QuiltCon 2019 Award Ribbons

Hi friends, it’s that time of year again! The Modern Quilt Guild held QuiltCon this past week - QuiltCon is a worldwide quilt show, event, retreat and conference for modern quilters.

I had the honor of making the award ribbons this year - something I have been doing I think for the past 4 years? Has it been that long - oh goodness there are so many ribbons I think I have started to lose track.

First of all I want to give a HUGE thank you to all of the sponsors of QuiltCon that donated new fabric lines to add some fun to the first place awards this year: Cotton and Steel, Michael Miller Fabrics, Moda Fabrics, Figo Fabrics, Dear Stella Fabrics and Windham Fabrics. Also to Paintbrush Studio Fabrics for the Painter’s Palette Solids that were used across the board for the solid fabrics on all ribbons. They were a delight to work with and I am a new fan!

Before I go on I will say to the handful of you that have been asking for a pattern - yes - it’s ACTUALLY in the works this year! I just finished the step writeup and will work on photographing and taking videos of the tricky parts. Figuring out how to make a design that I loved making and also enjoy the look of was a bit tricky, but I am so happy with how they turned out and am excited to share that pattern with you all very soon.

Best in Show

Best in Show is the most fun and the most stressful one to make! This year I wanted to keep with the solid white style I usually stick with but add some quilty fun - thats where the flying geese came in. My good friend Guiseppea Ribaudo had a fantastic flying geese template I was able to use in just the right size.

Painter’s Palette Solids by Paintbrush Studio Fabrics.

People's Choice / Quilting Excellence

Best Machine Quilting Framed + Frameless

Painter’s Palette Solids by Paintbrush Studio Fabrics.

Appliquè

Dear Stella print by Rae Ritchie paired with Painter’s Palette Solids by Paintbrush Studio Fabrics.

Handwork

Dear Stella print by August Wren - Spring Theory paired with Painter’s Palette Solids by Paintbrush Studio Fabrics.

Improvisation

Moda fabrics print by Jen Kingwell - Remix paired with Painter’s Palette Solids by Paintbrush Studio Fabrics.

Piecing

Moda fabrics print by Zen Chic - Day in Paris paired with Painter’s Palette Solids by Paintbrush Studio Fabrics.

Small Quilts

Figo Fabrics print by Abigail Halpin - Eloise’s Garden paired with Painter’s Palette Solids by Paintbrush Studio Fabrics.

Use of Negative Space

Figo fabrics print by Pippa Shaw - Mountain Meadow paired with Painter’s Palette Solids by Paintbrush Studio Fabrics.

Modern Traditionalism

Windham fabrics print by Shayla Wolf - Only Good Vibes paired with Painter’s Palette Solids by Paintbrush Studio Fabrics.

Group Quilts

Windham fabrics print by Kelly Ventura - Field Day paired with Painter’s Palette Solids by Paintbrush Studio Fabrics.

Youth Quilts

Cotton + Steel prints paired with Painter’s Palette Solids by Paintbrush Studio Fabrics.

Minimalist Design

Michael Miller Fabrics prints paired with Painter’s Palette Solids by Paintbrush Studio Fabrics.

Michael Miller Fabric Challenge

For the Michael Miller Fabric Challenge it’s always a treat to use the actual challenge fabrics. For this years I stuck to a solid ribbon using one of each Hash Dot print.

American Patchwork + Quilting - Two Color Quilting Challenge

For this category I kept it within the theme - two color challenge! I paired up two colors of Painter’s Palette Solids by Paintbrush Studio Fabrics for each ribbon.

Judges Choice

For Judge’s Choice I try to get a little more personal and creative and match up the ribbons a bit with the judge. I do not personally know any of the judges this year (I met Anne at QuiltCon) so I had to go by what I heard or saw online. Always a challenge - but a fun one!

Judge Cindy Seitz-Krug is a traditional quilter but also loves innovative quilts. She has won many awards and has a book titled The Grid Design Workbook. This book discusses gridded quilt designs on your home machine and so I wanted to give her a little nod for her beautiful quilt work with some fun quilting on the tails of her ribbon. I paired a print from Figo Fabrics with Painter’s Palette Solids by Paintbrush Studio Fabrics.

Anne Sullivan is a modern quilter, artist and programmer. She is a member of the Orlando Modern Quilt Guild and is the founder of the Quilt Design A Day (QDAD). You can find her on instagram under @playcrafts and has an episode on Fresh Quilting about Design as you go improv.

I was informed that Anne loved Navy and solids - so you can see where I went with this one - I decided to use her love of improv to make the design a bit more special on the tails of the ribbon.

Mondo Guerra is well known for his Season 8 presence on Project Runway, and for winning the series first season of Project Runway All Stars. He is a spokesperson for two national HIV campaigns and an accomplished fashion designer. I fell in love with Mondo’s color use and style on his instagram page - and pulled together some fun black and white prints and a bold color block print for his ribbon. The main rosette reminds me of a coat he wore to a show and the colors I hope reflect his fun use in several of his runway shows.

Fabrics are from Paintbrush Studio Fabrics by Ampersand - Abstract Collage paired with Painter’s Palette Solids

Thanks for stopping by friends!

Happy sewing,

Nicole