Houston 2019 - Contest Quilts, Part 1 of 2

Hi all -

I'm back with my second post from the Houston quilt show. In this post, I'll share some of the contest quilts. There were so many incredible quilts that it's hard to pick the quilts to share! Of course, everyone wants to see the top winners, so we'll start there. Then I'll just go through a few of the categories in alphabetical order, since that's how they appear on my computer.

Top Eight Awards

Best of Show

The Best of Show award this year went to my friend Janet Stone and her quilt Crazy Four Ewe.

Janet is such a creative and incredible quilter, and is so deserving of this award! Her quilts are full of thought and detail. In this quilt, she appliqued a little picture for each letter of the alphabet. She knew that she was going to include an X-ray for the X block, so, when she broke her little finger while working on the quilt, she decided to use that X-ray in the quilt. And she put a ring on her finger with her birthstone on it:

And, of course, she included her signature sheep block (and, as the name suggests, there are 3 other sheep on the quilt, too):

Janet constructed the quilt by making each picture as a separate little quilt that was then attached to the main quilt after that was quilted. So, for more interest, she quilted the letter of the alphabet for each little quilt on the main quilt before attaching the little quilt so that the letter would appear on the back of the quilt:

Janet is all about details!!

Founders Award

The Founders award went to Sandra Leichner and her quilt Naturalist's Notebook.

This beautiful quilt also has a lot of incredible detail:

World of Beauty Award

Hollis Chatelain won the World of Beauty award with her quilt, Equality:

Master Award for Traditional Artistry

Molly Hamilton-McNally won the Traditional Artistry award with her quilt, Midnight Frolic:

This quilt has some incredible quilting on it:

Master Award for Contemporary Artistry

The Contemporary Artistry award went to Montserrat Forcadell Blasco's quilt, Blau de Colors-El Tubo:

This quilt has incredible depth in person!

Master Award for Machine Artistry

The Machine Artistry award when to Marilyn Badger's quilt, Champagne Supernova:

Wow!!

Master Award for Innovative Artistry

Natalia Lashko won the Innovative Artistry award for her quilt, I Walked Toward Him Like a Moon Princess:

Master Award for Thread Artistry

The Thread Artistry award went to Lea McComas for her quilt, The Long Goodbye:

Abstract, Large

Tiger's Eye by Heather Pregger -- 1st Place

Sewing Seeds by Maren Johnston -- 2nd Place

Six Roses by Carol Morrissey -- 3rd Place

Beets by Maren Johnston -- Honorable Mention

Abstract, Small

Shock Melt by Heather Pregger -- 1st Place

After the Rain: Dancing With the Cacti by Judith Beaver -- 2nd Place

Waiting for Spring by Eunhee Lee -- 3rd Place

Screen Test by Nancy Goodman -- Honorable Mention

Alternative Techniques

Spring is in the Air by Noriko Nozawa -- 1st Place

Spring is in the Air by Noriko Nozawa -- Detail

The Art of Crash Landing by Sandra Branjord -- 2nd Place

Snowflowers by Allison Aller -- 3rd Place

Snowflowers by Allison Aller -- Detail

Fireworks by Peter Hayward -- Honorable Mention

Fireworks by Peter Hayward -- Detail

15 Warthogs by Marilyn Smith -- Viewer's Choice, Judge's Choice

15 Warthogs by Marilyn Smith -- Detail

Animal Kingdom

Brewing Friendship by Kestrel Michaud -- 1st Place

Green Iguana by Esther Tronchoni Simo -- 2nd Place

Mind Reader by Chi Chen Wen -- 3rd Place

Where the Buffalo Roamed by Margery Hedges -- Honorable Mention

Moe Dog! by Judy Kriehn -- Honorable Mention

Applique, Large

A Summer Christmas by Mariya Waters -- 1st Place

Midnight Stars by Renae Haddadin -- 2nd Place

Roses in Hometown's Park by Toyoko Nakajima -- 3rd Place

Numquam Cede by Elisabeth Frolet -- Honorable Mention

Flourish on the Vine by Sharon Engel

Flourish on the Vine by Sharon Engel -- Detail

Serendipity by Kyra Reps

Serendipity by Kyra Reps -- Detail

Applique, Small

Johnny Jump Ups by Jane Sassaman -- 1st Place

Johnny Jump Ups by Jane Sassaman -- Detail

Round the Garden by Helen Anderson -- 2nd Place

Round the Garden by Helen Anderson -- Detail

Nearly a 9 Patch by Laura Welklin

Balanced Piecing and Applique

Spangled by Gail Stepanek -- 1st Place

Spangled by Gail Stepanek -- Detail

Away by Karen K. Stone -- 2nd Place

Past and Future Meet by Noriko Kido -- 3rd Place

Past and Future Meet by Noriko Kido -- Detail

Hamorebi Sunlight Through the Leaves by Teruko Uchiya -- Honorable Mention

Hamorebi Sunlight Through the Leaves by Teruko Uchiya -- Detail

Boteh Symphony by Claudia Pfeil

Boteh Symphony by Claudia Pfeil -- Detail

Jane at the End of the Rainbow by Frances Ledenbach and Margarita Wilcox

Jane at the End of the Rainbow by Frances Ledenbach and Margarita Wilcox -- Detail

This last quilt in the balanced piecing and applique category is a sentimental favorite as well as being a beautiful quilt. It was a happy surprise to turn the corner and see this quilt hanging. This quilt was started by Margarita Wilcox, a fellow member of The Quilt Show (TQS). Margarita began this quilt in 2009 and shared her progress at TQS get-togethers at the Houston show. I was really impressed with her innovative idea to make a Dear Jane quilt with only two fabrics and loved seeing what she did. The quilt top was done completely by hand -- both the piecing and the applique. She also started hand quilting the quilt, but passed away with just 5 of the center blocks unfinished. Her daugher, Frances Ledenbach, finished the quilt for her mother, quilting the last 5 center blocks and the border and adding the scalloped binding. This is an incredibly beautiful quilt that will be cherished forever!!


I hope you enjoyed this first post of Houston contest quilts. There are so many wonderful quilts, it's hard to pick which one's to share!

Nancy