Quilt Inspiration: December 2019

Saturday, December 28, 2019

Happy New Year 2020

Our wish for the New Year has always been the same: Peace for all humankind ! We wish you a year filled with happiness, serenity, prosperity, and of course, lots of time to create beautiful quilts !

Dove of Peace, 35 x 35", free pattern by Heidi Pridemore for Windham Fabrics
Click here for PDF download of this free pattern !

Two separate blocks comprise this quilt. The doves are fusible appliqued onto the background, and the stars are paper-pieced. The size shown above is 35" x 35", with nine blocks that are each 8" square. This size makes a beautiful wall quilt or table topper. Of course, you can add more blocks to make a fabulous lap quilt, or a bed quilt, or even a crib quilt for a dear little one. It's a very versatile pattern !

Winter colors of icy blue and arctic white comprise the majority of this pattern, with pastel gold sashing and binding. But you don't have to make it in pale winter colors! It would look just as beautiful in vibrant, color-saturated batiks. You can go really exotic and create hot pink doves on a royal purple background ; or even add a tropical touch and do lime green doves on a bright turquoise background. The choice is yours !

Thank you to all our readers; and may you have a most blessed New Year 2020, from Marina and Daryl Lynn

Tuesday, December 24, 2019

Twelve Days of Christmas Quilts ! Day 12

It came upon us so quickly... but believe it or not, it's that time of year again: time for Twelve Days of Christmas Quilts ! We will feature an inspiring quilt each weekday, starting today and ending on Christmas Eve. We wish you a very happy, healthy and creative holiday season.
Merry Christmas to all...

p.s. Check out our many new listing at Quilt Inspiration E-Bay !! And for continuous free patterns, please follow us on Twitter !

Silent Night by Mikelle Price, Utah

Mikelle explains, "This quilt was my first major paper piecing and quilting project. I saw this pattern and immediately thought of three special people in my life that I wanted to make it for.

(Note:This quilt is based on the Advent Nativity Pattern at Paper Panache.)

Here, Mary holds the newborn Christ child, as the Wise Men and the animals of the manger stand by in reverence during the cold winter night. Mikel's very precise work ensures that even the smallest details of this work can be clearly seen.

Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2019 Springville (Utah) quilt show.

Monday, December 23, 2019

Twelve Days of Christmas Quilts ! Day 11

Holly Oddson won a blue ribbon for her rendition of Christmas Morning Delight. We love the use of bright batiks rather than Christmas fabrics in this modern holiday quilt. For extra sparkle, the quilt is embellished with Swarovski crystals.

The pattern is by Material Girlfriends. Lisa Norton says that it was inspired by Psalm 148: 'All heaven and earth will praise the Lord. Shining stars and all cedars will even praise Him.' The verse inspired Lisa to draw a Christmas tree dangling its star to delight the holy babe. Holly Oddson did the construction and quilting on a domestic machine.

Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the Guild of Quilters of Contra Costa County 2019 show.

Friday, December 20, 2019

Twelve Days of Christmas Quilts ! Day 10

This is Jill Scherer's interpretation of the paper pieced Prismatic Star quilt pattern by Judy Niemeyer. By using only two colors, the finished quilt is dramatically different than that pictured on the pattern! Rose Maynes' lovely quilting adds an elegant touch to this sparkling design.

Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2019 Quilt Arizona show.

Thursday, December 19, 2019

Twelve Days of Christmas Quilts ! Day 9

Ot came upon us so quickly... but believe it or not, it's that time of year again: time for Twelve Days of Christmas Quilts ! We will feature an inspiring quilt each weekday, starting today and ending on Christmas Eve. We wish you a very happy, healthy and creative holiday season.
Merry Christmas to all...

p.s. Check out our many new listing at Quilt Inspiration E-Bay !! And for continuous free patterns, please follow us on Twitter !

Ho Ho Ho, 41 x 41", by Betty Eastham

Betty Eastham says that about half of the fabric for this wall quilt came from a kit by Pearl Pereira; the other half were her choice. There are over 200 appliques in each border and about 200 appliques in the center panel! She says, "It took me about a year to complete this wall hanging." (The pattern is Ole Time Santa, available at P3 Designs.)

Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2019 Santa Clara Valley Quilt Assocition show.

Wednesday, December 18, 2019

Twelve Days of Christmas Quilts ! Day 8

This Sparkle quilt really shines, with its cheerful red pinwheels amongs a sea of black and white fabrics! Diane Thomson says the quilt was based on a pattern by Kim Brackett (who has authored several books on scrap quilting.) Diane also notes that she had fun working with the many different black and white fabrics. The quilting designs (by The Granary) swirl and swoop across the quilt, reminding us of snow blowing in the wind on a wintry day.

Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2019 Santa Clara Valley Quilt Association show.

Tuesday, December 17, 2019

Twelve Days of Christmas Quilts ! Day 7

Simply Splendid by Ruth Davis won the Director's Award at this year's Springville (Utah) quilt show! While it is not necessarily a Christmas quilt, the colors and sparkle fit the season perfectly!! The 12 quilt blocks in this art piece are Disappearing Hourglass blocks; you can see a photo of the pieced quilt top at Ruthie Quilts, along with a photo showing her block construction. Ruth notes, "Setting it on point with wide-open spaces allowed me to let my machine quilting "shine". I completed it using some computerized quilting, with micro quilting and pebbles done by hand."

Ruthie added couching with semi-metallic cream colored yarn, and she painted the "pebbles" with metallic paint. This was followed by the application of hundreds of gems for additional sparkle. We couldn't resist showing several photos of Ruth's outstanding quilting and embellishments! And for more details on technique, see the August's (2018) UFO post at Ruthie Quilts.

Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2019 Springville (Utah) quilt show.

Monday, December 16, 2019

Twelve Days of Christmas Quilts ! Day 6

Theresa's beautiful Felicity quilt is adorned with ornaments in holiday hues hung with golden chains. We think this quilt really brings Christmas to life! The quilt features four different pieced blocks set within octagons. Theresa Lusty created her blocks in bright fabrics with metallic accents, perfect for the holiday season.

She quilted this herself using a variety of designs in the blocks and background, as shown in these closeup photos. (The Felicity quilt pattern is by renowned designer Kate Spain.)

Image credits: Photos were taken by Santa Claus at the 2019 Springville (Utah) Quilt Show.

Friday, December 13, 2019

Twelve Days of Christmas Quilts ! Day 5

Sheila Stettler remarks, "I love to see the magic of Christmas through a child's eyes. Hopefully this quilt will inspire those who see it to remember the magic !"

In terms of technique, Sheila's quilt has something for everyone. The border is a display of traditional patchwork blocks, and the center is a series of whimsical, cheerful Santas. We are still looking for information about the source and designer of this pattern; and we'll publish it as soon as we locate it.

We imagine this is Santa in his jammies after delivering all those toys, getting ready to settle in for a long winter's nap. The cute embroidery on these blocks provides an extra-special touch.

Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2019 Springville (Utah) quilt show.

Thursday, December 12, 2019

Twelve Days of Christmas Quilts ! Day 4

Bright Christmas is a pattern designed by Linda Ambrosini for Hoffman California International Fabrics. Click here for a free PDF of this pattern and instructions (which is available as of this writing). As the designer explains, this Christmas tree is made of equilateral triangles (also known as 60 degree triangles) in various sizes. The original pattern is size 54x 66, and as Linda explains, "Some of the blocks are 8" finished size, and others are 4 smaller triangles sewn together to create the same size as the big triangle. Nesting the triangles together creates rows, which we quilters are great at sewing......"

Honorable Mention winner in the medium pieced quilts category, quiltmaker Tomie Lee writes, " I liked the Hoffman/Linda Ambrosini pattern, but not the the showcased fabrics. [So] I used scraps from my previous Christmas projects and added crystals." We think Tomie's creation turned out beautifully, and the Brenda Cornell's professional quilting of the poinsettia petals pattern with gold thread gives this work a very festive look !

Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2019 Quilt Arizona show.

Wednesday, December 11, 2019

Twelve Days of Christmas Quilts ! Day 3

It came upon us so quickly... but believe it or not, it's that time of year again: time for Twelve Days of Christmas Quilts ! We will feature an inspiring quilt each weekday, ending on Christmas Eve. We wish you a very happy, healthy and creative holiday season.
Merry Christmas to all...

p.s. Check out our many new listing at Quilt Inspiration E-Bay !! And for continuous free patterns, please follow us on Twitter !

Two Reindeer, 39 x 40, by Joy Palmer

Joy says, "I made a few fabric substitutions and added a few designer touches of my own. This past Christmas, these two reindeer graced my dining room wall and entranced my grandchildren."
This reindeer quilt pattern is by Joan Jones at Seams Like Home.

Here's a close-up of Joy's beautiful applique work, with the three-dimensional trim around their necks. These are the friskiest, highest-energy reindeer we've seen in a long time ! They look ready to carry Santa's sleigh to all corners of the world on his toy deliveries.

Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2019 Santa Clara Valley Quilters Association show (California).

Tuesday, December 10, 2019

Twelve Days of Christmas Quilts ! Day 2

Bobbie notes, "The Winter Twist quilt pattern is by Jason Yenter of In the Beginning Fabrics.
I made this quilt from a kit and had lots of fun adapting quilting patterns on my longarm to fit the design." Please note: This cheerful pattern is still available for purchase at Keepsake Quilting.
This pattern is perfect for large scale poinsettia or floral prints which can be used for the border or fussy-cut into blocks for the quilt center.

Bobbie adds, "My only regret is that I didn't use a solid backing so all my quilting work would show." However, we can clearly see the lovely quilting pattern on the front, which shows lacy holly leaves and berries! It's a perfect pattern to complement the floral motif of red poinsettia leaves and pine boughs.

Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2019 Guild of Quilters of Contra Costa County California quilt show.

Monday, December 9, 2019

Twelve Days of Christmas Quilts ! Day 1

Joy writes, "I worked on this quilt for about a year and enjoyed picking fabrics out of my stash for it. I enjoy doing quilts by this designer, [McKenna Ryan ]. Of course, I added my own little touches." This enchanting theme of Christmas in the country is beautifully done in intricate applique, with stockings hanging happily on the fence, and moose, elk, deer, ferrets, and squirrels standing in the snowdrifts, awaiting the arrival of Santa Claus.

The elk and the moose gaze in wonder as the Star of Bethlehem shines brightly in the sky. Tiny lighted windows give a charming effect to the little village, where everyone is nestled "all snug in their beds."

It's a cold winter's night in the mountains, but these snowmen appear to be having a real party ! They are joyously dancing and frolicking. Joy herself quilted this creation, and the pattern of the round pebbles provide the perfect background for the snowmen who are kicking up their heels.

Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2019 Santa Clara Valley Quilt Association show.