Christmas 2020 (part 2)

As Christmas approaches, we wish you good health and peace of mind.  Here is a quilt embroidered with snowmen, bringing to mind this quote by Pietro Aretino:

Let us love winter, for it is the spring of genius.

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I Believe in Snowmen by Rod Ohmart, 56 x 64,  quilted by Debbie Stanton

This very pretty quilt pattern, from  Anne Sutton of Bunny Hill Designs, caught our eye at the 2020 Quilt Arizona ! show. For those readers who may be interested, this redwork embroidery and applique pattern is available for purchase at this shop on etsy.com

(Please note that this reference does not constitute an endorsement; nor do we receive any compensation for this link. We are simply providing a potential source in case any readers inquire).

Quiltmaker Rod Ohmart explains, "This was the first quilt I have made from beginning to end. I enjoyed embroidering the designs and piecing the quilt." 

I Believe In Snowmen contains log cabin blocks set en pointe, along with appliques of houses, a Christmas tree, and a reindeer. Interspersed with the patchwork are blocks of whimsical snowmen in various poses, designed in folk-art style. For an interesting free video tutorial on how to do the embroidery on this quilt, check out  designer Anne Sutton's instructional video here.

Longarm quilter Debbie Stanton did a lovely and creative job on this quilt. This pattern of spirals reminds us of wind blown clouds of snow drifting through the sky, ready to softly drop fresh powder, ready to be formed into new batches of snow people. 

 Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2020 Quilt Arizona show.

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.

Spring and Easter Quilts!

Spring has sprung, and Easter is drawing near !  It's a favorite time of year with visions of flowers in bloom and sunny days.  Here are quilts that inspire us with springlike colors, baskets, and bunnies.

Easter Basket by Marlene Cook, quilted by LaReesa Baldwin

With its basket full of tulips, surrounded by chicks and eggs, Marlene Cook describes this project as fun to make. She used lattice print fabric to create the basket, and embellished the flowers with colorful buttons.

Embroidery stitches add detail to the chicks and flowers.  (We're still searching for the source of this adorable pattern.)

Rhapsody in Blues by Georgia Thorne

Georgia Thorne used a selection of  stitches, fabric paint, threads and Angelina to create her original design.  This lovely quilt was inspired by music, hence the title, Rhapsody in Blues.  The bunny was made with trapunto.

Bunny Block by LeAnn Hileman

LeAnn Hileman says, "My appliqued bunnies are framed by grassy rings of green." The blocks were based on Grandma's Bunnies by Darcy Ashton.  The blanket stitch applique, done in black thread, gives the bunnies a vintage feel.

Carrot Patch by Kathy Urban

This darling carrot patch-themed quilt is complete with rabbits, chicks, and lots of carrots! The pattern is by The Quilt Company.  Kathy Urban says, "I love animals and enjoy making seasonal quilts that I can bring out to celebrate a certain time of year. This one made me laugh when I saw the chick in high heels."

Rabbits Prefer Chocolate by Rose Rumball-Petre

This is a wonderful Easter color version of the Rabbits Prefer Chocolate pattern by Anne Sutton. Inspired by vintage chocolate molds, each block has it's own personality. We love Rose Rumball-Petre's use of pastel colors and the combination of yellow and periwinkle in the border.  The quilt was machine pieced and appliqued, and hand quilted.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the Springville (Utah) quilt show (Easter Basket), the 5Bee Quilters Guild show (Rabbits Prefer Chocolate), the Diablo Valley Quilters Guild show (California), and Quilt Arizona (Rhapsody in Blues, Bunny Block).

24 Days of Christmas at Quilt Inspiration - Day 20

Welcome to the 24 days of Christmas ! Each day this month, up through Christmas Eve, we'll feature a work of fiber art that reflects the joy and beauty of the season ! Let's continue with Day 20.

Note: Please check out our eBay shop, where we are Top-Rated Sellers, for great bargains on quilt patterns, fabric, and vintage jewelry! For free quilt patterns, please visit us on Twitter!

Christmas Makes Me Happy by Myrt Gehring , quilted by Carole Lifferth

Myrt explains, "I love Christmas and have made several Christmas quilts.  This one put me to the test! Lots of work. I enjoyed making it so much !"

Close-up, Christmas Makes Me Happy

Above,you can see the different fun quilting patterns for each block, as well as the log cabin blocks which are alternated with charming redwork embroidery of snowmen, angels, and stars.

The pattern is "I Believe in Snowmen" by Anne Sutton at Bunny Hill Designs.

Myrt concludes, "My quilts are going to each of my grandchildren when they get married. Hopefully by then, they will apreciate all the work and love that goes into each one ! Quilts are a treasure ! "

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2017 Springville (Utah) quilt show.

Welcome Fall

Fall is arriving in the North, and we've selected some autumn quilts to share.  We hope our readers had a healthy, safe and happy summer!

Note: for continual free patterns, please visit us on  Twitter!  For great bargains on quilt books and fabric, check out our eBay store!

Golden Leaves by Virginia Standley

Virginia Standley says, “The skeletonized leaves are highlighted with a wax metallic finish. They are stitched to samples of drapery fabric and framed by a small gold silk border. The piece is mounted on my ice-dyed fabric, which I could not bear to cut, so it became the background for this art quilt.”

Maple Leaves in a Color Study, group project, quilted by Audrey Hutchinson

The maple leaf blocks were made by members of the Progressive Party Friendship Group of the Amador Valley Quilters Guild and the final project was quilted by Audrey Hutchinson. Audrey chose purple for this color study. “I made one block and packed my bag with all the purple fabrics I had from the palest lavender to the deepest purples. Each member made 1 or 2 maple leaf blocks. I set the blocks on the diagonal and when completed had almost used up my purple stash. Almost !”

My Pumpkin Patch by Janice Brook, quilted by Dianne Schweikert

The pattern for this quilt was from a book called Country Quilts of Friends by Margaret Peters and Anne Sutton. Janice Brooke bought the book in 2004; she made the pumpkin blocks, then put the quilt on a shelf until last year when she decided to finish it. The leaves, stems and pumpkins were beautifully embroidered.

Wild Pineapple quilt by Susan Benson, quilted by Dianne Schweikert

Susan Benson says Wild Pineapple began in a class taught by Jean Impey. "It was a fun class given by a fun teacher who had an infectious enthusiasm. I took this home and then took it on a trip up the coast, sewing away everywhere we stopped... As with all my quilts, it’s not perfect, but I love the colors. [It was] quilted beautifully by Dianne Schweikert of Livermore (California).”

Autumn Blessings by Kia Johnson

Kia Johnson used an embroidery machine to create the blocks for this stunning quilt, which was based on the Baltimore Autumn pattern by Pearl Pereira at P3 Designs.  There is an amazing amount of applique detail in the blocks, which include all the themes of autumn: leaves, squirrels, wheat stalks, and pumpkins, in wonderful colors.

For free quilt patterns for Autumn, please check out our FREE PATTERN DAY !

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2017 Amador Valley Quilters Guild show (California).

Amador Valley Quilt Show (California): Day 1

We recently attended the annual quilt show of the Amador Valley Quilters in Livermore, California, with the theme "Colors of the Vineyard". This prolific guild had two big rooms full of fabulous quilts It's difficult to decide which quilts to feature, as they were all wonderful ! Let's get started with Day 1.

(We're featuring fun books, patterns, and fabrics at very low prices on Quilt Inspiration E-Bay !)

Grape Harvest by Marilyn J. Smith and Lynn Drennen-Guritz, quilted by Gina Perkes

"Grape Harvest" is a stunning, very large quilt which displays the fertile farmlands of California's Central Valley, backed by the steep Sierra Nevada Mountain Range. This quilt is based on an award-winning wall mural painted by Jessie Marinas for the city of Manteca, California, which is surrounded by vineyards.

The story continues from the description card: "Lynn saw a picture of the mural and asked the painter's permission to make a quilt. She then asked Marilyn to join her on this project and asked Gina if she would quilt it. The art depicts vineyard workers taking on the grape harvest. The quilters were able to reproduce the painted images using cotton fabric, 200 thread types, and special stitches to create life-like images."

In addition, the card notes "Marilyn takes pride that she does not use paint to create faces. More than 300 hours were put into the quilt. It has been featured in Quilt Life, On Track, Quilting Arts, and I.Q.A. magazines."  We'd like to add that this breathtaking applique project won "Best of Show" at the 2009 Road to California Quilt Show and is certainly very deserving of that honor.

Traveling Mandala by Diane Chambers

Diane writes, "The eye-pleasing circular shape and precision points of this design lured me into taking a paper-piecing project class titled "Mandala".  Loosely translated from the Sanskrit, to mean "circle", a mandala represents wholeness and appears in all aspects of life - the celestial circles of earth, sun, and moon, plus conceptual circles of friends, family, and community. Symbolism aside, I enjoyed making this deceptively intricate looking wall-hanging with 2.5' strips from jelly rolls and other fabrics in my stash."

Diane continues, [This quilt] bears the title "Traveling Mandala" because of the passport fabric in the background." We love Diane's perfect selection of background fabric for this intriguing design, which Diane quilted herself.

Mountain and Water by Christine Sagan, quilted by Melodee Wade

Christine explains, "This quilt was completed during the Opening Ceremony of the 2008 Olympic Games in China, on 08-08-08. The number eight is considered very lucky and in harmony with nature. The harmony between "Mountain and Water" was one of the themes performed by artists on a giant paper scroll; and thus became the name of the quilt, as it is my interpretation of nature's harmony."

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The quilting pattern seen here reminds us of gentle ripples on the surface of a lake and is perfect for Christine's quilt. This pretty French braid pattern was inspired by the book French Braid Quilts by Jane Hardy.

Kitty and Mouse by Helen Rydbeck, quilted by Suzi Dillinger

Helen Rydbeck says, "This quilt is a happy combination of a Bunny Hill pattern, 3 Sisters fabric, 
and Suzi Dillinger's quilting. This is the second quilt I've made at the request of my granddaughter, Isabella, to make her a kitty quilt."

Helen continues, "Look closely; each kitty has a collar and a flower on its tummy."  Also, we'd like to add that next to many of the kitties, there's a "mousie" with a embroidered tail that curls around. We think that Helen's granddaughter is very fortunate to be the recipient of this fun and adorable quilt.

French Country Charmer by Jean Crisp, quilted by Dianne Schweickert

Jean Crisp notes that she took a class at the In Between In Between Stitches Quilt Shop taught by pattern designer Lynn Wilder of Sew'n Wild Oaks.  Jean adds "I was delighted when Lynn asked me if she could share it as an example of her Country Charmer pattern when she made an appearance on Alex Anderson's "The Quilt Show".

For the interior of her quilt,  Jean did an expert job assembling the many small pieces of fabric into lovely star blocks. For the outside, she selected an equally lovely border print, which provides a perfect match to the intricate patchwork. 

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration.

The 12 Days of Christmas: Day 8

Here is Quilt Inspiration's countdown to Christmas ! Each day up to and including Christmas Eve, we'll feature a quilt that reflects the spirit and beauty of the season. Please join us for Day 8 of our celebration !

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

Catch a Christmas Star, 50 x 65", by Marlene Wunder quilted by Victoria
2016 Quilt Show by the Guild of Quilters of Contra Costa County California  

Marlene writes, "I have always enjoyed working on Christmas quilts, so when I saw this snowman pattern, I knew immediately that it would be the next project on my design wall." We're very impressed by Marlene's extensive hand applique work and embellishments, which beautifully showcase these whimsical snowmen and their collection of stars.

To all of our advanced quilters: If you would like to take on this challenging and fabulous pattern, it is available at Bunny Hill Designs. We'd love to see a photo of your finished work too! 

These doves, styled in a contemporary motif, carry a string of hearts and stars. They are surrounded by words which symbolize the values of Christmas : Love, Peace, Joy, and Hope.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration.