Houston -- The Contest Quilts

Hi all -

Where to begin to describe Houston? This year I'll start with the contest quilts. Since this is my blog, I think it's okay to start with my quilt. Tea for Two actually won 2nd place in the Merit Quilting - Machine, Stationary category! How exciting! It was a dream come true! Here we are:

Tea for Two by Nancy Rehak

There were so many beautiful quilts in the contest! I wish I could share them all with you, but that would just take too long. So, instead, I'll just share some of my favorites.

The obvious place to start is with the big winners. I was so excited when Janet's quilt won Best of Show! She's such a sweet lady and an incredible quilter!!

Ewe Are My Sunshine by Janet Stone

Ewe Are My Sunshine Detail

With the artist....

And the other big winners:

Blue Plate Special by Susan Stewart

White Holes by Peter Hayward

End of the Spin by Melissa Sobotka

My Sweet House with Kirara by Ayako Kawakami

A Quilter's Garden by Kristin Vierra

A Quilter's Garden Detail

Eager to Learn -- Afghanistan by Gillian Shearer

Brilliant Rose by Junko Fujiwara

Breathtaking, aren't they? And, as usual, the pictures don't do any of the quilts justice!

Another favorite quilt of mine is Breaking Wind by my friend Peggy Kragnes. This wonderful quilt, which came to Peggy in a dream, won 1st place in the Art - Whimsical category:

Breaking Wind by Peggy Kragnes

This was the first time I'd gotten to see this quilt in person. I had seen pictures of it in On Track! magazine, but didn't realize how large it is. For some reason, in my mind it was only 35-40" wide. In actuality, the quilt is 80-90" wide. You really have to see it in person to appreciate it. Each of the quilts on the clothes lines are separate individual quilts attached at the top. And the quilt on the left is Breaking Wind, which has another Breaking Wind inside of it! Here are some detail shots to hopefully help you see the intricacy of this quilt:

Breaking Wind Detail

Breaking Wind Detail

Wow!!

I also have to show you one of my other favorite quilts, which also won 1st place in my category, Merit Quilting - Machine, Stationary. I believe I shared pictures of this quilt this summer when I got to see it hanging in the Kansas City Regional Quilt Festival. It is No-L by Janet Stone:

No-L by Janet Stone

No-L Detail

Honestly, it's an honor to win 2nd place behind such an incredible quilt!

To add to the fun, I got to see another beautiful quilt by another friend, Betty Jo Tatum. Her Canterbury Knight quilt made it into the show, too:

Canterbury Knight by Betty Jo Tatum

Isn't that beautiful? The details are incredible!

And here are some other quilts that I enjoyed:

Duet #4 by Caryl Bryer Fallert-Gentry

Little Punkin by Maria Elkins

Aggregating Anemones by Carla Stehr

Bailando en la Noche (Dancing in the Night) by Shelly Stokes

Duck Face by Hiroko Miyama

A Toast to Toulouse-Lautrec by Kay Donges and Susan Slaton

Poor and Rich by Janneke de Vries-Bodzinga

Who's Looking at Whom? by Diane Harris

Why Knot? by Tanya Brown

Disappearing Bees by Christine Alexiou

My Dream Rose by Masako Kato

Sparkling by Mitsuko Hashimoto

Little Garden by Yasuko Sugaya

Magnolia by Fusako Takido

Charming Chintz by Linda Roy

Reborn by Molly Hamilton-McNally

A Bouquet for You by Rumiko Ooiwa

Ghosts by Ruth Montalvo

Pure by Sachiko Chiba

Let's Do the Dresden Twist by Teri Cherne

The Paisley Peacock by Bethanne Nemesh

The Shell Collector by Bethanne Nemesh

Sea Breeze by Pat Kuhns

Come on to My House by Aki Sakai

Exuberance by Marilyn Badger

Flowers in the Crystal by Kiyoko Ishihara

Magical Zone by Keiko Ike

Why Not? by Angela Petrocelli

Believe it or not, that's just a small taste of the many beautiful quilts on display at Houston this year! It was such a joy to see them all and I wish I could share them all with you, but I guess you'll just have to join me in Houston next year to see them all.

Nancy