Diablo Valley Quilters' Guild Show Day 3

The 2017 Diablo Valley Quilters Guild show was recently held in Walnut Creek, California. Here are some of our favorite quilts!
Note: For great deals on quilt books and fabric, please visit our eBay store!

Furry Friends by Audrey McInerney

Audrey explains, " I fell in love with this pattern, but was was a little intimidated by all the applique. Nevertheless, I plunged in - my motivation being a new grandson. I found a new embroidery stitch (the Palestrina) for the wording on the borders, which was great fun to do."

Detail, Furry Friends

Audrey continues, "My husband is not quite ready to part with it, so I am waiting for my grandson to get his grown-up bed to part with it." This adorable pattern was designed by Holly Mabutas for Eat Cake Graphics , and the quilting was done by Kathy August.

Strips and Stripes by Valerie Heltgren-Lempesis

Valerie notes, "I wanted to use my collection of stripes to create a happy quilt that would take me out of my comfort zone of combinations. It did !"

Detail, Strips and Stripes

All of these happy, vibrant colors work so well together ! This work was quilted by Kerry Reed.

Silk Baby Blocks by Diana McClun

 

This quilt was inspired by a class with Rami Kim at Empty Spools Seminars.  Diana learned to weave silks into the baby block pattern. They were silk scraps from Talbott Ties in Carmel Valley, CA.

Detail, Silk Baby Blocks

The "piano key" border and intense color-saturated fabrics give this traditional pattern a very attractive, contemporary look. Diana's original design was machine quilted by Beth Hummel.

Storm at Sea by Joan Scott

Joan writes, "This quilt started as a kit for a small quilt. It added matching batik fabric to make a bed-size quilt.  The colors are arranged to make rivers or highways."

Detail, Storm at Sea

Joan herself quilted her work, using lovely even stitches that accent the curvature of traditional, pretty  pattern. Her fabric selections show a nice choice of both light and dark batik hues.

Autumn Sentinel by Sandy Johnson

This restful, serene setting with a very pleasing array of colors depicts a lone tree at sunset overlooking the ocean. Sandy herself quilted the work, and the design was made by Cathy Geier. We loved the use of complementary hues, plus light and dark values to highlight the foreground against the background.
 
Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration.

Flower Quilts for Spring

To celebrate the arrival of springtime in the northern hemisphere, here are some of cheerful floral quilts from the 2013 Arizona Quilters' Guild Show.  We hope you're inspired by the artistry and talent shown in these quilts!

Ladybug Picnic by Annie Gaunder

Annie writes,  "This quilt was made for the 2012 San Bernadino County Fair Challenge. This is an original design inspired by the challenge's ladybug fabric."

Close up, Ladybug Picnic by Annie Gaunder

Notice the jeweled ladybug pin on the sunflower, which provides a whimsical and life-like embellishment.

Piece-Lique Sunflower by Alyce J. Leach

Honorable Mention winner for Pieced Small Quilts, Alice notes,  "This Piece-lique pattern by Sharon Schamber utilizes the curved piecing technique called Piece-lique. Some of the fabrics are hand-dyed by me. "

Close-up, Piece-Lique Sunflower by Alyce J. Leach

Hundreds of tiny beads help to give texture and sparkle to the petals and center of the sunflower.

My Gecko by Leslie Schneider

Honorable Mention winner for in the Art/Innovative Quilts category, Leslie says, " [This quilt is ] constructed of hundreds of small torn scraps of fabric, glued down on my rough sketch on muslin, then an overlay of black tulle  [netting] added before quilting was done. "

Close up, My Gecko by Leslie Schneider

Here you can see some of the black tulle netting  ( especially in the upper right part of the photo), the beads used as embellishments, and the leafy foliage loosely attached to create a three dimensional effect to the gecko's surroundings.

Prairie Point Blossoms by Polly A. Law

Honorable Mention winner for Small Quilts Using Mixed Media, Polly says, "These dimensional blossoms remind me of  a Japanese garden I visited. Instructions were given by Rami Kim in the Nov. 2011 American Quilters Magazine.

Close up, Prairie Point Blossoms by Polly A. Law

Delicate and precise folding of the fabric reates an exotic and tropical look to the blossoms, framed and encircled by the vinelike leaves.

Lattice Garden, 25 x 30,  by Carol C. Clark, 2012 CCCQG

Lattice Garden, with its restful, clear solid hues, is a quilt which we really enjoyed seeing at the 2012 Contra Costa Quilters' Guild in Concord, California, last year. Carol writes, This is the second quilt I've made with flowers and trellises. The first was appliqued. This quilt was paper pieced with over 478 separate pieces. (Yes, I counted them). The quilt was designed by Eileen Bahring Sullivan of The Designer's Workshop."

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration