Pacific International Quilt Festival XVIII – Wall Quilts

 

Quilt #3005 Camellias in my Garden, 35” x 28” 

Janis Arredondo 

Roseville, CA  

For my next-to-last post about the Pacific International Quilt Festival of 2009, I will show you some of the spectacular entries in the wall quilt category.  

Janis Arredondo did not get an award for this quilt, but she gets a blue ribbon in my book. I love the composition of this quilt and the exquisite botanical detail of the flowers and their foliage. My mother observed that the edges of the fabrics were not turned under thus giving a very flat finish. Since there is so much machine embroidery and the fabric was cut so close to the stitching, there is no danger of raveling. My mother very excitedly declared that she was going to do the same thing on her quilts. She always had difficulty with turning the fabric under without it pooching out in places, especially around the curved edges.  

 

Quilt #3005 Camellias in my Garden, 35” x 28” 

Janis Arredondo 

Roseville, CA  

As sewing machine technology improves, it opens the door to more creativity than ever. Tanya Brown froze a summer moment of “Brian at 10 Months” using unbelievable machine embroidery skills and Tsukineko ink. 

 

Quilt #3017 “Brian at 10 Months” 28.5” x 29” 

Tanya Brown 

Sunnyvale, CA  

Christine Woodhouse would win top prize in the humor category, if there was one, with “Guard Duty”:

 

Quilt #7021 “Guard Duty”, 64” x 44” 

Christine Woodhouse 

New Zealand  

In reading the descriptions, I learned that a couple of quilts I chose to photograph were partially created in a workshop in Asilomar. I enjoy the simplicity and clarity of the designs in both these quilts. The first is “Viola” by Helen White, inspired by a Provencal painting:

 
“Viola” 

Helen White 

Ukiah, CA  

And the second, by Dorothy North, was inspired by the tomatoes she planted this spring. She incorporated fragments of the paper seed packets, leftover seeds, garden twine, and leaf prints to create this triptych quilt: 

 

“Tomato Triptych” 

Dorothy North 

Woodside, CA  

I am often attracted by bolder designs, especially in quilts, but this little wall quilt pulled me in from far away. Thom Atkins had to shift his medium of expression from bronze sculpture to textile arts after suffering injuries to his wrists and thumbs in a traffic accident. He printed Photoshop-manipulated photographs on fabric and reinforced the image with waterproof Sharpie pens. My favorite element of the quilt is illusion of rain created by the shimmery threads of glass beads. I can’t help but think that this quilt is a metaphor of the terrible traffic accident. Though I’m sure the injuries that deprived him of the ability to work with clay were a rainy day in his life, from it a thing of beauty and a new passion emerged.

“Outside Looking In”

Thom Atkins 

Santa Cruz, CA  

I was glad my mother pointed out he beautiful doves in the quilt called “The Beauty of Life”. My photo was too fuzzy to make out the last name of this quilter from Australia. The first name is probably Julie.  

 

Quilt #2591, “The Beauty of Life”

The opalescent seed bead detail on the tail feathers of these turtledoves give the appearance of pixie dust fluttering in the air as they coo about the beauty of life: 

 

Quilt #2591, “The Beauty of Life”

The last wall quilt I will feature here is a single square that is the ultimate Dutchbaby quilt. We came upon this little beauty in the “Vintage Revisited” section. “The Little Dutch Girl” by Judy Gula contains vintage fabrics and notions plus tiny ceramic and wooden “klompen” dangling at the bottom.  

 

“The Little Dutch Girl”, Vintage Revisited category 

Judy Gula 

Annandale, VA  

You may view all my posts covering this quilt fest here, my 2009 Quilt Fest flickr set here, and last year’s here.