Best of AQS Quilt Week 2014 - Part 2

From February 5-8 the American Quilters Society held a Quilt Week® in Phoenix, Arizona. What a spectacular show! Here is Part 2 of our photos of our favorite quilts from the show.

Hurricane, 78 x 68”, by Janneke de Vries-Bodzinga (Kollumerzwaag, Friesland, Netherlands)

The amazing Hurricane won the AQS award for Best Wall Quilt.  Janneke says:  "Every year all over the world, people are afraid of the deadly destroyer, the hurricane."  You can see the "eye" of the hurricane in the upper right, next to the award ribbon. The applique work was so expertly done that it was difficult to discern the fabric edges.  The overall effect, with its explosions of color, reminded us of a painted composition. 

close up, Hurricane by Janneke de Vries-Bodzinga

The machine quilting was fascinating; different areas of the composition were expertly quilted in different textures and colors, as shown in this close-up photo.  Janneke is a professional art quilter in The Netherlands; you can see more of her incredible compositions at Janneke Quilt Studio.

Cycles 2, 37 x 39”, by Leanne Chahley (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada)

Cycles 2 won the award for First Place, Wall Quilts - Modern. It was the quilted texture that really drew us to this otherwise simple quilt.   Leanne Chahley explains, "The colors reflect sun-bleached sand, sky, and the ocean at the beach, while the modern, industrial, matchstick quilting evokes the weathered driftwood and rock textures."

close up, Cycles 2 by Leanne Chahley

The quilting lines, which were approximately 1/8" apart, appeared to be done improvisationally with a medium stitch length, creating the enticing texture of wood on the surface of the quilt.

The Spirit of Many Moons, 42 x 58",  by Sue Kluber (Guernsey, Iowa)

Sue Kluber says:  "The moon in its phases amazes [me] with its beauty, mystique, and ability to affect everything."  We enjoyed this original art quilt, which was done with raw edge applique in a collage style with interesting fabrics, many of which look to be hand-dyed.  The large blue circle was textured with pebble quilting, reminding us of the craters on the moon.

close up, The Spirit of Many Moons by Sue Kluber

The Spirit, with its serene, womanly face, has large, expressive eyes.  She is surrounded by trees, and her hair is made of autumn leaves.

Gilding the Arbor, 60 x 60", by Bethanne Nemesh (Allentown, Pennsylvania)

Made with dupioni silk, Gilding the Arbor by Bethanne Nemesh won First Place, Wall Quilts - Computer Aided. Despite the modern colors, the feeling created by the quilting was one of an ancient tapestry.  This quilt was inspired by Bethanne's love of wholecloth quilting, Asian silk embroidery and antique botanical prints. 

close up, Gilding the Arbor by Bethanne Nemesh

The design elements can be recognized in her garden photography, as well as images from gardening catalogues and Dover design books. On her website at White Arbor Quilting, Bethanne explains that all the flora and fauna was free drawn on the quilt with chalk and refined with a wash-out pen before quilting.   Bethanne explains:  "While a stitch regulator was used periodically, all the designs in this garden fantasy were completely hand-guided free motion quilting."

Upper Body Workout – Improved, 45 x 50”, by Laura Trendeath (Pavillion, WY)

Winner of First Place for Wall Quilts-Traditional, we were intrigued by the intricate quilting on this whole cloth quilt.  The quilter, Laura Trendeath explains:  "Victorian scrollwork has always appealed to Laura for its elegance and graceful lines. Using metallic thread on a black background, she attempted to re-create the beauty of craftsmanship from a bygone era."

close up, Upper Body Workout – Improved by Laura Trendeath (Pavillion, WY)

With its extensive and exquisite quilted surface, we could easily see why this quilt was named Upper Body Workout !

620 – Keep It Simple, 48 x 60”, by Jodi Robinson (Enon Valley, PA)

Winner of the AQS award for Best Modern Quilt, Jodi Robinson pieced this original, simple quilt and added some interesting and unique texture with her quilting designs. We liked the Asian-inspired feeling of the quilt along with its attractive, minimalist design.

close up,  Keep It Simple by Jodi Robinson

Jodi Robinson is the author of Modern Simplicity – Machine Quilting Designs for Modern Quilts.  As you can see, she divided the plain gray areas into a grid, then filled each element of the grid with concentric circles, which echoed and complemented the yellow circles in the pieced panels. 

Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration.