Modern Quilt Month: Torque!

Today's featured quilt was a response to a Mavericks art quilt theme: Four Shades Make Beautiful Quilt. Four shades of commercial teal cotton fabrics were used to create the spiral. The geometric shapes were then finished by free-motion quilting. 

p.s. Check out our E-Bay shop for bargains on jewelry, clothing, and collectibles. For free patterns, follow us on X/Twitter.  

Torque, made and quilted by Lynnita Knoch.  

Lynnita Knoch says the design was inspired by Polygon Grid Art seen on Pinterest. "As an engineer, torque — a rotational force — interests me as it is the "oomph" to get things going.  Torque is used in many engineering projects, like motors, as well as in simpler applications, like opening jars."  

The beautiful quilting was done by hand-guided free-motion quilting.  

 Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2026 Quilt Arizona show.

Modern Quilt Month: Puget Sound!

This original design quilt captures the complexity of one of the most famous waterways on the West Coast: Puget Sound, on the northwest coast of Washington state. Its striking scenery is beloved by sailors, residents, and visitors alike. This piece was finished by hand guided quilting on a stationary machine. 

p.s. Check out our E-Bay shop for bargains on jewelry, clothing, and collectibles. For more free patterns, follow us on X/Twitter.  

Puget Sound, made and quilted by Mary Hill.  

Winner of a Third Place (yellow) ribbon in the Art-Innovative category, Mary Hill explains: My sister requested I make her a quilt, as I had never done so.  I asked what type of quilt she wanted.  (Note to self:  never ask a non-quilter an open-ended question like that!)  She requested a map of Puget Sound, [so] I took the challenge on." The waterways were beautifully outlined by couching in white cord, shown below. 

'

 Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2026 Arizona Quilters Guild show. 

Modern Quilt Month: What's That Block?

What's that block, you may ask? This fascinating quilt explores aperiodic tiling - a mathematical concept where shapes cover a surface without gaps and without the layout ever repeating. We love the way in which the blocks "fade" into the gray background on the edges of the design. 

English Paper Piecing was used to create this quirky geometric challenge.  Read on for details and a FREE pattern link!

p.s. Check out our E-Bay shop for bargains on jewelry, clothing, and collectibles. For more free patterns, follow us on X/Twitter. 

What's That Block? by Beth Norris, quilted by Jessica Dickinson.  

The “Einstein Tile” is a thirteen-sided shape, discovered in 2022 by David Smith, as a shape that covers a plane using only itself, with no gaps, and no repeats in the placement. It is called an Einstein Tile, not after Albert Einstein, but a play on “ein stein” in German, meaning “one stone”.  

 

Can you see the 13-sided shape in magenta, in the closeup photo below?  NOTE: The FREE Einstein Tile Design can be found at PaperPieces.com !

 

 

Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2026 Arizona Quilters Guild show.
 

Modern Quilt Month: Joy

This original art quilt by Karen McCarty captured our attention with its flowing lines and beautiful color scheme.  Karen says, "I wanted this piece to be uplifting and express a joyful feeling".  Joy was quilted on a stationary machine with a different quilted design in each of the colorful strips.

p.s. Check out our E-Bay shop for bargains on jewelry, clothing, and collectibles. For more free patterns, follow us on X/Twitter. 

Joy, made and quilted by Karen McCarty  

Originally from Fairbanks, Alaska, Karen McCarty now splits her time between Arizona and Oregon. She has been quilting about 40 years. She started before rotary cutters and mats, using machine piecing and hand quilting. Over the years she has delved into raw edge and turned applique, paper piecing, playing with hexies, landscapes, painting on fabric, and free motion quilting. 

 Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2026 Arizona Quilters Guild show.

 

Modern Quilt Month: Rigamarole

Here's a gorgeous abstract art quilt by Claire Victor made with English Paper Piecing (EPP). It was double batted and free motion quilted on a domestic Bernina machine. Claire's amazing geometric quilting really stands out on this piece (scroll down for a closeup photo!)

p.s. Check out our E-Bay shop for bargains on jewelry, clothing, and collectibles. For more free patterns, follow us on X/Twitter. 

Rigamarole, made and quilted by Claire Victor.  

Ribbons of color weave in and out, crossing and overlapping in a complex Mobius strip that keeps the eye moving! Claire Victor says Rigamarole represents "an exciting change, taking me in a different direction as it was not designed using a grid or computer, it was drafted freehand.  My focus is the same as I am looking for depth, movement, and action."   

Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2026 Arizona Quilters Guild show.  Rigamarole won a 3rd place ribbon in the Art-Abstract category.

 

Modern Quilt Month: Daybreak!

This original design is a beautiful modern representation of the sun rising over water. It is done all in solid colors with quilting following the curves of the water and sun.  Daybreak won the 1st Place award in the Modern Quilt category at the 2026 Tucson (Arizona) Quilters Guild show.

p.s. Check out our E-Bay shop for bargains on jewelry, clothing, and collectibles. For more free patterns, follow us on X/Twitter.  

Daybreak, made and quilted by Rachel Radspinner 

The artist, Rachel Radspinner, says that the design was inspired by a New Year's resolution to master curves. "This rising sun recalls mornings spent walking with my husband and dog along the Delaware Shore.  I thank my parents, brother and husband for their thoughtful input."

 Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2026 Tucson Quilters Guild show.

Modern Quilt Month: Circles and Arcs!

Circles and arcs distinguish this stunning modern piece! It is one in a series by Debbie Schultz developed from a single doodle/sketch —in this case, she challenged herself to see how many circles and arcs she could piece, applique or stitch into the appliqued basket weave background.  

p.s. Check out our E-Bay shop for bargains on jewelry, clothing, and collectibles. For more free patterns, follow us on X/Twitter.  

My Red Circles #2 by Debbie Schultz (Arizona)  

My Red Circles #2 was machine pieced, machine appliqued, and machine quilted without a frame (domestic). Debbie used the "six minute circle" technique by Dale Fleming* along with Karen Kay Buckley's bias stem technique for arcs and circles less than 1/2" wide. After completely quilting and embellishing the piece with stitching, she added "ghost quilting" in white and over the top of the prior quilting to draw in the viewer asking 'what is that' or 'do I really see that?' 

*The "Six-Minute Circle" (or "6-Minute Circle") technique is a fast, pinless piecing method for sewing circles into quilt blocks or fabric, developed by quilter Dale Fleming. It uses temporary fabric glue (instead of pins) to baste layers together before machine sewing, allowing precise curves without puckering or shifting.

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

Modern Quilt Month: Orange Blast!

July is Modern Quilt Month! We admire the many talented artists making their names in the modern quilt movement! Émilie Trahan is a textile artist and quilter living in Joliette, Québec, Canada. Fascinating curves, colors and shadows distinguish her Orange Blast. 

p.s. Check out our E-Bay shop for bargains on jewelry, clothing, and collectibles. For more free patterns, follow us on X/Twitter.  

Orange Blast, 78 x 82", by Émilie Trahan (Joliette, Quebec, Canada) @mili.tra  

Winner of a 1st Place ribbon in the Piecing category at the 2025 QuiltCon show, this was the first of a series of quilts by Emilie Trahan exploring the relationship of the color red with every other color. This quilt focuses on red and orange. Remarkably, this quilt was made entirely with upcycled fabrics (mainly bed linens) along with upcycled flannel sheets for the batting. 

Emilie says, "In this particular quilt, I was envying painters for their abilities to mix colors and make new ones.  So I attempted to make my own new colors with fabrics by combining stripes of fabric together."  Orange Blast was improvisationally pieced and machine quilted without a frame on a domestic machine.  

Image credits: photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2025 QuiltCon show in Phoenix, Arizona.

 

Home Free

A local quilt group issued a challenge to its members: Make a quilt with the theme of Freedom. The resulting entries were exhibited at the 2026 Quilt Arizona show titled Let Freedom Ring.  We love this Dresden quilt variation surrounded by flying geese in red, white and blue.

p.s. Check out our E-Bay shop for great bargains on jewelry, clothing, and collectibles. For more free patterns, follow us on X/Twitter.  

Home Free, made and quilted by Elisa Lawrance 

Inspired by Dresden Neighborhood by Kim Lapacek of Persimon Dreams, Elisa Lawrance says: "When I started with the pattern from Kim Lapacek, I ended up with a round piece. I then drafted the flying geese to make a ring around the houses to fit within the Night Owls [quilt group] challenge of 36"."  She then embellished with crystals, buttons, and beads. 

In the closeup photo below you can see many embellishments including a daisy, snowman, guitar, baseball and bat (see below).  The center of the Dresden reads "Let freedom ring."

 Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2026 Quilt Arizona show.

Beach Dreams (FREE patterns!)

Add a summer vibe to your decor with four FREE beach-inspired patterns! Make a pillow, mini quilt or throw quilt just for fun. Download your favorites today!

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

Beach Dreams, 16" square, free pattern by Becky Glasby for the National Quilt Museum (CLICK for PDF download)

 Surf's Up quilt, 66 x 74", free pattern by Riley Blake Designs (CLICK for PDF download) 

Surfin’ USA quilt, 60 x 74”, free pattern at Michael Miller Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)

Flip flop pillow, free pattern at Yarnspirations (CLICK for PDF download)

 

Celebrate Life!

This quilt makes us smile! Artist Mel Dugosh captured the joy of her first snorkeling excursion with this original art quilt. We love Mel's colorful outfit, the appliqued bubbles, and the curious fish inspecting her painted fingernails!  

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

Who Does Your Stripes? made and quilted by Mel Dugosh (Texas) @quiltanddagger

This original design was created with hand applique, embellishment, embroidery, and piecing; and machine piecing and quilting.  Mel Dugosh says, "During my first snorkeling excursion in the Gulf of Mexico, many colorful fish surrounded my hands, staring in awe and amazement at my intricately painted fingernails. they appeared to ask, "Who does your stripes?"  

This quilt perfectly reflects the theme of this exhibit, "Celebrate Life."  Mel says, "The deeper question for me has been understanding the wonders of intimate, unspoken relationships between humans and all creatures celebrating life."  

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

Back Pocket Blues (+ FREE patterns!)

We love quilts made from recycled clothing such as denim jeans!  Here is a work of art by Candace Hackett Shively, who is a member of Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA). This original wall quilt is made with jeans pockets as if seen from "behind"!   

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

Back Pocket Blues by Candace Hackett Shively @chshively (Fayetteville, Georgia) 

Back Pocket Blues was made with hand applique, dyeing, and painting; machine piecing, applique, and quilting; painting using Derwent inktense pencils; and hand-guided machine lettering. Candace Hackett Shively says, "Our blue jeans, especially their back pockets, document our day-to-day lives in a blues tune of thread and softness. The faded indigo and frayed edges wrap around our bodies and our hands with familiarity.  We rely on those pockets to keep us company, keep us organized, and add a bit of improvisational blues to our lives."

Shown below are some of the machine-quilted sayings around the border of the quilt, which reflect everyday thoughts about stuff we keep in our jeans pockets (Anybody see my keys? - Can't live without pockets!)

 For easy-to-sew quilt patterns and tutorials, check out our Free Pattern Day for Denim Quilts (CLICK HERE!)

 

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

 

 

Let the Sun Shine (+FREE patterns!)

 "Let the Sun Shine" reminds us of a song from a LONG time ago (Remember The 5th Dimension and the musical, Hair from the 1960s? We do.)  Here's a sunny quilt to bring back the mood.  Also scroll down for FREE sun quilt patterns!

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

Let The Sun Shine! made and quilted by Ann Wells 

This is such a cheerful quilt! Ann Wells says that she loves the Arizona sunshine, so she designed this quilt to reflect that. "I wanted to convey the varied rays of the sun and the beauty of the many flowers blooming in the sun. After piecing the quilt, I used a silk thread to quilt it to add shine."

To fire your imagination, here are some more sunny quilts and FREE patterns (CLICK HERE!)

 

 Image credits: Photos of Let The Sun Shine were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2026 Tucson Quilters Guild show.

 

A Moose and a Kitten

Q: What do a moose and a kitten have in common?  A: They both can be made into quilts! Here are two paper pieced patterns by designer Lisa Fryxell from her Prefurred Quilt Shop on Etsy!

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

Rocky Mountain Moose by Lisa Fryxell (Prefurred Quilt Shop)

This quilt is from Lisa Fryxell's series about wildlife in Colorado. She says, "Moose wander into campgrounds and down streets in mountain towns.  Just don't get between a cow and her calf (!)  This quilt is foundation paper pieced from my own design."  

 Retro Kitten by Lisa Fryxell (Prefurred Quilt Shop)

This is the first in a series of mid-century modern patterns by Lisa Fryxell, who says: "I grew up in the 50s and 60s so this pattern brings me back to my childhood. I had a black cat named Tinkerbell. My parents had made artsy craftsy mosaic pictures of cats that looked like this cat. I chose the colors to go with a mid-century theme (into the 1970s) for this quilt."  

 Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2024 Tucson Quilters Guild show.

Improvisational piecing: Round Trip!

Today's featured quilt was inspired by the quarter circle or drunkard's path shapes. Seen another way, these resemble three-quarters Dresden wheels.  We love the complimentary colors and improvisational piecing! Also scroll down for two FREE patterns for Dresden wheel quilts.

Round Trip by Mary Landon (Florida) @addictedtofabric 

Mary Landon says she began piecing these blocks improvisationally, but then switched to newspaper foundations. She says, [I'm] "still trying to use up scraps, this time green, pink and blue."   The background was improvisationally pieced as well.The techniques used include machine piecing, improvisational piecing, and machine quilting on a longarm. 

Photos of Round Trip by Mary Landon were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2025 QuiltCon show.  For similar (but conventionally-pieced) designs, check out the FREE patterns below!

Four Eyes quilt, free pattern by Tamara Kate for Michael Miller Fabrics  (CLICK for PDF download!) 

Round Robin quilt, free pattern by Natalie Crabtree for Michael Miller Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download!) 

 

A View from Above

Today's featured quilt illustrates the magic of optical illusions combined with solid color fabrics. This is modern quilting at its best!

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

Sky Top 3 by Nancy Lambert (Greensboro, Georgia)

Various circular shapes are fit into the landscape to depict the environment and have an optical illusion of a sphere.  Both variations of color intensity and hue are used to creat the illusion.  Sky Top 2 is machine pieced and machine quilted without a frame.

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

Z is for Zinnia, C is for Cosmos

Kathie Kerler is a quilter and hand embroiderer. While she creates abstract quilts and still ventures into traditional work, her niche is representational art quilts. Kathie says that her goal in creating Z is for Zinnia was to give the viewer the feeling of gazing into a lush garden. 

Z is for Zinnia, C is for Cosmos, 31.5″ x 41.5″, by Kathie Kerler (Portland, Oregon)  

As someone who began her fiber art practice with hand embroidery and a particular love of crewel work, Kathie Kerler gravitated to appliqué as her primary construction technique. She says, "This quilt brought together my skills and knowledge, beginning with the design of sylized flowers that I brought to life with hand embroidery, hand-twisted cords, and machine quilting." 

The beautiful hand embroidery adds an extra dimension and texture to the whole design. 

In addition to creating fiber art, Kathie Kerler has been judging quilts and wearables nationally since 2002 and she is certified through the National Association of Certified Judges (NACQJ). Please visit KathieKerler.com to see more of her beautiful work.

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