Best of the September quilt show! Day 3

Welcome to a new season of quilt shows ! We had a wonderful time at the Diablo Valley Quilters' show in California.  We wanted to share a few more of our favorite pieced and appliqued quilts from this fun show.

Tahoe Sunrise by Charlene Dakin

Charlene Dakin says, “I designed this quilt from a photo I took (the bears were not in the photo!) I took Gloria Loughman’s class at Asilomar on tiling landscapes. Her class was very enjoyable and well worth the cost.”   Charlene created a beautiful watercolor effect of the sunrise, using Gloria's mosaic tile process.

Happy Days by Linda Reid

Happy Days refers to the fact that Linda Reid completed this quilt! This is one of the prettiest Farmer’s Wife Sampler Quilts we've ever seen. Linda Reid says, "I had finished 2 years of Civil War fabrics and needed something bright." We love the color combinations of turquoise, apricot, teal and pink, and the beautiful print border.

In addition to quilting in the ditch, each block was quilted with a scrolled or spiral pinwheel design.  The blocks are based on The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt: 55 Letters and the 111 Blocks They Inspired by Laurie Aaron Hird. 

E Komo Mai by Ellen Eller, quilted by Elaine Beattie

“E Komo Mai” is Hawaiian for “Welcome – Come In”. The quilt is a representation of a welcoming door mat, upon which visitors place their slippers/flip flops when entering. The surprise comes when you look carefully at the flip flops and see that they are three-dimensional.  The straps stick out from the surface of the quilt, just like real flip flops!

Ellen says,  "I made this for my son when he moved into his home on Maui. It’s one of my first quilts."  She says that the pattern is by Pattern Adaptation; we found it online at the Maui Quilt Shop.

Happy Cow, ~30 x 30", by Faith Andresen

This happy cow, created with Kaffe Fassett fabrics and other prints, is based on the Jersey Girl pattern by Barbara J. Jones (you can see this fun pattern at BJ's Designs).  We admired the fabric selection and the beautiful machine applique work with blanket stitching, as shown in the photo below. 

Yoyoville by Maryann Maiorana

Hooray for yo yos (and houses) !  Maryann Maiorana says, "Two years ago, a friend introduced me to this pattern [by Bunny Hill Designs]. It was love at first sight. It was so much fun finding fabrics for the almost 200 yo yos."

The border of whimsical houses, punctuated with yo yo trees and flowers, really makes this quilt!  Maryann says,  "Appliqueing the yoyos and houses made for great armchair handwork. My granddaughter, Natalia, has laid claim to it. We shall see."

Lily Pond by Catherine Jarett

The yummy colors and restful shades of blue and green really drew us to this quilt.  Catherine Jarett says, [This quilt is] “my interpretation of the mood evoked by Monet’s water lilies paintings, with some modern quilting sensibility mixed in.” 

The center medallion is made from a print fabric that was quilted with wavy vertical lines.  Catherine did a wonderful job piecing and quilting the outer rows of snowballs, as shown below.

 Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration.

The Advent of Christmas Day 8: Christmas with Dear Jane

Here is our third and final "Christmas with Dear Jane" post. The quilt was made by Sue Mead, who says:  "This quilt is a selection of blocks from Dear Jane, Sylvia’s Wedding Quilt and [the] Farmer’s Wife Quilt. The borders are Dear Jane blocks made by my retreat group."

Holiday Tree, 60 x 72", by Sue Mead, quilted by Suzi Dillinger 

The blue background with scattered pinwheels gives the appearance of the night sky, and the animal silhouettes under the tree add to the feeling of the great outdoors.

close up, Holiday Tree by Sue Mead, quilted by Suzi Dillinger

The ruffled-looking edges of the tree were made with appliqued holly leaves on a half-square triangle, accented with cheerful red hearts.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2013 Diablo Valley Quilt Guild.

Sylvia's Bridal Sampler, Pearl's Pieces, The Farmer's Wife and Salinda W. Rupp quilts

At the recent quilt show we were excited to find sampler quilts representing some of the most popular designs around:  Sylvia's Bridal Sampler, The Farmer's Wife, and the Salinda Rupp quilt (aka Nearly Insane).  In addition there was a beautiful and unique sampler, exhibited as a memorial to a local quilter.  Here are sampler quilts from the 2013 DVQG show.

Sylvia's Bridal Sampler, 98 x 98", by Christine Taylor

The design for this quilt is Sylvia’s Bridal Sampler. The story is in the book called The Master Quilter by Jennifer Chiaverini, in which the friends of Elm Creek Quilts founder Sylvia Compson plan to make her a special quilt to celebrate her wedding. For her version of the quilt, Christine Taylor changed the setting and added four more blocks (and modified some blocks) to total 144 different blocks.

close up, Sylvia's Bridal Sampler by Christine Taylor

The blocks are mostly pieced and paper-pieced with some applique, as shown above. We loved Christine's choice of colors, which matched the elegant floral fabric she used in the sashing and borders.

Pearl's Prized Pieces, 92 x 92",  pieced by Pearl Denison, quilted by Elaine Beattie

Pearl Lillian Denison (1928-2012) was born in Vanguard, Saskatchewan and came to the United States in 1954. During her 20 year retirement she enjoyed traveling, gardening and quilting.  Fran Schweitzer, who owns the quilt and entered it in the show, says: “[This quilt has] 112 totally different pieced blocks, many blocks with more than 50 pieces. Beautiful work by Pearl (RIP).”  In this clever setting, the blocks are offset at three different levels around the quilt, such that the blocks appear to tumble around the border. 

close up, Pearl's Prized Pieces

The use of ivory and cream provides a unifying background for the many-colored blocks; in this photo you can see an airplane, stars, pinwheels, shoo fly, a shamrock, a schoolhouse and hearts. The blocks surround large and small trees of life.

The Farmer's Wife, 84 x 95", by Carroll Stephens, quilted by Sharon Graves

First published in 2009, the Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt is filled with letters from 1920s farm wives and the quilt blocks they inspired.   The quilt was designed by Laurie Aaron Hird and consists of 111 classic 6" blocks. Carroll Stephens' classic version is true to the original; the blocks are set on point and topped with cornerstones.

close up, The Farmer's Wife quilt by Carroll Stephens

In this close up photo you can see Carroll's perfectly pieced blocks, rendered in a multitude of colors.  This quilt is challenging to construct; for reviews and readers' tips see the book web page at Amazon.
 
Nearly Nearly Insane, 55 x 65",  by Pam Creason

Pam Creason says: “Every once in a while I enjoy making a quilt that is really challenging. This was one of those quilts… The original quilt had [93] blocks and my quilt contains 40 for if I had made all of the blocks I would have gone Nearly Insane.”  The 1870's-era Salinda W. Rupp quilt was brought to light by Liz Lois, who spent 3 years reproducing the blocks; she named the pattern Nearly Insane. The full quilt has over 5,500 pieces.

close up, Nearly Nearly Insane by Pam Creason

You can see some of the incredibly detailed blocks in this close up photo, with their tiny triangles, diamonds and squares.  Pam Creason did a fabulous job piecing and quilting her masterpiece.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration.

Quilt Show catch up: Part 4

~The September Giveaway is coming soon. Stay tuned !
We found so many photos that we never published from the 2013 Arizona Quilters' Guild Show that we're extending our catch-up into another week. We hope you enjoy viewing these quilts as much as we did.

Zuni by Patti Friesz and Scrap Rats

Here's a wonderful bargello quilt done in a southwestern pattern with vibrant earth and sky hues. Patty says, " [In] the Queen Valley (Arizona) Scrap Rats Quilting Club, each member participated in making this quilt. It's our 2013 Opportunity Quilt and raises funds for the Queen Valley Fire Authority."  The pattern is from Traditions with a Twist by Blanche Young and Dalene Young Stone.

Walk in the Woods by Elaine Filyk

Here's a very interesting quilt featuring images of nature created by the cyanotype process.  An object is placed onto  fabric treated with chemicals to make it light sensitive, then the fabric is exposed to ultra-violet light. As the image develops, it creates a silhouette effect. In this case, Elaine has used blossoms, flowers, leaves, twigs, and other objects of nature to create the blocks of her quilt.

Close up, Walk in the Woods by Elaine Filyk

Elaine says, "These unique textile cyanotypes (like a blueprint process) represent a collage of images from around the world surrounding our cottage in Canada." The pretty border fabric in watercolor tones really enhances the emphasis on nature and the outdoors.

Autumn Glory by Trudy Cowan

Trudy notes, "[This quilt] gloriously proclaims October in the Rocky Mountain foothills. Hand-painted, heat-mealted, fusibles, machine lace leaves, and free-motion stitching, padding, texturing, and rock beads all add scenic depth." With her excellent craftsmanship,  Trudy has attached the leaves to provide a striking three-dimensional effect,  lending the illusion that the leaves have just left the tree and are fluttering in the breeze.

Pirate's Treasure by Cindy Phare

Just like Walt Disney's "The Little Mermaid", a scuba diver ventures "under the sea" and discovers an enchanted world.  Cindy writes, " I would love to go diving one day and see  a pirate party in Davy Jones' locker with crabs having a sword fight on the ocean floor."

Close up,  Pirate's Treasure by Cindy Phare

A rhinestone eye patch adorns this octopus who presides over an ancient shipwreck. There's a great deal of whimsical detail on Cindy's very charming quilt.

Close up,  Pirate's Treasure by Cindy Phare

Cindy even found little gold coins to cement inside the treasure chest. These fun embellishments give this quilt a lot of sparkle and originality.

Tracking the 6" Bear Paw by Sharon Mayer, quilted by Jessica (Jones) Gamez

Blue ribbon winner for Best Pieced Large Quilt, Sharon Mayer's fabulous work appears to be a Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt.  Over one hundred 6" traditional blocks are joined together "en pointe", surrounded by black sashing, which gives this quilt a vintage Amish look.  The amount of labor and planning required to construct this quilt is most impressive.

Close up, Tracking the 6" Bear Paw by Sharon Mayer,  quilted by Jessica (Jones) Gamez

At the top of the photo, you can see the tiny bear paw block, just to the left of the red basket. We are amazed by Sharon's expertise in accurately piecing these intricate blocks. Sharon notes, "Thanks to family and friends for inspiration (and fabric); [This was a challenge].... it includes my favorite [Bear Paw] block, which doesn't finish at 6 inches without the dreaded word : "math" !

Image credits: All photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2013 Arizona Quilters Guild show

Wine Country Quilt Show - Day 7

Here are more great quilts from Santa Rosa, California. The guilds around this medium size town 50 miles north of San Francisco contain many talented and prolific quilters.

Hawaiian Fish by Carroll Hirsch

We wanted to pack our bags and head straight for the islands, after seeing these really fun, vibrantly colored appliqued fish swimming around, surrounded by royal blue sashing. Carroll Hirsch says, "Going into a fabric store on Kauai, buying a stack of cut fabric for the fish and a Beyond the Reef pattern [designed by Natalie Barnes] started my journey into quilting."

Flowers by Natalie Polin

Natalie Polin says, "Japanese pattern from a class taught by Judy Bianchi at Fabrications in Healdsburg, California. Most of the fabrics are from Japan, collected in a visit to Japan. The cheerful, bright nine patch border make the cinnamon red, chambray blue, and soft gray blocks really sparkle.

Red, White, and Blue Farmer's Sampler by Marilyn Drew

An eye-catching giant sampler, this quilt contains so many fascinating designs. It's like looking through a huge scrapbook of interesting patterns. Marilyn Drew writes, "This is from the Farmer's Wife sampler book."

Tree of Paradise by D.J. Berger

Here's a precisely pieced quilt that shows excellent workmanship of the Amish pine tree pattern. The creative sawtooth border replicates the the tree tops and adds a very cohesive effect. D.J. Berger says, "Fell in love with the border fabric and lucky to find a soft yellow background at the same shop in Lakeport. Quilting pattern is taken from Islamic Art." 

Iowa Barn 3:1946 by Pam Pilcher

This architectural theme quilt is actually four separate panels held together by steel hinges. We thought it was one of the most unique and innovative works at the quilt show.  Pam Pilcher writes, " The Pilcher barn in its red paint days, stands near Lawton, Iowa. These photos, scanned and printed on fabric, were taken in 1946, with the working team  [of horses] Mike and Pete pulling a wagon out front. The  [image made from] rubbing the hinge on the top board is one that was removed from a door when the farm was sold in 1978. Barn Board fabric was painted and rubbed with Setacolor and Shiva Paint Sticks.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration.