Road to California Winners!

Firstly, I have to say that I am totally still on a "Road to California" high! The quilts were fabulous, there were a lot of vendors with a variety of very necessary stuff, and my workshops went very well.

I was particularly happy with yesterday's "Trapunto by Machine" class. I had some beginners who hadn't done free motion before; they still successfully completed projects and were very happy with their progress. One lady was a hand quilter and when I told her she could set up the trapunto using her machine and complete the project by hand, she just beamed! And grabbed a needle, hoop and thread and proceeded to do just that. The result was beautiful!

Now on to the award winning quilts on display this year; I have put the artists' statements in quotes.


Best of Show Quilt, $3,000 award sponsored by Hoffman Fabrics, went to "Seasonal Sisters" by Annette Hendricks, Gail E. Thomas and Helen Godden (quilted by Annette Hendricks and Helen Godden). "This international collaboration combines the efforts of an American, a Canadian and an Australian. It is hand-dyed, painted, fused, appliqued, embellished, free-motion embroidered and free-motion quilted. It represents the beauty of the seasons (winter is on the back)."

Now I wish I had read this particular artist statement a little more closely -- I would have grabbed a white glove lady and taken a picture of the back!

A couple of close-ups from "Seasonal Sisters"...

Excellence in Machine Quilting, $1,000 award sponsored by Moore's Sewing Center, went to "Fantasy in Lace", made and quilted by Mary S. Buvia (Greenwood IN). "'Fantasy in Lace' is a quilted medium from my husband's original acrylic painting (one of my favorites). Pattern, fabric selection, color decisions, and all workmanship including the original 'lace' quilting designs, by maker."

A close-up of the lace design....

Best Use of Color, $500 award sponsored by Tall Mouse Arts & Crafts, went to "Medea Escaping", made and quilted by Marilyn Bedford (Chenango Forks NY). "Medea, a sorceress from ancient mythology, is being pursued by her husband Jason and the Corinthian King Creon, both who intend to kill her. Being a granddaughter of the sun god Helios, she is provided by him with a chariot drawn by a dragon in which to escape. I used no paints."

Masterpiece Award, $1,500 award sponsored by RJR Fabrics, went to "Tribute to Tolkien" made and quilted by Sue McCarty (Roy UT). "'The Lord of the Rings' by J.R.R. Tolkien was the inspiration for this quilt. The original design was freehand drawn on black cotton sateen, then quilted with a variety of metallic and polyester threads. Embellishment was done with paint and crystals."



Just couldn't seem to stop taking pictures of this quilt....

What was done with thread and two layers of batting, Hobbs Heirloom Black and Linda's Choice, was truly extraordinary....

Excellence in Long Arm Quilting, $1,000 award sponsored by Handi Quilter, went to "Fire and Ice" made and quilted by Claudia Pfeil (Krefeld, Germany). "Peer through the window, watch as two worlds collide. Flames curling, licking the icy cold air, seeking the snowy fluffy flakes and their coolness. Quilt was pieced using my free cutting and piecing method for the flames. Snowflakes were paper pieced and background used a watercolor technique. Pieced border has an optical illusion 'window frame'. Embellished with RazzleDazzle and 55,000 crystals." Emphasis with bold letters is mine -- I absolutely couldn't believe that someone could have the patience to put 55,000 crystals on a quilt!

And a close-up.....

Best Large Quilt, award sponsored by Marcus Brothers Textile, went to "Bali Hai" made and quilted by Marilyn Badger (St. George UT). "Blocks were paper pieced using silks and cottons, then the entire center and all four corners were pieced together, piped and appliqued to the background fabric. I then quilted 10,000 yards of metallic thread in a style I call overlay quilting. That is, the stitching provides another separate dimension to the quilt so that the quilting stands on its own."

There were so many beautiful quilts at Road -- these are the award winners that I photographed. I'll be posting many others over the next few days!