Best of the Pacific International Quilt Festival 2019 (day 3)

Held annually in Santa Clara, California, the Pacific International Quilt Festival is the largest quilt show on the west coast of the U.S.A.  It features a wonderful variety of beautiful quilts! Here are some of the highlights of the festival. Let us know which ones are your favorites!

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Wonderland, 90 x 90, by Renae Haddadin and Karen Kay Buckley, Utah 

Blue ribbon winner for Best Traditional Quilt, Karen Kay Buckley designed and appliqued a striking center medallion using bright colors and large graphics. Set against a dark background, this very cheerful floral foreground really pops right off the quilt.

Here's a close-up of the center medallion so that you can see the intricate piecing and applique. This original design is machine pieced, hand appliqued, and longarm machine quilted.

Karen used black setting triangles for Renae Haddadin to add colorful longarm quilting elements. Together, thread and fabric create beautiful movement and design in the combination of techniques.

Alan Turing-An Enigma by Susan Auden Wood, Australia

Susan writes, "Alan Turing's crime was to be a homosexual in the 1940's and 1950's when it was illegal in the United Kingdom. He was one of the greatest minds of our time. He worked at.....the Government Code and Cipher School in the U.K., where he made major advances in the field of cryptoanalysis and was instrumental in ending World War 2 by deciphering German enigma encrypted signals. It is believed he shortened the war by at least two years, saving millions of lives."

Susan continues, "I have used various mathematical and binary design fabrics in this quilt to signify the scientific brain behind Mr. Turing's brilliance and also incorporated a mosaic picture into my piece." Susan's thoughtful and intriguing tribute to Alan Turing is part of an exhibition titled "OURstory Quilts: Human Rights Stories in Fabric."

If Only, 31 x 30, by Diana Biknell, Oregon

Diana explains, "If Only is a tribute to all of the people, researchers, and volunteers who work so hard to keep our animals from extinction. If only it were as easy as drawing a picture to bring animals to life." In this very creative work, the artist sketches a zebra, who then assumes the three dimensional shape of a real being, as it emerges from a two dimensional page.

Diana adds, "This [original design]  quilt was sketched and painted with Tsukineko Inks and Fabriko pens, appliqued, thread painted, and quilted on a domestic machine."

African Women Quilt by Lillian Karber Thiesen

Constructed in 1986, Lillian's quilt is part of an exhibition by the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles, titled "Inspired By." In this exhibit, the quilters are encouraged to state the source of their inspiration for their works, whether it is a pattern, hue, or shade of fabric, a sewing technique, or a song, poem, or anything that sparks their creative spirit.

Lillian's quilt was inspired by African fabrics that she purchased as she journeyed through a variety of countries in Africa. In this close-up block, you can see that the women's outfits are sewn from fabric that Lillian obtained in Kenya. Her applique and quilting are beautifully done, and her quilt will serve as a treasured heirloom and memoir of her travels.

Feathers and Frost, 40 x 60, by Joanne Baeth, Oregon

First runner up award winner for Best Sewing Machine Workmanship, Joanne comments, "Four overlapped layers create the top of the background: ice dyed cotton fabric, hand cut trees, ice dyed silk organza, hand drawn and cut trees, [which are] covered with thousands of beads." Joanne's gorgeous work glitters and sparkles like bright sunlight on a clear winter's day.

Here's a close-up, so that you can see the shading on one of the elegant swans. Joanne adds, "Thread painted bushes, glitter tulle, and feathers constructed one at a time finished the quilt."

Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2019 Pacific International Quilt Festival.