Highlights of the Houston International Quilt Festival! (3)

We had a wonderful time at the Houston International Quilt Festival! We enjoyed seeing 1200 quilts from around the world, and are excited to share photos of our favorites... here is Part 3!

p.s. Check out our E-Bay shop for great bargains on designer jewelry and collectibles!
For continuous free quilt patterns, please follow us on X (Twitter)!     

Cuckoo Clock by Alethea Ballard @maverickquilts (USA) 

 

Gorgeous colors and imagery drew us into this brilliant quilt by Alethea Ballard. Read on for more details of the artist's inspiration.

  Arcane Snap by Kestrel Michaud (USA)

Winner of a 2nd Place ribbon in the Pictorial category, Arcane Snap captivated viewers with its imagery, colors, and expert quilting.  More amazing fabric art can be seen on the artist's website at Kestrel Michaud.

California Huipil by Allison Lockwood (USA)

Woven Guatemalan fabrics were used to create this lovely quilt which is embellished with yo yos. This piece was inspired by the huipil, a garment worn by the indigenous women in Guatemala. The chevrons and embroidery add even more dimension to the surface.  

detail, California Huipil

 

MASTER AWARD for TRADITIONAL ARTISTRY: Poco a Poco by Keiko Morihiro (Japan)

It's no wonder this quilt won the award for traditional artistry. You can't tell from a distance, but this quilt is made entirely of tiny hexagons: more than 30,000, to be exact. Each side of each hexagon measures only 8 mm.  WOW.

 

Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2025 Houston International Quilt Festival.

Highlights of the Houston International Quilt Festival! (2)

We had a wonderful time at the Houston International Quilt Festival! We enjoyed seeing 1200 quilts from around the world, and are excited to share photos of our favorites... here is Part 2!

p.s. Check out our E-Bay shop for great bargains on designer jewelry and collectibles!
For continuous free quilt patterns, please follow us on X (Twitter)!     

FIRST PLACE - Pictorial:  Peony Dream by Chen Jing (Beijing, China)

Winner of a blue ribbon in the Pictorial quilt category, Peony Dream was perfect in every detail, from the portrait itself to the oversized peonies and the elaborate embroidery in the borders.

The centers of the peonies were embellished with small pieces of fabric or ribbon, giving a 3-D effect as shown below.

 

Innova Master Award for Contemporary Artistry: Color My World by Karen Kay Buckley

Color My World features applique and embroidery that completely fills the spaces. Each block contains a critter (insect, animal, bird); some are hidden and some are obvious.

Maryland by Martine Crabe-Lanux (France)

This gorgeous quilt was based on a Baltimore Album quilt, circa 1847.  It is beautifully hand appliqued and hand quilted. The quilt took 3000 hours to complete over 2.5 years. Check out the tiny hand quilting stitches!

Kaleidoscope Garden by Judy Ballance (USA), quilted by Patty Wilson 

This quilt sparkles with bright colors and strong contrasts! Wool applique and hand embroidery lend a dimensional effect to the appliqued blocks.  Winner of a Third Place award in the Balanced Piecing and Applique category, this quilt is based on the Fairground quilt pattern by Wendy Williams.

 

Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2025 Houston International Quilt Festival.
 

Highlights of the Houston International Quilt Festival! (1)

We had a wonderful time at the Houston International Quilt Festival! We so enjoyed seeing 1200 quilts from around the world, and are excited to share photos of our favorites... starting today!

p.s. Check out our E-Bay shop for great bargains on designer jewelry and collectibles!
For continuous free quilt patterns, please follow us on X (Twitter)!     

BEST of SHOW:  The Visitation by Ricky Tims

Spectactular in every way, it's no wonder this quilt won the Best of Show award. So many expert techniques were combined to create this masterpiece.

 

Silent Companions by Ting-Ying Liu

 Here is one of many outstanding portrait quilts. Intricate fabric collaging was used to create the realistic faces of the dog and cat.

 

Rusty Jane by Dena Angela Miskel

Stop my beating heart... here's a gorgeous Dear Jane quilt, made with intriguing rust-dyed fabrics and sashiko.  So beautiful! Made with over 5000 fabric pieces, this deserves a top award.

 

A bright pineapple quilt, shown below, welcomed thousands of viewers from around the world.  Stay tuned for more highlights from this fabulous show!

 Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2025 Houston International Quilt Festival.

Happy Halloween!

As we enjoy all the Halloween decorations popping up around town, here's one of our favorite seasonal projects: Happy Halloween by Elizabeth Hartman! This sampler quilt features a ghost, bat, cat, witch, star, pumpkin, owl, spider, candy corn, and candy roll blocks.

p.s.  STAY TUNED for photos from the fabulous Houston International Quilt Festival!

p.p.s. Check out our E-Bay shop for great bargains on designer jewelry and collectibles!
For continuous free quilt patterns, please follow us on X (Twitter)!    

This is a patchwork-pieced pattern. The blocks are made almost entirely of rotary-cut squares and rectangles, and everything is sewn together using conventional patchwork techniques. 18 Kona Solids were used to make this quilt - or have fun raiding your stash!

Hocus Pocus

Today's brilliant Halloween quilt was based on Hocus Pocus, a design by Corinne Sovey. The quilt is a skill-builder comprising 17 different blocks, some that repeat.  Several methods of construction are used, including traditional piecing, foundation paper-piecing, templates, and a bit of applique.  See if you can spot the techniques used in each of the blocks!  

Also check out our E-Bay shop for great bargains on designer jewelry and collectibles!
For continuous free quilt patterns, please visit us on Twitter.  

I Believe I Can Fly by Lesa Bornost, quilted by Renee Miller  

The quilt maker, Lesa Bornost, says: "I have made simple quilts for several years and decided to challenge myself with Hocus Pocus! I learned inset circles, Y-seams, foundation paper piecing and applique to finish this quilt. It certainly was a journey but I prevailed! [Hence the quilt's title: I Believe I can Fly!"] I am proud to enter this as my very first quilt show entry, ever."

Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the  2025 Quilt Arizona show.

Free pattern day! Autumn Leaves quilts

Here are >40 FREE patterns for leafy quilts and for the warm colors of fall!  To go to a pattern: Scroll down the page until you see the quilt you like, then click on the words "CLICK for PDF download" (or the hyperlinked website name) in the title above the quilt.

p.s. Check out our E-Bay shop for great bargains on designer jewelry and collectibles ! For continuous free quilt patterns, please visit us on X (Twitter) !

Tumbling Leaves wall quilt by Gail Abeloe for All People Quilt (CLICK for PDF download) 

Drifting Leaves quilt, free pattern by Shannon Brinkley for Fabri-Quilt (CLICK for PDF download)

 Turning Leaves quilt, 54 x 54”, free pattern at Cloud 9 Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)

Modern Maples throw quilt by Amanda Woodward-Jennings at Lark Crafts (CLICK for PDF download)

Leaf quilt blocks, free pattern at Art Gallery Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)

Maple Leaf quilt and pillow, free patterns at Tilda's World (CLICK for pillow) + (CLICK for quilt PDF)

Shades of Autumn table runner, 14.5" x 50", free pattern at Quilters World (CLICK for PDF download)

Maple Leaf mini quilt, free pattern at Fat Quarter Shop (CLICK for PDF download)

Jumbo Leaf quilt, 72" square, free pattern at Robert Kaufman Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)

Maple Leaf Chain quilt, free pattern by Wendy Sheppard for Windham Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)

Harvest table runner, free pattern at Robert Kaufman Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)

Maple Leaf quilt, 46" square, free pattern at Riley Blake Designs (CLICK for PDF download)

Sweater Weather quilt, ~52 x 66", free pattern at Maywood Studio (CLICK for PDF download)

Celebrate Fall quilt, 46 x 58", free pattern by Elise Lea for Robert Kaufman Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)

Celebrate Fall table runner , ~18 x 52", free pattern at Robert Kaufman Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)

Autumn Bliss quilt, 58 x 67", free pattern at Robert Kaufman Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)

Falling Leaves quilt, 84" square, free pattern at Anthology Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)

Fall In Love quilt, 60 x 75",  free pattern by Wendy Sheppard for Anthology Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)

Autumn Leaves Runner, 15" x 34", free pattern by Marie Duncan for Yarnspirations (CLICK for PDF download) 

Splash of Fall table runner, 13 x 37", free pattern by Edyta Sitar for Andover Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)

Modern Maple pillow, free pattern at All People Quilt (CLICK for tutorial)

Autumn Road throw quilt, 53 x 71", free pattern at Wilmington Prints (CLICK for PDF download)

Maple Leaf table runner, free pattern at Jordan Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)

Autumn table runner, free pattern at Quilters Newsletter (CLICK for PDF download)

Super Sized Maple Leaf Throw Quilt by Anjeanette for Moda Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)

Scrappy Maple Leaf quilt, free pattern by Cindy Carter at Carter Quilter (CLICK for PDF download)

Fluttering Leaves lap quilt, 54 x 75", free pattern by Bonnie Spencer for McCalls Quilting (CLICK for PDF download)

Autumn Splendor quilt, 48 x 54", free pattern by Tammy Silvers for Fabri-Quilt (CLICK for PDF download)

Falling Leaves quilt, 82 x 98”, free pattern at Robert Kaufman Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)

Falling Leaves quilt, 56 x 68", free pattern by Stephanie Sheridan for Windham Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)

Treeline Drive quilt - Autumn colorway, 59 x 71", free pattern by Wendy Sheppard at Ivory Spring
(CLICK for PDF download)

Maple Leaf Quilt from France by Pom at Atelier Papillon.  Free pattern by Cindy Carter at Carter Quilter (CLICK for PDF download)

Leaf It To Joe, 67 x 67", free quilt pattern by Joe Wood at Thimble Creek (CLICK for PDF download)

Harvest Leaves quilt, 46 x 46", free pattern by David Textiles  (CLICK for PDF download)

Mirrored Leaves quilt, 65 x 83", free (archived) pattern by A.E. Nathan (CLICK for PDF download)

Falling Leaves by Nancy Rink for Hoffman Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)

Scrappy fall leaves quilt, free pattern by Cindy Carter at Carter Quilter (CLICK for PDF download)

Sweet Autumn at Home, 87 x 96", free pattern at Anthology Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)

Maple Grove quilt, 40 x 48", free pattern by Laura Coons for Timeless Treasures (CLICK for PDF download)

Ash Leaf Pillow, free pattern at Make It Coats (CLICK for PDF download)

Maple Leaves quilt, 52 x 52", free pattern by Diane Nagle for RJR Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)

Autumn Leaves quilt, free pattern by Jan Krentz at Jan Krentz (CLICK for PDF download)  

Image credits:  This post was updated on October 10, 2025. All 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. Some of these are tutorials while others have downloadable (.pdf) patterns; we have tried to note which is which in the title above each photo. If any links are broken, we'd love to know; email us at quiltinspiration [at] blogspot [dot] com.