NM FIESTA
54" x 58"
Pieced by: Vanessa Hale
Quilted by: Patti Lueker
Pattern: Original.  By Vanessa Hale, Hale Yes! Quilts
Technique: Traditional Piecing
 
“This is the quilt that I designed for Balloon Fiesta last year.  I wrote and published the pattern under my pattern company, Hale Yes! Quilts.  It was the second pattern I ever published.  I love designing quilts and writing patterns, and I am particularly proud and fond of this one.”

SUNSET FROM HORSESHOE MESA
29" x 21½"
Pieced and Quilted by: Becky Welch
Pattern: Original, from a photograph taken by my daughter, Gloria
Technique: Machine piecing, appliqué, quilting.  Hand appliqué, couching, Angelina fibers with organza, facing.
 
“In November of 2022, my daughter, Gloria, and I spent 5 days backpacking the Grandview Trail area of the Grand Canyon National Park.   One evening, the sunset caught the edges of the distant rims with a vibrant gold, which Gloria photographed.  It was an amazing sight, and we were very privileged to watch it.  I decided to try and capture it in a quilt.  There were a few times in the process that had me frustrated, but I managed to overcome obstacles.
 
“This quilt is full of special memories and sentiments.  Several of the fabrics were hand dyed by the talented and gracious Anita McSorley and Lynn Rodgers, both sadly lost to cancers.  The textured pieces were taught in a faux metal fabric technique class.  Some pieces were hand dyed by myself.  The gold sunset is dupioni silk.  Other fabrics are Batiks, organza over Angelina fibers, and leather.
 
“This is a piece that is very special to me, full of wonderful people and a beautiful trip.”

REMEMBERING MAUDIE
54" x 70"
Pieced and quilted by: Myra Lyle
Pattern: by Donna Robertson in Variation of a Fabric Café 3-yd Quilt
Technique: Machine pieced and quilted.  Decorative hand quilting using stencils.
 
“My grandmother was a quilt maker along with many other talents including intricate crocheting, cooking and baking (best pie, ever) and gardening (veggies and flowers).  When I knew her in the 1950’s she had cultivated the most beautiful sunken flower garden.  As a child, I thought it was a magical place.  Among the flowers were climbing geraniums.  Kaffe Fassett’s fabric featured in this quilt reminds me of her.  She was Maude Dell Carnahan Davis – Grandma.”

CONFETTI SAMPLER
49" x 50"
Pieced and Quilted by: Debbie Williams
Pattern: Original
Technique: Piecing with Miss Rosie’s Cake Mix Recipe 8 Foundation Papers; quilting with rulers
 
“I acquired the leftovers from another quilter’s project from a quilt store in 2022: 7 leftover Cake Mix blocks, many Half-Square triangles, and short strips of Jen Kingwell fabrics.  I didn’t want to throw out the work that had already been done, so I set my skills to use these leftovers in a quilt design that would work with such odd numbers of leftover pieces.  After the quilt top was pieced together, I also was challenged to use a variety of different border designs that would work together.  My leftover bits of fabric were arranged together to piece the back.  The very last pinwheel was added after the signature block was attached!
 
“Yes, I enjoyed using the Cake Mix Recipe foundation papers to make Half-Square triangle designs!  There are endless designs to be created.”

NIGHTS OF OLD SALEM
54” x 68”
Pieced by: Lisa Thompson
Quilted by: Patti Lueker
Pattern: Block Talk, by Joanne Hillestad, Swirly Girls Design
Technique: Traditional Piecing
 
“Whenever I think of Halloween, I think of my sister, Cheri.  Her dream was to go to Hollywood and be a costume designer.  Unfortunately, as dreams often go, this never happened for her.  However, every year she designed and made a very elaborate costume to wear to work.  Some of her amazing creations included a dragon, a mummy, the black & white cat from “Cats, and Aunt Entity” (Tina Turner’s character in Beyond Thunderdome).    We lost Cheri in November of 1996 to cancer.  Cheri was also the original cat lady in the family; hence the backing!  This one’s for you, Dear Sister!

60° DIAMOND EXPERIMENT
51" x 63"
Pieced and Quilted by: Becky Welch
Pattern: Original
Techniques: Machine piecing and quilting
 
“Sometimes I experiment with projects for the sake of experimenting.  Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn’t. 
 
“This quilt is the sum of several experiments.
“I used a 60° diamond ruler, thinking this would need 3 pattern repeats for the stack and whack technique of cutting.  It worked.
 
“The second experiment was the asymmetric setting.  I wanted something unusual.
 
“The third experiment was the border.  My daughter suggested the stripe Batik that works beautifully.  I wanted to see if I could piece it around the unusual edges without filler triangles.  I had a very limited amount of the Batik and had to piece it a few times, but I managed to do it.
 
“The final experiment was the quilting.  I had learned the leaves at Gammill Quilting with Confidence classes held in Santa Fe this May.  They were easy and I had a blast doing it.
 
“I am pleased with the results.  I learned a lot.”

LILAC SUMMER
48" x 58"
Pieced and Quilted by: Kaitlin Mitchell
Pattern: Quick Quilt, by Donna Robertson.  Fabric Cafe
Technique: Piecing and quilting on a domestic machine
 
“I bought this fabric when I first started working at Quilt Works, all from the half price
shelf. I thought the three fabrics went very well together and it was an early lesson in
finding a dark, a medium, and a light fabric together. I waited to find the perfect pattern
for this fabric and thought this one had a nice contrast while showing off the flowers. I
plan on using this quilt for picnics!”

DUCKS IN A ROW
48” x 60”
Pieced and Quilted by: Cynthia Soine
Pattern: Three Ducks in a Row, by Judy Niemeyer
Technique: Paper piecing
 
“This is a discontinued Judy Niemeyer pattern.  It is paper pieced, which currently is my favorite way to make a quilt.  I made the blocks and chose to assemble the quilt with cool colors on one side & warm colors on the other. The binding and backing are leftover fabrics, a way to keep that extra fabric out of the scrap bin!  I was able to quilt this during my 2-week vacation to Missouri.  Yes, I brought along the sewing machine and all the extra supplies on my road trip.
 
“I moved to Albuquerque from a small hobby farm that was south of Kansas City, Missouri. We had various poultry, and ducks were such a blast to watch. The ducks would wander around the barnyard, all in a row & all together. (More than 3 ducks, thus I changed the name of the quilt.) I do mean meander, squiggle, squawk and shimmy all together, sort of how my quilting is my interpretation of their actions.”

STARLETS
64" x 71"
Pieced and Quilted by: Danyella Nava
Pattern: Starlets by modernly Morgan
Technique: Machine pieced and long-arm quilted
 
“I was inspired to make this quilt by a friend.  I wanted to use fabrics from my stash. So I dug through my fat quarters, picked out my favorite colors right now, and tried to push myself out of making something from one fabric line. Finished off with a bit of sparkle, I think this quilt truly shines!”
 


 

Pieced by:  Laura Echeverria
Quilted by: Patti Lueker
Pattern: Fab Farm by Elizabeth Hartman 
Technique: Machine pieced with connector corners
 
“A dear friend announced the arrival of a new grandchild.  The new arrival’s older sister and her parents adore the quilt I gave them when she was born (Elizabeth Hartman’s Awesome Ocean), so I knew the new baby would have to have an Elizabeth Hartman quilt, too.  I fell in love with Fab Farm and began the search for fabric.
 
“I am not a fan of individual fat quarters – I rarely even look in the fat quarter “bin” unless I have to tidy it up.  Fat quarter bundles are another story entirely.  Show me a BIG bundle of fat quarters and I am tempted – the more fat quarters there are in a bundle, the more I want the bundle.  This quilt includes fabrics from to fat quarter “towers” I had in my stash – one by Dan Morris and one from Zen Chic.  I had a wonderful time picking through those fabrics to create the animals in this quilt.  I did sneak in a couple other fabrics from my stash, but most of the fabrics are from the two big bundles.
 
“Long ago and far away, when I was learning to sew, my teacher, Mrs. Kostmeyer, was constantly reminding me to ‘go slower’, frequently moving me to the one treadle machine in the classroom to force me to slow down as I sewed.  When I learned to rotary cut and to piece, I was immediately drawn to speed cutting techniques (thank you, Debbie Caffrey) and speed piecing (thank you, Eleanor Burns and Bonnie Hunter).  I guess I sewed to make things, not to relax!  Having finished 3 Elizabeth Hartman quilts in the last year (quilt number 4 is 75% done!), I think, maybe, after 30 years of piecing, I am starting to have more fun with the process.  I mean, I still use the speed cutting techniques – very helpful when cutting 12 1½” squares of one fabric, I work on multiple sections of one block, I organize my piecing so I rarely have to break my bobbin thread;  but I have learned to enjoy taking time to  specially select the perfect fabrics for each block and watch the blocks develop as I sew.  It’s not exactly ‘stopping to smell the roses,’ but I think there’s less ‘I’ve got a need for speed!’”

POINSETTIA TABLE TOPPER
30" diameter
Pieced and Quilted by: Carol Rising
Pattern: Poinsettia Table Topper, Judy & Bradley Niemeyer, Quiltworx
Technique: Foundation paper pieced; Silk ribbon embroidery
 
“I selected my fabrics in February 2023, using Quiltster software.  I wanted the colors of the fabrics to be representational of the visible variations in actual poinsettia flowers.  I used silk ribbon embroidery to add realistic detail to the center of the flower.”

SUNSET COMPASS
67" x 67"
Pieced by: Dana Brabson
Quilted by: Bobbi Lucero
Pattern: Uncharted Waters, Quiltworx
Technique: Machine pieced and long-arm quilted
 
“I started Sunset Compass in a Quiltworx University session with Judy Niemeyer, her staff, and dozens of thrilled participants.  But I owe my deepest gratitude to Carol Rising, who selected and placed the fabrics in the Quiltworx design.  You will quickly recognize fabrics from the Abandoned collection created by Tim Holtz for Free Spirit Fabrics, and the Moda Grunge fabrics.  And, when you get a chance, tell me what you believe to be my favorite color.”

FOREST FRIENDS
40" x 45"
Pieced by: Luara Echeverria
Quilted by: Danyella Nava
Pattern: Lookout,by Elizabeth Hartman
Techniques: Traditional machine piecing with connector corners
 
"One of my dear friends announced her daughter would be having her second child in early 2024.  The baby’s daddy is a Park Ranger, so their first child received a forest-themed quilt (Elizabeth Hartman’s Fancy Forest); the new baby obviously would get a different Elizabeth Hartman forest quilt.  Lookout struck me as perfect.  Green is not my favorite color, so picking the colors for the trees was a fun challenge.  I decided to be brave and pick something other than the greens with small prints featured in the pattern photo.
 
“Making an Elizabeth Hartman quilt is an exercise in cutting small pieces, keeping the pieces organized as I sew, and balancing my ‘need for speed’ with following the directions and keeping the seams accurate.  One of the best things about these blocks is that small ‘imperfections’ in piecing don’t ruin the block, but add personality to the results.  It might be my imagination, but to me it looks like that deer is smirking!  I’m sure that seam just isn’t quite straight, but I like him.”

FIGHTING IRISH
60" x  60"
Pieced by: Susie Weidner
Quilted by: Grace Park, Enchanted Quilting
Pattern: Frosted Cookie Quilt, in Perfect 5 Quilts by It’s Sew Emma, Fat Quarter Shop, 2019
Techniques: Machine piecing and quilting.
 
“My family members are big Notre Dame fans.  I made this for my daughter’s thirteenth birthday and gave it to her when the 2023 football season began.  Go. Irish!”

HOT AIR BALLOONS
51" x 52"
Pieced by: Sophia Rodgers
Quilted by: Danyella Nava
Pattern: Nebula, by Molly Cook, Villa Rosa Designs
Technique: Traditional piecing
 
“The first time I saw this design was when my colleague, Debbie Williams, had made it.  I fell in love with it and made one of my own.  This is made with fabrics from a Sue Penn collection.  The pattern is challenging in that it has to be cut and pieced precisely in order for it to match correctly.  I am very pleased with the way it turned out.”

MY FIRST QUILT
46" x 60"
Pieced and Quilted by: Carol Rising
Pattern: Original
Technique: Traditional machine piecing and embroidery
 
“The label says it all: ‘Presented to Annette Farnham on the occasion of her 88^th birthday by Carol Rising, January 2008’.”

FISHES
48" x 59"
Pieced and Quilted by: Kathy Congable
Pattern:
Technique: Piecing, embellishing, quilting
 
“This was my first Batik quilt.  I love Batiks, but I have a stash of quilting cottons and when my friend moved to Florida to be by her daughter and her 4 year old granddaughter, I knew I needed to make the granddaughter an ocean themed quilt – what better way than with “fishes” and Batiks. I love to embellish quilts at every opportunity, so I decided the eyes for the fish had to be buttons and beads. I think it took me longer to go through the button box and to choose the beads, than it did to make the quilt. I’m happy with the results and certain the bright colors of the Batiks and the glassy eyes of the fish will bring a smile to the face of this little girl.”

VIOLA
54" x 62"
Pieced and Quilted by: Kathy Congable
Pattern: Viola, free on-line
Technique: Piecing, embellishing, quilting
 
“What to do with a lot of doilies?  When you have a simple quilt with lots of open space, what else would you do but adorn and enrich it with embellishments - like doilies.  Doilies are unique and come in an array of colors, sizes and designs, and are a beautiful bit of history to add to quilts.  I inherited most of mine from the women in my family and did I mention, there’s a lot!  As if my collection isn’t large enough, my sister went to an estate sale for a friend’s mother and was given two bins since they didn’t know what to do with them.  I looked everywhere for ideas on the use of doilies, but nothing caught my eye until I saw this tessellation Christmas tree image.  Simple enough!  But the image had 4 rows for the tree and in order to get my doilies to fit into the open spaces on a quilt, I had to increase the rows to 7 and it took me awhile to figure it out. I liked that someone had split a tree with Christmas fabrics, so I did the same with each row.  After I completed the quilt, the next step was how to attach the doilies.  I decided to use fusible web for the back of the doilies and fused them to the quilt and using a matching thread, tacked each down.  The quilt still looked as if it was missing something, so I searched through my bead collection for the perfect beads to add and ‘Viola’!”

ARROWHEAD
53" x 63"
Pieced and Quilted by: Molly Shannon
Pattern: Moda Color of the Year, 2023
Technique: Traditional Piecing; long-arm quilting using a pantograph
 
“The image of this quilt caught my eye and I knew I had to make it.  Little did I know there would be tears along with the joy of finishing each vertical row.  First, my iron spit rusty water and I had to remake the entire first vertical pieced bias strip!  Next, after a failed attempt to line up all the bias edges from one vertical strip to the next, I figured out how to mark each solid vertical sashing bar to line up the next row of bias strips!  A little chalk that brushed out after sewing and Voila!  It came together beautifully.
 
“I hope you will find it challenging and fun – and find great satisfaction in its completion!  I think there are only 2 kits remaining.”

LET’S GO TO PARIS
68" x 70"
Pieced and Quilted by: Patti Lueker
Pattern: Jen Kingwell, in Quilt Recipes, Me + My Girls PTY Ltd.
Techniques: Traditional piecing.
 
“Paris is my favorite city, and I wanted a quilt that felt Parisian.  Not in any rush to finish it, I collected yet MORE fabrics to fill in the scrappy elements. Now it’s time for a French New Wave movie, champagne, and my Paris quilt evening.  Hooray for completion.”

63 AMERICAN NATIONAL PARKS       
61" x 79"
Pieced and Quilted by: Sophia Rodgers
Pattern: Original
Technique: Traditional piecing
 
 “My husband, Steve, and I own and travel in our Airstream.  Our goal is to travel to as many American National Parks as possible.  When I first saw this panel by Riley Blake, I knew I had to make it into a quilt.  This is the first quilt that I quilted on a domestic machine using a meander ruler.  It is not perfect, but I am happy with the results.”

COLORFUL CANINES
40" x 52"
Pieced by: Luara Echeverria
Quilted by: Danyella Nava
Pattern: The Puppies,by Elizabeth Hartman
Techniques: Traditional machine piecing with connector corners
 
“One of my dog agility friends had her first baby on Valentine’s Day 2024.  As soon as I heard she was pregnant, I knew I wanted to make her a dog quilt.  I found this wonderful pattern from Elizabeth Hartman – the dogs aren’t exactly Australian Shepherds, but they share some characteristics.  The hunt for the perfect fabrics began!  When I bought the pattern, I thought I would use a bundle of Grunge Polka Dots from my stash with a little of this and a little of that from the Quilt Works, but I had trouble finding things playful enough for a baby quilt.  On a trip to Farmington, I found a layer cake of Moda’s Rainy Day line which worked beautifully with the Polka Dots.
 
“I am a huge fan of Elizabeth Hartman’s patterns.  She manages to create SO much personality with very simple piecing.  Because these blocks are all essentially the same, they went together very quickly, which was good because I was dying o see how each puppy turned out!
 
“My favorite tools for making Elizabeth Hartman quilts are my small cutting board on a turntable, a 3” × 6” ruler, my wool pressing mat, and my Chaco Liner.  Careful placement of sewing station, cutting station, and pressing station, makes my fitness tracker very happy as I cut, sew, press, and repeat.  And repeat.  And repeat.  My dogs increase the physical challenges by sleeping randomly in my path, so I have to pick my way over or around them as I move from station to station.  The cats also help, but they’re usually moving hazards rather than inert obstacles!”

GLITTER
63" x 82"
Pieced and Quilted by: Kathi Dineen
Pattern: Glitter by Jen Kingwell in Quilt Lovely in Quilt Lovely. 15 Vibrant Projects Using Piecing and Appliqué Techniques, Fat Quarter Shop.  www.fatquartershop.com
Technique: Machine pieced with templates provided with the pattern
 
“This is a repeat showing for this quilt.  It was in our Employees’ Show in 2016.  I so love Jen KIngwell’s patterns – old vintage look.  I love quilts with a lot of pieces.  Guess what: Over 2100 cuts!!  The block itself takes on the shape of an old-fashioned icicle Christmas ornament.  Don’t you think?”

WILDWOOD
64” x 83”
Pieced by: Jean Anderson
Quilted by: Patti Lueker
Pattern: Free pattern from Art Gallery Fabrics
Technique: Traditional Piecing
 
“This design used many fabrics.  The secret to success, …, being organized!  Cutting and labeling each fabric took some time, but was really worth the effort.  Once the prep work was done, the quilt came together quite quickly.
 
“I love the length of this quilt.  Long enough to cover ears and toes at the same time.  Snuggly!”

WHISPERS IN THE WIND
73" x 90"
Pieced by: Phyllis Henry
Quilted by: Danyella Nava
Pattern: From a 2013 magazine
Technique: Traditional piecing
 
“This is the first big quilt I have made.  The design is ‘Jelly-roll friendly’.  I love the fabric.”

STEP INTO SPRING
64" x 80"
Pieced and Quilted by:  Debbie Williams
Pattern: Quilts from Quartersby Pam & Nicky Lintott, Martingale, 2021
Techniques: Piecing with half-square triangles
 
“Do you have leftover Half-Square triangles, and wonder how to use them?  This pattern was a ‘leftover stash buster’.
 
“My huge pile of Half Square triangles came from completing two ‘Fun at the Fair’ pattern quilts, also described in Quilts from Quarters.  The second quilt was completed in March 2024.  Because I used so many half-square triangles, my quilt is larger than the published pattern.  My leftover Half-Square triangles are now cuddly!”

JUDY’S QUILT
67" x 67"
Pieced by: Dana Brabson, and Judy’s colleagues at the Quilt Works
Quilted by: Bobbi Lucero
Pattern: Original
Technique: Machine pieced, and long-arm quilted
 
“The following former and present members of the Quilt Works staff pieced blocks for the quilt: Becky Welch, Bobbi Lucero, Carol Rising, Cindy Kurey, Dana Brabson, Danyella Nava, Debbie Williams, Eve Hanssen-Wood, Grace Sanders, Joan Johnson, Kaitlin Mitchell, Kathi Dineen, Kathy Congable, Laura Echeverria, Lisa Pries-Linn, Martha Miller, Myra Lyle, Pam Wigal, Phyllis Henry, Shirley Sickenger, Cynthia Soine, Sophia Rodgers, and Toni Getz.”
 
“On the back side of our row of quilts, we display the back sides of 3 quilts and the front sides of 2 quilts."

The back side

BLUE SKIES
45½" x 68"
Pieced and Quilted by: Bobbi Lucero of Edge Water Quilting, LLC
Pattern: Twirl, by Saginaw St Quilts
Technique: Curves pieced with patience using the Creative Grids, CGRKAOVAL Ovals Always ruler.  Measure twice & cut once!
 
“I am always amazed at the quilts Becky (Welch) creates and the way she teaches her classes so that I can take my quilt home and finish it.  When I saw this quilt and all its curves, I was determined to take her class and break open one of my many fat quarter bundles to make this quilt.  I love how it came out and will probably make another!”

TWIST AND TURN
72” x 90”
Pieced by:  Cynthia Soine
Quilted by: Debbie Williams
Pattern: BQ3 by Maple Island Quilts
Technique: Traditional piecing and quilting
 
“The pattern is written for blocks that finish at 9".  I chose to make 18" blocks in place of the 9” blocks. This is a fast quilt to sew together.
 
“The fabric in this quilt is FIGO's line ‘True Kisses’ by designer Heather Bailey. It was chosen during a quiet day at the quilt shop. A customer purchased fabric from one bolt in the line which made us employees wonder 'what else is in this line?' We searched on the computer and pulled all the fabric. Phyllis Henry is the queen bee when you are looking for blending fabric choices; she picked some winners with the Grunge green & pink”.