Quilt Arizona ! Part 4

Warm sunny weather greeted us upon our desert adventure to Quilt Arizona!, the new name for the 2016 annual show of the Arizona Quilters Guild in Mesa, Arizona.  Here's Part 4 of the highlights of the show, plus some of our personal favorites.

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Desert Sisters by Skye McDonald

Skye explains, " [I sewed] strips [in desert colors] joined by curved piecing. There is a small inset piece at the bottom."  We loved the gorgeous colors and lines done in gentle waves, which are so evocative of the rolling desert foothills.
Design inspiration:  Intuitive Color and Design by Jean Wells Keenan.

Closeup, Desert Sisters by Skye McDonald

Skye finished the edges of her quilt with a facing, then she appliqued it to another solid quilt, so that the piece has more depth. She quilted this beautiful work herself, using a stationary machine.

Windy Point by Krista Zeghers

Krista says, "Gnarled cedar tress atop Mt. Lemmon, in Tucson, Arizona, were the inspiration for this original design wall quilt." These clear, softly hued fabrics work together perfectly to  give this quilt such a refreshing, elegant look! .

Closeup, Windy Point by Krista Zeghers

Krista continues, "I used all of my own hand-painted cotton, raw edge appliqued on black fabric, to suggest pen and ink with a watercolor wash." To us, this quilt suggests a lovely stained glass window, with sunlight shining behind it. Krista quilted this herself, using a track mounted machine.

Mama Loves You Baby by Monika Hancock , quilted by Debbie Stanton

Third Place winner in the category of Pictorial Quilts, this fun, sophisticated work shows a long-necked mother giraffe, bending down to touch her baby giraffe. Monika writes, "[I] found this pattern at the Road to California Quilt Show, and it seemed to be very challenging. It was!"

Closeup, Mama Loves You Baby by Monika Hancock

We really admired this fabulous, precise workmanship of both the foreground and background, which was quilted by Debbie Stanton.  Monika adds, "The quilting gave it the background it needed. [Some of the] background looks like leaves, which is very intense quilting without being overbearing." Monika's design inspiration was Love From Above at Treglown Designs. The pattern, by Keri Duke, is based on original artwork by Charley Harper.

Dale's Sunflower by Charyl Garman

Honorable Mention winner in the Pictorial Quilts category, Charyl notes, "I fused multiple layers of fabric over one another and quilted with accenting color to represent a picture of a sunflower taken by my husband." The split-complementary color scheme of orange, yellow, and green, combined with a dark purple center gives a dazzling, eye-catching look to this work. Charyl was inspired by a Fabulous Flowers workshop taught by Melinda Bula.

Closeup, Dale's Sunflower by Charyl Garman

Charyl's thread-painting technique looks terrific here! Charyl quilted this work herself, using a stationary machine.

Tabitha Trip to Bear Lake by Kimberly Murray

Kimberly won First Place for Best Theme Quilt of 2016. This year's theme was "Traditions", and Kimberly made this quilt to depict her family's tradition of going on vacation to a scenic lake each year. Kimberly states, "Tabitha is the 16 foot turquoise blue teardrop-shaped travel trailer that my husband and I take camping. She is shown [on this quilt] near the pond." ( Please see bottom closeup photo below).
Kimberly was inspired by the pattern,  I Met a Moose at Bear Lake by Jackie Robinson.

Closeup, Tabitha Trip to Bear Lake by Kimberly Murray

Kimberly did a fabulous job of hand-quilting this work herself.  Among everything else, we love the little pine tree outlines that are carefully hand-quilted in dark green.

Closeup, Tabitha Trip to Bear Lake by Kimberly Murray

And here is "Tabitha" herself, the little blue camper-trailer on the middle right, the home-away-from-home that provides so many happy vacations for Kimberly and her husband !

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration.