Sunday 26 April 2015

British Quilt and Stitch Village Show Championship Quilt


Time to reveal all! This weekend the British Quilt and Stitch Village show is on at Uttoxeter Racecourse in Staffordshire. Today is the last day that you can visit, if you're in that area. It's a relatively new show and I've entered it quite successfully in the previous years but never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined what happened this year! My quilt Klimtesque (seen above and read more about it here) came first in the Innovative Quilt section. And also..........drumroll please......... won the overall championship. All that glorious news came in a phone call on Friday afternoon.  I probably sounded completely daft to the person who was giving me those glad tidings as I was so totally taken by surprise (and our dismal phone connection didn't help either).

Above a detail of the quilt that started life as a series of monthly journal quilts made in 2013, inspired by the Austrian artist Gustav Klimt. I put all the separate journal quilts together into one quilt
.
And then, yesterday afternoon, the phone went again and this time I was told that the other quilt I had entered, The Colours of Burano (see above)  had taken 1st Prize in the Modern Quilt section. Oh yes! I made even less sense during that call, I strongly suspect! One of these days I will write a post here about the whole Modern Quilt movement. Enough at the moment to say that although the movement itself is quite new, when I look back on my previous quilts going back to 1998 or so, some of those quilts are what now is typically understood to be  "modern quilts". I have been an individual member of the Modern Quilt Guild in the US for a few years.

The pictures are from my archives as the quilts themselves won't be back home till a few weeks yet but when they do arrive they will be accompanied by a brand new Brother sewing machine which is what I won for producing the Championship Quilt. There will also be some trophies! And rozettes!  You'll see them here!

Of course I still needed to take a photo for the Blipfoto site, and that needed to be taken today. And it seemed very appropriate to take this snap shot of my desk where in prominent sight is that card (from Tamara Laporte) with the message every artist (maybe apart from Picasso!) needs to keep telling his or herself, whatever they win or sell: " You are Good Enough" There is always that niggly voice in his or her head saying: " that win was just an accident" , or: "you will never again produce anything that good" and "just who do you think you are?" . That voice is still strong in me although I am getting a lot better at beating it down. That's what that card is there for and one day I hope it's message will get through to me and I will learn to believe in myself!

16 comments:

Jewels said...

How absolutely wonderful and well deserved Frieda (I thought it might be something like this - or that you had won a million pounds lol). Congratulations - hope you were able to "bottle" some of yesterday to open again and again and remember what an amazing day it was. Hope your hubby was suitably impressed as well. Hugs.

Anonymous said...

Just FANTASTIC and Congratulations. I too thought you had probably won something, but this time you have really excelled yourself. No wonder you were singing and dancing! Brilliant. Carol L

Anonymous said...

Congratulations! I have to admit that I love these two winners and am unsure of the, to me, modern 'Feel the Moment' style of work.

Is your tethered dogs mug for pens chipped and relegated to the desk or do you love it so much as to be used there straight away rather than for tea/coffee? Lesley

theresa said...

Congratulations Frieda! It's glorious to see the Klimt quilt together and somehow I missed the earlier post showing The Colours of Burano. It is completely spectacular as well. Well done!

SheilaD said...

Woohoo! Well done! Enjoy this exciting time. Of course you are good enough....and then some!

creativelenna said...

oh frieda! i AM BESIDE MYSELF with all this wonderful news! Huge Congratulations! A very well deserved set of "wins". Please note: you are always more than good enough in my eyes!

abby j said...

None of your many awards surprise me, Frieda. You are THE most talented quiltmaker...you can do anything and with such a unique signature. Soooo proud for you. Sending a huge, congrautlatory hug...can you feel it?
Enjoy your day and bask in your honors...until the next win comes along and you do it again!! xoxoxo

emhowl said...

Congratulations here as well!

Frieda Oxenham said...

Thank you all so very much for those wonderful comments. They made me feel quite emotional and grateful to have such supportive friends.

Linda Kunsman said...

Dear Frieda I am overjoyed with happiness for you and am doing the happy dance right beside you!!! Such well deserved honors my talented friend. Congratulations!!!!

Pink Bicycle Girl said...

Oh WOW Congratulations. They are gorgeous. I love the top one - I real homage to Klimt I love his work and this really is beautiful.

The C of B - is so striking - I think I would know this was by you as the colours are so vibrant and the design simply stunning.
Well done, very happy for you xx

Jo said...

There's no accident here, Frieda, you won TWO TIMES! Congratulations, I am so excited for you! And I have to ask, did you hand stitch the winning quilt? The close up shot shows existite detail. :)

Freespiral said...

Two absolutely stunning quilts and no surprise at all that they are winners - many many congrats, your excitement is leaping off the screen! And how thrilled I am to have teeny piece of your Burano imagination :)

Unknown said...

So pleased for you and so deserved and you are more than good enough - believe it!

Miss Iowa said...

Congratulations, Frieda! Your quilts are absolutely stunning. I especially like the Klimt-inspired one. Way to go!

Gwen Lafleur said...

Congratulations!!! I'm not surprised. I love both of these, but that Klimtesque quilt is absolutely jaw dropping. You've made me want to try quilting in the hopes that I could someday make something so amazing!

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