Northern White Rhinoceros

Quilters use their creativity to celebrate myriad subjects, including endangered species. This impressive quilt by Corinne Yarbrough from California, exhibited at the 2020 Road to California show, inspires us in many ways. 

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Northern White Rhinoceros by Corinne Yarbrough (California)

Corinne designed and made this original quilt for her nephew, whose favorite animal is the Northern White Rhinoceros.  Corinne used raw edge applique to create the magnificent animal. The background tiling design was adapted from Gloria Loughman's Radiant Landscapes.

Those who are familiar with Susan Carlson's fabric collages may recall her Pink Rhinoceros. Corinne participated in one of Susan Carlson's classes in the past, but this Northern White Rhino is her own design. Her expert use of light and dark fabrics to create the details of the rhino's face can be seen below.

Sadly, since 2018, there are only two known rhinos of this subspecies left, both of which are female. Barring the existence of unknown or mis-classified male northern white rhinos elsewhere in Africa, this makes the subspecies functionally extinct. There are hopes that another of this species might be created some day from eggs that have been banked. Meanwhile, the two remaining of this species are kept on around-the-clock guard to deter poachers, who are responsible for decimating this species.

Northern White Rhino, photo by Mistvan, Creative Commons image at Wikimedia Commons

Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2020 Road to California quilt show.

Quilts to Celebrate Autumn!

Autumn is one of the best seasons to enjoy the glorious colors of our changing environment. Mother Nature brings out her prettiest deep greens, sunny golds, and vivid oranges and reds before beginning her winter repose. We've assembled a collection of quilts to celebrate the beauty of autumn leaves as portrayed in the textile arts.

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Ananda at Last by Cheryl Olson (Utah)

Ananda is a Sanskrit word meaning "bliss." This evocative quilt was made with machine and fused applique, hand dyeing, monoprinting and screen printing.  Hand-dyed silk and cotton fabrics were used. The design draws you right into the tableau, showing two people side by side, walking in the trees. The intense colors, hand dyed fabrics, surface design and quilting help create the dimensional scene.

Fabric artist Cheryl Olson says, "I wish to create each quilt with the hope that I can magnify my love to others and my appreciation and devotion to God." The principles of design and color theory play a major role in each of her quilts.For more of her beautiful works, see her website at Cheryl Olson's Art Quilts.

Autumn Harvest by Alexandra Tsubota (California)

Alexandra Tsubota started Autumn Harvest in a Gloria Loughman class which focused on the tile background. After completing the background fairly quickly, the project sat for over a year as Alexandra contemplated the design.  She says, "In the end, my love of pumpkins won out and it made its way off the UFO pile and onto the wall." 

The tile background reminds us of a trellis; we love the colorful pumpkins, squash, and flowers hanging among the vines. The quilting enhances the shape of the pumpkins and leaves.

Autumn Evening by Barbara Oliver Hartman (Texas)

Autumn Evening was awarded First Place in the Art - Naturescape category at the 2017 Houston International Quilt Festival. It was made from snippets of fabrics left over from previous projects. The fabrics were sorted by color, then cut with a rotary cutter and scissors into very small pieces.  The pieces were then sewn to a background using a free motion zigzag stitch.  No netting or fusing was used !

Barbara says, "Working this way is very satisfying, and by using materials that easily end up in a landfill, makes the point that anything can be useful in some way."  The first piece she made this way was in 1992 and was in the 1993 Quilt National exhibit.  For more information see Barbara Oliver Hartman's website.

Patchwork Pumpkin by Barbara Raisanen (Arizona)

Barbara Raisanen made this Patchwork Pumpkin in response to a Cactus Patchers challenge (a chapter within the Arizona Quilters Guild).  The challenge was described as follows: Choose a paint chip for which you like the NAME and COLOR; use that color for the dominant color of the project; and make a project that represents that name and color.  The lovely batiks (in pumpkin color, of course) add interesting textures to the pumpkin.

Birds' Choir by Bella Kaplan (Kfar-Giladi, Israel)

This outstanding art quilt was created with machine applique and quilting; it was painted, hand-dyed, and screen printed.  The textures, colors, birds and lettering perfectly capture the autumn landscape. The predominant orange and yellow hues are complemented by splashes of sky blue. Bella Kaplan says,  "This quilt tells the story of where I live (Kfar-Giladi, Israel). I represented its agricultural area, fields, flowers, orchard trees, and many types of birds.  I enjoyed re-creating all the colors."

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2018 Road to California show (Autumn Harvest), the 2018 Quilt Arizona show (Patchwork Pumpkin), and the 2017 Houston International Quilt Festival.

2016 International Invitational Quilt Exhibition - Part 2

The 2016 International Quilt Invitation Exhibition in Brigham City, Utah, contained so many gorgeous art quilts. Come along with us on our road trip, as we show you some highlights !

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We're also selling beautiful quilt books at low introductory prices on e-Bay!

Dragon Dance by Laurie Miller, Missouri

Although it was an original pattern, artist Meilo So graciously gave Laurie permission to use her watercolor artwork to create Dragon Dance for the 2014 Hoffman Challenge. One of Laurie's challenges was to create an interesting background without overwhelming the dragon.  A subtle movement in the quilt was created by using the tessellating pinwheel pattern with McKenna Ryan's Sand in My Shoes fabric, along with other monochromatic fabrics.

Close-up, Dragon Dance

We love the images of these joyous, dancing children who celebrate as they carry the dragon along! Laurie explains that the dragon was first appliqued to separate piece of fabric and then to the background.

Tidal Images by Gloria Loughman, Australia

Gloria lives by the sea on the Bellarine Peninsula in Victoria, Australia. She has had he opportunity to travel to many parts of the continent known in some areas for its iconic sun, surf, and sand. The daily ebb and flow of the waters of the ocean viewed during her Australian adventures are captured in this lovely quilt.

Close-up, Tidal Images

We think that Gloria blends these pure, clear colors so expertly that her work resembles an impressionist watercolor painting ! The curved, winding branches of the tree form a fascinating juxtaposition with its triangular leaves and the geometric forms of the mountains.

That Secret by Denise Tallon Havlan, Illinois

The "common threads" running through Havlan's work are a love of the human form, an appreciation of different cultures- ancient and contemporary- and their celebration of color. She is drawn to indigenous people and the decorations adorning their bodies.

Close-up, That Secret

Denise notes that the influence of 19th century French painter Paul Gauguin and his bold colors in depicting Polynesian people can be seen in her work here.  Prior to Polynesians wearing colorful sarongs, feathers, flowers, and plants were used to create color that was both beautiful and spiritually significant. With the introduction of trade cloth, the islands used bright fabrics on a daily basis. We really admire the very lifelike, realistic depiction of these two women, especially the feathered fan,  hair, floral adornments, and facial expressions.

Postcards From Jerusalem by Jenny Bowker, Australia 
 

Three major religions are represented in this quilt. The floor where the postcards are scattered is similar to the design of the floor in front of the cross at Calvary in the Christian Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The border design wraps around the mosque of the Dome of the Rock, just inside its outer walls. It encloses the Jewish Holy of Holies , the Muslim site of Mohammed's ascent to heaven, and the account from the  Old Testament of  Abraham and Issac.  In one quilt, Jenny has succeeded in displaying a great deal of history and culture.

Close-up, Postcards From Jerusalem

 

In her quilt, Jenny says that she wants to convey a sense of the golden magic of Jerusalem as well as the peace that still seeps from its stones, despite the turmoil and fighting that have plagued it for the last two thousand years. We are impressed that Jenny has done a wonderful job of depicting Jerusalem, one of the most fascinating cities of the world. 

Sea Front at Bexhill-On-Sea by Stephanie Crawford, United Kingdom 

When Stephanie designed this tiny quilt, her focus was on sunlight and perspective, which is why she adapted to fabric a photograph by her friend Jayne Burton. Bexhill is a seaside town situation in the county of east Sussex in southeast England. We love the breezy, summery effect that Stephanie has created with the shimmering water, the blue sky, and the sunlit clouds. 

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration.

Highlights of the 2016 AQS QuiltWeek / 3

The 2016 AQS QuiltWeek in Phoenix, Arizona was one of the best shows ever!  With hundreds of quilts and very special exhibits by renowned quilters, it was an incredible show. Here are some of our favorite quilts.
Please note: We're continually posting free patterns on Twitter ! Check us out @quiltinspire. 

Bristlecone Spirit, 33 x 32",  by Barbara C. McElroy (Grand Lake, Colorado)

Barbara McElroy wanted to create a quilt with an ancient tree, and she picked the Bristlecone Pine, which grows between 5,600 and 11,200 ft elevation in Colorado and other arid regions of the Western United States. Barbara loves to create illusion, which is how Bristlecone Spirit came to be. Can you see the Spirit within the gnarled branches of the tree, below?

Barbara used Gloria Loughman's mosaic tiling technique to create the sun and sky behind the tree. The tiled background is created by fusing small rectangles to a background, using a variety of colors, then quilting along the edges of the strips.   This mosaic technique is explained in the book Radiant Landscapes by Gloria Loughman.  You can see the tiled strips in the closeup photo below.

Pop Art Floral, 40 x 43",  by Deborah Lord Treiber (Granby, Colorado)

The show-goers really enjoyed this quilt, and Deborah says that it gave her a chance to have fun with scraps and techniques! She included part of a Dresden plate, Mariner's Compass, folded flying geese, and appliqued circles and strips. The multicolored border fabric and black-and-white checkerboard strips really pull it all together! The Dresden blades are embellished with black and white buttons.

Floral Flashback, 58 x 65", by Jan Frazer (Elwood, Victoria, Australia)

Floral Flashback is Jan Frazers's salute to the flower power of the 1970's.  She calls it "surreal, verging on psychedelic." We'd call it magical! Flowers and leaves pop out from every corner.  Jan's technique is beautiful... the edge of each piece is finished with narrow satin stitching, and each  leaf is quilted with a different design.

Golden Temple of the Good Girls, 50 x 58", by Susan Carlson (Harpswell, Maine)

Susan Carlson is renowned for her pictorial quilts of people, fish, and other creatures.  Golden Temple of The Good Girls is "a shrine to Susan's three animal companions:  Kiiora budgie, Djinni cat, and Kali dog, whom she adores, as others do their special pets."  Susan has inspired many quilters with her technique, which she explains in Serendipity Quilts: Cutting Loose Fabric Collage. The closeup photos below show her creative use of collage to depict her animal friends.

M100, A Subtle Sermon, 52 x 58, by Ann Harwell (Wendell, North Carolina)

And here is a masterpiece by quilt artist Ann Harwell, who was inspired by a photo taken by the Hubble Telescope.  Ann says, "M100 is a spiral galaxy of grand design, 56 million light years distant.  It is a large galaxy with over 100 billion stars in well-defined spiral arms of bright star clusters and intricate winding dust lanes."  She has captured the spiral motion and the inky blackness of the surrounding space with a fascinating variety of fabrics and quilting threads.

To achieve just the right colors and values, Ann selected from prints that even included birds (can you spot the owls and hawks below?)

You can see a photo of the Ann Harwell with M100, A Subtle Sermon, along with more galleries of her work at her website, Ann Harwell Art.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration.

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.

Celebrating Autumn Quilts

We love everything about autumn: cool nights,  colorful trees, falling leaves, and  apple harvest time.  We've picked out some of our favorite fall quilts from the past twelve months to share with you today.  We hope this season is filled with sunny days, warm memories, and quilt inspiration.

Apple Scrapple by Rhonda Borders and members of the San Luis Valley Quilt Guild (Colorado)

This wonderful fall quilt has pieced, appliqued and embroidered blocks.  Rhonda Borders says, "I won a set of basket blocks in our local quilt guild.  They formed the basis of an original design using apple patterns from several sources." 

close up, Apple Scrapple by Rhonda Borders

The embroidered basket blocks surround a tree bearing colorful leaves and apples.  The quilting was done by Peg Collins (Alamosa, Colorado) who quilted swirls in the white background around the appliqued leaves and apples, echo-quilted the clamshells, and used a leaf design in the green plaid strip (see the closeup photo below).

Autumn Faery, 31 x 31", by Diane Hansen

Autumn Faery won first place for Art / Painted or Digital Images at the 2014 Arizona Quilters Guild show and Honorable Mention at the 2014 AQS Quilt Week in Phoenix, Arizona.  Diane Hansen says, "I used Tuskineko inks and about 30 colors of thread to complete this quilt." The project was inspired by a calendar art image by her favorite artist, Linda Ravenscroft, with permission.

close up, Autumn Faery by Diane Hansen

We admired the beautiful autumn colors and detailed quilting in Autumn Faery, which was started in a fabric painting workshop by Patt Blair.   Diane Hansen says that she fell in love with painting after taking the class.  To see a photo of the work in progress, see the post at Patt Blair's blog.

Double Duty by George Magee, quilted by Mary Vaneecke

Double Duty won first prize and a blue ribbon in the Large Pieced Two Person category at the 2014 Tucson Quilters Guild show.  George Magee did a wonderful job interpreting the design in autumn colors of russet, green, gold and caramel.  The design is by Carrie Nelson at Miss Rosie's Quilt Company, and the quilting is by Mary Vaneecke.

close up, Double Duty by George Magee,  quilted by Mary Vaneecke

George says, "Working with the different colors used in this quilt and organizing them in a pleasing arrangement was quite a challenge. I enjoy making tops using traditional piecing, and I appreciated Carrie Nelson's use of log cabins and flying geese." Within the log cabins,  Mary Vaneecke quilted the octagon shapes with a design resembling a sunflower.

September Song by Jane M. Rua

Winner of an Honorable Mention award at the 2014 Arizona Quilters' Guild Show, Jane notes that her quilt is inspired by a class taught by Rita Blocksom, using Gloria Loughman's Quilted Symphony book. We enjoyed this quilt, which features large leaves, boldly outlined with prominent veins, as they drift through the air. Jane has quilted very intriguing leaf patterns into the dark green outer border, which emphasize the motif of swirling movement.

Close up, September Song by Jane M. Rua

Golden yellow, silver, and charcoal gray together are an innovative color combination which provide a contemporary, refreshing feel to this work. We like Jane's choice of patterned batik fabrics for the neutral background.  The leaves are finished with blanket stitching.

Texas Gold by Vickie Owen

Texas Gold was part of "The American Tradition", a show within a show at the 2013 Houston International Quilt Festival.  Vickie explains, "My first quilt, made 30 years ago, was a Texas Lone Star. It wasn't too bad, although my color choices have definitely changed over the years ! I love the Lone Star pattern and fell in love with [the color combination shown here], so I was excited to create this quilt when I found the pattern in an old magazine."

Close up, Texas Gold by Vickie Owen

 

Vickie has added a circle of slate blue and white floral print fabric diamonds a few rows out from the center.  They  provide a  midway focal point and draw the viewer's eye towards the symmetrical patterns of appliqued leaves. Vickie's  work is machine pieced and appliqued. She adds, "The Lone Star design is one of the oldest and most recognizable quilt designs, and thus appropriate for "The American Tradition" exhibit.

The Falling Leaves of Red and Gold by C.J. Fuhrman, quilted by Rose Maynes

C.J. notes that her quilt was started in 2004 and finished in 2013. (We all can certainly relate to the fact that our most impressive project sometimes take years to complete !) It was originally made for the 2004 fall meeting of the Arizona Quilters' Guild, but it wasn't quilted until 2013. CJ's work was inspired by the Cabin Cozy pattern in the American Patchwork and Quilting Magazine.

Close up, The Falling Leaves of Red and Gold by C.J. Fuhrman, quilted by Rose Maynes

Here's a wonderful example of two very traditional patterns which look great when juxtaposed. The bear's paw center blocks work perfectly with the log cabin blocks which surround them. Both the  lacy white longarm quilting design on the outer border and the curved pattern on the blocks show up really well without overpowering the angular patchwork.

Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration.