One of the most exciting times of the year for quilters is November. That’s when the Houston Quilt Festival showcases the newest, most outstanding, and original quilts of the year. It’s a quilter’s dream!
Over the next few months, we’re going to give you an insider’s peek at some of the best quilts of Houston Quilt Festival 2018. The award-winning quilters featured here regularly utilize Superior Threads, and they generously provided background detail that we can’t wait to share with you.
First up is one of our favorites.
Kathy McNeil is a quilt artist that combines thousands of tiny fabric scraps to create quilts that resemble paintings. We love her work. And her newest winner, “All You Need is Love” is no exception. It won an Honorable Mention in the Animal Kingdom category at Quilt Festival as well as Best of Show in Peducah, Kentucky last fall.
Inspired from the cover of a National Geographic catalog, Kathy was breathless when she first viewed the photo. “I have never seen an image that captured as much devotion as this one… True happiness only comes from sharing your heart.” That moment of connection made Kathy realize she had to quilt this scene.
Once permission from photographer Cynthia Baldauf was granted, panic set in. Kathy fretted over capturing the scene of snow, frost, and ice in the fabric without losing the amazing detail. She drew a basic composition and designed the shapes into tiny pieces that could be hand-appliqued. She scoured stores for the perfect metal brads, crystals, wedding dress sequins, glitter and paint {to simulate the frost}. Her favorite threads were used to bring it all together: Superior Threads Kimono Silk for the hand applique, So Fine! for piecing, and Bottom Line for the top and bobbin free-motion quilting.
Having sent progress photos to Cynthia every two weeks, Kathy was honored to finally meet her inspiration and biggest cheerleader. The two stood together at the international quilt show in Peducah, KY this past fall. Cynthia with her photograph, and Kathy with her quilt, and “both with devotion to our individual art forms and the unexpected rewarding adventures that creativity brings.”
We can’t wait to see what Kathy creates next!
View more of Kathy’s incredible work by visiting her website: www.kathymcneilquilts.com.