Celebrating Easter 2018

Easter is a religious holiday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. At Easter time, we wanted to share this beautiful mosaic quilt by Marie Wood. She used hand-dyed fabrics and fusible applique to re-create a mosaic image of Jesus seen at Duc In Altum in Israel.

Jesus Calling - Duc In Altum by Marie Wood (Alpharetta, Georgia, USA)

Duc In Altum exalts the presence of women in the Gospel. This image of Jesus' merciful face is from a mosaic mural dedicated to the daughter of Jairus, whom Jesus raised from the dead.  The murals at Duc In Altum "seek to express the loving power of God that is bestowed on men [and women] through the actions of his divine hand." 

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2017 Houston International Quilt Festival.  Marie Wood created this design from a photo taken by fellow traveler, Marie Reichert.

Spring and Easter Quilts!

Spring has sprung, and Easter is drawing near !  It's a favorite time of year with visions of flowers in bloom and sunny days.  Here are quilts that inspire us with springlike colors, baskets, and bunnies.

Easter Basket by Marlene Cook, quilted by LaReesa Baldwin

With its basket full of tulips, surrounded by chicks and eggs, Marlene Cook describes this project as fun to make. She used lattice print fabric to create the basket, and embellished the flowers with colorful buttons.

Embroidery stitches add detail to the chicks and flowers.  (We're still searching for the source of this adorable pattern.)

Rhapsody in Blues by Georgia Thorne

Georgia Thorne used a selection of  stitches, fabric paint, threads and Angelina to create her original design.  This lovely quilt was inspired by music, hence the title, Rhapsody in Blues.  The bunny was made with trapunto.

Bunny Block by LeAnn Hileman

LeAnn Hileman says, "My appliqued bunnies are framed by grassy rings of green." The blocks were based on Grandma's Bunnies by Darcy Ashton.  The blanket stitch applique, done in black thread, gives the bunnies a vintage feel.

Carrot Patch by Kathy Urban

This darling carrot patch-themed quilt is complete with rabbits, chicks, and lots of carrots! The pattern is by The Quilt Company.  Kathy Urban says, "I love animals and enjoy making seasonal quilts that I can bring out to celebrate a certain time of year. This one made me laugh when I saw the chick in high heels."

Rabbits Prefer Chocolate by Rose Rumball-Petre

This is a wonderful Easter color version of the Rabbits Prefer Chocolate pattern by Anne Sutton. Inspired by vintage chocolate molds, each block has it's own personality. We love Rose Rumball-Petre's use of pastel colors and the combination of yellow and periwinkle in the border.  The quilt was machine pieced and appliqued, and hand quilted.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the Springville (Utah) quilt show (Easter Basket), the 5Bee Quilters Guild show (Rabbits Prefer Chocolate), the Diablo Valley Quilters Guild show (California), and Quilt Arizona (Rhapsody in Blues, Bunny Block).

Free pattern day! Black and White quilts

Here are FREE patterns for Black and White quilts! (SO stylish!) NOTE:  This post has been UPDATED.  for the latest freebies, please visit our Free Pattern Day for Black & White Quilts (CLICK HERE!)

p.s. Check out our E-Bay shop for great bargains on jewelry, clothing, and collecibles! For continuous free quilt patterns, followu us on Twitter !     

Image credits: This post was updated on June 6, 2026. Individual images are copyrighted by their owners. Please respect their generosity in sharing their free patterns, and the restrictions they have placed on the use of these designs; complete information can be found at the designers' websites provided in the links. The photo montage shown on this page is a derivative work that is the property of Quilt Inspiration. If any links are broken, we'd love to know so we can fix it. Please email us at QuiltInspiration {at} gmail {dot} com.

St. Patrick's Day and Celtic Quilts

Next week is St. Patrick's Day, which honors the patron saint who brought Christianity to Ireland in the 5th century A.D.  Here are some quilts we've admired featuring Celtic designs, symbols, and the color green!

Also please check out our E-Bay shop for great bargains on quilt patterns, fabric, and vintage jewelry ! (For continuous free quilt patterns, please visit us on Twitter ! )   

Celtic Fox by Kathy McNeil (Washington, USA)

Celtic Fox won first place in the Art-Whimsical category at the 2017 Houston International Quilt Festival. The fox sits on a new moon, accompanied by an owl and hare.  Kathy's original design was created with hand applique and machine embroidery; cotton fabrics were used, along with velvet and commercial trims.

Kathy McNeil says "The Celtic Fox symbolizes a need to think quickly, to employ cleverness and wisdom.  Often described as cunning, that word comes from "kenning" meaning "to know and understand.  In Celtic mythology the fox takes on the role of a shape-shifter... associated with transformation and the need to take a new approach to our lives."

Medieval, 46 x 31", by Karen G. Fisher (Arizona)

Medieval was awarded first place in applique at the 2017 Quilt Arizona show, along with honorable mention at the Pacific International Quilt Festival.  Karen Fisher says, "I love medieval art, so I combined Celtic knots, dimensional pieced-work squares, and tile designs. 

This award-winning quilt is machine pieced, machine appliqued, and sewing machine quilted by Karen G. Fisher.

Emeralds and Lace by Karin Crawford (Utah)

Karin Crawford says, "Ireland is the Emerald Isle and I have loved traveling there and seeing all the green.  This Triple Irish Chain is every shade of green and white.  It makes me think of emeralds and lace."

Emeralds and Lace was quilted by Kim Peterson, whose outstanding work particularly shines in the border elements.

Celtic Dreams by Nanette Sturgill (Utah)

The large central panel of this stunning quilt is a piece of hand dyed cloth.  The central applique design is taken from a copper bowl uncovered in Italy dating from circa 200 BC; they are zoomorphic representations of birds.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2017 Arizona Quilters Guild show (Medieval), the 2017 Springville (Utah) quilt show (Emeralds and Lace, Celtic Dreams) and the 2017 Houston International Quilt Festival (Celtic Fox).

Quilts of the Avian World

Here's a tribute to our feathered friends in all their various forms and beauty, from the 2017 Houston International Quilt Festival .

Tickled Pink by Debra Crine, Florida 

Second-place winner in the Art-Painted Surface category,  Debra notes, "I was inspired by a photo by [art photographer] Mark Mitter.  The quilt was painted with steam-set dyes on silk habotai." ( a fabric with a soft and supple hand and a lustrous sheen).

Close-up, Tickled Pink

These subtle color variations and gently curved quilting lines give the flamingo's plumage a fascinating, highly-textured effect.

Romeo by Pamela Burke , North Carolina

Pamela remarks, "After seeing a photo of a....peacock taken by Laura Scott Dillman, I thought it would be an  interesting and fun challenge to find fabrics and techniques to interpret the photo of this majestic fowl.  My goal was to maintain transparency of the plumage and create depth in the design."

Close-up, Romeo

Pamela's techniques for this lovely work include machine applique, fused applique, and hand painting on commercial fabrics with cotton and polyester thread, Angelina fiber, and Rat tail fiber.

Whooo? by Mimi Ghauri-Young , California

Mimio explains, " I have always been fascinate by owls. When I found this image of a Northern Saw-Whet owlet, I was enchanted by his quizzical expression and inspired to make this quilt." 

Close-up,  Whooo

We really admire Mimi's excellent work in capturing the owl's realistic and very expressive face.  She used machine piecing, machine applique, and inking on commercial cotton fabrics.

Keeping Up Appearances by Jan Reed, California

Honorable Mention winner in the Pictorial Art Quilts category,  Jan writes of her original design, "As the morning sun begins to melt away the tule fog that forms overnight in the Merced National Wildlife Preserve, an ibis is revealed preening his colorful plumage."

Close-up, Keeping Up Appearances

To create this elegant work which emphasizes the feathers of this stately bird, Jan used machine applique, fused applique, painting, thread painting, and colorwashing. Her materials consisted of commercial batiks, tulle, fabric inks, and colored pencils.

Making Amends by Carol Cote, Ontario, Canada

Carol writes of her original design,  "This Atlantic Puffin, from Newfoundland, Canada, was taking a flower to its mate. The photo inspired me to create this quilt for Canada's 150th birthday. over 150 fabrics, 200 + hours of hand applique, and more than 100 hours of quilting have gone into this creation."

Close-up,  Making Amends

Carol has done a beautiful job of  creating depth and shading by her careful selection of  white, black, and gray neutral hues. Her work is all hand-appliqued, using cotton fabrics and cotton threads.

Image credits:  photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2017 Houston International Quilt Festival.