Exemplary Quilting in Arizona

At the 2015 Arizona Quilt Show we enjoyed some beautiful hand quilting and machine quilting.  Here are the blue ribbon and exemplary quilting award winners.

My Mother's Flowers by Katherine Witzge

Katherine Witzge won the Exemplary Hand Quilting award for this beauty, made with pieces left to her by her mother.  The hand quilting "took me just over 3 months, 7 hours a day.”  This quilt drew a crowd of admirers, and we had to wait until the end of the day to snap this photo.

The hand applique work was done in 1990 and the quilt was pieced in 2014 and hand quilted with 15 flower motifs in a grid.   Katherine's perfectly straight and even quilting is shown below.  What a loving tribute to her mother.

My Stars!  by Pat Roche

My Stars! won 1st place - Modern Quilt. Pat says, "[This quilt was] made with half-square triangles – a bright star just part of the vast universe. Inspired by traditional design." We loved her innovative quilting designs, done with a seamless pattern of stars, suns, swirls, circles, and Dresdens.

Pat is an awarding-winning machine quilter and Creative Studio trainer (Gammill/Statler Stitcher).  Her experience and artistry really shows here.

Triple Irish Chain scrap quilt, entered by Wendy Gilbert

This Triple Irish Chain was awarded a blue ribbon, First place – Group Quilt. Rosemary Kurtz sewed the blocks in 1996 and donated the unfinished top in 2014.  Wendy Gilbert added the borders, and Barb Mauer did the longarm quilting.  This quilt is the 2015 opportunity quilt for the Pebble Creek Quilters (drawing to be held December, 2015).

The quilt was inspired by a class taught by Wendy Gilbert, who is the author of the 1997 book, Triple Irish Chain Quilts. Barb Mauer used three different designs to quilt the open spaces, and every square was quilted with a cathedral window design. 

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration.