Tuesday, June 25, 2019

Scrap Quilt Inspiration 2019 (1)

It's time for some scrap quilt inspiration! What a great opportunity to sort through your stash and use your imagination to create beautiful blocks from remnants of fabric. Here are some of our favorites.

(Note: For great values on quilt patterns, quilt books, and collectible items, check out our E-Bay store !)

Nostalgia by Meghna Connell, Arizona. Quilted by Penny Boese


Meghna notes, "I am a beginner quilter from India. Growing up, my favorite festival was Diwali ( the Hindu festival of lights). I've used my mother's old sarees in this quilt along with many Kaffe Fassett fabrics to give a glimpse of my nostalgia."

Close-up, Nostalgia


Meghna's scrap quilt is a study in vibrant contrasts. She's done a terrific job of combining the complementary shades of blue with orange, and purple with yellow in order to achieve the maximum color impact.

Knot Anymore by Darla Orndorff, Arizona


Darla says, "[This is a] neckties quilt, foundation pieced on muslin. The pattern is inspired by a Navajo blanket. Look, can you find Mickey, crowns, a horseshoe, USAFA, hearts, stars, elephants, reindeer, eagles, and Bugs Bunny? "

Close-up, Knot Anymore


Marla has done excellent work in piecing and in arranging the color ways so that they move from light and dark, to deep shadows, then back to light and color again. This chevron pattern is perfect for displaying all of the variations in the neckties.


China Visions by LaNelle Wilkinson, California


LaNelle was inspired by quilt artist Ann Brooks and her collection of Chinese Coin quilts. LaNelle writes, "Ann Brooks showed so many of her beautiful quilts at Quilting 101 class. It was a challenge to decide how I wanted to use her inspiration in my quilt. Since I like smaller quilts, I chose fewer colors to work with."

Close-up, China Visions


LaNelle continues, "It was fun to keep moving the strips, finally sewing them together and declaring the top finished."  She quilted this eye-catching colorful 27" x 31"piece herself, and the diagonal and wavy lines motif very nicely complements the geometric rectangles of the blocks.

Color Me Wonderful by Marianne Nowacki, Arizona


Marianne remarks, "It was so much fun to play with all these pretty batiks. I collected the wide variety by participating in several swaps."

Close-up, Color Me Wonderful


Look at all these pretty batiks whose lively hues give Marianne's quilt so much energy and personality ! She did a super job of piecing and quilted the top herself with a cheerful spiral pattern.

Colorful Strings by Kris Lovetro, Arizona. Quilted by Kathy Hunt


Kris states, "This quilt was just fun. I used all my Kaffe Fassett scraps to make 'colorful strings'."


In our opinion, one of the great features of Kaffe Fassett fabric is that it all seems to go together very well, regardless of shade or value. Kris had an excellent idea of using a neutral hue for the sashing, which really helps the gorgeously colored blocks "pop" out in the foreground.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2019 Santa Clara Valley Quilt Association (China Visions), the 2019 Quilt Arizona show (Nostalgia) and the 2018 Quilt Arizona show (Color Me Wonderful, Colorful Strings).

Tuesday, June 18, 2019

Free pattern day ! French Braid Quilts

Here are free patterns for French Braid, Friendship Braid, and similar chevron quilts.  "Braid" quilts are sewn from fabric strips in a pattern that gives the illusion of woven strands, like a hair braid.  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.

(Note: please check out our E-Bay shop for great bargains on quilt patterns and collectibles ! For continuous free quilt patterns, please visit us on Twitter !)

Glee wall hanging, 10” x 40”, free pattern at Art Gallery Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)

French Braid quilt, 58 x 74", free pattern by Ariga Mahmoudlou for Robert Kaufman Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)

Chevron Falls quilt, 64 x 75", free pattern at Banyan Batiks (CLICK for PDF download)


Egyptian Braid quilt, 48 x 78”, free pattern by Sharon Wilhite for Robert Kaufman Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)


Bette’s Bouquet quilt, 56 x 70”, free pattern by Susan Emory for Michael Miller Fabrics  (CLICK for PDF download

Columns of Color quilt, 21 x 27”, free pattern at All People Quilt (CLICK for PDF download


All About Color quilt, 46 x 51", free pattern at Fabric Freedom (CLICK for PDF download)


Tonga Utopia quilt, ~64 x 78", free pattern by Osie Lebowitz at Timeless Treasures Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)


Rainbow Connection quilt, 60 x 72”, free pattern by Osie Lebowitz for Timeless Treasures Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)


Esoterra placemats, free pattern by Katarina Roccella for Art Gallery Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)


Esoterra placemat (CLICK for PDF download)  
Plantae placemat (CLICK for PDF download)

Cable Knit table runner, 60 x 20”, free pattern at Art Gallery Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)



Braided Rug quilt, 58 x 68”, free pattern by Emily Herrick for Michael Miller Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)


Sultry jelly roll quilt, 65 x 70”, free pattern at Moda Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)


Rhomburie quilt, ~62 x 57", free pattern at Art Gallery Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)


Vertical Garden quilt, 60 x 80”, free pattern at Art Gallery Fabrics  (CLICK for PDF download


Cherry Blossom quilt, 90” square, free pattern at Clothworks (CLICK for PDF download)

Velanio quilt, ~72” square, free pattern at Art Gallery Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download

Purple Play quilt, 40-1⁄2" square, free pattern by Pat Bravo at All People Quilt (CLICK for PDF download

 

Astrodelic quilt, 42 x 42”, free pattern at Art Gallery Fabrics  (CLICK for PDF download

Bloomin Basket quilt, 55 x 75”, free pattern at Andover Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)


Daydream panel quilt with chevron border, 41 x 61”, free pattern at Blank Quilting (CLICK for PDF download)


French Braid table runner, 22 x 62”, free pattern by Pat Bravo for Art Gallery Fabrics  (CLICK for PDF download


French Braid mini table runner, 22 x 42”, free pattern by Pat Bravo (CLICK for PDF download)

Basketweave Braid star block, free pattern by Nydia Kehnle (CLICK for tutorial)


Braided Table Runner, 15 x 42”, free pattern at Jordan Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)


Diamond Chain table runner, free pattern by Jinny Beyer (CLICK for PDF download)

  Chambray Stripy cushions, free pattern at Leutenegger (CLICK for PDF download)


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

 

Image credits: This post was updated on October 8, 2023. 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.

Friday, June 14, 2019

Happy Father's Day!

We enjoy featuring quilts from reclaimed men's clothing !  The use of striped and plaid shirts and ties may be challenging, but it is a time-honored tradition in quilting, and one that seems perfect as a theme for Father's Day.  Today's feature quilt was photographed at the 2018 Springville (Utah) quilt show.

(Note: please check out our E-Bay shop for great bargains on quilt patterns, books, and other collectibles ! For continuous free quilt patterns, please visit us on Twitter !)

Salvaged Shirts by Rebecca Buchert, quilted by Juli Stubbs


We love this wonderful shirt stripe boxes quilt by Rebecca Buchert!  She says,  "I had a hard time finding local shirting material so I haunted thrift stores for striped shirts to cut up for these concentric squares. Trying to get the most of out each shirt was challenging and laborious, but it was satisfying to repurpose fabric that might otherwise have ended up in the landfill." 
Rebecca included plenty of contrast and white space, giving this quilt a contemporary look.


We first featured quilts from reclaimed clothing in a 2011 post titled Waste not, want not: Quilts from reclaimed clothing. The post included two shirt quilts by Kaffe Fassett and Liza Prior Lucy, who first published the classy Shirt Stripe Boxes design in  Passionate Patchwork: Over 20 Original Quilt Designs. "Shirt Stripe Boxes", with its mitered corners and myriad scrap options, instantly captured the attention of modern quilters.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2018 Springville (Utah) quilt show.

Tuesday, June 4, 2019

Quilts Celebrating Creativity ! part 4

Here is the 4th and FINAL part of our photos from the Santa Clara Valley Quilt Association 2019 show! This year's show, titled Quilts Celebrating Creativity,  featured some outstanding works by talented quilters. We hope you enjoy these quilts as much as we did.

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

Modern Fancy Forest by Patti Joki

Patti notes, "Happy to have this completed in just a little over a year. It was fun to see how the animals came together, and each one is unique. The scrappy border [binding] was a 'must'!

Close-up, Modern Fancy Forest

This fun, pieced pattern by Elizabeth Hartman is very imaginative and includes all sorts of forest animals.

Greetings from California by Geri Patterson-Kutra

Geri explains, "This quilt was made to be sent to a fellow quilter in Australia as part of the "Quilts Across the Pacific" in 2019. My intention was to make a quilt that reflects the beautiful mountains of California that greet me every morning."

Close-up, Greetings From California

This contemporary,  intriguing design reminds us of an urban landscape quilt, with the rolling hills of California's Coast Range rising above the buildings of the city. Geri quilted this work herself and did a wonderful job of selecting various pattern motifs.

Heart Throb by Sue Frame

Sue writes, "The idea for this quilt came from a non-attributed photo in the "Los Altos Town Crier" [publication]. I made many changes, designed the background and piecing, selected the fabrics, and had fun with the quilting!"

Sue adds, "The cardiogram quilting [pattern] in the border stripe was adapted from a suggestion by classmates in a 'How Should I Quilt This?" class in Sandy, Utah. Sue's work is such an adorable fun-loving look at our friends in the animal kingdom.

A Burst of Spring by Rochelle Matthews

Rochelle states, "This pattern called for pink and orange, which grabbed my attention. Plenty of applique to satisfy me, and the hunt for giant rick-rack to intrigue me."

Rochelle attributes the pattern to Bunny Hill Designs, which produces whimsical patterns with very cheerful motifs. In this close-up, you can see some of the giant "happy flowers" energetically blooming forth from their spring baskets.

Floral Peek-a-Boo by Susan Okada

 Susan says, "I have been quilting for some time now, but over the past few years, I began to explore methods other than the traditional blocks. When I saw the samples of Louisa Smith's quilts, with the backgrounds pieced with gentle curves peeking through a partial foreground, they spoke to me. I had found a stepping stone to move outside the box."

Close-up, Floral Peek-a-Boo

 Susan's quilt was made in conjunction with a "Double Vision" workshop presented by designer Louisa Smith, who teaches innovative layering, where squares and rectangles can be turned into circles and ovals with no curved piecing. The vibrantly colored floral fabric and the circular foreground shapes give the illusion of looking through a round window into an enchanted, secret garden.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration.
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