A Little Bit of Piecing at IQF

Today, let’s begin by examining quilts in the “pieced” category. I LOVE to see a well-pieced, intricate quilt, so this is one of my favorite categories!!

“Star Blasted” by Victoria Findlay Wolfe with Evelyn Himes

This quilt has a true traditional feel to it…..not a normal thing for a Victoria Findlay Wolfe quilt!!


“Double D Delightful” by Della Devine Monagle, quilted by Daniela Durham

I appreciate the piecing in this quilt, but look at the borders….

Look at the embroidery on the binding….ingenious!!


“Wheels of Fortune” by Angela Turner

Angela said that the wheels were initially separate from each other, but combining them made the design more exciting.


This was awarded one of the judges choice awards….

“Visual Voyage” by Inger Blood

I am always drawn to a 3-D quilt and the superb quilting makes this one of my favorites….

The border treatment was excellent too…..


This quilt was awarded the Third Place Ribbon….

“Sprite Lightening” by Barb Sorensen

And yes, the piecing is perfect, but look at the border quilting….


This next quilt is an intriguing use of the panel one-block-wonders.

“A Stroll Into Our Autumn Years” by Lois Kindley

She started with seven panels of the main design and then cut six of them into units for the one-block-wonder areas. But, the kicker was when she added their silhouettes to the center.

I find it to be a moving and special quilt!!


This quilt was awarded the Blue Ribbon, but unfortunately you can’t see it particularly well in the photo….

“It’s Only Grass, But It’s Grass” by Masa Yanagimoto

This one was probably my favorite in the pieced division….

“Miami Meets Manhattan” by Ben Darby

Once again, if you put points AND curves together, I am going to be drooling over it!!


“Surviving the Storm of 2020” by Linda Matteotti

The computerized quilting added so much movement to the quilt…..

We will stop there for now and pick it up again on Wednesday.

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If you don’t want to miss my personal tour of the International Quilt Festival in Houston, be sure to subscribe…….


For Free-Motion Quilting ideas, be sure to check out my YouTube channel…… https://www.youtube.com/c/francesquilts/videos

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“Let’s Get Scrappy is about how to decide, not about what to make.”

Let’s Get Scrappy is an on-demand online course that helps quilters overcome decision fatigue and finally make sense of their overflowing scrap bins. With four hours of step-by-step video instruction, you’ll learn simple systems for organizing, piecing, and pressing your scraps—so you can stop overthinking and start sewing beautiful, coordinated quilts with confidence and joy.

Applique at IQF

Today, let’s visit some of my favorites from the Applique category

The colors in this first one are so appealing….

“Camellia Rising” by Xuan Wan

There is also some gorgeous quilting….


This one seems very traditional in style…..

“Isabel” by Lyn Koegh

It was made to celebrate her family from Great Grandmother to herself!!


“Tick Tock” by Peter Hayward

I can’t imagine keeping all of those cogs square!!


“Avian Cacophony” by Brooke W. Winters

Brooke’s comment was that it grew larger than planned, as she just had to keep making “one more bird”!! We all know that feeling!!

Once again, I appreciated the radiating quilting..


“Sakura Moon” by Allison Lockwood

This quilt was inspired by Cherry blossoms in Japan and, many of the fabrics were purchased there!!


“Floral Rondo” by Naomi Iida

There is so much definition in each of these blossoms, and have a closer look at the center….


This next one is probably my favorite in the category….

“100 Days of Greenery” by Cassandra Beaver

She used the grid quilting to be reminiscent of viewing the scene through a screen door.


The final quilt was awarded the Blue Ribbon for the category…..

“Lapin” by Megumi Mizuno

I felt like this was two quilts put into one. The center section was based on the stuffed rabbit that the maker’s 10-year old granddaughter loved playing with…..

The outside blocks are an interesting design and contain lots of embellishments….mostly embroidery…..


OKAY….that gets us finished with the Applique category.

Tomorrow and Wednesday we will tackle the pieced category. There is so many fun things to see there!!

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“Let’s Get Scrappy is about how to decide, not about what to make.”

Let’s Get Scrappy is an on-demand online course that helps quilters overcome decision fatigue and finally make sense of their overflowing scrap bins. With four hours of step-by-step video instruction, you’ll learn simple systems for organizing, piecing, and pressing your scraps—so you can stop overthinking and start sewing beautiful, coordinated quilts with confidence and joy.

FMQ from IQF

Today, let’s check out some of the outstanding quilting that I saw at the International Quilt Festival…..

Come back next Friday and we will finish the journey thru the quilts. Believe me, there are great things to come!!

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If you don’t want to miss my personal tour of the International Quilt Festival in Houston, be sure to subscribe…….

…………………………………………………………….

“Let’s Get Scrappy is about how to decide, not about what to make.”

Let’s Get Scrappy is an on-demand online course that helps quilters overcome decision fatigue and finally make sense of their overflowing scrap bins. With four hours of step-by-step video instruction, you’ll learn simple systems for organizing, piecing, and pressing your scraps—so you can stop overthinking and start sewing beautiful, coordinated quilts with confidence and joy.

The Animal Kingdom at IQF

“Animal Kingdom” is one of the new categories in the judged show. Let’s have a look…..

the blue ribbon was awarded to this quilt…..

“My Texas Spiny Lizard Muse” by Lori Cook

When I first saw this quilt, I struggled to see the lizard. If you are too, focus on the eye and go from there!!


Second prize was awarded to…..

“Family ties” by Junko Sugahara

Lots of fun faces and personalities in these dogs!!


Third place was given to….

“Tinker Bell” by Karmen Brister

Having him in repose on that carpet is the perfect setting!!


This owl was definitely a favorite….

“Them There Eyes” by Karen Hull Sienk

And, just look at the eyes…..

This is an amazing quilt!!


And, speaking of eyes…..

“Vizsla’s Love on Fabric” by Alessandra Volker

This piece was hand painted and quilted…..SO WELL DONE!!


This is a fun, colorful quilt…..

“The DayDream Cat” by Jayeun Shin

Sea turtles have a special place in my heart, so I adored this quilt….

“Solitude” by Sharon Braunagel

“Cat’s Cradle” by Charlotte Warr Andersen

This is a beautiful mix of traditional and pictorial!!


This moth is probably not someone’s pet, but it made an interesting quilt!!

“Petals & Wings” by Linda Reichenbach

Finally, we will end with the King of Beasts…..

“Sound of Silence” by Susan De Vanny

There are several surprises in this quilt, including….


Well, I hope that you enjoyed the Animal Kingdom quilts!!

Tomorrow I will have a video featuring some of the best free motion quilting in the show….

Don’t MISS IT!!


…………………………………………………………….

“Let’s Get Scrappy is about how to decide, not about what to make.”

Let’s Get Scrappy is an on-demand online course that helps quilters overcome decision fatigue and finally make sense of their overflowing scrap bins. With four hours of step-by-step video instruction, you’ll learn simple systems for organizing, piecing, and pressing your scraps—so you can stop overthinking and start sewing beautiful, coordinated quilts with confidence and joy.

More Abstract from IQF

On Sunday, I showed the first of my favorites from the Abstract category at IQF.

Let’s see some more…..

“Leftovers III” by Karen Hull Sienk

The couched seam lines make such a difference!!


“Candy Land 2: Carnival” by Candi Lennox

The straight-line quilting adds tons of texture without taking away from the design….


“Next Verse Different Than the First” by Cassandra Beaver

The few touches of embroidery are fun to see!!


I have always enjoyed quilts from Robbi Eklow, and this is no exception!!

“Hard Rain” by Robbi Eklow

“Cheshire” by Stephanie Skardal

Believe it or not, this quilt is FOUNDATION PAPER PIECED!! I can’t imagine how she did it, but it is a great quilt!! Have a closer look…..

AND, it was awarded a 3rd place ribbon.


“What’s Next” by Kathy York

Once again, the straight-line quilting adds so much texture without detracting from the design.


“Shades of Blue” by Nancy Ryan

I can’t put my finger on it, but this quilt just WORKS!!!


This quilt won the 2nd place award….

“Derse Verse” by Irene Roderick

“Through a Glass Darkly” by Roseanne Williamson

This quilt is based on the Fibonacci sequence and I adore all of the quilting….

I especially like the vertical “u-turn” quilting that causes uneven wrinkles!!


Along the same line, I will finish with this quilt and an interesting observation…..

“I May Be Square but Not Fuddy-Duddy” by Jackie Pang

Have a closer look at the quilting…..

Both sections are quilted with vertical straight lines, but look at the difference in the wrinkles that form. It totally changed the look of each area.

Any thoughts about why this happened and, even more important, any thoughts on how you can MAKE it happen?

Okay…that does it for Abstract. We will see more on Thursday!!

…………………………………………………………….

“Let’s Get Scrappy is about how to decide, not about what to make.”

Let’s Get Scrappy is an on-demand online course that helps quilters overcome decision fatigue and finally make sense of their overflowing scrap bins. With four hours of step-by-step video instruction, you’ll learn simple systems for organizing, piecing, and pressing your scraps—so you can stop overthinking and start sewing beautiful, coordinated quilts with confidence and joy.