AQS wins big at IQA

AQS book and magazine authors were well represented in the winners’ circle of the 2010 IQA "A World of Beauty" judged show in Houston last week. Congratulations to Sharon Schamber of Payson, Arizona, for winning the Handi Quilter best-of-show award with her quilt Mystique, shown above. Sharon is the author of two AQS books, Piec-lique: Curves the New Way and Piece by Piece Machine Appliqué. You can learn more about her Sharon’s life and career in Patricia Staten’s profile article published the January 2008 issue of American Quilter magazine. Then try out Sharon’s machine appliqué technique detailed in the same issue. Her magnificent Longarm Couture Trapunto technique was published in the January 2009 issue, pages 70–75.

Sandra Leichner won the Fairfield Master Award for Contemporary Artistry with her quilt Tea with Miss D. Sandra’s book Hand Appliqué with Embroidery is a recent AQS release, and Sandra was profiled in an article by Patricia Staten in the Spring 2006 issue of American Quilter.

Another top winner this year was Paisley Peacock (above) by Pat Holly, awarded the Maywood Studio Master Award for Innovative Artistry. Pat’s article on a unique tabbed edge finish appeared in the November 2010 issue of American Quilter magazine, and her AQS book Stitched Raw Edge Appliqué (written with sister Sue Nickels) details her award-winning machine technique.

The Pfaff Master Award for Machine Artistry was awarded to Susan Stewart for her quilt Every Cloud Has a Silver Lining. Susan is the author of Heirloom Machine Sewing for Quilters. You can find the pattern and instructions for her lovely quilt Misty Garden at www.AmericanQuilter.com. Susan also won second place in the Computer-Aided Machine Embroidery category with her quilt Monochrome.

You often find Suzanne Marshall’s name on quilt show winners’ lists. She won first place in the Merit Quilting (Hand) category with her quilt Vases. (A photo of this quilt appears on page 29 of the July 2010 issue of AQ, as it previously won the Best Hand Workmanship award at the AQS show in Lancaster last March.) Suzanne is the author of the AQS book Adventure & Appliqué, and her Bias Stems for Appliqué technique is detailed in the November 2008 issue of AQ.

And there’s still more! Caryl Bryer Fallert won first place in the Art-Abstract (Small) category with her quilt Feathers in the Wind (above). Caryl is the author of the popular book Quilt Savvy: Fallert's Guide to Images on Fabric. Irena Bluhm’s Majestic Bugs won third place in the Merit Quilting (Machine) category. She is the author of Quilts of a Different Color, and an article on her technique will be published in an upcoming issue of AQ. Zena Thorpe, author of Beautiful Alphabet Appliqué, won an honorable mention in the Traditional Appliqué category with her lovely Annie’s Legacy. Zena is the author of Beautiful Alphabet Appliqué. Finally, former American Quilter magazine contributing editor Mary Lou Schwinn and her fellow Cotuit, Massachusetts, quilting friends won third place in the Group Category for their artistic entry titled Boston’s Back Bay.

All of the books mentioned above are available at http://www.americanquilter.com/. And AQS members can access all recent American Quilter magazine articles and patterns by signing in with login and password. My congratulations go to all these winners, and my thanks go to all of the countless quilters around the world who enter their quilts in shows. Sharing your sewing and design skills in this way is truly a gift to quilters everywhere.