International Quilt Festival – IQA Competition – Applique
November 8th, 2013
The quilts below are some of my favorites from the show. Some are prize winners, while others are quilts that I found to be exceptional. They represent more than one category of applique quilts. I always admire those quilters who can make these exceptional quilts either by hand or machine applique.
Although not a prize winner, this quilt was one amazing piece of work. I marveled at the detail in the blossoms! Joann, writes, “My goal was to put all of my favorite spring flowers into a bouquet that will never wilt. Flower sprigs are arranged as petals in one large flower head. Mandalas were also an influence.”
Three dimensional applique was created by using ruching and off-the-cuff fabric manipulation.
Here, you can see more of the detail in the flowers. I especially loved the Lily of the Valley, which was a common flower at my childhood home in Minnesota.
Here’s one of my favorites! I saw this one a long time ago and actually wrote a blog post about this quilt by Holly Nelson, who wrote to ask permission to feature Flying Geese in one of the boots. I was thrilled and honored. Holly writes, “If some of our iconic quilters designed boots, what would the look like? This is what I imagine they would come up with.”
Rachel Wetzler’s choices of color drenched fabrics makes this one a winner. I love the detail and the way the colors shade throughout the quilt. She writes,”Canterbury Cathedral’s central tower ceiling served as the model for this geometric composition. Known as Bell Harry Tower, this magnificent example of English Gothic architecture was designed by John Wastell and completed in the 15th century.”
Another of my favorites, Four Loons and Friends, won Honorable Mention in the Innovative Applique category. The unique use of the medallion style, featuring appliqued birds that are realistically portrayed make this a show stopper. Patricia writes, “This quilt pays homage to my love of birds, and my fondness for the symmetry founds in traditional quilts. These are all birds that are found in my home state of Michigan. The call of the loon in quite something to hear.”
I don’t quite know how the judges were able to make the decisions about which of these stunning quilts would be prize winners. In my mind, each of them was a winner. Willow, by Debra Crine, is an original design inspired by antique tapestries. She writes, “Hand-dyed fabrics were used for the applique and fused to the silk background. It was quilted with silk thread. The applique motifs were inspired by Deb Kimball, and the border quilting designs were by Sharon Schamber.”
My Hope won Third Place in the Merit Hand Quilting category. Sachiko writes, “I wish that many pretty flowers of hope bloom for all the districts his by an earthquake. I hope the people can live in peace and quiet.”
Janet Watson writes about the colorful quilt she created with Kim Norton, “I made a few changes from the original pattern because that is what I do! I love the birds so I added a few. I rearranged blocks and added some color. This was an opportunity to make my first perfect circles and I really enjoyed it. This was a fun quilt!”
The attention to detail in this quilt is almost unreal! Among the handmade quilts, either applique, piecing or quilting, the Japanese quilters far outshone their colleagues from other countries! Their work has characteristics that are unique to their nation. Yuko writes, “I would like you to look at the new quilt. I hope you will be blessed with lots of happiness too.”
Mixing a touch of whimsy with a mostly traditional design, Letter Carriers won First Place in the Mixed Technique category. Janet Stone writes, ” A love of basket blocks sparked the idea to try to create some by weaving bias strips. An additional 26 pieced basket blocks in the border are embellished with 26 letters. Prairie points, hand-covered buttons, and half-penny circle edging are just a few fun highlights.”
Wow!!!!
Stay tuned . . .
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Thank you, Gail, for your glorious photos. Almost, but not quite, like being there in person. Happy Thanksgiving!
cs
Hi Catherine,
I got to thinking that the magazines usually only show the prize winners, but to me all the quilts that are accepted are winners. I am really happy that I took the photographs before I knew what would win! I also am happy that you and others are enjoying them.
Your photos were almost as good as being there in person.
Escape the weather and meet me at the Mancuso show in West Palm Beach Jan. 8 and 9! Happy Thanksgiving.