The Best of Humorous Quilts

~The May giveaway starts tomorrow... Monday!~
Here's a wrapup of the humorous quilts we've shown over the last week.  Enjoy!

Row 1, L-R:  Woof meets Warhol, by Kelly Gallagher-Abbott, at Jukebox Quilts; Mad as a March Hare: I Put My 'Hare' Up to Show Off My 5 'Carrot' Necklace, by Laurie Ceesay, at Artsy Chick Quilts; Quilt in the Headlights, by Boo Davis, at Quiltsrÿche.
Row 2:  Three women at the Hilton, by Pamela Allen, at Pamelart; Sunbonnet Sue sends text messages on her cell phone, by Bonnie MacGregor, for the Alliance for American Quilts; Don't Piss Off the Fairies, by Ruth Powers, at Ruth Powers Art Quilts.
Row 3: Mermaids like Margaritas with Salt, by Ellen Edith, at Ellen Edith;  March Madness, by Christine Porter and Darra Williamson, from A Year in the Life of Sunbonnet Sue by Martingale & Company; Sunbonnet Sue meets her modern counterpart, by Dorothy Day, at the Alliance for American Quilts.
Row 4: Sue kicks the snowman, at Bad Sue Quilts; Chain Gang, by Rosalie Gray, at Quilts Kingston.
Row 5:  Traffic Jam, and Paris- Wish you were Hair, by Pam RuBert, at pamrubert.com.

Humorous Quilts: Don't Piss Off the Fairies, by Ruth Powers

Quilts started out as very utilitarian, practical items for warmth and comfort in daily life. However, one of the most fun aspects of our craft has been the development of quilts to express artistic and cultural themes, such as holidays, celebrations, and humor. Laughter and comedy are part of all cultures, and humorous quilts are a wonderful way of expressing our more lighthearted moments. For the next week we're bringing you one humorous quilt per day.

Don't Piss Off the Fairies,  12 x 12, by Ruth Powers at  Ruth Powers Art Quilts

"Don't Piss Off the Fairies" makes us laugh because the irony of this topic. We usually think of fairies as whimsical, effervescent, creatures of childlike delight.  However, what happens when one of them has a bad day like all of us occasionally do? The result is a very human expression of grumpiness on a non-human being, and that brings a smile to our faces.

This little fairy in her woodland setting is intricately machine-pieced and machine-quilted. Notice how the light falls upon her delicate wings, which brings out the graceful quilting design. The golden skin tones complement the icy lavender shades of the fairies' wings and help to play up the focal point of her facial expression.  Ruth notes that it was a bit of a challenge to find the right fabric for her skin, but she thinks the batik she used worked out perfectly. She says, " I just love searching for the right fabric", and we know that echoes the sentiments of so many quilters.

"Don't Piss Off the Fairies" is a one-of-a-kind art piece that is now privately owned by the Thomas Contemporary Quilt Collection. However, if you are looking for a really cute (non-pissed-off) fairy pattern, check out Fairies In My Garden at Ruth Powers' patterns page. We really enjoy Ruth's work, as it is so inspired, fresh, and creative. You can see more quilts in progress - and more fairies - at Ruth Powers' Blog.

Image credits:  The image is shown with the generous permission of Ruth Powers.

p.s.  How does Google Translate deal with "Piss Off" ?  Let us know !  In case it doesn't translate, the MacMillan dictionary has these synonyms: To annoy, provoke, anger, bother, frustrate, irritate, infuriate, antagonize. In short form we may just say P.O. as in "I'm PO'd". Undoubtedly there are similar terms in every language.  We'd love to know.

Quilt inspiration 2010: Houses

Did you know that 2010 was our first year blogging? That might explain why we've spent a few days recalling some of our most popular themes.  This is our last "recap" post, before we start a fabulous New Year of inspiration (tomorrow !)

In 2010 we did a series called "Our Town", featuring quilts with schoolhouses, homes, and entire villages.  Methods of construction ranged from log cabin to stained glass, traditional and foundation piecing, and appliqué. As a Realtor would say: We hope you see some houses you like !

Row 1, L-R: Row Houses, by Flavin Glover; Magnolia Quilt,  by Sue Spargo; Hillside Houses,  by Daphne Greig and Susan Purney Mark; Welcome Home, by Alex Anderson. Row 2: Little Houses, and Little Old One Room Schoolhouse, by Ruth Powers; Little Amsterdam,  by the North Sea Quilters; Pedestrian Friendly, by Pat Dicker. Row 3: Wonky Houses, by Carol Morrissey; Firelight and Chimney Smoke, by Martha Milne;  There's No Place Like Home, block and full quilt, by Sonya Chinn. Row 4: Night before Christmas quilt and block, by Sue Garman; Welcome to the North Pole, by Becky Goldsmith and Linda Jenkins; Waiting for Santa, by Lynette Anderson. Row 5:  Up on the Housetop quilt and detail, by Cynthia England; and It Takes A Village, by Pippa Moore.

*For more information, see the following articles:  Our Town, Our Town Part 2, Our Town Part 3, Our Town Part 4, Our Town Part 5, and Our Town Part 6.

Autumn Leaves Quilts

Autumn is one of the best seasons to enjoy the glorious colors of our changing environment. Mother Nature brings out her prettiest deep greens, sunny golds, and vivid oranges and reds before beginning her winter repose. We've assembled a collection of quilts to celebrate the beauty of autumn leaves as portrayed in the textile arts.

Third Weekend in October, 85 x 110, by Ruth Powers, at Ruth Powers Art Quilts

A well-loved favorite at quilt raffles and shows, "Third Weekend in October" captures the very essence of sun-dappled warm hues. Ruth sprinkled fabrics with lighter values diagonally across the quilt and placed some leaves overlapping the borders. This technique gives the quilt a very natural, realistic, outdoors look, much as we might view a display of leaves on our front lawn. We think that this artistic, unstructured look is one of the many keys to this quilt pattern's success. Ruth writes that "Third Weekend In October" was released in 1997 and has consistently been Innovation's best seller, having sold almost 28,000 copies in the first 10 years that it was available. For the pattern, visit Ruth's pattern page. A wall hanging version of the quilt is also available; see New Leaves.


Autumn Wind Art Quilt With Embroidery, 32 x 34, at Advanced Embroidery Designs

The three very creative designers at Advanced Embroidery Designs, Sophia, Venelina, and Helen, combine their talents to produce some of the prettiest and most elegant embroidery patterns we've ever seen. Here they have combined their patterns of Lady Autumn, the FSL Autumn Leaves, and the Maple Leaves to fashion a lovely tribute to the changing season. They encourage quilters to use their imagination in adding small embellishments to this art quilt, such as beads, charms, cords, ribbons, and floss.  In the quilt shown above, they have couched a sparkling gold cord over the individual pieces, especially Lady Autumn's graceful garments. To see the detail and obtain the pattern, visit the Autumn Wind project page.


Scrappy Leaves, 77 x 83, by Ilene Bartos, at Ilene Bartos Designs

If you love the idea of an autumn leaf quilt, but you want to add in some summer and winter colors in addition to traditional autumn hues, then this Scrappy Leaves pattern will be perfect for you. Ilene used purples, pinks, blues, and greens to fashion this rainbow colored quilt. She selected 132 different leaf fabrics and cut them into 2.5 inch strips.

Scrappy Leaves is the gorgeous cover quilt for Ilene's book, Maple Leaf Quilts. Her book includes 12 different maple leaf quilt projects, and focuses on imaginative and original ways to construct Maple Leaf blocks.  Ilene offers very helpful suggestions for creating the sharp, accurate points which gives this pattern its well known crisp and clean look.

Ilene shows several other beautiful quilts on her Gallery of Leaves page, including the bright and sunny "Scattered Leaves" quilt below.

Indian Summer, 60 x 69, by Judy Niemeyer, at Quiltworx

In this quilt of the energetic color combinations of orange, teal, burgundy, and olive, the clean geometric lines create delicate pinwheel images. As the eye glides over the pinwheels, they seem to rotate gracefully, symbolizing the dance of leaves as they drift in the breeze to the ground.

Artist Judy Niemeyer remarks on her Quiltworx website, " Indian Summer was designed as a tool to teach foundation paper piecing in an afternoon class. I wanted to design a quilt that did not require figuring  yardage or picking out color. This quilt is surprisingly fun and simple to make. "

For another glorious quilt in fall colors, also see the Autumn Splendor design by Bradley and Judy Niemeyer.


October, 48 x 64, by Barbara Persing and Mary Hoover, at Fourth and Sixth Designs

Award-winning quilt artists from Jersey, England, Barbara and Mary were born the 4th and 6th children in their family. After moving to the United States, they developed their quilting talent into a full time career. They now travel extensively, giving workshops and seminars on quilting. Barbara Persing also provides long arm quilting services. They are proud to announce their first book, Strata Various Quilts from C and T Publishing.

One of Barbara and Mary's trademarks is their successful use of dazzling, pure colors against a contrasting background. You can see this skill applied in the "October" quilt, as the brilliant leaves are appliqued on a background of soft neutrals. Background strips of off-white and ecru evoke an image of a pale yet luminous landscape, as nature reposes for the season. The muted background tones cause the vibrant orange leaves to pop off the quilt with almost a three-dimensional effect. A stunning reminder of the beauty of autumn and winter, the "October" pattern is available at JWD Publishing and also from the catalog at 4th and 6th Designs.

Below, you can see the beautiful fused applique technique and thread painting on the close up of one of the leaves of "October."

Image credits: Images are shown with the generous permission of the artists.

Our Town

This time of year, the school bells ring again for so many of us and our children.  While researching an article on traditional Amish "schoolhouse" quilts,  we found so many darling quilts with houses, that we decided to expand our post to include all kind of wonderful house patterns.

A house on a quilt is a symbol of our community and our lives together in society. It's no wonder that house quilts remind us of comfort and the togetherness of family, friends, and neighbors.

Welcome Home, 64 x 64, by Alex Anderson,at Alex Anderson Quilts

Here's a delightful neighborhood of cheerful houses done in russet and gold. Internationally-famous designer Alex Anderson has brightened the traditional fall quilt by adding contemporary colors of aqua blue and rose pink which make the maple leaves and houses sparkle against the dark background. Easily pieced using half square triangles, "Welcome Home" has become a classic best-seller from JWD Publishing. You can view all of Alex Anderson's books and patterns at Alex Anderson Quilts.

At The Quilt Show with Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims, you can sign up for podcasts with instruction from other top name quilters, contests, a block-of-the-month program, a fabulous quilt galley, and a store full of wonderful products and DVDs. Take a look, as it's great fun to browse through all these goodies.

Little Old One Room Schoolhouse,  23 x 27, by Ruth Powers, at Ruth Powers Art Quilts

The traditional schoolhouse of the American frontier, complete with a bell tower, beckons us back to learning, as leaves swirl in the early autumn breeze.  Prolific quilt designer Ruth Powers offers this charming scene as a pattern on her website, along with so many other beautiful patterns.

Little Houses, 48 x 60, by Ruth Powers, at Ruth Powers Art Quilts

Ruth writes, "Much of my work is inspired by nature;  my daily walks fill my senses with color and design possibilities." In creating Little Houses, Ruth has done an excellent job of selecting different blues and greens for the sky and earth, while selecting the complementary colors of bright orange and orange-red for the homes. Ruth notes that this is a great pattern for using up fat quarters and scraps, so let your imagination run wild, and let the stash-busting begin ! Ruth also composes a very interesting blog, where she updates everyone about her latest projects and patterns.

Hillside Houses, 29 x 36 by Daphne Greig and Susan Purney Mark

We love the idea of a village of houses nestled cozily together, their rooftops peeking out from one another. Daphne Greig was very kind to give us some background on this enchanting quilt. She writes: "Bright houses perched on a hillside are the inspiration for this quilt. You will see these along the coastlines of Italy and Greece and even in Newfoundland. The piece was designed for my book, co-written with Susan Purney Mark, Simple Stained Glass Quilts, Krause Publications, 2008. Our unique "whole cloth" technique makes construction of stained glass quilts easy and less labor-intensive than other methods."  Autographed copies of the book are available through Daphne's website, http://www.daphnegreig.com/.

Wonky Houses, 44 x 60, by Carol Morrissey, at O Carol Designs

Wonky Houses is an irresistible quilt pattern, because the fairy-tale cottages and trees at their lilting angles provide such a whimsical, fun effect. Carol Morrissey created this quilt as an easy paper piecing pattern, with clearly understandable directions and full size paper templates. The triangles that dance through the quilt and the vibrant orange-red border against the blue sky really make this dazzling pattern "pop". What a great opportunity to use up bright fat quarters and scraps.   Carol notes that "variety is the key to success of this quilt". For more great patterns, and a fabulous gallery of photos, visit  O Carol Designs.

Firelight and Chimney Smoke, 62 x 50, by Martha Milne, at machinequilter

Martha Milne, who is based in the UK,  constructed this beautiful Amish-style schoolhouse quilt out of jewel-tone remnants. She had just completed a Jewel Box quilt for her daughter, and fell in love with the jewel tones against the black. The light and bright windows in this quilt give the inviting illusion of a warm, glowing hearth within, which beckons us inside. She writes: "I did want to create the effect of light shining in the darkness. The idea was for each house to have its own personality. I had fun playing with my fabrics to achieve this." Extensive instructions and an easy-to-follow pattern can be found at Popular Patchwork and Quilting.  Martha is renowned for her machine quilting; to see the quilting detail, click on the image of the full quilt, or the photo below.

Martha Milne is an inspiring teacher, because she believes that everyone can learn to do machine quilting; see her fascinating video on You Tube. Also don't miss her demonstration of The New English Quilter, which converts your home sewing machine into an affordable version of a professional long arm machine  (it's also available in the US !)  At Martha's machinequilter website you can purchase The New English Quilter, the first of a series of Line Dancing DVDs, and the amazing JUKI sewing machine (have you heard of it?)

Last but not least... here's Martha Milne's "Little Houses in the Big Woods".  This quilt was published in Popular Patchwork in 2007 (subscriber access).  The quilting was done with a Juki machine and the New English Quilter. The detail of the red houses, and the quilted chimney smoke, can be seen on Martha's blog.

More Houses: Teacher, author, and quilt artist Freddy Moran is internationally acclaimed for her unique and original house quilts. You can see brilliant photos and read about her designs in Freddy's House: Brilliant Color in Quilts.  In addition,  from her quilt images, Freddy has created House Party Quilts Gift Wrap, which would make a lovely gift in itself ! 

Don't miss Our Town Part Two, where we show more stunning quilts with houses.

The Best of Cat Quilts! Part Three

Here we go... Part Three (and the grand finale) of The Best of Cat Quilts !  As we mentioned in Part One, we "previewed" over 150 cat quilts in order to select the best for this series. Some of the quilts we showed last week make us feel as if the cats could jump right off the page! Today we're including some more contemporary styles:  silhouettes, pieced cats, abstract cats, and some cool tessellations. Read on for The Best of Cat Quilts - Part Three (and a request to readers: we'd love to see any outstanding quilts that we missed !)

Stairway to Cat Heaven, 52 x 52, by Marty Mason, at Marty's Fiber Musings

Marty Mason is a fiber artist who creates original art quilts and thread paintings, along with a selection of classic quilts.  Her striking "Stairway To Cat Heaven"  is a beautiful rendition of the popular quilt which first appeared in 1997 (links to the pattern can be found at the bottom of this post.)  The quilt shown above has been sold, but you can read about it on Marty Mason's blog, where you can also see Kitty Cat Charm.   Marty Mason's original fiber art works can be found at Marty's Fiber Musings on Etsy, including one of our favorites, the abstract art quilt known as  Architect's Dream #2. We can't help but mention that we are smitten with Marty's original thread paintings of pretty ladies in smart hats; check out her fabulous recent works !

Cat Nap, by Cynthia England, at England Design

Cynthia England is an internationally known quilting instructor and pattern designer, who is best known for the stunning quilts she makes with Picture Piecing. Cynthia's innovative technique breaks the design down into pieces that can be sewn using straight seams. Her elegant Cat Nap quilt pattern, above, is one of our favorites: it features a serene gray cat reclining on a red-and-ivory quilt. You have only to look at the amazing detail of the cat's face, shown below, to appreciate the piecework.

Cynthia England's most recognized art quilt, Piece and Quiet, was chosen as one of the "The Twentieth Century's Best American Quilts" in 2000. Piece and Quiet has over 8000 pieces and it is so realistic that it appears to be a photograph!  Don't be intimidated, though: Cynthia has made her techniques easy to learn with a book and with free videos, and two free patterns so that quilters can try the technique.  Also check out Quilter's Kitty, and the many gorgeous patterns in Cynthia England's landscape and nature galleries.

Porcelain Cat, 26 x 31, by Jane Spolar, at Quilt Poetry

Jane Spolar's quilts and fabrics exemplify her distinctive, lyrical style. Porcelain Cat dreams the dream of life and chasing, naps and frolic, flowers, a garden, and a friendly lap.  Another lovely cat quilt, Contented, bears the description: "Contented as a cat in the flowers". Also, if you are seeking bliss, take a look at Bliss, Jane Spolar's luscious fabric line for Northcott Silk.

Kitty Corner Cats, 35 x 35, by Ruth Powers, at Ruth Powers Art Quilts

Since taking up the art of quilting in 1989, Ruth Powers has gained national recognition for her award-winning quilts. Her works hang in private collections from coast to coast.  "Kitty Corner Cats" is another classic, with its combination of playful cats and "catty-wampus pieced blocks". (What an apt description... cattywampus really sums it up !) The pattern can be obtained on the Kitty Corner Cats page; also you can browse Fat Cat Dreaming, and Ruth Powers' many other inspiring patterns and recent works.

Garden Patch Cats, about 18 x 18 each, by Helene Knott, as seen at StoryQuilts

Helene Knott is a designer and teacher whose quilts have received worldwide acclaim. We adore her stylish Garden Patch Cats, and are showing six of our favorites: Pumpkat, Gourdo Gato, Eggplant Purr-mesan, Boscat, Walla Walla Kitty, and Kitt'ney Bean. A total of fourteen cats are available as of this writing, and Helene reportedly has drawings for many more !  StoryQuilts also carries Helene's marvelous Postcards from Japan and other designs. Helene's brochure includes all of her workshops, along with images of many of her spectacular quilts.

Sawtooth Cats, 64.5 x 80, by Janet Miller, at the City Stitcher

Janet Miller has been quilting since she was 12 years old; her many bestselling designs can be found at The City Stitcher, which she founded.   The charming "Sawtooth Cats" is one of our favorite pieced cat quilts. The curved backs and tails of the cats, and the borders, are made with paper foundation piecing in a sawtooth pattern. This quilt is perfect for scrap fabrics,  as seen in this colorful variation by Bonnie Reece.

Kitty Memories, 60.5 x 62, designed by Dawn Navarro Ericson, quilted by Pamela Dransfeldt, and published by McCalls Quilting

Dawn Navarro Ericson is an artist and illustrator, whose original designs include the very clever Copy Cat Quilts. One of Dawn's ingenious tessellation quilts is Kitty Memories, published by McCalls Quilting. If Kitty Memories is turned upside down, the dark cats appear, and if you click to enlarge the above image you can see the embellishments, which include dimensional cat collars and tags.  The McCall's web bonus includes photos of additional cat faces and a line drawing of the assembled quilt. 

Copy Cat Quilt, designed by Dawn Navarro Ericson, quilted by Pamela Dransfeldt, and published by Martingale and Company®

Finally, we're so pleased to be able to show you the ultra-cool quilt that  graces the cover of Copy Cat Quilts.  First published in the 1980's, this award-winning pattern has been updated with contemporary quilting techniques... it is a perennial favorite, and a definite Best of Cat Quilt !

And now (drum roll, please....) a request !   In  compiling The Best of Cat Quilts we previewed 150 quilts, and then selected the best 15 quilts to showcase in this series.  We're pretty sure there are some exceptional quilts we haven't seen, and we would love to know about them !  Please leave a link in the Comments below (et merci !)

Image credits and additional links: Images are shown with the generous permission of the artists. Stairway to Cat Heaven: Fabric requirements and applique templates are available at McCalls Quilting, and the complete pattern can be purchased from the Quilt and Sew Shop.  Feline-friendly blogs:  SewCalGal has just wrapped up her Pets On Quilts Show, with some wonderful photos of real pets on real quilts ! Also check out these blogs: Felines and Fibre Arts, Cats and Quilts, Cats On My Quilts, Cats Who Quilt, and Quilt Tales and Cat Tails.