I have been busy adding new quilt art to items in my Zazzle store. Zazzle has also added so many great new products to their line as well, including cookie jars, laptop and ipad sleeves, cat and dog food dishes, cork coasters, plates, water bottles  and many, many more!

I have ordered several products from Zazzle, including the business cards below, and can vouch for the high quality. Their sturdy business cards are two sided and are customizable so that you can put all your info on them. The card with the tossed blocks comes in several color choices. Simply fill in your info and your business card is ready to go!

Quilt Art Business Card by phyllisdobbs
Get your business cards order at zazzle.com

Quilt Art Business Card on Black Background by phyllisdobbs
View other Business Business Cards

Coral Yellow Quilt Block Dog Food Bowl by phyllisdobbs
View more Quilt Pet Bowls

Red Coral Quilt Block Art Water Bottle by phyllisdobbs
See more Quilt Water Bottles

Have a great day and I would love for you to check out the other products!

Quilts are so comforting, both with the cuddling factor and the warmth of their beauty. Rita Clarke made a special quilt for a friend’s daughter who’s dog Shug had died. Pets are so important to us and are a part of our families so the loss of a pet is heartbreaking. Rita designed and made this quilt in memory of Shug using the pink fabrics in the “Its a Dog’s Life” fabric collection I designed a while back for Quilting Treasures.

Rita also embroidered Shug’s name in the sashing throughout the quilt. I’m sure that this quilt provides Mary a lot of  comfort and warm memories of Shug each time she cuddles with it.

Rita does take orders to create personalized quilts through her business Sew Creative by Rita.

I love Rita’s use of pink throughout the quilt. One of the things that amazes me with quilting is that you can get such different looks from the same fabrics, based on how you put the fabrics together and arrange the colors and the patterns of the fabrics. Other posts I have written feature a locker caddy and notebook, a dog coat, aprons, tote bag, and a quilt made with “Its’s a Dog’s Life” fabrics and each in different color combinations.

Thanks to Rita for showing me the pictures of the quilt she made! I think she’s a wonderful friend to make this beautiful quilt for Mary.

Happy quilting!

Phyllis

I know its May and the weather is getting hot, but its not too early to start thinking about your Christmas quilting with this free quilt pattern that I designed!  Think “Let it Snow” to cool down with this adorable fabric collection from Quilting Treasures based on the art of Debra Jordan Bryan.

It was a treat to design this quilt with the fun, colorful fabric.  At 43 1/2″ x 48 1/4″, its a perfect size for a wall hanging, a lap quilt or for a little one to cuddle with. The quilt is pieced and is topped with appliqued green and red mittens in the wide border area. Buttons are used for accents on the mittens. The quilt center is a snowman panel with other snowman pieces in the corners. Its easy to piece and is a great project for beginners as well as all skill levels.

When you check out this pattern, look through all the other free quilt patterns from Quilting Treasures. I’m sure you will find several that you will love!

Happy quilting and stay cool!

Phyllis

I’m excited to give you a sneak peak at my newest fabric collection “Celebrate” from Quilting Treasures, filled with cakes and cupcakes. It will be available for shipping to stores in June 2012. As you can see, the colors are bright primary colors that are perfect for both boys and girls. The designs are also great for all ages, from kids to adults, after all, you never get too old to celebrate! It was really fun creating these designs but it did activate my sweet tooth! Fortunately, all the cakes and cupcakes were created with paint so no calories!

This design is the main design of a patch panel. Other fabrics in the “Celebrate” collection will include lots of fun designs and stripes all in bright “celebration” colors and all coordinated for delightful quilting and sewing projects. Think of a celebration or birthday quilt, or a banner or table runner for a birthday party.  There will be several free patterns available from Quilting Treasures when the fabric is in. Plus, I will create some patterns to post here on my blog for free download – I already have several ideas formed and just waiting to sew them. I just love designing patterns to go with my fabrics.

I can’t wait to show you all the fabrics when they are out!  And it won’t be long – I can’t believe June is so close already!  Meanwhile, I’ve been working away on the next fabric collection and am just as excited about it! Its still on the drawing board, but I’m loving it.

So please check back for fun fabrics and lots of free patterns and think cake and cupcakes. And here’s to a little celebration in your life each day.

Phyllis

During the photography session for my new quilt book Asymmetrical Quilts, I also took pictures of the session, photographing the photographer. Sometimes a photography session can be a little boring during the actual photography, but not with Becky Stayner of Sunny House Studio.  She is a fantastic photographer and has an amazing studio in the most charming house as you will see from some of the pictures I took and from the photographs in the book. All of the quilts were photographed flat, then were shot throughout the studio.

This photograph was in the main living room.  I fell in love with the fireplace as well as the bottles on the mantle!

The kitchen was filled with so many wonderful pieces of antique class and ceramics, some in turquoise and greens.

And as you can see, the kitchen was a perfect area for photographing this quilt. The turquoise chairs were a perfect accent.

In addition to the wonderful interior, the outside decks were a great location for several of the quilts. The back deck has a jasmine covered arbor.

Looking up at the jasmine arbor…..

I loved the table setting under the arbor which also made for a perfect location for a photo.

This shot was taken at the side edge of the wrap around deck.

Becky is setting up for this photo on a picnic table on the side porch. Another turquoise chair adds a great accent. (I was delighted that Becky shares a love of the color turquoise!)

Who says photography can’t be hazardous?? Becky stood on the top of a ladder to get the flat shots of each quilt.

The quilts are all stacked ready for each shot.

I hope you enjoyed seeing some of Becky’s studio and the photography session.  She’s fantastic and I look forward to working with her again.

Phyllis

Its so exciting that my new quilt book Asymmetrical Quilts from Leisure Arts has been published and is ready for shipping. Instructions and patterns for 9 quilts are included in this book, all with an off-centered design. I created each quilt to be unique and all are made with wonderful fabrics. The designs use a combination of traditional and nontraditional blocks in nontraditional arrangements, with several of the quilts adorned with whimsy applique.

My copies are on the way to me and I can’t wait to get them. It was a lot of work putting this book together, but I enjoyed every second of it. The photographs were all taken in the wonderful studio of Becky Stayner.  I will be showing some of the photos I took of the photography sessions so check back to see these and her studio (hint – its in a really quaint house).

I owe a special thanks also to Lisa Mullins of  Wandering Stitches Quilting Studio for an amazing job in quilting the quilts. She added the touch of whimsy where needed to keep the theme of each quilt.

I hope you will check out the book and find that you can’t live without it!

Phyllis

I just received a copy of Quilted Gifts from your Scraps & Stash, by House of White Birches.  Its a book filled with all types and sizes of quilted projects, from quilts, backpacks, pot holders to pillows and much more for 40 great projects for you to make. I’m delighted that one of my quilt designs is included in this book.

Daisy Pocket Quilt is the perfect size to use as either a wall hanging or bed quilt. The diagonal striped blocks are pockets so that kids can store their favorite items while adding a splash of color to their room. I used the bright, colorful fabric “Kids go Green” by Kari Pearson from Quilting Treasures to compete the quilt. The quilt is pieced with the large daisies fused and appliqued. I hope you will make one for the kid in your life – its an easy and fun quilt to make.

Happy Quilting

Phyllis

I have more photos to share with you of the beautiful and amazing quilts at the Houston International Quilt Market. I showed half of my photos of these fabulous quilts from the exhibits in my prior post. The quilts are fun, imaginative, colorful and unique in their original designs.

Word Gets Around was created by Louisa L. Smith, Loveland, Colorado. She had collected fabrics with text and manipulated all the fabrics by hand painting, dying and over dying to obtain the color she wanted. She created the curved movement of the quilt which is a play of “words” to create the title.

Memories Stick, created by Charlotte Noll, Lauderhill, Florida, is created using the quilt pins she collected. She wanted a quilt design that can be rearranged and appended as she continues to collect pins. Each pin has an embellished pillow and is connected to the others with safey pins. Each pin reminds her of the wonderful times when she collected them. Techniques used were fused and raw edge machine applique, machine quilted, digitally machine embroidered and hand beaded.

Fantasy in Paradise was created by Laura Steiniger, Tucson, Arizona to depict fantastical birds-of-paradise flowers. I love birds-of-paradise. The techniques used were machine applique, machine decorative stitches, machine quilted and hand embellished. The black background really makes the flowers pop.

New York City Lights, created by Ellen Yamaguchi, New York, NY, is heavily embellished with beads and charms. The beads were used to emphasize the swirls. She also added old New York City subway and bridge tokens and landmark charms to add interest. Techniques used include cut and assembled blocks using One-Block Wonder technique.

Colorplay 1: Pink, created by Twelve by Twelve. This was one of the quilts in an exhibit showcasing quilts by Twelve by Twelve, a group of 12 quilt artists who embarked on an art challenge together. For 4 years, each made 12 x 12 inch quilted art pieces on a particular theme. Each of the quilts displayed featered the 12 art quilts on that theme. Check out their website to see all of the collections they created as well as learn more about their challenges.

Woody by Bonnie Ouellette, Seneca, South Carolina, is embellished with glass beads. The tecnhiques inclue hand quilting and hand beading.

Garden Pool was created by Sandra Marietta, Palmetto Bay, Florida and is inspred by her Friday trips to Fairchild Tropical Garden. Techniques include fused and machine applique, fabric painting and machine quilting. Materials include various threads, batik and other fabrics, tetile paints, and was crayons.

“Austin tatious” by Barb Forrister of Austin, Texas features beautiful dimensional flowers. Techniques include dyed, painted and applique.

Saturday Market Delectables by Tina McCann, Depoe Bay, Oregan, was inspired by a trip to the farmers’ market and watching people carry various bags and baskets stuffed with food. The techniques include Nuno, needle and wet felted, machine pieced, free motion quilted, hand stitched and beaded.  This quilt is very dimensional so I wanted to show a closeup of one section to show all the detail.

A Starlit Night was created by Soon-Joong Kim, Seoul, South Korea, using the compass and kaleidoscope techniques. The quilt  was inspired by the earch and the rest of the planets.

In an Orderly World was created by Linda R. Syverson Guild, Bethesda, Maryland, and was inspired by an Art Deco design.  The techniques used were pieced, needle punched, hand and machine appliqued, machine quilted and hand beaded.

Ancient Weaver was created by Ann Horton, Redwood Valley, California. The inspiration was the Mayan weaving traditions that are honored with Spider, the industrious weaver as the center of the wheel of life. Techniques are machine piecing and quilting, and commercial and original digitized machine embroidery.

I hope that you enjoyed seeing a few of the many quilts on exhibit. You can see part of the exhibit hall below, and this picture was taken less than halfway down the main hall of the exhibit.

I am already looking forward to my next trip to Quilt Market.

Phyllis

I wanted to end my review ot the Houston International Quilt Market, held in October, with photos I took of some of the most amazing and beautiful quilts on exhibit. Each quilt was a work of art and produced an “ahhhh”.  I loved reading the inspiration for the quilts and love the wonderful imagination of the creators in designing their quilts.

Eat Your Vegies was created by Judith Roderick of Placitas, New Mexico.  The techniques were hand-painted, machine quilted, pieced, fused and embellished. Judith firmly believes the Beatles’ lyrics from the 60′s – “you are what you eat you know”.

An Autumn Breeze, created by Akiko Kawata, OIsake, Japan, features machine and hand piecing and is machine quilted. The quilt expresses the scene of an autumn mountain path in Japan.

Leaves of Costa Rica was created by Pam Berry of Lincoln, California.  The techniques include free-motion quilting, hand applique, with bead and yard embellishment. The leaves are two-sided with wire inserted to give form, and produced a beautiful dimension.

Serengeti At Twilight by Leona Harden, New Tazewell, Tennessee, used the techniques of raw edge applique, no piecing, and free motion quilting.  This quilt was featured on the cover of AQS’s American Quilter magazine, November 2010 issue. I wrote about this award winning quilt and Leona in a prior blog post. (Leona used a block that I designed in an earlier quilt that was her first awarding quilt).

Oh Deer, Look What’s Become of Me! was created by Judy Coates Perez, Chicago, Illinois. The technique is whole cloth painted with textile paints and machine quilted. This quilt was inspired by the Medieval hunting paintings of deer in pastoral settings. This also reminds me of the beautiful Medieval tapestries.

Organic is Good for You! Bodil Gardner of Lystrup, Denmark, was inspired by growing her own organic vegetables in creating this quilt. The techniques include applique and machine quilting.

Hope was created by Ann Pigneri of Louisville, KY. The techniques are paper piecing, machine quilt and bobbin stitching. This quilt is adorned by over 2500 crystals in 6 colors which, unfortunately, do not show up in the photo.

Black-Eyed Susans & Yellow Mexican Hats was created by Mary Ann Vaca-Lambert, Austin, Texas. The techniques used were raw edge applique, thread painted, fused, beaded, and faced. Mary Ann was inspired to create this quilt from the flowers she sees on the way to work. The flower centers were very thick and dimensional and covered with beads.

In Bloom was created by Teresa Shippy, Santa Ana, California, based on the Cherry Blossom Festival of her dreams. Techniques used were hand-painting, stitching and painting. Sweet dreams!

Big Bang(s) Theory was created by Teresa Sherling, Denton, Texas and is a tribute to the bliss women feel on a good hair day. The techniques include turned-edge and raw-edge applique, hand painted and thread-painted faces, hand-crocheted human hair and free-motion machine quilting. Ah, I love those good-hair days!  Too bad they are matched by bad-hair days.

Sea Witch was created by Christine Alexiou, Unionville, Ontario, Canada. Techniques include fabric painting, applique, hand sewing, thread painting and beading and uses cotton, silk, organza, cheese cloth, glass beads, shell beads and fabric paint. Christine was inspired by The Little Mermaid to portray a physical beauty while hinting at her deranged creepiness.

Really “Wild” Flowers! Second Season was created by Sharon L. Schlotzhauer, Colorado Springs, Colorado. The techniques include machine piecing, paper piecing, hand applique, machine applique and machine quilting. This whimsical quilt features 7 colorful, dimensional “wild” flowers with Swarovski crystals in the centers.

Capital Hardware, by Frances Holliday Alford, Grafton, Vermont, is based on the beautiful Art Nouveau hinges and hardware of the Texas State Capital. She used the hardware details to print on Spoonflower fabrics for the blocks. Techniques include patching, free-motion quilting and decorative stitches.

Vortex in Variation was created by Nora Ronningen, La Harbra, California. Nora was inspired by the Vortex Quilt exhibited in the American Folk Art Museum. She used Art Nouveau designs to draft her own applique pattern. Techniques include paper piecing, hand applique and hand quilting.

I’m about half way through my pictures and  have some work to finish so I will post the remaining photos shortly. Please check back as they are just as spectacular as the quilts posted here.

Phyllis