My friend, Natalia, and I attended the 2011 International Quilt Festival in Houston. More than simply utilitarian, these quilts are works of art. Styles ranged from traditional to contemporary, incorporating a variety of techniques including hand quilting, embroidery, appliqué, machine quilting, piecing and fusing. Here are a few of my favorites.
“The Laneway” by Grace Whiting from the O Canada exhibit. Techniques: Some machine piecing and quilting; hand appliquéd. Delicate threads create the foliage while the quilting pattern echoes the undulations of the fallen snow.“Bouquet” was hand-pieced, appliquéd, embroidered and quilted by Keiko Morihiro from Japan as her 30th wedding anniversary present to her husband. Winner: Master Award for Traditional Artistry.“Twitter” was assembled using recycled materials, including newspapers, to represent the artist’s vision of an environmentally responsible social network.From the Art-Whimsical category, “Tokyo – Wish You Were Hair” by Pam RuBert. The artist made the quilt for an exhibition “exploring the intersection of fiber art with new technologies.”
“Dixie Dingo Dreaming” by award-winning fabric artist, Susan Carlson. Her work is like a collage that fuses small fabric pieces into a recognizable image.
Agujas 
OMG, how beautiful and artistic quilts. They are full of fireworks of colors and lovely pattern. Great post!
In Finland we love quilts too.
Finnish quilts
There are plenty of photos showing if we can make quilts and patchworks.
Have a lovely day!
Thanks for sharing the Finnish quilts link. I really enjoyed looking at them!
Awesome! I so want to get back to my quilting!
They are inspiring and humbling!