Happy (quilted) Holidays! The Best of Christmas 2014 (part 3)

There's something about the December holidays and the art of quilting that goes together perfectly. Maybe it's the opportunity to share our creative talents and ideas with others in the spirit of the season. In that spirit, we're showing a very festive collection of quilts each week until Christmas. Here is Part 3 !

Spirit of Christmas, 61 x 54", by Cathleen Anderson (California), 2014 PIQF

Cathleen Anderson says, "I used The Whole Nine Yards in various techniques of embellishing... I put my own twist to this pattern and had great fun with the quilting." This quilt is based on a pattern by Melinda Bula in the book Candy Cane Lane: Quilts and More to Sweeten the Holidays (That Patchwork Place).

Close up, Spirit of Christmas by Cathleen Anderson

Cathleen Anderson made this fantastic quilt with hand and machine applique, paper piecing, chenille, couching, yo-yos, hand beading, fixed crystals, 3D application and machine embroidery.  We loved the MERRY CHRISTMAS greeting spelled out in fabric tags.

The Royal Firs, approx 22 x 37", made by Marilyn McGinnis,  quilted by Rose Flannigan, 2014 AZQG

Marilyn McGinnis says, "These stately firs reflect the beauty of batik fabrics.  What a great way to use my scraps and attempt beading for the first time!" The beading, which is not visible in this photo, was done along the edges of several of the miniature trees.  The quilt was inspired by the Jeweled Forest pattern by Renee Peterson.

Will It Be A White Christmas? 26 x 34", by Kellie Willey, 2014 RCQG

This quilt really puts us in the Christmas spirit! Kellie Willey won a blue ribbon in the Pieced-Medium category for her adaptation of the First Snow quilt pattern by Tina Curran.   Kellie says "I reduced the pattern to 65% and rearranged the blocks.  It was fun picking through my Christmas stash and adding decorations to the trees."

Close up, Will It Be A White Christmas by Kellie Willey

We loved seeing all the cute beads and fussy cut blocks in the tiny houses.  In the red house above you can see gingerbread men in the windows and on the rooftop. The green house has a candy cane roof with rick rack trim; a snowman, mouse and cat are peering out of the windows.

 Angels Among Us, made by Felicia Brenoe, quilted by Lisa Sipes, 2014 AZQG

Felicia Brenoe says, "I love the idea of loving and protective angels all around us. [This quilt is] hand appliqued and embroidered, and longarm quilted."  Peace, Joy, Hope, and Love are appliqued on the quilt.

close up, Angels Among Us by Felicia Brenoe

In this block an angel places a golden star atop the Christmas tree as children, holding hands, look on. Felicia Brenoe's lovely feather quilting can be seen throughout the design.  For some close up photos of the angels, see Felicia's website at Felicia's World.

Baltimore Christmas by Sue Maitre, quilted by Linda Hrcka, 2014 AZQG

This stunning quilt won First Place in the Applique-Large category, and Exemplary Machine Quilting - Track Mounted, at the 2014 Arizona Quilters Guild show.  Sue Maitre says, "Being a Santa collector, I knew Baltimore Christmas had to be a part of my collection."  The Baltimore Christmas pattern is, of course, by Pearl P. Pereira at P3 Designs.

Close up, Baltimore Christmas by Sue Maitre, 2014 AZQG

We enjoyed the outstanding applique and quilting by Sue Maitre and quilting by Linda Hrcka, respectively.  Check out the feather quilting coming out of Santa's pipe: it is done in charcoal thread to represent smoke. And what would Christmas be, without a Partridge in a Pear Tree?

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration.

Best of Houston : Quilts With a Floral Theme

If it's cold, rainy, or snowy where you are right now, here's a breath of springtime from the 2011 Houston International Quilt Festival.  Join us for a look at some great floral-themed quilts !

Another Whimsical Garden by Tina Curran , Studio City, California

Tina says,  "I wanted to make a garden quilt. I like the mix of the styles of the flowers in this composition-with some more realistic, some quite cartoonish, and the rest somewhere in between. I also looked for a mix of colors ( as in my favorite real gardens) and a variety of sizes of flowers to add to the visual interest.  Yellow fabrics between wedges of light blue fabrics suggest the rays of the sun. For the stems, I used a mix of mid-to-dark green fabrics, including stripes, checks, and paisleys. " With its highly effective use of complementary and split-complementary hues, this was one of the happiest quilts we saw at the Houston Festival.

 Spring Gift by Ann Fahl , Racine, Wisconsin

Here's a lovely eye-catching original design of welcoming icy blue, lavender, and white flowers against a sapphire blue patchwork background. Ann used commercial and hand-dyed fabrics, along with hand-painted fabrics for the flowers. She notes, "The flowers and leaves are machine appliqued using a stitch that I have developed called tri-step applique. It is based on free-motion embroidery and creates an extremely wide and soft subtle stitch that covers the edge on each oversized shape. Machine quilting this piece was a joy."

Camelot Country by Liz Jones, Leominster, Herfordshire, United Kingdom

 Liz Jones, author of the Flowers, Hearts, and Garlands Quilt book, has created a fabulous applique of a garden bursting with flowers and trees loaded with fruit. Two enchanted castles peek out of the background. Her quilt is an original design, done with cotton batik fabrics and cotton threads. Liz writes, "This design is inspired by the medieval "Devonshire Tapestries" in the Victoria and Albert Museum of London." We love the intricate and careful detail that went into this delightful and almost magical scene.

Beautiful Japanese Lily by Naoko Hirano, Komaki-City, Aichi-Prefecture, Japan

Two gorgeous lilies, serve as the focal point of this magnificent machine appliqued and quilted artwork,  inspired by the flowers in Naoko's garden. The centers of each flower petal are decorated with stunning gold metallic fabric, which really makes the lilies pop right off the bright red background. The quilter writes in her description,  "Philipp Franz von Siebold was very impressed with the Japanese lily and brought bulbs back to his country, Holland. The climate in Holland wouldn't allow the Japanese lily to grow. It became a popular flower, and everyone hoped to have them. I like the Japanese lily very much. I accomplished his dream by showing the Japanese lily in bloom on my quilt using Japanese vintage kimono and obi fabrics. "

Liz's Giant Poppy by Elizabeth Driggers, Reston, Virginia

This vibrant, dynamically colored machine-appliqued quilt made with cotton fabrics and varied threads, will blast you right out of the winter doldrums. Elizabeth says, "Inspired by painter Georgia O' Keefe, I used French Fuse techniques to construct this wall hanging using the "Poppy" pattern by Carol Morissey . The appeal of colorful, large scale designs and challenging applique has led me into the world of art quilts. I love it more every day !"