Quilting in the Garden 2016

On a sunny autumn day last week, we took a trip to the Alden Lane Nursery in Livermore, California, to see the annual Quilting in the Garden Outdoor Show. Quilts are hung on lines strung between giant oak trees on the nursery grounds.
Because most of these quilt hang high overhead, there are no description cards, which would be difficult to read. We hope you enjoy the quilts in this lovely outdoor scene!

Thankful by Karen Lewis

Close-up, Thankful by Karen Lewis

Idaho Square Dance by Bonnie K. Hunter 

From the book Addicted to Scraps

Bear Family by Martina deMann

Pattern by The Stitch Connection

Close-up, Bear Family by Martina deMann

Close-up, Bear Family by Martina deMann

My Cozy Village by Felicia Brenoe

 Close-up, My Cozy Village by Felicia Brenoe

 Ombre Star by Lora Zmak

 Close-up, Ombre Star by Lora Zmak

Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration,

Best of the Utah Quilt Show! (part 2)

Here are more of our favorites from the the 43rd Annual Springville (Utah) Quilt Show! This outstanding juried exhibition features quilts of all styles and sizes created by some of the State’s finest quilters. We are always impressed by the quality and beauty of the quilts in this show!

Jethro by Charm Crumrine. Award of Excellence.

Charm Crumrine says, "His name came to me as soon as I saw his eyes. Jethro, the American Buffalo. Our national mammal. Several months ago I drew a buffalo and didn’t know what to do with him. I thought of all the texture a buffalo has and began assembling the beads. He needed a simple background to contrast the beads so I chose muslin. This quilt was a joy to make."

Tripping by Megan Legas

Megan Legas says, "The “Scrappy Trip” craze was the impetus for this little quilt… “I wonder what it would look like if I used one inch strips.” This quilt is a little scrappier than the typical process demands, due to a mathematical error. Oops! But my error added more color variety, so I am happy!"
The Scrappy Trip around the World craze was started by Bonnie Hunter. We enjoyed seeing Megan's hand quilting on the tiny squares!

Hidden Beauty by Marian Eason. Honorable mention.

Marian Eason says, "I made this quilt for our quilt guild’s “Color Me” challenge. We were required to use colors that started with our initials. My initials are MEE and my colors are Mandarin Red, Electric Yellow-Green and Evergreen. When hiking in the La Sal Mountains, my husband photographed a small patch of Western Red Columbines."

Marian continues, "These diminutive flowers measure about an inch and a half long; but I chose to magnify one with the sun shining through it to show off its beauty. I chose straight-line quilting to finish my quilt."

A Flock of Feathered Stars by Sherry Newbold, quilted by Debra Simons

 
Sherry Newbold says, "Each block was paper pieced. Fabric choices were made from varied patterns and shades of beiges and blacks."

Village by Karin Crawford, quilted by Kim Peterson.  Award of Excellence.

Karin Crawford says, "I started the applique while serving on the USNS Comfort for 6 months. I was able to do the stitching as we sailed from country to country...  Village is made entirely of Kaffe [Fassett] fabric which I love and have been collecting for ages. Note that the houses, trees and shrubbery are located inside a garden path of hexagon flowers. This is surrounded by the fence which keeps out all the wild animals."

Karin says that it took her over a year to do all the handwork. Kim Peterson quilted Village for Karin and did a beautiful job!  The Village quilt pattern is by Kim McLean.

Jewel Tone Jewel Box by Barbara Colton, quilted by Dixie Sargent.

Barbara Colton says, "My quilt group, Gone to Pieces Quilters, had a trade of jewel-tone fabrics to make jewel box or another pattern of quilts. Since I had made a scrap jewel box quilt, I wanted something a little different, so I looked online for other settings. I got my inspiration there, although I made my quilt taller and less wide than the square quilt I saw on the internet. My choice of contrasting purple was my own."

Note: Jinny Beyer has a free pattern for a Jewel Box quilt.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration.

Best of the Utah Quilt Show (part 1)

Here are some of our favorites from the the 43rd Annual Springville (Utah) Quilt Show (part 1)! This juried exhibition features quilts of all styles and sizes created by some of the State’s finest quilters. Fine indeed... we are amazed by the quality and beauty of the quilts in this show.

Please note: We're continuously posting free patterns on Twitter !
We're also selling beautiful quilting and crafting books at low introductory prices on e-Bay!

Nocturne: Remembering Chopin by Shirley L. Olsen

The Best of Show award winner, this quilt was begun in 2010 and finished in 2015. Shirley Olsen says: "It is named in honor of Chopin, one of my favorite composers whose 200th birthday was that year. I love playing his nocturnes. The quilt includes machine applique with all of the edges turned under. Much of the machine quilting was done with embroidery thread, which created a beautiful effect. The quilt was begun at a KNOTTS Quilting Bee retreat as a mystery quilt where each participant chose her own fabrics and block design. The mystery was in the setting. All of the mystery quilts were very different and very beautiful."

There's No Place Like Home by Bea Kalasky, quilted by Kim Peterson

No Place Like Home won an Award of Excellence. Bea Kalasky says, "This quilt was started in a class taught by Lori Holt. I have always loved hand work and this needle turned applique was the perfect take-along piece. Since I am usually working on more than one project it took several years to complete. This quilt is one of my favorites."

Directions to Neverland by Kim McCloskey

Directions to Neverland also won an Award of Excellence at the show. Kim McCloskey explains that this quilt was lovingly designed and created for her grandsons: "The quote is a paraphrase from J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan in which Peter gives Wendy directions to Neverland."

Kim McCloskey continues: "I hope my grandchildren will always be able to find the imagination and wonder inside them that is Neverland and may they never forget how to fly."

Fractured Rainbow by Velda Bowen

We loved the colorful rainbow in this dynamic quilt. Velda Bowen says: "I saw a similar quilt on Pinterest by a lady from Romania. I made up the pattern and changed it up to make my own."
Note: The lady from Romania is Geta Grama whose website is Geta's Quilting Studio. Geta has designed a number of raw-edge applique Swirl quilts and has a free pattern and tutorial for a 20" version on her website.

Scrappy by Doreen Webb

Doreen Webb says, "I’ve been making quilts for over 50 years. As you can imagine, I’ve accumulated a lot of scraps. This quilt was made entirely from my stash, including the batting and backing. Each row is a pattern of a quilt or wall hanging I’ve made before. I hand quilted each row differently to suit the pattern. It was a lot of fun, allowing my creative juices to flow. I hope my family will enjoy it in the years to come."

We enjoyed seeing Doreen's gorgeous hand-quilting and embroidery.

Light My Fire by Jill Cox

At a distance this quilt looks like a classic blue and red hexagon quilt; you have to get up close to see the special features. Jill Cox says, "This quilt was made because I love novelty fabrics." The fireman fabric that inspired the title, "Light My Fire", is shown below:

I enjoy the process of taking a “fun” fabric and creating a fun and unique design. The kaleidoscopes in this quilt were fun to create and each one is unique. We couldn't resist taking numerous photos of these fun kaleidoscopes featuring Dalmatian dogs; and the arms, legs and torsos of the firemen themselves.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration.

Quilts for Autumn and Halloween! (part 2)

Where has this year gone?  It's already time to think about sewing for a new season. Here is Part 2 of some fun and attractive autumn and Halloween quilts to inspire your creativity ! 

Please note: We're continuously posting free patterns on Twitter !

We're also selling beautiful quilting and crafting books at low introductory prices on e-Bay!

Let Us Walk in the Light by Mary Z. Hutchings (Utah), quilted by Kerri Walker and Mary Hutchings

Believe it or not, this is a quilt!  Recipient of an Award of Excellence at the 2016 Utah Valley Quilt Guild show, Mary notes, "This quilt of the Sacred Grove of the Latter Day Saints portrays these woods in November, when sunshine finds its way through bare branches and fills this beautiful place with light. It was inspired by a photograph taken by my brother-in-law."  We are very impressed that each and every leaf was actually a tiny piece of fabric that was cut and fused.

Mary continues, " I tried to imitate the bark textures of some trees commonly found there: Oak, Maple, Cherry, Ironwood, Beech, and Shag Bark Hickory. Thousands of individually freehand cut pieces of batik fabric, raw edge applique, and reverse raw edge applique ( for the distant branches), created the look of this quilt. It is a gift for my daughter, who was born in November."

Maple Leaves by Sylvia B. Lewis (Utah)

Sylvia explains, "Commissioned by Karen Everitt, I was asked to make an art quilt using the color of cranberry for the main focus of the piece. Forest green, pumpkin, and navy blue were also mentioned. No other instructions were given. Since I know that Karen loves nature, I knew I got it right when it was accepted with tears in her eyes."

Sylvia concludes, "Thank you, Karen, for allowing me to borrow Maple Leaves for entry in this show." We love these hues of deep red and orange,  which are the very essence of the autumn season !

Autumn Leaves, 30 x 36", by Eti David,  Israel

Eti David notes, "The phenomenon of the changing colors of the leaves is unique. We find colors that are beautiful all around us, and the landscape of the trees in the woods is amazing. " She has used a beautiful array of color-rich batik fabrics to depict this transition of nature from summer to winter.

Eti's techniques include fusing, machine piecing and machine quilting. For materials, she used cotton fabrics and various threads. Eti thinks that autumn is the most beautiful of all the seasons.

Raise the Roof by Marlene Wunder (California)

The pattern is from the book Miss Rosie's Spice of Life Quilts by Carrie Nelson (available at Amazon). The Amish Star blocks ( sometimes called Cottage Stars) are sewn half in neutral background fabric and half in patterned fabric, which make them appear to twinkle. They are set in concentric diamonds, which gives a very pleasing symmetry.

Raise the Roof is machine quilted in a lovely spiral and leaf design, which complements the motif of autumn foliage.

My Ghastly Family Album by Nancy Shiner (Illinois)

Nancy Shiner thought this Alexander Henry fabric printed with Edward Gorey art ("The Ghastlies") was a perfect reflection of the characters in her family (!)

The family members in the tree are surrounded by black hexagons.  Shades of gray complete the ghostly scene.  We love the spiky tree branches in the border, below.

It's the Great Pumpkin, 26.5 x 26.5", by Kathleen Shea

Happiness is a warm quilt! We enjoyed seeing "It's The Great Pumpkin" from Peanuts® Quilted Celebrations by Kathleen Shea. The book contains patterns for quilts of all sizes for the holidays.  You can see more holiday projects from the book at Andrea Podley's blog.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2016 Springville Utah quilt show (Let Us Walk in the Light and Maple Leaves),  the 2016 AQS Quilt Week in Phoenix (My Ghastly Family Album, It's the Great Pumpkin), the 2016 Contra Costa County Quilters' Guild show (Raise the Roof) and the 2015 World Quilt Show in Florida (Autumn Leaves).