Houston Festival
THE 2025 QUILT FESTIVAL JUDGED SHOW
BEST OF SHOW / $12,500
The Handi Quilter Best of Show Award
sponsored by
The Visitation
(79” x 78”)
By Ricky Tims of Branson West, MO, USA
Artist Statement: Original hand-dyed fabrics were assembled using curved piecing (not paper-piecing). The raven was created with bobbin-embroidered feathers and invisible turned-edge appliqué. The moon is from an original photo that was digitized and printed. The raven symbolizes foreboding darkness. The clock suggests using time wisely. The tree represents wisdom, not dead, but dormant. The quilted leaves suggest spring will soon emerge. The time suggests midnight approaches, but a new day will dawn.
Design: The tree was, in part, derived from my words via an AI source, with all other elements being original, layered, and combined by me to create the whole.
Techniques: Hand embroidery, dyeing, and painting; machine piecing, appliqué, embellishment, embroidery, and quilting; original digitized quilting; digital printing; professional fabric printing
Interview with the artist
MASTER AWARDS / $5,000
The AllBrands.com Master Award for
Thread Artistry
sponsored by
Family
(63” x 48”)
By Yoshiyuki Ishizaki of Ashiya City, Hyogo, Japan
Artist Statement: Adding embroidery to appliqué makes all the difference. It seems like the more effort that goes into it, the more gorgeous it becomes.
Design: Original Design
Techniques: Hand appliqué, embroidery, and quilting; trapunto
The eQuilter.com Master Award for
Machine Artistry
sponsored by
Tricuspid Biomorph #2
(64” x 81”)
By Caryl Bryer Fallert-Gentry of Port Townsend, WA, USA
Artist Statement: For this quilt, I resurrected some designs based on doodles I drew inside radially symmetrical hexagons in 1995. In CorelDRAW, I placed the hexagonal shapes in a rectangle, extended the lines within the hexagon to the edges of the rectangle, then tweaked them until I had a line drawing I liked. I filled the spaces between the lines with color gradations and images of fabric I hand-painted with dye. The hummingbird was added just for fun.
Design: Original Design
Techniques: Hand dyeing and painting; machine piecing and quilting; digital printing; professional fabric printing; digital design; digital painting
The Grace Company Master Award for
Traditional Artistry
sponsored by
Poco a Poco
(86” x 100”)
By Keiko Morihiro of Sanda-city, Hyogo-Ken, Japan
Artist Statement: About 10 years ago, I started working on a hexagonal quilt, but stopped halfway through because it had too many pieces. Four years ago, I started working on this quilt again and was finally able to complete it. The number of hexagonal pieces used to complete this quilt was 30,833. All the hexagonal pieces were quilted in rocking stitch, and each side of the hexagonal paper liner is 8mm long.
Design: Original Design
Techniques: Hand piecing and quilting; English paper piecing
The Innova Master Award for
Contemporary Artistry
Sponsored by
Color My World
(81” x 81”)
By Karen Kay Buckley of Carlisle, PA, USA
Artist Statement: This quilt started with the Bluebird block as a teaching project, and then I wondered if I could create a larger quilt with this concept. Each block contains a critter (insect, animal, bird). Some are hidden and others are obvious. After finishing the blocks, I designed the center and planned to include all the critters, but I could not find the right place for one of them. Can you figure out which one is missing from the center?
Design: Original Design
Techniques: Hand appliqué and embroidery; machine quilting
The Janome Master Award for Innovative Artistry
sponsored by
Painted Ponies on the Prairie
(107” x 63”)
By Melissa Sobotka of Richardson, TX, USA
Artist Statement: This image depicts a traveling carnival and horse-powered merry-go-round on the plains of Nebraska and South Dakota during the early 1900s. Attendees of the carnival included Sioux, who enjoyed riding the merry-go-round’s painted ponies. The carnival was operated by Marion and Edith Whaley, my husband’s great-grandparents. The Sioux became fond of the Whaleys and gifted Edith with moccasins for her tired feet and a beaded purse to hold tickets.
Design: Personal family photo of Twila Sobotka
Techniques: Professional fabric printing; machine appliqué and quilting; fusing; enhancements with ink and pencils
CATEGORY AWARDS
ABSTRACT (New!)
Sponsored by
FIRST PLACE / $1,000
Red Molly
(80” x 79”)
By Karen K. Stone of Dallas, TX, USA
Artist Statement: This was improvisationally pieced and machine quilted. The title is from Richard Thompson’s song, “1952 Vincent Black Lightning.”
Design: Original Design
Techniques: Machine piecing and quilting; ruler work
second place / $700
Interview with the artist
Derse Verse
(64” x 85”)
By Irene Roderick of Austin, TX, USA
Artist Statement: This piece is entirely improvisational. I intended to use the contemporary fabrics that are being designed by artists and showcase them while making them part of my own art. I feel that sometimes the fabric designers are not given enough credit for the outstanding art they make for quilters.
Design: Original Design
Techniques: Machine piecing and quilting
THIRD place / $300
Cheshire
(49” x 61”)
By Stephanie Skardal of Dublin, OH, USA
Artist Statement: Cheshire was inspired by pushing boundaries with foundation paper piecing—how far and how extreme can you take this technique?! Five colors were selected after being designed digitally. The fabric was then cut via a laser cutter and foundation paper pieced. It was quilted on a longarm.
Design: Original Design
Techniques: Machine piecing and quilting
Interview with the artist
CATEGORY AWARD:
Alternative Techniques (New!)
Sponsored by
FIRST PLACE / $1,000
Ripple Effect
(81” x 63”)
By Hollis Chatelain of Hillsborough, NC, USA
Artist Statement: I made Ripple Effect as a testimony of what is happening in our country. From 1998 to March 2023, there were more than 493 school shootings in the United States (there have been many more since then). This has an enormous ripple effect in our schools and communities. The active shooting drills are causing trauma among our students and teachers. How much longer must we allow this to continue? When will our children be more precious than our guns?
Design: Original Design
Techniques: Hand painting with acrylic paints; professional fabric printing; wholecloth quilt; machine quilting
second place / $700
Automne
(65” x 65”)
By Colette Dumont of Saint-Romain, QC, Canada
Artist Statement: Nature in autumn is full of colors, which inspired this quilt. It is the harvest time for me as a home gardener, celebrating the abundance of fruits and vegetables. Winter follows next, and the beaded border represents it with the colors of Christmas—white, red, and green.
Design: Original Design
Techniques: Hand appliqué, painting, and beading; machine piecing, appliqué, embroidery, and quilting; original digitized embroidery; ruler work; bias work (stained glass)
THIRD place / $300
Really “Wild” Flowers! Fourth Season
(47” x 59”)
By Sharon L. Schlotzhauer of Aurora, CO, USA
Artist Statement: This is the final and most complex piece in my whimsical, dimensional “Really Wild Flowers!” series. It’s a bright, playful scene of wild (as in crazy, fanciful, imaginative) flowers, butterflies, and arches, and was designed to be cheerful and fun! Seven flowers have my signature dimensional open centers, and others are layered. The back side has a calming, peaceful mirrored image.
Design: Original Design
Techniques: Hand appliqué, embellishment, embroidery, and painting; machine piecing, quilting, and appliqué; fabric manipulation; 3-dimensional work; paper-piecing; fabric enhancement; trapunto; piping; ruler work
CATEGORY AWARD:
Animal Kingdom (New!)
Sponsored by
FIRST place / $1,000
My Texas Spiny Lizard Muse
(19” x 34”)
By Lori Cook of Hewitt, TX, USA
Artist Statement: The day is lovely, and once again, this Texas Spiny Lizard is out and about in my yard and my flowerpots. He runs around my feet. Once I found him inside, sunbathing on my window blinds. To my surprise, he is calm and ready for his photo-op. On hands and knees, I look into his eyes. I think we love each other. I wonder if he is a prince in disguise or a relative from another life. Thank you for inspiring me! You are My Texas Spiny Lizard Muse.
Design: Original Design
Techniques: Hand painting; machine embellishment, embroidery, threadpainting, and quilting; professional fabric printing; mono-printing; collage
SECOND place / $700
Family Ties
(63” x 67”)
By Junko Sugahara of Kohto-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Artist Statement: My friends happily talk about and show me pictures of their lovely dogs! They look so happy! Our beloved dogs are like family members, sharing our joy with us in happy times and gently supporting us when we’re sad. I made this quilt featuring the dogs around me.
Design: Original Design
Techniques: Machine piecing, appliqué, embroidery, and quilting
THIRD place / $300
Tinker Bell
(21” x 25”)
By Karmen Brister of Porter, TX, USA
Artist Statement: I took a picture of my son’s bulldog, Tinker Bell, snoozing. I knew I had to paint this picture and bring it to life. As ink flowed, painting her sleepy folds was irresistible; then, threadpainting detailed each crease meticulously, mimicking her skin’s texture. Stitches brought out depth, capturing her relaxed form while tracing the contours of her skin and every slumbering wrinkle.
Design: Original Design
Techniques: Hand painting; machine quilting and threadpainting
CATEGORY AWARD:
Appliqué
Sponsored by
FIRST PLACE / $1,000
Lapin
(81” x 81”)
By Megumi Mizuno of Shiki, Saitama, Japan
Artist Statement: My 10-year-old granddaughter loved playing with her stuffed rabbit when she was little. She took it with her wherever she went. I appliquéd the fun memories of those times onto a quilt.
Design: Original Design
Techniques: Hand piecing, appliqué, embroidery, and quilting; trapunto; mirror work; beading
second place / $700
My Love Entwined
(92” x 94”)
By Lize Blignaut of Wichita, KS, USA
Artist Statement: A group of my quilting friends and I started this quilt in 2014, each choosing our own fabrics and working at our own pace. My fabric color inspiration came from a stack of about five pieces of fabric purchased at the Houston International Quilt Festival before 2014, which consisted of brown, gray, and tan fabrics. One of my friends suggested adding purple to the mix. That seemed to be exactly what it needed.
Design: Love Entwined: 1790 Marriage Coverlet pattern by Esther Alui
Techniques: Hand appliqué and embroidery; machine piecing and quilting
THIRD place / $300
Color Splash Garden
(87” x 62”)
By Karen Kay Buckley of Carlisle, PA, USA
Artist Statement: I designed, hand-appliquéd, and longarm quilted this piece. All aspects of making a quilt bring me such joy. I hope my joy carries through to you, the viewer.
Design: Original Design
Techniques: Hand appliqué and embroidery; machine quilting
CATEGORY AWARD:
BalanceD Piecing & Appliquè
Sponsored by
FIRST place / $1,000
East Meets West
(77” x 75”)
By Molly Hamilton-McNally of Coto de Caza, CA, USA
with Yange Gong
Artist Statement: This quilt has an interesting and unusual background. It’s a unique collaboration and combination of the skills of two women, a Chinese student and her Chinese-American teacher. It shows the meeting of the East and West by incorporating the two traditional methods of paper piecing, the Western technique at the center of the quilt, and hand appliqué for the Eastern surrounding designs. The entire quilt is made of silk. Art unites the world.
Design: Original Design, Inspired by two traditional paper piecing methods
Techniques: Hand appliqué; machine piecing and quilting
SECOND place / $700
Floriferous
(78” x 61”)
By Luz Seidensticker of Bethel Park, PA, USA
Artist Statement: The blooming of flowers every spring reminds me of nature’s power of renewal, change, transformation, and movement, but above all, it reminds me that there is always hope!
Design: Original Design
Techniques: Hand appliqué; machine piecing, appliqué, and quilting
THIRD place / $300
Kaleidoscope Garden
(78” x 78”)
By Judy Ballance of Huntsville, AL, USA
with Patty Wilson
Artist Statement: This quilt uses vibrant colors, intricate curved piecing, wool appliqué, and hand-embellished embroidery stitches. The quilt evokes looking through a kaleidoscope at a magical garden. On the outside edges of the quilt, darker fabrics were used to create a border. I love to do a combination of wool and cotton with hand embroidery to give a dimensional look to my quilts.
Design: Fairground pattern by Wendy Williams
Techniques: Hand embellishment and embroidery; machine piecing, appliqué, and quilting
CATEGORY AWARD:
Handmade
Sponsored by
first place / $1,000
Invitation to Japanese Tea Ceremony
(74” x 92”)
By Yoko Izumi of Hitachi, Ibaraki, Japan
Artist Statement: There are many things other than chadogu that are needed for a tea ceremony. ”Kakejiku” is one such item. “Kakejiku” are hung on the walls of the tea room and represent the seasons. I tried to express the “kakejiku” of spring, summer, and autumn using grapes as a motif. In spring, the flowers bloom, in summer the grapes bear fruit, and in autumn the leaves turn red. The grape blossoms in spring are so beautiful that I enlarged them.
Design: Original Design
Techniques: Hand appliqué, embroidery, and quilting
second place / $700
Be Fashionable on Rainy Days!
(78” x 75”)
By Akiko Yoshimizu of Ashiya City, Hyogo, Japan
Artist Statement: Japan has a rainy season during which it rains continuously. I made this quilt because I wanted the girls to dress up and go out cheerfully even during such times. The girls are surrounded by hydrangea flowers that bloom cheerfully even in the rain.
Design: Original Design
Techniques: Hand piecing, appliqué, embroidery, embellishment, and quilting
third place / $300
Peacock
(80” x 83”)
By Naomi Ootomo of Toda-shi, Saitama, Japan
Artist Statement: I can’t forget the beauty of a peacock feather I saw at my grandfather’s house as a child. I loved the color of the peacock’s feathers. This quilt was created with the image of a peacock spreading its wings. The quilting designs were also created with the image of its feathers. While I was making this quilt, beautiful colored fabrics made me happy.
Design: Original Design
Techniques: Hand piecing, appliqué, and quilting; trapunto
CATEGORY AWARD:
Naturescape (New!)
Sponsored by
first place / $1,000
Glimpse Into the Forest
(33” x 70”)
By Pat Durbin of Arcata, CA, USA
Artist Statement: Love for the redwood forest is my inspiration. I enjoy trying to draw the viewer into the forest to enjoy the view. My unusual techniques help me to use a lot of fabrics to piece together a picture. I hope you enjoy it.
Design: Original Design
Techniques: Mosaic picture piecing; collage; machine quilting
SECOND place / $700
Boulders at Lower Yosemite Falls
(61” x 47”)
By Sandra Mollon of Lincoln, CA, USA
Artist Statement: This raw-edge fused collage quilt is based on a photo I took while hiking in Yosemite National Park. I love the intimacy of small landscape quilts that draw in the viewer. I wanted to show reflection, and transparency, and movement of the water, as well as the texture and color of the rocks. Small amounts of mixed media were added for realism.
Design: Original Design
Techniques: Hand dyeing; fusing; mixed media; machine appliqué and quilting
THIRD place / $300
Awaiting for Spring
(58” x 76”)
By Hwa Kyung Lee of Gunpo-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
Artist Statement: From the sight of old trees awaiting the upcoming spring, we see ourselves hoping for a brighter tomorrow. To portray the trees more vividly and three-dimensionally, I have bleached fabrics and applied couching techniques to add depth on top of them.
Design: Original Design
Techniques: Hand and discharge dyeing; machine piecing, appliqué, couching, and quilting
CATEGORY AWARD:
People, Portraits, & Figures (New!)
Sponsored by
FIRST place / $1,000
The Man Lost in His Memories
(47” x 56”)
By Marina Landi of São Paulo, SP, Brazil
with Fabia Diniz
Artist Statement: My style is characterized by the fusible raw-edge appliqué in a wide range of colors in the composition of figurative images. The challenge of transmitting expressions and feelings through small fragments of fabric leads me to represent mainly human physiognomies.
Design: Original Design
Techniques: Hand cutting, painting, and dyeing; digital printing; fusing; machine appliqué and quilting
SECOND place / $700
Survivor
(52” x 67”)
By Alexandra Curran of Newport News, VA, USA
Artist Statement: His road was painful and difficult, but the hardships did not destroy him; they made him stronger. Each struggle he overcame made him lift his head higher and walk taller. He became a proud survivor.
Design: Original Design
Techniques: Machine appliqué and quilting; turned-edge dupioni silk appliqué
third place / $300
Let’s Have a Coffee Break
(66” x 66”)
By Noriko Nozawa of Chiba, Chiba, Japan
Artist Statement: One of my husband’s pleasures is carefully grinding and brewing coffee to serve to the family. Enjoying a cup of coffee with him is my mellow time. The theme of this piece is a scene from a calm, everyday afternoon with the aroma of coffee in the air. I designed it with moderate contrast to make the soft light shining through the kitchen curtains stand out. This piece was drawn using only machine embroidery thread colors.
Design: Original Design
Techniques: Machine piecing, embroidery, and quilting; original digitized embroidery and quilting
CATEGORY AWARD:
Pictorial
Sponsored by
FIRST place / $1,000
Peony Dream
(62” x 62”)
By Chen Jing of Beijing, China
Artist Statement: This quilt draws inspiration from The Peony Pavilion, a classical Chinese opera about love transcending mortal bounds. It depicts a young maiden, enchanted by a spring garden’s blooms, drifting into a dream where she meets an elegant young scholar. The work interweaves realistic human figures with illustrations and calligraphic elements from ancient Chinese books, alongside symbol-laden patterns, using silk and sheer fabric.
Design: Original Design
Techniques: Hand embellishment, embroidery, Chinese frog closure techniques, and ribbon embroidery; machine piecing, appliqué, embroidery, and quilting; digital printing
SECOND place / $700
Arcane Snap
(67” x 33”)
By Kestrel Michaud of W. Melbourne, FL, USA
Artist Statement: This boy and his dog were in the right place at the right time to witness an Arcane Snap, which is like a magical earthquake. Over time, magical energy builds up pressure until it finally lets go. Just like a tremor, some snaps are benign. The one shown in this quilt is no more than a very colorful light show, but sometimes snaps can have powerful, lasting, and unexpected effects on the surrounding area.
Design: Original Design
Techniques: Professional fabric printing; machine quilting
third place / $300
Spark Dancer
(67” x 50”)
HsiI-Chen Hsu of Sanxia Dist., New Taipei City, Taiwan
Artist Statement: Depicting a Kinmen blacksmith forging steel amidst a burst of sparks, this piece symbolizes the fusion of traditional craftsmanship and contemporary art, paying tribute to artisanal spirit and cultural heritage. Using mosaic patchwork and tonal separation, the work highlights the contrast between heat and focus. Each fabric piece mirrors every strike of the hammer—layering tradition, craftsmanship, and passion.
Design: Original Design,
Techniques: Hand piecing; machine piecing, embroidery, and quilting
CATEGORY AWARD:
PIECED
Sponsored by
FIRST place / $1,000
It’s Only Grass, But it’s Grass
(72” x 86”)
By Masa Yanagimoto of Takamatu City, Kagawa, Japan
Artist Statement: I created an original pattern on the theme of grass, using flowers from the flower beds as borders. I respect their tenacity to survive despite being trampled on, exposed to the sun, and eaten by insects.
Design: Original Design
Techniques: Hand piecing, appliqué, embroidery, trapunto, and quilting
SECOND place / $700
Sprite Lightning
(76” x 79”)
By Barb Sorensen of Alcoa, TN, USA
Artist Statement: I began this quilt just playing with bits of hand-painted fabric and scraps from previous projects, adding and deleting design elements as I worked and building shadow with discharge and quilting. I enjoy working with the design-as-you-go process. I had no idea what to name the finished quilt, so I sent out a “name that quilt” plea to my family. My granddaughter, Claire, named it. Thanks, Claire!
Design: Original Design
Techniques: Hand painting and discharge dyeing; machine piecing and quilting; ruler work
third place / $300
No Direction Home
(58” x 58”)
By Randa Mulford of Mountain View, CA, USA
Artist Statement: No Direction Home is four small improv-pieced quilts based on the same original design and sewn from the same palette of colors. The four panels can be rearranged to create very different compositions—unfortunately, I can only show one of them here. Thanks to Maria Shell for encouraging me to go big!
Design: Other, Patterns inspired by the work of Maria Shell; traditional Seminole patterns
Techniques: Machine piecing and quilting; ruler work
judge’s choice
$250 / Each
Sponsored by
Choice of Judge Alex Anderson
Flowering Bush
(53” X 53”)
BY Lyudmila Bronshtein of Haifa, Israel
Artist Statement: My inspiration for this work was the magnificent spring bloom of jacaranda and bougainvillea bushes. I admired the flowers, then came home and cut and sewed strips of fabric in matching colors. I collected them together so that they showed us all the beauty and joy of life.
Design: Original Design
Techniques: Machine piecing and quilting
Choice of Judge Andrea Brokenshire
The Turning of the Wheel
(66” x 67”)
By Pamela Trantham of Gibbon, NE, USA
Artist Statement: This quilt was based on a medicine wheel, with spiritual symbols from across cultures and time. The East stands for enlightenment, the South for plants and emotion, the West for earth and ancestors, and the North for the wind, thunder, and animals. It was bound with a hand-appliquéd Sawtooth binding that extends the colors for each direction to the edge of the piece.
Design: Original Design
Techniques: Hand appliqué, embroidery, and quilting; trapunto
Choice of Judge Sue Nickels
Visual Voyage
(57” x 58”)
By Inger Blood of Camino, CA, USA
Artist Statement: I experimented with modern design and gray values of cotton fabrics. Traditional star blocks and the surrounding area were designed in EQ8 and paper pieced. The black fabric is Radiance to create a crisp/shiny look.
Design: With permission from Kari Schell, On Point Quilter
Techniques: Machine piecing and quilting; ruler work; paper piecing
VIEWERS’ choice / $750
Sponsored by
The Man Lost in His Memories
(47” x 56”)
By Marina Landi of São Paulo, SP, Brazil
with Fabia Diniz
Artist Statement: My style is characterized by the fusible raw-edge appliqué in a wide range of colors in the composition of figurative images. The challenge of transmitting expressions and feelings through small fragments of fabric leads me to represent mainly human physiognomies.
Design: Original Design
Techniques: Hand cutting, painting, and dyeing; digital printing; fusing; machine appliqué and quilting
