2024 Pacific International Quilt Festival

Last week was Pacific International Quilt Festival week aka PIQF...which flew by way too fast! I took a few days off to recover and reflect upon this exciting week of quilting festivities. Here are some highlights from my perspective as quilt judge, teacher, and attendee...

Tuesday - Quilt Judging:

It was an honor to be invited back to serve as a quilt judge on Tuesday. The photo above was taken during our early morning judging orientation led by PIQF owner David Mancuso. Here we received our judging assignments along with information on entries and criteria for the major awards. I was delighted to partner with Christa Watson to judge both the 57 Mid-Century Modern quilts along with 72 Wall Quilts. Our colleagues Andrea Perejda and Julia McLeod were tasked with judging the Innovative and Traditional quilt competitions. 

Most of my judging experiences involves having the judges stationed at tables and all the quilts are brought over for judging. With PIQF opening the next morning, the quilts were already hung for the quilt show. With this set up, the judges must walk around the quilt show to visit each quilt--sometimes multiple visits in order to determine the award winners. 

Christa and I were fairly efficient in our approach to judging so many spectacular competition quilts. For each competition, we walked through the entire section to get an initial impression of the field. Then we walked through a second time spending more time with each quilt to better appreciate the designs, details, and workmanship involved. Quilts that made a strong impression were photographed along with taking notes on what stood out about each of these quilts. We then found a quiet table to review our photos and notes to determine the award winners. Some awards have specific criteria in terms of techniques/tools used (ie. best longarm machine workmanship and best hand workmanship), while others were more broadly defined (Best use of color and best interpretation of the Summertime theme.) There were many awe-inspiring quilts, which outnumbered the available awards. This required some difficult decisions to finalize the top award winners. Of course, there were several quilts that were strong contenders for multiple awards, but we did our best to ensure that the top quilts were recognized accordingly for their exceptional design and construction. Once we determined the award winners, we walked through the quilt displays a third time to confirm and/or finetune our selections. We repeated the same process for both the Wall and Mid-Century Modern competions.

The next step of the judging was providing thoughtful feedback for each competition quilt with a focus on design and construction. At this level of competition, it was easy to celebrate each quilt's successes. We strived to include constructive feedback, especially for those quilts that did not get an award.

The final step of the judging process was to choose one quilt to receive our Judge's Choice Ribbons. After doing another walk through, I chose the quilt below for my Judge's Choice Ribbon as there were so many wonderful details to admire, especially along the border!

"The Peeker of Sainte Foy" by Laura Fogg

As you can imagine--the day flew by soaking up all the incredible quilt entries! You can see a complete listing of all the award winning quilts & quilters on the PIQF website here. 

For those interested in learning more about quilt judging, there is a Quilt Judge Training scheduled for February 25 & 26, 2025 in Vacaville, CA. 

Wednesday - Teaching "Exploring Evolon in Your Fiber Art"

Over the past few months, I've been planning and preparing a new workshop to introduce fiber artists to the many benefits of using Evolon Non-Woven fiber. Of course, there are always a few unknowns with regards to pacing, content, and anything that I didn't anticipate. But I am pleased to say that all my preparations paved the way for a fabulous first class!

Over the course of our day together, each participant transformed their stack of Evolon squares through a combination of faux dyeing, fauxbori, sun-less printing, mark making, stamping, stenciling, and applique! It was so much fun to see the tables covered with Evolon squares packed with color, pattern, and texture!

Many thanks to these adventurous and fun-loving artists who joined me for this inaugural workshop. Here they are with some of their favorite transformations!

Thursday Morning - Teaching "Magnificent Mandalas - Doodles Only"

Thursday kicked off with a zen-filled morning of doodling Magnificent Mandalas...and luckily I had the perfect outfit to wear! I found this tunic dress at a local thrift store and as an extra bonus, it has pockets!!

Over the course of the morning, these mandala-makers built their own customized library of mandala petals and fills that they layered to create their own unique and intricate mandala designs!

After each exercise, we did a bit of show and tell. It was so interesting to see how each person's doodles inspired others in the classroom for all new design possibilities. We even rolled the dice for all new mandala design possibilities. There were lots of ahhs and ooohs when each person revealed their  mandala designs!

There was lots of wow factor in these mandala doodles!

I'm so excited to see how these mandala makers incorporate their beautiful mandala designs into future creations!

Thursday Afternoon - Teaching Block Print & Play!

After lunch, I welcomed a new batch of block printers in a Block Print & Play! workshop. 

During our 3 hours together, these creatives designed, carved, and printed their original designs onto fabric and paper! The classroom was filled with some very focused carving yielding lots of beautiful prints and happy smiles!

Thursday evening - Meet the Faculty

After class, I had some time to pack everything up before bringing a few of my quilts and info to a Faculty Meet and Greet. Once again, I was paired up with Christa Watson--so we had some time to admire each other's fabulous creations before the attendees joined the fun! 

Friday & Saturday - View Quilts

With my judging and teaching duties fulfilled, I had Friday and Saturday to enjoy the show, visit the special exhibitions, shop, and catch up with quilting friends. Ok--I may have slept in Friday morning and spent an hour or so unpacking all my teaching supplies...but then I headed back to the convention center mid-day to attend a quilting lecture by Ana Buzzalino, see most of the special exhibits, and did a bit of shopping. I couldn't resist picking up a few spectacular african prints from Kena Quilt Studio's booth. That evening, I met up with fellow SAQA members for dinner followed by the fabulous Fashion Show!

Saturday morning was a bit tricky getting to the Convention Center as there were 3 large events scheduled including a soccer match! My perseverence paid off as I managed to get a parking spot and just barely made it into the convention center in time for my shift to cover the SAQA NorCA/NV booth. I was honored to have my "Follow Your heART" included in the Monochrome display. 

This rainbow display certainly captured the attention of many attendees. Luckily there was a break in visitors so I could capture a short video tour of this spectacular showcase of art quilts made by our talented members.

After my shift, several of local SAQA members met up for a quilt show walk and talk, where we visited with each of our quilts included in the show to share more about our inspiration, materials, and process. 

And soon after the walk & talk, Pacific International Quilt Festival closed its doors on another incredible show! Many thanks to all who helped make PIQF a success this year: 

• All those who entered quilts into the quilting competition and/or special exhibits--what a visual feast of stunning quilts in all different styles and techniques!
• All my fabulous students who joined me for a boost of quilting fun & inspiration
• All those who visited the show. Special thanks to all those who said hello and/or gave me a big hug!
• And a big THANK YOU to the entire Mancuso Show team for hosting a fabulous celebrating of quilting!

My heart is full of creative energy and inspiration to last me until the next festival!