"In Full Bloom" and Flower Quilts at the IQF in Chicago 2015

She's a Wildflower by Joanna Wilczynska. Inspired by a graphic drawn by Gracjana Zielinsak and used with her pemission.

 I began going through the photographs I took at the International Quilt Festival in Chicago last weekend and decided I had WAY WAY too many to show you all in one blog. Since spring has sprung - finally! - in the upper Midwest and this weekend is Easter weekend I felt like showing you flowers and more flowers from the quilt show. 

 Easter is meant to be celebrated and I can't imagine a better visual image of 'celebration' than flowers.  When it is their time to bloom, they do it with all their strength and open up their blossoms in joyful celebration of beauty.

Isn't the woman with flowers in hair beautiful? I took a detail shot of the gray painted hair. This quilt is raw edge appliqued and painted.

Detail of the gray hair

Prairie Gold by Marianne Williamson 

 Boy is there a lot of stitching in this quilt! It is raw edge appliqued and free motion quilted. Check out the detail of all the thread work. 

Detail, Prairie Gold

This next quilt celebrates cherry blossoms. It was inspired by a photograph she took and the cherry trees in her sister's yard. It is raw edge appliqued, fused, penciled, inked, pebbled and thread painted. I took a few detail shots for you. 

Cherries Jubilee by B. Lynn Tubbe

Its so pretty! I love these pastel colors. 

Detail, Cherries

 You can see her thread painting and in the photo below  her free motion embroidery. 

Detail, Cherries

Ugh, forgot to get the label. I think this is Pat Gould's quilt? 

 I've seen this quilt around facebook; one of my friends made it. As a consequence I was so pleased to see it in person that I completely forgot to take a photo of the label. I hate when that happens! Grrr.

(I have a LOT of artist friends on facebook so forgetting which one made this isn't as bad as you'd think!)

In Bloom by Renee Caswell 

 Renee's techniques include machine applique, quilting and surface embellishment. 

Flower Field by Emily Parson

 Emily used hand dyed fabric, machine applique and machine quilting to create her beautiful daffodils. Daffodils remind her of her mother's garden and she used her own photographs to design this quilt. 

My Blooming Spiral by Linda Cooper

 One of my favorite techniques is Broderie Perse raw edge applique and that is how Linda created the flowers in her quilt. 

Garden Shed by Pamela George
Don't you love this sweet little quilt!? Pamela was inspired by some chicken wire and chipped yellow paint fabric she found! She hand painted and fuse appliqued her scene.

Here is a detail of her flowers and a butterfly.

Detail, Garden Shed 

Unknown - sorry! 

I like the 2 pairs of flip flops left at the door step. The artist added a lot of 3 dimensional leaves and beads.
(With little hidden moths here and there.) :) 

Detail of the unknown quilt

This next quilt blew me away. You'll figure that out pretty quick when you see all the detail photographs I took! 

Seasons Come Around with Flowers by Harumi Asada

When asked what inspired her design, do you know what Harumi Asada said?

 A Snail.

Her quilt was filled with photos of flowers and intricate applique and needlework. I was so impressed!

This piece is computer printed (photo transfer), hand appliqued and hand quilted. 

Detail, Seasons

Detail Seasons

 Look at the intricate hand applique work. Then look at her textures! 

Detail, Seasons

 Amazing.

Detail, Seasons

Here is another sweet scene filled with tiny details. Look and the squirrel in the tree and the tiny butterfly on the flowers. 

It is hand painted, machine appliqued and quilted.

All is Blue with Platycodon by Dorothy Fu

Mom's Sunday Garden by Sue Glass
Sue's quilt was adapted from a book called Aunt Millie's Flower Garden. She made it to celebrate her mother's life.  Sue's mother loved gardening and a home filled with flowers. Sue and her mother had a special time together as they chose colors and fabrics for this quilt.

Sue's mom died last year and she dedicates the quilt to her mom.

Sunset over Keukenhof Gardens by Jenny Raymond

Wow - an explosion of color and flowers! Isn't this great!? Jenny was inspired by a trip to Holland. The ironwork design represents the many windmills she saw there. She also wanted sunset colors in her quilt so she created it as a kaleidoscope instead of a traditional landscape.

This quilt is raw edge appliqued with photo transfer and thread painting. Here is a detail of the tulips.  

Detail, Sunset

Remembering Roseville by Jenny Raymond 

This is another quilt by Jenny Raymond. She was inspired by the designs on Roseville pottery. She used her hand dyed fabrics and raw edge machine applique to make this quilt.

Whew! I've been working on this blog for 3 hours now. I need food and coffee.  I have another folder of quilts to get to, maybe next week? I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and find ways to celebrate life.

It's no wonder that the IQF people describe this quilt show as a "World of Beauty". It surely is! Granted sometimes you have to really look for it; it gets hidden by the day to day horrors we see on the news. Perhaps that is why Easter is such a special holiday... it celebrates life from death. New beginnings over sadness and decay. Like flowers blooming up from the decay of fallen leaves and a long winter season.

He is risen!

A truly joyful time indeed.

I hope you've loved seeing all these quilts, until next time - Quilt On!