On Sweeping the Board*

There is too much to say after spending five exhilarating days at the South African National Quilt Festival held this year in Stellenbosch from 5 to 9 October. So I will concentrate on the highlight. I am very proud of my good friend The Artist who won prizes for all three of the quilts that she entered in the show. She got Best of Show: Wall Quilts for her work titled Invitation; first prize in the category Wall Quilts: Open and Judge’s Choice for Cherry Pickers; and third prize for Faraway in the category Wall Quilts: Art Pictorial.

Catherine Knox aka The Artist caught in action at a workshop during the National Quilt Festival. She balanced her prize-winner’s badges on the name tag lanyard with aplomb.

The photograph was taken during Diana Vandeyar’s improv hexi class.

My photographs of her works, sporting their winning ribbons, are not perfect. For better images please take a look at the Prize Winners Catalogue.

Faraway by Catherine Knox. 71 x 129 cm. Awarded Best of Show: Wall Quilts

Her description on the accompanying label:

“A gleeful response to the freedom and space of my new happy place under the mountains”

Cherry Pickers by Catherine Knox. 77 x 69 cm. Awarded first prize in Wall Quilts: Open and Judge’s Choice

“Repetitive machined mark-making taken to a frenetic extreme creates a new mid layer, calming the base of fabric patches. The hand-stitching creates a more emphatic top-layer for the bird and branch forms.”

Faraway by Catherine Knox. 56 x 105 cm. Awarded third prize in Wall Quilts: Art Pictorial

“An ode to Father Sun and the escape that beckons from our silent spaces…”

It is more than obvious why I have referred to Catherine as The Artist in previous posts. How lucky I am to have a friend who not only makes magnificient work but is also generous in her sharing of ideas and advice.

The above were the only photographs that I took at the quilt exhibition. But the photographs of all the winning quilts are shown in the catalogue mentioned above. Here is the link once more.

Asta’s Quilt

Last week I posted a photograph of a completed quilt that I called the Mystery Quilt because I did not want to give away a surprise. Its real name is Asta’s Quilt. I gave it to her when she visited the quilt festival and was overwhelmed by her response. It was made with fabrics that she had previously given to me. Here it is in its real home:

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*The title to this post is misleading. It was not because of gambler’s luck that Catherine won these prizes.