The 4th Genevieve Awards: Festival of Quilts 2024

 Hello everybody!

There has been another Festival of Quilts! And I exhibited again - with one solo quilt, and one block in a group quilt. I was only able to go for one day this year, but in that day I managed to pack in watching the 'Wearable Quilt Creations' catwalk, and an embroidery workshop, as well as getting around all the quilts and some of the vendors.  Again, I managed to max out the storage on my phone and its SD card with photographs as there were just so many beautiful quilts to see.

Me in front of my quilt 'Focussed Rainbow'

Me pointing to my block in #teambearpaw24 2 - conceived and pieced by Chris English

So to the awards! The Genevieve Awards are awards I give to the quilts on display at the Festival of Quilts. The only prize for them is the knowledge that I like your quilt. I make up the categories, I decide which quilts go in to the categories, I decide who wins. These are now the fourth Awards (you can also read the ones for 2023, 2022 and 2019) and the categories change depending on what quilts are at the show. There are few quilts not eligible for the Genevieve awards: My quilts (because I am way too biassed), the quilts in the Visitor's Choice awards retrospective showcase that I have commented on before (because they already had their chance) and the Joy of Quilting section (because the whole point of that category is that the quilts are not judged). Other than that, all quilts on display, including individual artist exhibitions, graduate showcases, historical collections and guild challenge quilts could potentially receive a Genevieve Award! Links to artists' Instagrams or websites will be given where I can find them. If they gave their IG handle or website in the Festival programme, that link is preferred.

So here are the Awards!

Quilts with Faces

A new category for this year. Portrait quilts and quilts highlighting faces of people and animals were a big theme this year. While collaged raw-edge appliqué is the most popular technique used to create faces in patchwork, there were a variety of interesting techniques on display. Here is my selection of them.

Entry 1 - 'Kukuppalik (he has a big hood) Inuit dictionary' by Ria Mille and Anne Liliholm

This quilt is such a fun idea, I love the big shaggy sheepskin fabric used for the hood. The face is created by a technique called collage quilting. Here's a close up of the face so you can see the patchwork style, and the beautiful long-arm quilting.

Entry 2 - 'Stitch Lyrical' by GillyMai O'Brien

This is quite a small quilt, with 16 embroidered portraits of musical artists. Here are some close-ups of some of the iconic figures to show you the embroidery.

Entry 3 - Peaky Blinders by Amelia Hanratty

A beautiful, muted portrait of Cillian Murphy's character in the TV show Peaky Blinders. The portrait element is based on a paper-cut image and has been created by appliquéd strips over a black background, as you can see in this close-up image.

Entry 4 - "Behind the Leaves" by Esther Delgado Pico

This is another collage portrait. I particularly liked the very fine lines of the quilting, made to highlight the different shapes, as you can see in this close-up.

Entry 5 - 'Mr Levy' by Laura Graham

There's just so much character in this guy's face! The use of colour to show the shadows the face is particularly nicely done, and I like the whole 'sketchbook' feel of this quilt. According to the program, the subject of the quilt, Mr Levy, was the founder of Visage Textiles  in Manchester, and the quilt is a tribute to the man, the fabrics and the company. Here's a close-up of around the pipe, so you can see the collage technique used to create this.

Entry 6 - 'Amy' by Devida Bushrod and Amy Freyn

A tribute to the iconic Amy Whitehouse, made in a pixel style (lots of small squares of fabric sewn together. Not only is the face beautifully done, but there were lots of nice touches, including song lyrics embroidered and hidden in the quilting, as you can see in the pics below.

Entry 7 - 'The Emotion of Colours' by Teresa Fusalba

This is a striking collage quilt, with an amazing sense of colour. I love the strong contrast between the black and white face, and the colourful hair. The artist has cleverly emphasised this with the quilting, by using circles on the face and straight lines on the hair, as you can see in this close-up.

Entry 8 - 'Shadow' by Scott Culley

Standing close-up you can't see the face shape at all, you need to stand back or look through the lens of a camera and then it jumps out at you. This is a beautifully clever technique, the entire quilt is actually pieced log cabin spirals, and the face shape is made by varying the thickness of some of the lines.  Here's a close-up image so you can see the technique used.

Entry 9 - 'The Beginning' by Genesis Hall

This self-portrait by a 14-year-old quilter was the worthy winner of the Young Quilter Aged 14-18 Category. It is made in a pixel quilt style. The title and words on the quilt are a play on the young quilter's name 'Genesis'.

Entry 10 - The Sun and the Sea by Ece Malkoc

This beautiful allegorical portrait of the artist's daughters is collaged, but done so beautifully that it almost appears to be crazy-pieced in close-up pictures as you can see in the detail pics below. The quilting in this is particularly well-done, in my opinion.

And the winner is ...

'Mr Levy' by Laura Graham! The composition and use of colour made this one the clear winner for me.

Rainbow Quilts

This category is returning for the fourth time, because I still love rainbows. Indeed my own entry this year was a rainbow quilt.

Entry 1 - 'Hope flows' by Angela Southey

This quilt is a glorious explosion of colour, made up of many tiny EPP hexagons. It is entirely hand-pieced and hand quilted.  The amount of time and patience it must have taken to achieve this is incredible. Here is a close-up section of the middle of the quilt.

Entry 2 - 'Soft Pride' by Amy Pabst

Amy Pabst had an exhibition showcasing her teeny-tiny log cabins. These are Foundation Paper Pieced - indeed, that's the only technique that allows you to work with pieces this ridiculously small. This particular quilt is 41cm/16 inches square and contains 11,925 pieces. Here's a close up so you can see how the pieces fit together - each piece is only 2-3mm wide.

Entry 3 - 'Bargello Summer Time Floral' by Karen L Jackson

Another pastel or soft rainbow. Bargello quilts always capture my attention. And a particularly nice feature of this one is that the soft flower shapes used for quilting, which provides a nice contrast to the strong geometric lines of the design.

Entry 4 - Fruit Salad by Jo Avery

Jo Avery's modern improv curves are always striking, and this was my favourite of the four quilts she entered this year. I love the bright, rainbow colour pallette (I definitely see why she named the quilt for fruit). The monochrome flying geese are created with what she calls 'Freehand Foundation Piecing'.

Entry 5 - Enchanted Forest 2 by Helen Howes

Obviously I picked this one for the bright, rainbow colours, but the other thing I love about it is the shape. The flared bottom edge makes it look like a cape, which is cool. I like the idea of letting the improvised blocks dictate the shape of the quilt, rather than automatically assuming that quilts need to be squared up and a traditional rectangle/square.

Entry 6 - Arcadia Avenue by Val Brooks

I always love black and rainbow as a combination, and this is a particularly striking one. I also love sampler quilts, they are more interesting to me than the same block repeated dozens of time. This quilt also features some lovely well-chosen quilting adding texture to the white portions, as you can see in these close-up pics.

Entry 7 - 'Kinship 100 Block Fusion Sampler' by Diana Rolland and Mairi Burns

I always enjoy watching the #100blocks100days project on Instagram, even though I can never manage the commitment to participate. This quilt is a beautiful, rainbow-y product of that.

Entry 8 - 'The Bargello Coat of Many Colours' by Karen L Jackson

This entry is from the Quilted Creations category. I like the way the Bargello print is carefully placed on the front panels. And, as an added bonus, I got to see it being modelled by its creator in the first ever Festival of Quilt catwalk as you can see in the pic below. This coat was created for use by a local theatre company doing Joseph and His Amazing Technicoloured Dreamcoat.

Entry 9 - 'Dot-to-dot study' by Victoria Miller

This massive, soft rainbow-coloured quilt caught my eye several times during the exhibition. I like the use of black outlining, and the long-arm quilting is particularly stunning.

Entry 10 - 'Wings of Pride' by Matt Wilding

Thanks to the Steward who took this photo for me, annoyingly, I didn't get a photo of the whole thing without me in it. This beautiful piece was in the Quilted Creations section, and clearly designed to be Instragrammable, which is always fun. The artist used strip piecing with thin brown/grey pieces interspersed within the rainbow colours to create a feather effect.

And the winner is... 

'Hope flows' by Angela Southey! What's not to love about an explosion of EPP colour.

Quilts with interesting material choices

Another new, albeit small, category this year, for quilts and quilt creations where the artists looked beyond traditional fabrics and incorporated something different into their quilts. The Sustainable Category ran for the second time this year, which actively requires quilters to use recycled products, and inspires some people to reach for unusual materials.

Entry 1 - 'To All the Goals We've Loved Before' by Richard Kenyon

This quilt is a seemingly simple image of flowers. But if you look closely, the flowers are made from recycled footballs.

You can still see the England symbols on the blue flowers.

I was also a fan of the artist's use of shoe laces to attach the border and create the flower stems.

All in all, just a great, unusual choice of materials for a quilt.

Entry 2 - 'Citrus Fresh Start' by Hope Talbort Waller

I like this quilt for its nice abstract look, and its use of colour. But what is particularly impressive is that the bright coloured netting is actually recycled citrus fruit packaging. A clever use of a type of packaging that would otherwise go to waste.

Entry 3 - 'Oppression is not a Game' by Gill Taylor

From the Quilted Creation section, this artist has literally sewn Barbie Dolls and masks onto a quilted apron, to create this feminist protest artwork. 

Entry 4 - 'Distorted Reflections' by Fiona Burrows

My first thought on seeing this hanging in the Sustainable Category was that someone had quilted an emergency blanket (which is a cool idea). But on inspection of the programme, it turns out to be pieced crisp packets. Which is also a cool idea.

And the winner is...

'To All the Goals We've Loved Before' by Richard Kenyon. Because the idea of using footballs to create flowers is just genius.

Black and White Quilts

A new colour category for this year, dedicated to monochrome quilts. Almost the opposite of rainbow quilts, these quilts use the simple colour scheme to let the design shine through.

Entry 1 'A World in Between' by Aman Bhooi

This striking image of a grated doorway caught my eye several times. According to the program, it's inspired by Mughal architecture. I am a big fan of the beautiful geometric patterns created by Islamic art and architecture in general. 

Entry 2 - 'Build it Together' by LOW PROFILE & Participants

This was displayed at the end of one of the rows of quilts, which made it even more striking in person. The colour scheme really makes the simple message jump out. And according to the programme, this quilt was, indeed, built by a group of over 60 people through open drop-in sessions. Also, as you can see in this detail shot, the background is made of pieced English paper piecing hexies. 

Entry 3 - 'Window Black and White' by Aman Bhooi and Kausher

A grated window, another entry by the same artist as the grated door. What I find particularly nice about this one is the quilting. The dense quilting in the white spaces helps to give the illusion of depth, and the borders have lovely floral designs quilted in contasting thread.

Entry 4 - 'Under a Cover of Darkness' by Ruth Broadway

This collage quilt uses the colour scheme to emphasise the fact that these moths are night creatures. The artist has created all the different markings on the moth through a clever mixture of well-chosen fabrics and embroidery.

Entry 5 - 'Wave' by Paula Rafferty

This quilt wasn't part of the competition, but was displayed in one of the galleries (annoyingly, I failed to note down which one - possibly the Modern Quilt Special Interest Group?). I like the way the quilting on it enhances the wave shape.

Entry 6 - 'Raksha' by Isabel Muñoz

This striking wolf's face is made with Free Motion Quilting. In the programme, the artist calls this technique 'zenquilting' - a mix of her loves of zentangle and quilting.

Entry 7 - 'The Chaos of Loss' by Jennifer Stokes

This irregularly-shaped quilt uses its sombre colour scheme to highlight it's associations with grief and loss. What I particularly like about it is the many interesting textures the artist has created, as you can see in these close-up pics.

And the winner is...

'Ruksha' by Isabel Muñoz! The amount of drawing skill it takes to do zentangle as Free Motion Quilting is just incredible.


Animal quilts

Another new category, animals are one of the more popular subjects for the Pictorial and Arts Quilts sections. This year's show contained a number of particularly striking quilts featuring animals.

Entry 1 - 'Our Happy Camper' by Joanne Hannon Shaw

This beautiful collage quilt features the artist's Aussie-Doodle dog. I love the use of the purple colours to create the shading on the dog, and the fun additional details in the landscape, like the little signs.

Entry 2 - 'Pride' by Kerry Hook

This collage quilt is of a lion with a mane of flowers. I'm a big fan of when collage quilters fussy cut the shapes and designs in their fabrics - such as many of the leaves and flowers used in the mane.

Entry 3 - 'Micha and the gear of time' by Maria Eugenia Corbella

The artist's own cat was the model for this beautiful quilt. There's just so much to love about it, from the gorgeous lighting effect in the background, to the 3D appliquéd cogs.  And there's a cat in a hat!

Entry 4 - 'Chanticleer and Pertelote' by Catherine Millar and Timothy Millar

This pair of artists regularly enter mediaeval-themed quilts, and this year was no exception, with this Chacuer-inspired work.  This quilt took 3rd prize in the Two Person Category. It has so many nice details, from images from Chanticleer's dream above the rooster's head, to farmyard animals and farmers underneath.

Entry 5 - 'Pawsitive Vibes' by Lauren Connor

This cute set of four doggie portraits was in Lauren Connor's Graduate Showcase. They are collage quilts, with lots of very fine quilting on them.

Entry 6 - 'LOOK AT ME(N)OW!' by Carol McFadzean

This quilt of a regal, Egyptian-style cat is based on a print by an unknown artist that McFadzean saw in a hotel room in Warsaw. I love all the modernist lines in the background and on the cat's fur.

And the winner is...

'Micha and the gear of time' by Maria Eugenia Corbella! What's not to love about a steampunk cat.

Joy of Sharing Highlights

The Joy of Sharing Category is for people who want to enter quilts without them being judged.  This allows for a greater range of quilts on display, with people entering quilts that fit in between the size requirements for the Miniature and Regular categories, as well as experimental quilts and quilts that don't fall into any other category neatly.  In accordance with the wishes of the artists not to be judged, I have not selected a winner for this section.

Quilt 1 - 'Thanks Ma'am For Everything' by Devida Bushrod

This pixel portrait quilt is, quite clearly, a tribute to the late Queen Elizabeth II. According to the artist's statement, this is a replica of a quilt she made for the Platinum Jubilee in 2022 and sent to Her Majesty at the time. I particularly like the textured gold fabric used to make the crown.

Quilt 2 - 'Climate Change 2023' by Sandra Evans

This is a 'temperature quilt'. The quilter records the high and low temperature of the day in their location and assigns specific fabrics to ranges of temperature, so you can see how the temperature varies throughout the year. This means weather in the real world dictates the final look of the quilt.

Quilt 3 - 'FMQ Dahlia' by Grit Seidel

This quilt is Free Motion quilting of a beautifully bright pre-printed panel. The artist states in the programme that it was the result of an online course she took. There are many in the quilting world who regard the use of pre-printed panels as 'cheating' but I am very much not of this persuasion. This type of quilt takes just as much work and thought as any other wholecloth quilt, and I believe they should be considered as part of that well-respected genre.

Genevieve's Favourites

This is the big category! What were my favourites this year? There were a lot of beautiful quilts to choose from, but I have narrowed it down to this selection.

Entry 1 - 'Protecting the Precious' by Alec Worth

It's a flying TARDIS quilt! This was in the Young Quilter's section - their theme for this year was 'Precious' hence the title of this quilt. The artist for this one is 17-years-old. I particularly like the circles in the background, making it look like the TARDIS is spinning through the opening credits of Doctor Who.

Entry 2 - 'A Treat for the Feet' and 'Favourite Things' by Lesley Hutchinson

A Treat for the Feet:

Favourite things:

I love it when an artist has two related pieces in different categories! Hutchinson entered the footstool into Quilt Creation, and the quilt in Miniatures. And Tunnocks Caramel Wafers is such a fun choice of subject to celebrate.

Entry 3 - 'Challenge' by Sylwia Ignotowska

This stunning lace-effect wholecloth quilt won the Excellence in Longarm Quilting Award and it's very easy to see why! It's such a beautifully conceived and executed design.

Entry 4 - 'A Bed Of Roses' by Jingook Yang

I absolutely love the clever effect of depth and perspective in this quilt, you completely believe that the two figures are standing on a floor. The artist based the figures on a photo of her husband and daughter.

Entry 5 - 'White Bubbles' by Irina Timofeeva and Natalia Moskaleva

This enormous quilt earns its place her from the beautiful precision of its shapes, and the blue ombré colour effect. I kept coming back to this one hanging at the Festival. 

Entry 6 - 'Blue Moon' by AitchBee and Helen Howes

This is another quilt I kept coming back to, for its gorgeous and striking use of colour. There are so many different things going on this quilt, and yet it very much comes together as a cohesive whole.

Entry 7 - 'Mightier' by Lauren Connor

I wish I'd got a better photo of this mighty, crashing wave, which again comes from Connor's Graduate Showcase. It's the many colours in the wave that I particularly love.

Entry 8 - 'Flora' by Inmaculada Gabaldón

Another one I wish I had a better photo of - this was the winner of the Pictorial Quilts category, and surrounded by many admirers! It truly is beautiful, from the pose of the ballerina, to the coloured background and the 3D butterflies.

And the winner is ...

'A Bed Of Roses' by Jingook Yang! The use of perspective is just stunning.

So that's the Festival of Quilts finished for 2024! In truth, this year's Festival seemed a bit smaller than in previous years, with fewer quilts on show, and fewer vendors. But there were still so many beautiful, inspirational pieces on display. 

So which of these quilts are your favourites? Were there any other stand-out quilts that you would have given awards to? Let me know what you think!

Let me leave you with an image of another quilt that left itself open to Instagrammable moments, which, with apologies to the artist, I somehow failed to note the details of.

Thanks for reading!