Our 2023 guild challenge Inspiration Is Everywhere encouraged members to find inspiration in a photograph taken by them or a family member. Inspiration could come in any form including color palette or an interesting shapes. The challenge was not about making a quilt that looks exactly or even remotely like the photo.
We thank Cary Quilting and Oliso for their sponsorship of our guild challenge. An Oliso Mini Project Iron will be awarded to Viewer’s Choice. A $50 gift certificate for Cary Quilting will be awarded randomly to a participant, plus (new with this year’s challenge) will be randomly awarded to a participant entering a challenge/quilt show for the very first time. The trophy for the Viewer’s Choice winner was donated by Printed By Pete.
Voting for Viewer’s Choice closes on Saturday, November 11. Members, check your email for your unique member code, enjoy the quilts, and choose your favorite quilt!
Quilts are displayed below in the order they were submitted. Each entry has three photos – the quilt, a detailed closeup, and the inspiration photo.
Rainbow Chard by Beatriz Englert @bia.englert
18.5″ by 13.5″
On a trip to a Chapel Hill Farmers Market a few years ago, I took a photo of these beautiful Chard stems . The quilt is a representation of the angles and colors, done with fused fabric and a fused binding.
Photo credit: Beatriz Englert
Sunrise/Sunset by Rhonda Namba
58″ x 58″
I was inspired by the spectacular African sunrises and sunsets.
Photo credit: Alexa Namba (family member)
Day Lilies by Vicki Price @piecetymes
26″ x 22″
Day Lilies is completely improv. My rulers slept through the entire free-wheeling construction of this wall hanging, inspired by the ephemeral blooms of day lilies in our yard. Once the flowers open, they only last a day or so. That’s fitting because this was such a quick make, a little burst of free energy.
Photo credit: Vicki Price
Mending Fences by Patty Dudek @elmstreetquilts
15″ x 17″
Each year during our vacation at the NC beaches, I find myself taking numerous photos of dune fences, beach grass, pebbles on the shoreline and footprints left behind in the sand. For my quilt, I chose to pull some intriguing shapes from a portion of the shadow of a dune fence against the sand. (Note: this quilt is not part of the Viewer’s Choice voting.)
Photo credit: Patty Dudek
Cordoba Arches by Jane Herlihy @herliihyjane
17″ x 26″
The massive mosque-cathedral in Cordoba, Spain has served as both a mosque and a cathedral since 785 A. D. It is most famous for its double-tiered red and white arches that sit atop columns throughout the structure. I was awestruck by the view from below, and made this quilt to fondly remember my trip to Spain last spring.
Photo credit: Jane Herlihy
I’ve Been Working on the Railroad by Robin Thomas @rct_quilts
30″ x32″
Growing up in farm country I loved watching the trains come through. I always dreamed of all the places that the grain in those cars would go. The central figure of this design is inspired by the bottom hopper valve on a grain railcar.
Photo credit: Robin Thomas
Bordello by Pat Cummins @peacockcreekdesigns
42″ x46″
The design of this quilt began with paper pieced, multi-sectioned, diamond patterns inspired by the photo I took while traveling on the Denver light rail several years ago. These were positioned around a scrappy improv center section loosely based on a log cabin block The black edging around the center and around the diamonds was also drawn from the photo. My intention when beginning was to use primarily red fabrics only from my stash to create a maximalist design, using the photo as inspiration. It is machine quilted with accents of hand stitching along the black edgings.
Photo credit: Pat Cummins
Not Quite So Easily Broken by Carrie R Hauser @LovebugLongarming
37″ x 44.5″
Inspired by a stained glass piece by Robert Beam of Bear Ridge Stained Glass, I loved the shape of the curves and knew it could make an interesting quilt. I flat patterned the design by hand and made template pieces. After piecing the background out of low-volume neutrals, I cut out the shapes and pieced in the curves. I quilted this on my longarm with free-hand and ruler work. While it took a lot of time to get the organic lines to connect from color to color across the quilt, I think the effort paid off and I’m very happy with how this piece finished.
Photo Credit: Carrie Hauser
Spotlight on Dogwood by Rebecca Dumlao
20″ x 20″
Dogwood is found in different places, but is North Carolina’s state flower. For this creation, I used a photo I took several years ago. The created quilt used a variety of hand stitching, trapunto to give dimension to the flower, and different machine quilting stitches to outline leaves and flowers as well as to highlight the sky and the hills. The sheep are a favorite touch!
Photo credit Rebecca Dumlao
Fire Pit by Melissa Woodard @meliwoodcrafts
24″ x 20.5″
This is an improv quilt inspired by a photograph I took of embers smoldering in our fire pit. I chose a color palette based on magentas. I used the quilting to speak to the burning embers and the holes in the fire pit. The rounded corner echoes the roundness in the photo that inspired me.
Photo credit: Melissa Woodard
Vine by Karen Warren @144mom144
8″ x 5″
Challenge of 2 colors.
Photo credit: Karen Warren
Cafe by Erin Bell
26″ x 23″
I noticed the pretty tiles in an otherwise ugly table at a cafe, and, with this year’s challenge theme in mind, started wondering how I could piece a mosaic pattern. Figuring it out was fun!
Photo credit: Tom Adams (spouse)
Improv 101 by Joann Iannuzzelli
56″ x 66″
At a TMQG meeting last winter Charles showed us one of his recent finishes. On the back he used a solid color with one wonky improve column. He then challenged all of us to add fun pieced sections to the back of our quilts. At the time I was just finishing my Glitter Ball quilt designed by Joanne Westfoot and decided what a wonderful way to use up my scraps. While laying out my improve blocks, I decided they were too fun to be on a quilt back, or was it that I had too much fun making them? And a quilt top was born. Big thanks to Carrie Houser for the quilting.
Photo credit: Joann Iannuzzelli
Hidden Hydrangea by Sharon Carrier @sharoncarrier.art
40.5″ x 45.5″
Since moving last May, I have enjoyed my new home’s landscaping that, thanks to a previous owner’s talent for gardening, surprises me with new blossoms almost daily. My quilt’s inspiration would come from my own backyard I decided. While taking photos, I spotted something blue in the middle of an overgrown hedge. I crawled into the thicket to find a lanky, neglected hydrangea full of soft round blooms reaching toward the sun. I had my inspiration photo. Going from photo to finished quilt required new thinking and skills on my part. Fortunately, the Triangle MQG challenge coincided with Maria Shell’s Big Botany workshop that I was taking to learn about making modern quilts through abstraction and improvisational piecing (without the use of patterns, templates, or rulers). With Hidden Hydrangea, I achieved the results I wanted in what wound up being my quilt for both the class and the challenge. I appreciate the Triangle MQG’s hosting of this challenge, which encouraged me to explore new aspects of modern quilting. My main learning takeaways are to continue with abstraction and improv and to find beauty and inspiration in unexpected places.
Photo credit: Sharon Carrier
Tulip Poplar by Marilyn Murray
13″ x 11″
I walk past this beautiful tree in my neighborhood daily. I used it as my inspiration.
Photo credit: Marilyn Murray
The 5th Member of the Band by Collette Kinane
17.25″ × 29.25″
For many jam bands, the light show is almost as important as the musicians. A perfectly synced light rig can build anticipation, emotion, and provide visualization of the music. It can be transporting. The photo was taken in the middle of Widespread Panic’s Durham run in February 2023. The way the colors weave into each other and change the stage experience immediately made me want to create something.
Photo credit: Patrick House (spouse)
Members, you can find your unique member number in your email. Vote now for your favorite!