Lemon Tree Tales

PIQF 2015: Part 3

This was the first year that PIQF opted to have a modern quilt category. The theme was "Mid-Century Modern" and had quite a few wonderful quilts.

Color Crystals by Vicki Ruebel ... this one had lovely machine quilting on it and won a green ribbon for Honorable Mention in the Modern Category.

Keep It Simple by Jodi Robinson ... This won a ribbon for Best Longarm Machine Quilting Workmanship in the Modern category. I LOVED the circle in the square quilting. (The second picture was blown out by the flash but it is indeed the darker grey of the first picture.)

Grandpa's Model Twenty #1 by Jodi Robinson ... This one won a ribbon for Best Modern Theme. I can really see this one hanging up in a lovely Eichler home. The quilting adds another dimension to the graphic design.

 

Churn Dash Boogie-Woogie by Mickey Beebe ... Mickey won a ribbon for Best Use of Color in the Modern category. She's also a member of one of the Modern Quilt Guilds that I belong to and is super sweet in person.

 

These are by no means the only quilts that I enjoyed seeing at the show this year. There were other favorites (gorgeous quilting, incredible color and fabric choices) and quite a few quilts by local quilt artists that I know. But these are just a teaser of the beauties that were on display. Maybe next time you can attend the show as well.

PIQF 2015: Part 2

Here's a few more pictures of amazing artwork from PIQF 2015 this past October. Of course I'm drawn to rich colors first of all. Then I'm blown away by the workmanship. The two quilts are both by talented German artist, Claudia Pfeil, who is incredible at machine quilting. She does teach classes and perhaps one day I'll be fortunate to take one of them. And the 3-D figurative art is by Susan Else who uses batiks to make artwork with interesting messages. It was nice to see the works of these artists in person as I've been admiring them in magazines for a while.

Fern Rising by Claudia Pfeil ... This was the Best of Show winner at PIQF. It's so hard to photograph because there were many heat set Swarovski crystals attached to the quilt. I'm a bit of a magpie because all that glitters will attract my attention in a flash.

 

Paradox by Claudia Pfeil ... This one won Best Longarm Machine Quilting award. It too has a lot of crystals in addition to metallic threads and beautiful silk fabrics. Just gorgeous!

 

When Ponies Dream by Susan Else ... If you look closely you'll realize that the "horses" on the merry-go-round are really people that are being ridden by the ponies. This was powered by a battery operated merry-go-round so an additional piece of whimsy to the artwork. All of Susan's pieces at the show made me smile.

PIQF 2015: Part 1

A few weekends ago I went to the Pacific International Quilt Festival (PIQF) held at the Santa Clara Convention Center here in California. As usual it was amazing. There were many wonderful quilts from local quilters to international quilters. The first day I went for most of the day to look at all the quilts and to glance at the vendors. The next day I met up with two friends to walk the show and spend most of the time looking at the vendors. I didn't do too much damage ... just more thread for my longarm business. Then I came back the third day to volunteer as a white glove lady for one of my guilds. I probably would have gone back the last day but there was a football game and I didn't want to brave the traffic. (The convention center is across the street from the 49ers stadium.)

I didn't take as many photos this year but I'll share a few of my favorites with you. These ones are all about the animals.

Song of the Sea by Kathy McNeil ... I LOVE art deco artwork and that of Alphonse Mucha that was the inspiration for this one. Kathy won a blue ribbon for Best Use of Color.

The Quilt with the Dragon Tattoo by Nancy Arseneault ... I remember reading about this quilt on one of the longarm quilting forums. Nancy made it as a thank you gift for her husband's tattoo artist. What a gift!

Lizard Dance by Lyn Axelson ... The 3-D lizards are wonderful on this quilt. It looks like there are a mix of beads and beaded embellishments as well as those gorgeous textiles.

Chloe by Carole Olsen ... I thought this sweet little frenchie was adorable. One of these days I should make a cairn terrier quilt of my three dogs.