my quilt in a class with Kathy McNeil at the Empty Spools Seminars in Asilomar, CA and completed the many small houses later at home. " Undredal is known for its small stave church , which is lovingly depicted here in this enchanting, elegiac scene amidst the natural splendor of the fjords. Charlene's charming work is machine pieced and appliqued and sewing machine quilted.

Song of the Sea, 49 x 36", by Kathy McNeil (Tulalip, Washington)

Blue ribbon winner for Best Wall Quilt, Kathy says," I had no idea where my lovely sea creature would take me. She ended up in an art nouveau design playing with / or eating her little friends." We were impressed with the textures shown on Kathy's quilt, and the lifelike sense of motion created by the waving tentacles.

At first, this sea creature (perhaps an octopus?) is a little startling with its other-worldly eyes, and then it started to grow on us,as it has such a humorous look to it.  Kathy's very creative original design is hand appliqued and sewing machine quilted.

Pop Corn, 31 x 47", by Jan Soules (Elk Grove, California)

Jan explains, "This quilt began in a class with Lenore Crawford. I used one of my favorite California State Fair photos as an inspiration. I worked on one section at a time, and it was exciting to see the photo come to life in fabric. Now I can make fabric popcorn!"

Very pretty thread painting in clear colors of butterscotch and lemon yellow really make this applique "pop."  Jan's vibrant, energetic original design is machine pieced and appliqued, and sewing machine quilted.

Foldy Rolly Patchwork Pzzazz, 65 x 65", by Jennie Rayment (Emsworth, Hampshire, UK)

Jennie writes, "All the designs are named after fireworks and can be found in Foldy Roldy Patchwork Pzzazz - each design is created from simple shapes, and the folded edges are rolled to create curves. [These are] nine of the amazingly manipulated and totally ingenious designs that can be found in Jennie's book. The border is just rectangles and squares - it is the way they get folded that creates the effect -- magic !

Lovely split-complementary colors of green, blue, yellow-orange, and tangerine characterize these fascinating blocks. To see more of her innovative work, or to purchase books and DVD's, please check out Jennie Rayment's website.

Misty Mountain Pond, 76 x 78", by Renee Perlman (New Fairfield, Connecticut), quilted by Christian Lane Quilters

Renee's stunning quilt is paper pieced and machine pieced. Nine Mariner's Star blocks are each encircled by a ring a flying geese triangles. Such balanced, elegant symmetry is very pleasing to the eye.

The Misty Mountain Pond quilt pattern is by Bradley and Judy Niemeyer.  Here is the closeup photo:

This variegated color quilting thread done in a feather pattern looks so pretty on the deep rose red and red violet batiks, surrounded by cream color and light blue points.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration.

Highlights of the Pacific International Quilt Festival - Part 4

We had a fabulous time at the 2015 Pacific International Quilt Festival, the largest quilt show on the Pacific coast of the U.S.  Beautiful quilts were displayed from around the world. All the quilts were designed and constructed at a high level of talent. We are showing some prize winners, but we also will be showing some real gems that did not win. For a complete list of prize winners in the World Quilt category, please click here. Last week, we featured Part 3; and now, here is Part 4!

Yellow Crowned Night Heron, 32 x 27", by Barbara McKie, Connecticut

Barbara writes of her original design, " I create all of my fabrics, and my inspiration comes from my photographs. The 'pins and needles' come when finding inspiration from many photographs, many from travels." We loved the artistic texture created by the quilting on the leaves and feathers.

Barbara continues, "Once an image is [chosen], I select and print sections to fit on my 17 inch printer. Free motion quilting just flows ! The last decision is whether to make it without a border or to select [some of my] hand dyed fabrics for the border. "  We were very impressed by the detailed, sensitive face on this bird and Barbara's amazing quilting, which was done on a home sewing machine.

Pentecost by Linda S. Schmidt, California

Linda S. Schmidt is an internationally renowned quilt artist who presented a spectacular one-woman show at P.I.Q.F. , titled "Whatever It Takes". This means that she combines a wide variety of techniques and embellishments to express her inner vision. Pentecost refers to the 50 days after Easter in the Christian church, when the Holy Spirit was said to descend upon Christ's apostles.

Linda notes, "The readings for Pentecost are all about light in darkness, the good news being brought to the world, the rebirth of spirit, and the holy fire. This piece has been used for many celebrations in my church and has been used as a Pentecost symbol for ....convocations and confirmations. This quilt hangs for one weekend a year in my church and only took six months to make. The background is completely pieced; the bird is appliqued."
Her work is both admirable and breathtaking, with its juxtaposition of different fabrics, contemporary piecing angles, and quilting lines.

Still Waters , 62 x35, by Jenny Hearn, South Africa

Jenny Hearn explains, Still Waters is based on a pond seen at the golf course in the White River estate in Mpumalanga, [a province in South Africa]. The flowers are very loosely derived from antique upholstery fabrics and embroidery motifs." To us, this looks like a lovely underwater scene, with the sunlight shining down on top of the water, highlighting elegant tropical flowers.

Jenny's exotic original design is machine pieced and appliqued and machine quilted.  Striking split-complementary shades of purple-gold, and aqua-orange provide a lively foreground amidst the deep green background.

Natural, 12 x 39", by LaQuita Tummings, California

LaQuita says of her original design, "When I envision an idea, I get excited, and I get what my mother would call an itching in my finger: the desire to see what my idea will become." We think that LaQuita's idea turned out to be terrific ! This sophisticated lady with gracious, expressive features is adorned with fashionable, vivid flowers in rich, color-saturated shades.

LaQuita's fabulous work is hand appliqued, hand pieced, and hand quilted. We counted at least two dozen very creatively fashioned felt flowers, which give "Natural" so much energy and vivacious personality.

Lircles, 33 x 50", by Susan Garrity, Wyoming

Susan says of her original eye-catching design, " As I hand dyed these fabrics, I was unsure of exactly how I would use them. Then one winter day, as I looked out at the mountain and saw the skiers' tracks, the design popped into my head." Lircles was one of the prettiest modern quilts that we saw at PIQF.

Notice that each wavy-line  "ski track" here has a different sewing-machine quilted pattern. These appliqued circles in various sizes give such a  whimsical, cheerful look to this fun modern quilt. Susan's very innovative work is machine pieced and machine appliqued as shown in the photo below.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration.

Lone Star Salute

Veteran's Day in the U.S. is celebrated on November 11.  To honor our veterans, we wanted to share a photo of a stunning patriotic quilt.

Patriotic Lone Star, ~74" square, pieced by Jill Scherer, quilted by Jackie Smith

Jill Scherer says that she makes a new patriotic quilt each year, which she displays on July 4th.  In her Patriotic Lone Star, carefully-placed values of red and blue give amazing depth and movement and create a luminous glow. The quilt is based on the Lone Star Salute quilt pattern and fabrics by Jinny Beyer (scroll down for the pattern link).  

You might think that this quilt, with its many diamond shapes, is difficult to piece. However, you only have to create strip sets, then cut the pieced strips on a 45-degree angle to make rows of diamonds.  The rows of diamonds are then pieced together, aligning the seams. Check out the method in the easy-to-follow video tutorial below.

As of this writing, the Lone Star Salute pattern and kit are available at jinnybeyer.com.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2015 Arizona Quilters' Guild show.

Highlights of the 2015 Pacific International Quilt Festival - Part 3

We had a fabulous time at the 2015 Pacific International Quilt Festival, the largest quilt show on the Pacific coast of the U.S.  Beautiful quilts were displayed from around the world. All the quilts were designed and constructed at a high level of talent. We are showing some prize winners, but we also will be showing some real gems that did not win. For a complete list of prize winners in the World Quilt category, please click here. Last week, we featured Part 2 for Day of the Dead; and now, here is Part 3!

Black Crown Crane, 22 x 28", by Claudia Gano, Carmel Valley, California

Black Crown Crane won a blue ribbon for Best Interpretation of Theme, "On Pins and Needles."  Claudia writes, " I design quilts in my mind. I can spend weeks or months on the design. Meanwhile, I pull fabric out from my stash. I usually end at the fabric store purchasing more fabric."  (We can certainly relate to that story!)  The Black Crowned Crane, a beautiful bird which is listed as vulnerable to extinction, is native to the continent of Africa.

Close-up, Black Crown Crane by Claudia Gano

Claudia's original design is embellished by gorgeous thread painting. It's clear to see why Claudia exclaims, " For this quilt, I spent lots of time purchasing thread."  We think that Claudia's hard work has really paid off in her marvelous creation, which drew lots of "oos" and "ahs" from quilt show viewers.

Fields of Quilted Dreams, 54 x 71", by Mel Beach

Mel notes, " [This quilt] celebrates the tradition of cotton production and innovative modern quilt making in American. The white (symbolizing cotton) and the brown (symbolizing soil) rows depict the cotton fields being harvested." Mel's intriguingly designed quilt is sewn from solid color fabrics manufactured by American Made Brand from cotton grown, spun, and dyed in factories all in the United States.  These "yummy" colors remind us of a dish of lemon, lime, and orange sherbet, all topped by blue and chocolate sprinkles.

Close-up, Fields of Quilted Dreams by Mel Beach

In this close-up, you can see some of the many different quilting patterns. Mel adds, "The squares and free motion quilting motifs within represent the many processes in fabric production: the yellow prairie point for the harvesting in the fields, spinning saw blades of the cotton gin, fibers spun together into thread, woven on the loom and then rolled onto bolts... for quilters to create the...modern quilts of their dreams."

Trumpets and Tucks, 42 x 42",  by Jennie Rayment , England

Internationally known quilt teacher and author, Jennie has been quilting since 1989. She's an expert in making three-dimensional quilts by folding and tucking the fabric, much as one might do origami paper folding. At PIQF, Jennie had her own one-woman  quilt-show-within-a-show. We loved this quilt above, done in lovely autumn colors of peach, apricot, warm cream, and maize gold.
These techniques are featured in Jennie's book on Tucks, Textures and Pleats.

Close up, Trumpets and Tucks by Jennie Rayment

Jenny notes, " Tucked Trumpets and Crossed Over Tucks" all combine to create a tactile and textured hanging. Play away....it's fun for all with fabric fiddles to delight. Free motion quilted."

Jazz, 69 x 49", by Evelyn Wickham, California

Evelyn's quilt is part of the "Mid Century Mod: Modern Quilts", which is a relatively new category for PIQF. Evelyn says, " When I start a quilt, I have a vision in my head of what it will be when I finish. ... As I'm choosing fabric and threads, working on the quilt, I can't wait to see how it will turn out."  We're glad to report that this one turned out spectacularly! The lime and aqua are a winning color combination, and the long narrow triangles interspersed with circles remind us of the "op art" movement of the 1960's.

Closeup, Jazz by Evelyn Wickham

Evelyn concludes, "And then it's done - and like an author, I am surprised. It often turns out so different from my vision. Just as wonderful, but different." Evelyn's refreshing original design is machine pieced and sewing machine quilted.

Swirling Circles and Stripes by Mary Mashuta, California

Mary explains, "[Fabric designer] Emily Richardson's over-dyed dot fabrics were added to Kaffe Fassett's woven strips for the Swirling Petals blocks ( in the quilt center). His 'Target' print fabric made a fun border. The colorway selected complemented the block fabrics, and it was fun to combine hand-embroidered chain stitch with my machine quilting."
This quilt was part of a special exhibit featuring Mary Mashuta and her latest book, Foolproof Walking-Foot Quilt Designs: Visual Guide Idea Book (C and T Publishing).

Closeup, Swirling Circles and Stripes by Mary Mashuta

This pretty machine quilting was done with a walking foot attached to the sewing machine, with the feed dogs ( the metal teeth right below the needle) engaged. It is the opposite of free-motion quilting, where the feed dogs are lowered into the machine and do not help to move the fabric past the needle.  Mary explains how to use contact paper to create your own quilting designs which can be done on your home sewing machine. There are a total of 30 quilts pictured in Mary's new book. We really enjoyed meeting Mary at this show and chatting with her about her eye-catching and interesting quilting projects.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration.