Karen Kay Buckley

In the bed quilts-hand quilted category the Japanese quilts made a clean sweep.  The designs were eye-catching and the workmanship was impeccable.  The quilt below is called Flowers in Aqa and was made by Kumiko Funaki.

Second place in the same category was made by Hatsune Hirano and the name of her quilt is Harmony.

Oh, I loved this quilt too.  It was also a Japanese quilter who made this quilt.  The category she entered was for those who take the plunge and enter the First Entry Into the AQS Quilt Contest. The name of this quilt is Istanbul’s Flower and the maker is Hisae Abe.  The hand quilting on this was amazing.  Just to clarify…this is not her first quilt.  It is the first time she has entered this AQS show.  Just imagine what her next quilt will look like.

Second place in the same category was awarded to Taeko Shinozaki also from Japan.  All the neutral colored hexagons in the border made this quilt very exciting to look at because of the interesting background created with the hexagons.  The name of this quilt is Blossom of My Life.

This is another Japanese made quilt named Special Rose. It was made by Fusako Takido.  Amazing!

Here is a close-up shot.

Maybe I should have titled today’s blog, Japanese Quilts and Their Makers.  But here is the thing.  I think there were 94 Japanese quilts entered into the show.  They really were fabulous quilts by design and workmanship.

Tomorrow morning I am off to Huntsville, Texas for a show called “Airing of the Quilts”.  I’m teaching on Friday and Monday.  The show is a one day outdoor event being held on Saturday.  Here’s hoping for good weather in Hunstville on Saturday.

I just returned from a week long stay in Paducah, Kentucky.  I flew into Nashville, rented a car and took a leisurely drive to the show.  I have been in Paducah on a number of occasions for the annual quilt show and knew I would not be happy unless I had my own transportation.  The show, classrooms, vendor, etc. are spread out all over the town and it’s much easier to get around with a car than waiting for the buses.  If you have not been to this show and decide to attend, trust me either drive or rent a car.  You’ll be glad you did.  On Saturday and Sunday Libby Lehman, Donna Wilder and myself judged the quilt show.  The quilts were amazing and I loved looking at them up close.  It was wonderful to be able to touch each quilt and think about how much time each and every person who entered  put into their quilts.  We judged close to 400 quilts in 2 days.  No easy job.  The highest number of quilts came from Japan.  Illinois had the second most quilts entered.

And the winners are—————

Janome Best of Show went to Tribute to Tolkien. It was made by Sue McCarty from Roy, Utah.  Sue’s quilt was incredible.  The stitching on her quilt was perfectly outstanding.  Sue’s prize for winning this award is $20,000.

Here is a close-up. Everything you are seeing is thread work.

The Moda Best Wall Quilt award went to Fashionable Ladies of the 20′s and was made by Valeta Hensley.  Valeta won $5,000 for having the best wall quilt. It was longarm quilted by Bill Fullerton.  The workmanship was some of the best I have ever seen.  I loved the design.  The fabric choices were just perfect for the design.

Another of my favorites was made by Pat Holly.  Pat’s quilt is a miniature entitled Pink Elephants Too. (If you wonder why there is a glare all of the miniatures are displayed inside a glass case).  This little miniature quilt had more work on it than some large quilts.  And the workmanship was excellent.  I loved the colors and the edge finish.  I have no idea how Pat even picks up those little pieces let alone machine appliques around each edge so perfectly.  I am in awe.

This quilt was made by Mark Sherman and he won first place in the Longarm/Midarm Machine Quilted category.  The name of the quilt is Wings and Feathers. Well done Mark.  Beautifully done.

This was my judges choice.  It is called Moondance and was made by Melanie West.  I loved the fabric choices and the design.  I do have an attraction to circles which might have pulled me toward this quilt as well.

Thanks to everyone who entered.  The quilts were incredible.  One of the things  I noticed this year was the interesting background fabrics the contestants chose.  That was a real joy to see.  Quilts just keep getting more creative which is why I love this art form so much.

A big thanks to the Schroeder family and their staff for all they do for the quilt world.  We appreciate it.

That’s all for this blog.  In the next blog I’ll have some more winning quilts for you to view.

Sue Holdaway-Heys is the maker of this quilt called The Arb House.  Sue designed this from a photograph she took while on a bike ride at the University of Michigan Arboretum.  Sue made some fantastic fabric selections.  I kept going back to look at this quilt.  You can find out more about Sue at http://www.sueholdaway-heys.com

Another quilt with excellent fabric choices and just brings a smile to your face was made by Sonia Grasvik from Seattle, WA.  The name of the quilt is I Be Hoppin #2. It was part of a special exhibit from the Association of Pacific West Quilters.

Another of my favorites just so happens to have been made by my website designer, Gloria Hansen from East Windsor, New Jersey.  I love Gloria’s graphic designs.  You can find out more about Gloria and see more of her quilts at http://www.gloriahansen.com And if you are ever looking for someone to design a website for you, check out what Gloria and Derry can do for you at http://www.gloderworks.com You will not be disappointed.  I love working with them.

Thanks again to the artists who shared their quilts at the American Quilter’s Society show in Lancaster. I am off to Paducah this morning and will write more upon my return!

The American Quilter’s Society has come to Lancaster!!!!  Yippee!!!!  We are very fortunate to have the AQS come to our area.  Over the past, I think about 20 plus years, we have been very fortunate to have had a large show in the Lancaster area.  The show was going to come to an end and the quilters in the surrounding area would miss it greatly.  But AQS moved in and produced a marvelous show at the Lancaster Convention Center.  This is a very new facility.  I spent the day with my girlfriends viewing quilts and of course shopping at the vendors.  Awesome quilts and awesome vendors.  I would like to share some of my favorite quilts with you.

One of my favorites was called Incommunicato. This quilt was made by Esterita Austin from Port Jefferson Station, New York.  Esterita and I have crossed paths at some quilting seminars and she is a really nice person and her quilts always make me smile.  You can find out more about Esterita at  http://esteritaaustin.com/ On her website you can view some great close-up shots of this quit.

Another one of my favorites was called Cherry Trees. I love this quilt. It was made by Betty Busby of Albuquerque, New Mexico.  I found this and more of Betty’s quilts for sale at this link http://www.etsy.com/shop/bbusbyarts Truly a gifted artist.

I’ll share some of my other favorites in future blogs.

Thank you AQS for all you have done for quilters year in and year out!!

When I was visiting the Faithful Circle Quilt Guild in Columbia, Maryland and finished my lecture I had a person from the guild jump up and say that she had a quilt to show me.  I was so taken by seeing this quilt that I forgot to take a photo.  I hugged Susan and thanked her for sharing her quilt.  I for one know how hard she worked to complete that quilt.  She sent me the photograph below of her finished master-piece. For anyone new to my work, I designed and sold this pattern in 2003 and by 2007 it was out of print. However, it is now available on my website as a pdf.  You can download the pattern and take it to an office supply or copy store and have the patterns enlarged. Please enjoy viewing this amazing work and thank you to Susan for sharing it with us.  It is stunning!

After being home for a couple of days I was ready to head back to Maryland and also to Virginia.  My first stop took me to the Mount Vernon Quilters Unlimited in Virginia  http://www.quiltersunlimited.org/mtv.htm Ellen was my helper at this guild and as program chairperson she was great!  This guild is smaller than most of the guilds I have visited  recently.  Everyone knew each other and included me in their conversations.  It was a very warm and relaxed atmosphere.  They made me feel like part of the guild.  After doing a lecture at lunch I was free for the rest of the day.  That does not happen often.  I thought….should I just veg in the hotel or…..just my luck the hotel had a free shuttle service to Old Town in Alexandria.  I had not been to Old Town in about 15 years.  I took advantage of the free service.  I have very fond memories of spending a weekend with our friends Pat and Joe many years ago.  Pat is no longer with us and as I walked the streets in Old Town I remembered her laugh and what a fun time we had.  Old Town felt pretty much the same, which I liked.  Yes, there are new stores but the feel of the area remains the same.  After getting my chai tea latte fix at Starbucks I was off to wonder through the shops and eating establishments.  Old Town would be a great way to spend a day or weekend in the spring or summer when you are looking for something to do.

The next day I taught back to back drafting classes for a combined group of the Mount Vernon Quilters Unlimited and Burke Quilters Unlimited http://www.quiltersunlimited.org/burke.htm Each guild offered half of the seats to their members.  As I have been traveling to different guilds sometimes the guilds are having trouble filling their workshops.  The way these guilds worked together allowed them to split the costs and to fill their workshop.  This might be something other guilds want to consider.  It worked very well.  I wish I had taken a before and after picture of this class.  They worked so hard drafting pieced blocks in the morning and then designing applique blocks in the afternoon that they were glassy eyed by the end of the day.  I almost felt sorry for them.  I think they felt like their brains might explode!  It was a lot of information in a fairly short amount of time.

After doing a lecture for the Burke Quilter’s Unlimited I was off to Ellicott City, Maryland.  I decided to drive in the evening after the lecture instead of driving on the DC beltway with all the morning traffic.  Even at 10pm there were lots of people driving on the beltway.  Don’t these people ever sleep?

My next stop…..Faithful Circle Quilters in Columbia, Maryland.  http://www.faithfulcirclequilters.com I love this group of ladies.  This is….I think…my 4th trip to this guild over the past many years.  If I lived closer I would join this guild.  Lots of members offer to help me when I am pulling in my tons of stuff.  When I drive I have the option of bringing a lot more stuff.  Some of these ladies I know from visiting this guild before and several of them I know because they have been students in classes at Quilt Odyssey in Hershey, PA over the years. www.quiltodyssey.com

Sheva was my helper for this guild.  Sheva has been a student before and is a very kind and generous person.  She is an asset to her guild.  They should vote her in to do this job forever.  Don’t tell her I said that!  She might want to retire from her position sometime.

The guild shared their raffle quilt with me.  It’s it beautiful?  If you are interested in purchasing a ticket for the quilt don’t wait too long.  I think the raffle is the end of April. The link to their site again is http://www.faithfulcirclequilters.com

This fabulous quilt was designed by  guild member Sheila Reiss.