Friday, November 6, 2015

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













































16 comments:

  1. Nancy...hi! This is Barbara...my friend, Janette,and I met you on the street walking to show and again by your quilt, where I took a photo of you and your quilt and promised to post it in the TQS forum. Well..computer issues have prevented that. (I can't down load my photos for some reason??) I tried to send you an email thru TQS but could not find you as a member...again...??? And somehow I ended up here and can now explain why I did not follow thru with my promise... Anyway, it was so nice to meet you and one more time...congratulations on your win!!! It is a BIG accomplishment!

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    1. Hi Barbara! It was so great meeting you in Houston!! My user name on TQS is "rehak" if you ever want to chat. Don't worry about the picture! I really appreciate how kind and supportive you are. It has made this even more special for me!! If you are going to Houston again next year, we should try to meet up. I try to go every year.

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  2. Thanks so much for sharing the show Nancy! Your pictures are almost like being there. Congratulations again on your wonderful work and prize.
    Karen kfstitcher

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  3. Wow! Thanks so much for sharing, Nancy. I LOVE your quilt!

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  4. Congratulations. Your quilt is beautiful.

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  5. Hi Nancy, Thanks so much for including my little quilt in your blog and hearty congratulations on your winning quilt. It is wonderful. Cheers.

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  6. So happy for you Nancy. Thank you for taking us to the show.
    Wendy

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  7. Congratulations Nancy! Your Tea for Two is awesome. I wish I could see it in person.

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  8. Nancy, Your Tea for Two is beautiful. I enjoyed following along as you shared your progress and like JoJo, I wish I could see it in person. What a special quilt. Congratulations on your win!!--Terry

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