Thursday, April 26, 2012

Paducah Winners


I had a wonderful brief fast frenzied time in Paducah, was sorry I couldn't be there longer, but there is always next time.  I saw many familiar faces and enjoyed Sneak Peak of the show, and toured the museum.  The quilts were beautiful.

To see photos of the winning quilts, click here.  There are videos of the quilts and interviews with winners, always great to watch.

The postcard above by Ruth Ohol was sent to me several years ago after I whined in class that my trip took way too long with all the road construction.  Well, there was still quite a bit, not as bad, but it added another hour to my 500 mile drive.  I am still somewhat the shape of the car seat and have swollen feet and an aching body from all the hours driving. 


Here I am posing with a fabulous flamingo, after lunch with Ann Fahl.  We each did the tourist thing and posed with the local color. 

It was at Flamingo Row restaurant in Paducah, and we had a delightful time, the motifs and colors just what we needed.  The food was yummy too.  The area at the front of the building had sand as fill and beach grass, flamingoes, painted signage, etc., so whimsical and fun, and in Paducah! 

On to the show.  The big winners that were machine quilted were all about the thread - contrast thread that "painted" the picture, lots of metallics too.  Susan Stewart's Bernina Award quilt featured a design made with digitized machine embroidery with lush feathers and minute background quilting on ivory Radiance fabric that she specially pieced so that the grainline would not show light/dark but was all uniform.  It was delicate, almost bridal in effect.

Judy Woodworth's Best Longarm quilt was a whole cloth design on black sateen fabric with colored threads, striking.  Do listen to her interview, it is delightful.

Sue McCarty's BOS was also a celebration of thread used to create the design in her quilt titled "Harmony Within."  There is also an interview with her, and one with Cheryl See who won the Hand Workmanship Award.  Getting the information from these quilters is great, and is  one of the perks of going.  Talking to them and seeing these quilts up close in person is the very best way to appreciate all the quilts. 

Congrats to Pat Holly for her Best Wall Quilt Award for "Imagining India," terrific.  Beautiful use of silk fabrics and color, fantastic machine work too.  I even got to talk to her!

Ellen Heck's first place quilt, "Baltimore in the Provence" was simply splendid, so glad I was able to see that one in person.  Quietly perfect.

The excitement, the quilts, the lovely weather, seeing friends made it very special for me.  Oliver missed me, and is still purring.
Diane

5 comments:

Sue said...

Thanks for the links Diane. That postcard is a hoot!! Where did you find the interviews with the winners?

Diane Gaudynski said...

The links took me FOREVER to hunt down, but look on my blog list for the Judy Woodworth one, click on that, and the others are listed. They are all on the News and Views AQS site.

antique quilter said...

I love that picture of you, the background colors are great and the flamingo pink I see a quilt there ;)
Glad you were able to make it
I dream of going to Paducah maybe next year.
Thanks for sharing the links off to view them
kathie

Diane Gaudynski said...

Kathie, it is indeed a great color combo! Hope the links work for everyone, if not explore the AQS site, you'll find them. It is not allowed to post photos of the show quilts online so the link is the solution to finding them.

SewCalGal said...

What a cute photo of you with the Flamingo. Sorry to hear about your feet problems with the travel, but I can understand. They are going on strike for lack of circulation. One of my physical therapists stresses an exercise routine for me while traveling. This will sound silly, but it works:

Tell your left bottom cheek to tighten, then move to your right bottom check. Left, right, left right. Repeat for several miles (minutes). Then, left foot stretches, followed by left foot taking over driving responsibilities while right foot stretches. Repeat.

The above exercises can be done while quilting too! Seriously, they help!

SewCalGal
www.sewcalgal.blogspot.com