The SaddleBrooke Quilters were well represented at the Tucson Quilt Fiesta, winning in several different categories! The show was the 50th anniversary of the Tucson Quilters Guild. There were hundreds of quilts on display, including previous award-winning quilts by Tami Graeber and Pat Morris. A certified quilt judge from Nebraska inspected over 140 entries: assigning first, second and third place in each category, sometimes awarding an Honorable Mention. Attendees participated by voting for three quilts; the top five quilts were awarded the Viewer's Choice award on the last day of the show. "Sonoran Sunset", the quilt that was raffled off at the SaddleBrooke Quilter's quilt show in March, took second place in the Group Category!
Several members won awards at the show. Doreen Diaz placed first on her "Chasing Rainbows" quilt in the Large Pieced Two Person category (pictured). She's enjoyed making Judy Niemeyer patterns for the last 10 years. Complex and challenging, she enjoys making them as a means to keep her brain active and create something spectacular. This was her summer project, affectionately referred to as her "monster quilt". She greatly appreciated Athena Taylor's exquisite quilting, which brought out the intricacies in her quilt!
Paula Fulton won second place in Medium Pieced for "Mardi Gras Concert". Her quilt is an original design, inspired by the leafy print pattern. Also in the Medium Pieced category, Lynne Saul received Honorable Mention for "3D Color Play", an exploration of color in 3D illusion blocks. It is paper-pieced using a technique developed and taught by Mary Flynn, a Tucson Quilt Guild instructor.
Pat Morris received an Honorable Mention on her entry, "Kaffe Butterflies". She used scrappy fabric from her Kaffe fabric collection to make her stunning quilt. All the florals dance and bloom as butterflies as they make their way around the quilt.
Tami Graeber won 2nd place for "Greek Garden Party", Other category (pictured). Her quilt is a textile painted bouquet of bright flowers, all original design bordered by a paper-pieced Greek key border and bright, scrappy binding. When she wasn't working on her quilt, she also applied her skills toward making the 1st place raffle quilt.
Congratulations to all the winners and best of luck to Paula Fulton and Tami Graeber, who are entering their quilts in the Wisconsin and Minnesota shows, respectively.
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