At the Wisconsin Quilt Expo in Madison, they do allow photography of the exhibition contest entries. I took some photos last year, but now that I have my quilting machine, I look at quilts a little different, as you'll see from the photos over the next few days of blog posts. Here's my caveat on the photos. If I shot several images of the same quilt, I merged them together in one image. However, there are some shots of the backs of the quilts and the lighting causes colors to shift, so believe me when I say the grouped images are of the same projects. So, if an image doesn't seem to fit with the front, it's probably a shot of the back. I photograph the backs (with the white-gloved ladies turning it back of course) because sometimes the quilting stitches show up better back there. And no offense to any of the other entries, but I shot only the quilts I wanted records of, so if I left you out, please don't be offended. I loved all of the quilts, but as any quilter knows, some quilts just speak to you. And to view an image larger, just click on it and it should open in a new window and be larger than in the post.

Okay, on to the quilts. Today's installments are from the following categories:
1. hand-quilted, bed-size, applique;
2. hand-quilted, bed-size, any other type; and
3. Wall quilts, machine- and/or hand-quilted, pieced.
In the days to come, I'll include some photos from other categories.

First, hand-quilted, bed-size, applique. This quilt, called Icing on the Cake is from Linda Roy from Knoxville, TN. It won first place in the category. The embroidery is amazing. The flower appliques are dimensional. The applique bias strips are striped, which you may be able to see in one of the close-up pictures. As you can see, there's embroidery along the edges of the bias strips. And on top of it all, it's hand quilted! This quilt's been in many contests, as I found when I googled it. But I didn't find a website for the designer--sorry about that--so if you know of one, please post it in the comments.

Second, hand-quilted, bed-size, any other type. This quilt, called Floating Flowers, is by Jean Clark of Mount Horab, Wisconsin. Applique and piecing combine in this quilt and the cotton-candy colors seem very fresh to me. And again, look at the close-up of the hand-quilting in each block.

Related Links:
5th installment
4th installment
3rd installment
2nd installment
1st installment