AQS Paducah: Hand Quilted Quilts

This category is probably the easiest for me to look at.

Why?

I have NO aspiration to do hand quilting, so I am not looking at them and thinking….”Gee, I wish I could do that!!”

So here we go….prepare to be amazed!!

This was the Blue Ribbon winner. Although it doesn’t appeal to me personally, the detail was outstanding!!

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I love the monochromatic design of this quilt. It truly looks like a black-and-white photo of a colored quilt!!

I also appreciated the cut-out border…..or is it cut-out? Looking closer…

… she ran a piece of black fabric thru slits in the white fabric. STILL very impressive!!

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The photo makes this quilt look asymmetrical, but it wasn’t. It was PERFECT in every way!!

….perfect points, perfect applique and perfect grid quilting!!

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This quilt won the Merit award in Hand quilting, and OH MY….

I can’t stipple that close using my sewing machine and can’t imagine doing it by hand!!

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Everything about this quilt screams FUN in the SUN!!

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This was by far the CUTEST entry in the entire show!!

I love how the quilts hung on the walls

…and the cats hung everywhere!!

This quilt also emphasizes something that I noticed. Of the 17 handmade quilts at the show, only four were from the US, one from the Netherlands, and the rest from Japan or Korea.

OKAY American Quilters….. we need to up our game!! Not me, of course…. I don’t hand quilt….HAHA!!

AQS Paducah – Large Quilts – 1st entry to Paducah

It is interesting to me that certain categories at Paducah have a special classification of “1st entry in a Paducah Quilt Contest”.

Here are a few of my favorites…..

This Blue Ribbon winner was a great mixture of piecing, applique and quilting!!

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There are LOT of “Kite” Shapes in this quilt, along with a ton of tiny hexagons. It was awarded the 2nd place ribbon.

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This 3rd place winner was another example of using crochet doilies…..

This example was enhanced by the darker fabrics showing thru the weave in the crochet.

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This was probably my favorite in this category. The colors and feel of the quilt was fresh and fun!!

Next up…..HAND QUILTED

AQS Paducah – Large Quilts – Moveable Machine Quilted

Here are a few of the Longarm quilted large quilts…..

I was first attracted to the mandala designs, but then I started looking at ALL OF THOSE FLYING GEESE…..oh my!!

And, look at the great grid FMQ design….

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Everybody was attracted to this quilt, and I basically had to stand in line to get my photo!!

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This quilt was an amazing mixture of intricate piecing, applique, and quilting!! It was awarded an Honorable Mention!

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This 3rd place winner was an interesting and intricate design with exceptional machine quilting….

Frankly, I was so enamored with the piecing, I didn’t really notice the lilies….. until now!!

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There are a LOT of hexies in this Blue ribbon winning quilt!!

I liked the muted colors. They were perfect for the design!!

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This was the first quilt that I saw that used a crochet piece as part of the design….

If I had to pick one NEW thing for 2026, it would be using crocheted works!!

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These colors piqued my fancy, and the quilted flowers added to my enjoyment of the quilt!!

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The “Best of Show” quilt came from this category as well……

This was one of the big winners at Houston, and it highly deserved BOTH awards!!

NEXT UP….. Large Quilts – 1st entry in Paducah.