Once again, I don’t really have a folder to put a “hand quilted” quilt into, but there were some great ones this year…..

There is SO much going on in this Blue-Ribbon winning quilt. You could stand there for hours and never see it all!!

I loved that the leaves had a checked fabric, but that fabric had been embellished with embroidery so it looked completely different.

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This 2nd-place winning quilt was one of those “OH MY….how did she do that” quilts!!

The hexagons were quilted in the center, giving a very interesting texture…..

…..and the cathedral windows were embellished with seed stitches and small flowers….

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I took SO many photos of this 3rd-place-winning quilt!! I am not sure if I was more enamored with the wonderful applique or the TINY, TINY hand stipple quilting…..

I have to wonder how many hours she spent on this!!

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The subtle colors of this quilt are what called me in!!’

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I would never have thought to use an eggplant for inspiration, but she did a marvelous job with it!!

Look at the furry-ness of the crown….

…and the embroidery in the background…..

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This winner of an Honorable Mention Ribbon, also included some outstanding details in her work….

Tomorrow, we continue with Wall Quilts!! Be sure to come back for more!

The next category for us to explore is Wall Quilt (Modern). This category has grown exponentially in the last few years and there were some wonderful examples this year too….

I had seen this Blue Ribbon winner on a magazine cover and thought it was wonderful. It was SO much better in person.

Look at all of the intricate piecing…..

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I have often enjoyed quilts made by Audrey Esarey and this crisp and cool “third-place” winner is no exception. The subtle color changes are truly striking!!

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This 2nd-place winning quilt looks simple….until you look at how tiny somne of those squares are!!

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I was completely hooked on this quilt just from the quilting…and that was before I realized that Karen Kay Buckley had made it. Her FMQ is always outstanding!!

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It is such a simple design, but it seems really effective!!

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I love the gradation of fabrics that were used in the diamonds!!

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You KNOW that I am always obsessed with quilting, so have a close-up look at this one…..

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I remember this quilt from Houston, and it was a favorite there too…..

Stick with me for tomorrow’s category…. SMALL Wall Quilts – Hand!!

Yesterday, I posed the question of what “quilter’s choice” meant. I asked Chat GPT (known as Chester in my house), and was told it was for quilts that don’t fit neatly into the more structured quilting-method categories.

Okay….now we know, so let’s look at them…..

This first-place quilt won my heart with the feeling that exuded from the quilt. You certainly feel the enormity of the trees, and the detail in the hiker and dogs was well done…..

I hadn’t noticed it until I posted this photo, but I love that there are some “quilt blocks”… i.e., half-square triangles…. included in the understory!!

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Look at how serene the it is up close….

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The second-place ribbon went to this wonder…..

We have seen these kids in so many quilts over the years, that it feels like we are watching them grow up!!

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Here is another quilt using tatted and crocheted doilies to great effect!

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With all of the outstanding quilting, I failed to notice that the background was pieced. The quilting formed it into a single unit!!

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This quilt was one of the big winners, just as it had been in Houston this past October.

And, of course he was standing by it, wearing a shirt made out of a print of the quilt!!

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This quilt certainly caught your eye as you walked past it. I love the little bits of blue and purple that were added along the edges of the mane!!

And have a closer look at the quilting….

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This is another stunning example of a one-block wonder quilt, starting with panels rather than yardage.

I TRULY want to make one of these sometime….just have to find the right panel first!

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I loved the crispness of the flowers against the black background…..

We are moving right along now on our trip to AQS Paducah.

Next up…..Wall Quilts – MODERN!

My VERY FAVORITE quilt of the show is in this category…. wall quilts, quilted with a movable machine.

This was the first place winner. Not only was the detail applique wonderful, but the quilting added great dimension to the piece….

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I always wonder WHERE people come up with their quilt names!!

This 2nd- place winner had exquisite hand-guided quilting….

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But my favorite was this 3rd-place ribbon winner…..

This is from a pattern called “Octopuses Garden Party” and this is what the pattern looks like….

This is the quilt maker….

…and she chose to use the elements in the pattern, but turn them into something completely different.

This picture gives a good view of the Pelican, the quilting AND the fun edging treatment.

And, look at this scene….

Seriously, my favorite of the ENTIRE Show!!

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This quilt won the “Best Movable Quilting” award and it was well deserved….

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This was an amazing tribute to the best of America!!

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This was a very poignant quilt, and it captured the sentiment beautifully.

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I was surprised that most of the quilts in this category were fairly traditional, so it was good to see this one.

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I am in awe of people who can applique TINY circles, and these were THAT…..

I appreciated that the embellishments didn’t take over the quilt but stayed appropriately in the background!!

Tomorrow we move on to “Wall Quilt’s – Quilter’s Choice”…..not sure what that means!!

One of the best ways to improve your quilting is to study others’ work and see what they are doing!!

Have a look at a few of my favorites from AQS Paducah…..

VIEW VIDEO HERE

Remember…..

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NEW online, on-demand course coming soon!!