New Quilt Patterns – Whimsy and Modern

I have returned from the International Quilt Market held in Houston. Eye candy everywhere! Such a fusion of colors with all the quilts and fabrics throughout the show! So much to see and treasure!

With quilts on my mind, I want to show you some of the quilts I have designed recently. These patterns are all available in my Etsy store.

I love the influence of modern quilting and the effects created with negative space. No matter how complex the design, you still have a feeling of simplicity and space.

This quilt pattern, Bohemian Travels, features some traditional blocks in varying sizes and in an asymmetrical arrangement. The overall size is 68″ W x 76″ H.

Bohemian Modern quilt pattern

There is still plenty of time to sew a quilt for fall or Thanksgiving with this Pumpkin Time quilt pattern.  This pattern features appliqué pumpkins, stems, vines and leaves.  Use an assortment of fabrics or precuts for more texture. This pattern is 50 1/2″ X x 60 1/2″ H.

Pumpkin Time Quilt Pattern

Windmill is an on point design with a pinwheel center block. The size is great for a wall hanging or lap quilt at 42 1/2″ W x 50 1/2″ H.

Windmill Quilt Pattern

I hope that you will visit one of these stores – you will find a lot more quilt patterns in addition to apron and other sewing pattern and maybe something you can sew as a Christmas gift.

I plan to show some of my photos from Quilt Market shortly so please check back!

Phyllis

Gorgeous Quilts from Spring Quilt Market Minneapolis

In part two of my photos from the Spring International Quilt Market held in Minneapolis, I want to show you some of the beautiful quilts displayed. Sometimes a picture doesn’t provide the detail that makes the quilt so spectacular so I took some close up detail photos that I’m showing with the quilt photo.

This quilt, “Happy” is by Robbi Joy Eklow of Third Lake, Illinois and used the technique of raw-edged fused appliqué and free motion quilting. In this quilt, she combined the purple, green, and orange rings with giant flowers from another quilt that she had not finished.

Robie Joy Eklow Happy Quilt

Wild horses inspired this quilt “One Fine Day” by Laurie Britt Piper of Bakersfield, CA.  The technique used was raw-edged appliquéd, fused and painted.  On a road trip through Utah, Colorado and Idaho, she had to stop in the middle of the highway to let a group of wild horses pass and turned that moment into inspiration for a quilt.

One Fine Day wild horses quilt

One Fine Day wild horse quilt detail

“Bentonville Square” was created by Karen Kielmeyer and the Van Go-Go Art Quilt Group of Bentonville, AK. They decided to do a slice quilt based on a postcard of an original painting by Jane Garrison Davidian of Fayetteville, AK. The techniques used were machine appliquéd and pieced.

Bentonville Square Quilt

Kathy York, of Austin, TX, created “Suburbs” used techniques of hand-dyed, batiked, discharged, over-dyed, fused appliqué, and machine quilted, and hand quilted. This quilt was inspired by the fires that ravaged Bastrop, TX in 2011. New houses were build with each unit individualized by color and pattern.

Suburbs Quilt

Suburbs quilt detail

“Bohemian III Rain” is third in a series “Rain” by Sandra Peterson of Muncie, IN.  The technique used were machine pieced, foundation pieced, hand appliquéd, and hand quilted. She wanted to create a three-dimensional design using the series’ original fractal wheels, and to develop a technique for curved foundation piecing. The motif design answer was umbrellas.

Bohemian III Rain quilt

Mary Ann Hildebrand of Comfort, TX, created the “Japanese Tea Garden” quilt and used the techniques of fused appliqué, free-motion quilted, threadpainted, painted and penciled. The Japanese Tea Garden, built in an abandoned stone quarry in San Antonia, TX around 1910, was the inspiration for this quilt.

Japanese Tea Garden Quilt

“Born Free” quilt is by Denise Sargo of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The techniques used were appliquéd, burned, hand-embroidered, inked, dyed, and machine quilted. The quilt is to portray the kind of animals, the proud, fierce-looking lion, that is vulnerable due to the loss and destruction of habitat.

Born Freen Lion Quilt

“Moody Beach, Maine, 1957” is the subject of this quilt by Margot McDonnell of Tempe, AZ.  The techniques were fused, machine appliquéd and quilted, and painted. This original design was inspired by a vintage non-professional black and white snapshot.

Moody Beach Main Quilt

“Sunflower Pilgrimage” by Susan Bianchi of Saratoga, CA, used the techniques of fused, couched, machine and hand-quilted. She was inspired by Annie Liebovitz’s photography technique of overlapping several photographs to make one imperfect but complete image.

Sunflower Pilgrimage quilt

“Rhythm & Roses” was created by Karen Echmeier of Kent CT, and used the techniques of topstitch-pieced, couched and hand-beaded. This quilt is from her book Layered Waves, and is part of a series of quilts with the theme of “Finding Center” to stay focused and maintain balance with the rhythm of life.

Rhythm and Roses quilt

 

rhythm and roses quilt detail

Marina Landi and Maria Lucia Azara of Sao Paulo, Brazil, used techniques of appliquéd and quilted to create “Summer Wind”.  A painting by Anna Bocek inspired them to dye silk and form the quilt with a great number of colors and shades and to reproduce the painting’s hair movement.

Summer Wind quilt

summer wind quilt detail

“Thunderstorm” by Brigette Morgenroth of Kassel, Germany, used the techniques of paper-pieced and hand quilted to represent the dark sky, pouring rain and the blue, green, orange and yellow umbrellas. The quilt is made with hand-dyed cotton and the elegant curves of the Twisted Log Cabin block.

Thunderstorm quilt

Thunderstorm quilt detail

“Prince Charming’s Shoe Sale” is by Pam Rubert of Springfield, MO and used the techniques of hand-dyed and stitched. This quilt is a contemporary version of Cinderella with her and her stepsisters as modern women who drove to the Charming Shoe Store in their own pumpkin cars.

Prince charming's shoe sale quilt

Prince charming shoe sale quilt detail

“Furrealizm…Dali Has Gone to the Dogs” is by Pauline Salzman of Treasure Island, FL. The techniques used were fused and appliquéd. The design was inspired by Salvador Dali’s “The Weaning of Furniture”.

Dali has gone to the Dogs quilt

Dali has gone to the Dogs quilt detail

Quilt Market is always more fun in a vibrant city such as Minneapolis with a dynamic downtown area. This city was home of the iconic Mary Tyler Moore show. This statue is at the spot where she tossed her hat in the air that was shown at the beginning of each show.  In researching, I discovered that this shot was ranked as the second greatest moment in 1970’s television.

Mary Tyler Moore iconic hat toss statue

I hope that you enjoyed seeing some of the beautiful quilts from market. I apologize for the quality of some of these photos – the overhead lighting of a convention center is not always conducive to good quality photographs and accurate color.

It’s always a joy and delight to walk among all the quilts displayed during this show and I am already looking forward to next one.

Phyllis

Spring International Quilt Market in Minneapolis

I recently attended the Spring International Quilt Market in Minneapolis. As most of you probably know, it’s the largest trade show for anything related to quilting – fabrics, patterns, notions, threads and more and is a kaleidoscope of colors. I took so many photos so am dividing my Quilt Market review into two posts – check back for all the beautiful quilts on display.

Quilt Market Minneapolis show floor

Quilt Market started off with gloomy, rainy and very cool weather, but it turned warm and sunny for two days before it turned ugly and stormy again. Minneapolis is a great location for Quilt Market when weather doesn’t cooperate as city has a system of skywalks going from building to building so that you don’t have to go outside.  The Minneapolis convention center is pretty and in looking at this photo, looks like the inside of a space ship with the large domes.

American Flag Quilt

I always enjoy seeing an American Flag Quilt and especially so at this show since Memorial Day was the following weekend.  This large quilt was displayed in a booth but I, unfortunately, did not get the name of the booth.

Gutterman A&E Thread booth Quilt Market

Gutterman Thread Quilt Market

I was in the A&E and Gutermann thread booth during the show.  I love, love their threads.

Colorful Gutermann Threads

With these beautiful threads and colors behind me, you can see why I enjoyed working in this booth. Yummy!!!

I also spent time in the Quilting Treasures Booth, the fabric company that my fabrics are with.

J Wecker Frisch Letter Stitch Fabrics

One of my amazing friends, J. Wecker Frish, has a new fabric collection “Letter Stitch”  with Quilting Treasures and were displayed beautifully in the booth.  Janet always adds such detail and antiques in her displays.

Quilting Treasures Owl in the family

I also loved the new fabrics “Owl in the Family” by Desiree’s Designs.

Quilting Treasures Minion fabric

And for kids, Quilting Treasures has the fabrics for the 1 in a Minion from “Despicable Me”. What kid wouldn’t want a quilt with this fabric!

Pink Sand Beach Downton Abbey

I’m a huge fan of Downton Abbey, and always get a smile with anything associated with the spunky Dowager Countess.  Pink Sand Beach has an exclusive for the Downton Abbey patterns and fabric kits.

June Tailor Quilt Market Booth

June Tailor is another favorite booth of mine – it’s always so beautiful, colorful and always has some wonderful new quilt tools and notions.

June Tailor booth Quilt Market

A new item by June Tailor is “Quilt As You Go Pre-Printed Batting”  that comes as a complete quilt and four block designs” that are a piece by number construction.

June Tailor Bobbin and Thread pegs

I also love the Thread Mate Spool and Bobbin Pegs from June Tailor, a really great item to let you keep your spool of thread and bobbin together.  No more searching for the right threaded bobbin as you get ready to sew.  It’s the little things like this that makes sewing and quilting easier.

Quilt Market pals

Quilt Market is not all walking the aisles.  There is always the time for fun with friends. Taking selfies by friends in the News Room for dinner –  Jackie Frisch McClenning, Janet Wecker Frisch, Loralie and Ann Regal.

Quilting Treasures group

And I enjoyed spending some time with the people from Quilting Treasures. That really tall paper mache in the back is Freida.

Minneapolis convention center dome ceiling

This is a different view of one of the domes over the convention center.  While looking at it from a distance, it might look like a space ship, but looking straight up, it looks like a quilt pattern, which made it perfect for Quilt Market.

Please check back, as I’ve already started writing another post about Quilt Market to show you some really amazing and gorgeous quilts that were displayed.

Happy Quilting,

Phyllis

Quilt Cutting Rulers For Beautiful, Fun Quilts

When I attend Quilt Market, I always go by the June Tailor booth and did so again at the Spring Quilt Market in Pittsburgh. I love their range of accessories for quilters, including their unique rulers, of which they have many. And of course, I always enjoy chatting with the gorgeous Jill Repp.

Jill Tailor booth at Quilt Market

 

The June Tailor booth is always so well put together and full of color as well as new products. Two new quilting rulers caught my eye and will be a great plus for a quilter.

June Tailor Charming Circles Quilt ruler

This quilting ruler, Charming Circles, can be used in a variety of techniques to aid in circle and curved quilting.

Closeup of Charming Circles Quilt

Here’s a close up of the sample techniques you can easily use with this ruler to give a fabulous quilt or other sewing project – raw edge piecing, regular piecing, and appliqué. Circles are hard to cut and sew so this will be a huge help!

Twist N Stitch Quilt tool

The other new ruler that I loved is Twist ‘n Stitch. I’m a fan of pin wheels so I will put this ruler to use a lot.

Twist N Stitch quilt ruller

With this ruler, you can create 5 sizes of blocks, from 3 1/2 inch blocks to 10 1/2 inch blocks. I love the way the blocks fit together and it reminds me of a puzzle. Without this ruler, it would definitely be a puzzle to put together but is so easy with the steps below.

Step 1 Twist N Stitch Quilt

You can see by the step-out boards that Jill is showing, how simple it is to use the Twist ‘n Stitch ruler!  The basic step is square block pieces sewn together. Now, how easy is that!

Twist N Stirch Quilt Ruler step 2

You then use the ruler to cut out your squares aligning the cut out areas as show above with the easy ruler guides.  The board on the left shows the blocks that were cut out in the black area and then lined up on the board on the right side.

Step 3 in using Twist N Stitch Quilt Ruler

Then in the last step, all you have to do is straighten the blocks side by side and sew together.  So while this quilt looks complicated, it’s not. This would also make a good quilt for guilds to make for their charity quilts. Thanks to Jill for showing me the ins and outs of these great rulers!

To see my earlier posts on the beautiful quilts displayed at market, check out Part 1 Quilt Market quilts and Part 2 Quilt Market quilts.

While I’m late in posting about spring Quilt Market, fall market in Houston is rapidly approaching. I hope it cools off a little before then as Houston can be hot. But I’m looking forward to it, whether hot or cold.

Stay cool!

Phyllis

More Quilts Displayed at International Quilt Market in Pittsburgh

In my last post, I showed you pictures of some of wonderful quilts displayed at the Spring International Quilt Market in Pittsburgh. I didn’t want to visually overload you, as they are all awesome, so I saved some to show you today.

Alices Kitchen Miki Murakan Quilt

“Alice’s Kitchen” by Miki Murakami of Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa Pref, Japan. In the story of Alice in Wonderland, there is no kitchen scene. Miki thought it would be fun if a kitchen appeared in the world of Alice so she imagined the kitchen in this quilt. The techniques used were pieced, appliquéd, satin stitched, quilted, fused, and embroidered.

Larry Jennifer Day Quilt

“Larry” by Jennifer Day of Santa Fe, NM, depicts Jennifer’s sewing machine repairman. She took the photograph of him as he repaired her machine one day. You can tell that Larry loves what he does. The techniques used were phototransferred, free-motion embroidered (with less than 1/4″ between stitches).

Boy and his best friend Jennifer Day

“Boy and His Best Friend” also by Jennifer Day of Santa Fe, NM, is a quilt of Jennifer’s 10-year-old-son and his Old English Sheepdog, B Bear, who spend hours together every day. Jennifer printed a photograph of them on fabric and covered their images with 58 different colors of thread. The techniques used were photo transferred and free-motion embroidered (with less than 1/4″ between stitches).

Lincoln Virginia Greaves Quilt“Lincoln” by Virginia Greaes of Roswell, GA. This design was based on a public domain photograph in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Virginia was inspired by Lincoln as a great defender of the U.S. Constitution, a document she has been reading lately to understand our founding fathers. This image of Lincoln reflects the determination with which he pursued his goals in addition to the stress that he endured in that struggle. This quilt is available for purchase.

The quiltmaker Jennifer Bowker

“The Quiltmaker” by Jennifer Bowker of Garran, Australian Capital Territory, Australia. The techniques used were machine pieced, raw-edge appliquéd, free-motion quilted, and painted.  Jennifer designed this quilt to honor Margaret Rolfe, the founder of the first Australian Quilt Guild, Canbrella Quilters and whose designs brought Australia into the quilting world. She views a quilt landscape that melds traditional blocks with her own designs.

Cosmic Tango Paulette Landers

“Cosmic Tango” by Paulette Landers of Camp Nelson, CA. This is from Paulette’s series “Journals from Mars.” These are her friends from Galaxia, a small world in the vicinity of Planet Mars. They are a joyous people who have evolved in complete harmony with their surroundings and every occasion is a cause for celebration. (Maybe we should all move to Mars.) The techniques used were machine piecing, turned-edge and raw-edge machine applique and machine quilting.

I hope that you enjoyed seeing these quilts as much as I did! I indicated which of these quilts were for sale, but have no way of knowing if they are still available. They are all so wonderful!  I also provided links to the websites of these quilters that have sites. I hope that you check them out – these are some pretty amazing women.

Pittsburgh View Phyllis Dobbs
Pittsburgh is a beautiful city for Quilt Market and I enjoy visiting there. One evening, I went to dinner across the river (one of the many bridges) and took the cable car to the top of the mountain on the other side. This is the view from my table – a spectacular view and great weather for dining outside.

Please check back as I’m working on another post from Quilt Market about some new products for quilt techniques from one of my favorite companies, June Tailor.

Quilts Display at International Quilt Market – Pittsburgh

I wanted to post, finally, some of my pictures from the Spring International Quilt Market in Pittsburgh. I know you will enjoy seeing some of the spectacular, fun, colorful and whimsy quilts that were displayed. It’s hard to believe that Spring Quilt Market in Pittsburgh was almost 2 months ago. It seems like only a few days since I was walked off the plane to return home.

Gutermann both spring quilt market

First, I want to show you the booth that I was working in during Quilt Market – Gutermann of America. I helped with the decorating of the booth with my quilts (made with my fabrics for Quilting Treasures and sewn with Gutermann thread). For a sneak peek of my next fabric collection due out this fall (Purr-fect Balance), check out the small turquoise and red quilt shown on the left side. I had received small pieces of the fabric for approval the week before Quilt Market, so I whipped out a small quilt with the pieces.  Please check back as I will post more about this fabric shortly.

You are what you eat Kathy York Quilt

“You are What You Eat” by Kathy York of Austin Texas. Kathy was inspired to create this quilt because of the deers in her neighborhood and that they must be made of flowers because they eat all of hers. The techniques used include hand-drawn batiks, bleach discharged, overdyed, machine pieced, fused appliqué, machine and hand quilting.

Tutti Frutti Main Street Susan Bleiweiss

“Tutti Frutti Main Street” by Susan Bleiweiss of Upton, Ma is part of her ongoing series of art quilts celebrating the use of vibrant color and whimsical imagery.  Sue’s techniques include raw-edge fused appliqué and machine quilted.

Its a Crazy Life Gail Thomas

“It’s a Crazy Life” by Gail Thomas, of Vernon, BC, Canada. She created this quilt with the techniques of hand-pieced, hand-appliqued, painted, machine quilted and hand-embroidered.  Gail worked on this quilt during and after treatment. As her world started healing, she decided the name “Its a Crazy Life” fit with all her stories and the “wow” moments in her life.

House in the Valley #5 Larua Wasilowski

“House in the Valley #5” by Laura Wasilowski is a view of her house by a busy body bird.  The techniques used were fused appliqué, hand-embroidered and free-motion quilted.  This quilt is available for purchase.

A Bright Sun-shiny Day Terri Stegmiler

“A Bright Sun-Shiny Day” by Terri Stegmiller of Manadan, ND is her original design of whimsy, girls, cats and birds. She thinks of this as a self-portrait as she is outside on sunny days watching birds with her cats. Her techniques include hand painted, whole cloth, and free-motion quilted. This quilt is available for purchase.

Roses in the Window Carol Morrissey

 

“Roses in the Window” by Carol Morrissey of Double Oak, TX.  Carol’s techniques fused applique and machine quilted.  She was inspired for this quilt design by a photo she took of some roses that were sitting in her kitchen window. This quilt is available for purchase.

I have many faces Natalie Carlton

Nancy Carlton of Stuart Florida created “I have Many Faces”  and it is available for purchase.  The technique used by Nancy is fused appliqué. She posterized the photos, printed them out and used them for her pattern for fusible appliqué. Available for purchase.

Aren’t these quilts wonderful!  But I’m not finished! I’m working on another post to include more of these wonderful quilts. So check back Monday.

I indicated which of these quilts were for sale, but have no way of knowing if they are still available. They are all so wonderful!  I also provided links to the websites of these quilters. I hope that you check them out – these are some pretty amazing women.

So have a nice weekend and check back Monday for more beauties!

Phyllis

Add a Little “Wild Flower” to your Day with Fabrics!

I want to introduce you to my newest fabric collection “Wild Flower” from Quilting Treasures! I love the bold bright colors of this colection and hope that you will too.

Wild Flower Zebra Skin Fabrics by Phyllis Dobbs

The main print features a black and white zebra animal skin print with yellow, fuchsia pink and orange flowers scattered randomally on top of the black and white print. Coordinating fabrics include a black and white as well as an orange and fuchsia pink zebra stripe fabrics. Other fabrics include a smaller flower design on each black and white backgrounds and tonal fabrics in several colors to round out the collection.

The “Wild Flower” collection will be in independent shops sometime during this month of October and can be ordered by shops now from Quilting Treasures.

I am getting ready to attend the fall Houston International Quilt Market and will also be at the International Quilt Festival that follows market. I will be in and out of Quilting Treasure’s booth as well as the Gutermann thread booth during Market and in the Gutermann booth during Quilt Festival.  I would love to meet all of you who may be attending either show, so please stop by!

Also, please check back for some free patterns with the “Wild Flower” fabrics. I have designed several quilt and sewing patterns to go with this collection and will post as soon as they are completed.

Well, back to prep for Quilt Market. I hope that you are having a colorful week!

Phyllis

 

Spring Quilt Market in Portland, Part 2

The International Quilt Market is always beautiful and filled with great products. The recent Spring Quilt Market in Portland, OR, was no exception. Here are some of the photos I took during market.

The first thing I notice when attending a Quilt Market in Portland is the beautiful flowers that are in bloom everywhere.  Rhododendron is always in bloom with spectacular colors and are in abundance outside the convention center.

Rhododendron in Portland

I was working with Gutermann of USA while at market. I also decorated their booth and used some of my fabric collections with Quilting Treasures to make the quilts. (Most of these patterns are available for free here on my blog – Halloween, Bee Yourself quilt,  Bee Yourself Placemat, Birthday banner .)  I love Gutermann threads and heard the same comment from so many people during market. Our sewing machines also love Gutermann, so if yours is acting grouchy, try Gutermann threads to make it smile.

Gutermann Booth Quilt Market

I was excited that my next fabric collection, “Wild Flower” with Quilting Treasures was being pre-sold at market. I can’t wait to show you pictures of this collection, so check back. A friend who also has fabrics with Quilting Treasures, J Wecker Frish, has a new fabric collection coming soon, “She Who Sews”.  As you can see in the picture below, it will be another fabulous collection .

She Who Sews Fabrics by J. Wecker Frisch

June Tailor, Inc always has a beautiful booth. The Hexagon Ruler ,”You Hexie Thing,” and Grid Marker are both fabulous quilting tools.  You can see the beautiful quilts and sewing that can be created using them.  Hexie’s are so hot in quilting!

June Tailor booth at Quilt Market

 

June Tailor Grid Marker

Another product, the Swatch Buddies, caught my eye. These are reusable plastic cards that let you mount fabric swatches on one side and write swatch information on the other side.  You can shop for multiple projects at the same time by creating rings of Swatch Buddies for each project. You can also use these for your color palette when building your fabric stash. Another use it to attach them to a fabric bin so that you can see what fabrics are in the bin. I really think that there are many, many uses that they will be handy for.

Swatch Buddies

This really cute tulle tutu was created by my friend Debi Schmitz for the Expo International booth  She used various accessory pieces from Expo International to decorate a bodice. Its so feminine!

Tutu by Debi Schmitz for Quilt Market

The Pfaff USA sewing machine booth had several really unique and beautiful quilts on display. This one, “Positively Paisley”, is by Robyn Smith of Austin Sewing Machines.  She used a combination of free motion and quilting designs created with the 5D Quilt Designer software.

Quilt Positively Paisley Quilt Market

This is a close up of the detail of one of the paisleys in the quilt.

Positively Paisley embroidery closeup

The quilt below, “Porcelain Peacock” in the Pfaff booth, was created by 5 ladies from The Quilting Hen. Its very dimension and textured.

Porcelain Peacock Quilt in Paff booth at Quilt Market

Therm-o-Web had a really cute display of projects you can make using HeatnBond.

Heatnbond projects by therm-o-web

One of the benefits of having Quilt Market in Portland is that there is so much natural beauty in area. I could easily spend a week touring throughout Oregon. We did have a half day after setup to sight see and went to Multnomah Falls that is located about 30 minutes from Portland. This waterfall is so tall (620 feet) that its just about impossible to get the entire set of falls in a single photo. In the bottom photo, the small light speck on the right side of the bridge is me.

Multnomah Falls, Portland Or

Multnomah Falls

The mountains in Oregon and Washington are spectacular and I had a terrific view of 3 of Washington’s mountains from my window shortly after takeoff.  Mt. St. Helens is the flat topped mountain at the left.  Mt. Rainier is in the center top with Mt. Adams at the right side.  They may be hard to pick out at first glance due to the puffy clouds.

Washington State Mountains

You can click to see my first post of the Spring Quilt Market with some of the spectacular quilts on exhibit.

Now, I’m already looking forward to Fall Quilt Market in Houston.

Phyllis

Beautiful Quilts on Exhibit at Spring International Quilt Market, Portland, Part 1

I spent several days in Portland, OR last week for the Spring International Quilt Market. I love the Portland area. Its so beautiful with the flowers and the green, green landscape everywhere. Inside the convention center, it was beautiful as well with the quilts and fabrics which were all quite colorful.

I will start my review of market with some of the spectacular quilts that were displayed in the exhibits. I don’t have them all, unfortunately, but am sure that you will love these.

Dreamtime quilt by Antonia Hering of The Netherlands

This first quilt will knock your socks off if you could see it in person.  Its called “Dreamtime” and was created by Antonia Hering of  Noorn, Noord-Holland, The Netherlands. It won first place for the “Innovative Applique” category. It is based on Antonia’s love of  the country of Australia. It is telling a dreamtime Aboriginal story and the legend of the three sisters in the blue mountains and the beautiful colors of Australia. Below are some close-ups of the hand applique and hand quilting. The techniques used were hand quilted, hand appliqued and hand embroidered. The applique circles covering the quilt were approximately 1/2 inch wide.

Dreamtime Quilt International Quilt Market close-up

Close-up of first place award quilt Dreamtime

 

The quilt below, “Make You Happy”, is by Brigit Aubeso Bell-Lloch of Girona, Catalunya, Spain. This was another winner, winning first place in the “Art-People, Portraits and Figures” category. You can see why it was a winner – its spectacular! The techniques used are machine pieced and appliqued, free motion machine embroidered and machine quilted. Brigit based the quilt on a photo of her mother found in a box of old family photos. Her mother was 20 years old in the picture. Brigit made the quilt as a present to her mother.

Make You Happy Quilt by Brigit Aubeso Bell-Lloch at Spring International Quilt Market

 

“Weezie’s Wildflowerd #17” won Honorable Mention in the “Arts-Miniature” category. Created by Laura Wasilowski of Elgin, IL, the quilt is based on a rare wildflower that is only found in Laura’s backyard and imagination. The techniques used are fused applique, hand embroidered, and machine quilted. I love the colors.

Weezies Wildflowers #17 quilt at International Quilt Market

 

The colorful and whimsy “Tutti Frutti Village”, by Susan Bleiweiss of Upton, MA, won Honorable Mention in the “Art-Whimsical” category. Sue was inspired to create the quilt by a digital sketch that she did on her iPad. She used her hand-dyed sandwashed cotton fabrics in the quilt. The techniques used are fused, raw-edge appliqued with machine stitching, and machine quilted. Sue has also created more “Tutti Frutti” quilts in a series that you can see on her blog.

Tutti Frutti Village at International Quilt Market

 

Susan Cane created “Mabel – 1952 REO” from a photo taken by her husband of the first antique truck they bought together. It won second place in the “Art-Pictorial” category. The techniques used are machine appliqued, machine quilted, and painted. I love the layout with the trucks superimposed on each other.

Mabel 1952 REO quilt by Susan Cane

 

Lynn Czaban of Vancouver, WA, was inspired to create this quilt “Raven Blanet” (with permission) from a photograph by Edward Curtis, who devoted his life to documenting the traditional lifestyle of the American Indian. This 1910 photograph of the Nez Perce Chief, Raven Blanket is one of his many images in the Library of Congress. Techniques used are machine appliqued, fused, thread painted, and machine quilted. “Raven Blanket” won Honorable Mention in the “Art-People, Portraits and Figures” categories.

Raven Blanket quilt at Spring International Quilt Market

 

Betty New of Naples, FL created “A Luthier’s Dream” using the techniques of turned-edge appliqued and free-motion machine quilted. Betty’s husband and son both play guitar thus inspiring her to use guitar bodies as the basis of design, focusing the design on line and value. Another winner, this quilt won first place in the “Art-Abstract, Small” category.

A Luthier's Dream quilt at International Quilt Market

 

A new slant on the Log Cabin block, “Around the Clock” by Karen Echmeier of Kent, CT, won Honorable Mention in the “Art-Whimsical” category. Karen substituted the center square of the Log Cabin block with a village, which was also used in the border, so that it would be like walking around the block of several different towns. The techniques used are fabric collaged under tulle, topstitched, and machine quilted.

Around the Block Quilt by Karen Echmeier

 

“Fantasy Seedpods”, by Elizabeth Camping of McLaren Vale, South Australia, Australia, won Honorable Mention in the “Art-Abstract, Small” category. The design process started with the words, then followed with drawings of imaginary seedpods. The background colorwash effect is shaded to enhance and draw the eye to the seedpods. The techniques used are needleturn hand appliqued, hand embroidered, and machine quilted.

Fantasy Seedpods quilt at Spring International Quilt Market

I hope you enjoyed seeing these amazing quilts. Its always such a treat to walk the aisles of  The International Quilt Market. Please check back as I will post a Part 2 soon, featuring some of the photos I took of the show itself.

Phyllis

Halloween Quilting – its not too early with this free pattern!

Its never too early to start quilting or sewing for holidays – in this case, Halloween, with this free quilt table topper pattern. My newest fabric collection “Tricks and Treats” is debuting this week at the International Spring Quilt Market in Portland, OR with Quilting Treasures.  This free quilt pattern, which is available for download from Quilting Treasures website also comes with the instructions for a Trick and Treat bag.

Tricks and Treats Table Topper by Phyllis Dobbs for Quilting Treasures

This table topper, which is 31″ square, is be perfect for a table setting for Halloween in the bright traditional Halloween colors and is easy enough for a beginner to make. Click on the above link to see the free pattern projects on Quilting Treasures website and scroll down until you see this pattern for download.  There are many other wonderful patterns for you to take advantage of as well.

Free Pattern Halloween Treat Bag by Phyllis Dobbs

This treat bag is deep so that it can hold lots of candy and other treats on Halloween. The pocket can hold a flashlight for trick and treating to help see on the dark Halloween nights.

I’m excited that I will be at the Spring Market this week – its always a fabulous and beautiful show filled with so much color. I will also have the “Tricks and Treats” table topper quilt on display in the Gutermann of America booth. If you are attending market, please stop by and say hi. You can also check out the “Tricks and Treats” fabric in Quilting Treasures booth. They are ready for shipping so you can have them in time for easy Halloween sewing.

I know its only May, but Halloween will be here before you know it. With the weather being so cool this spring, I feel like its almost Halloween now. Please check back shortly as I will post pictures of the goodies that I see at market.

Phyllis