English Paper Piecing plus Celtic Appliqué

Last Spring I was one of the judges for the Mukwonago Crazy Quilter’s show. The quilts that won Best Machine Workmanship and Best of Show blew me away. They actually amazed all of the judges. Later we discovered they were both made by the same quilter. The piecing, appliqué and quilting were all done equally well.

I was surprised to realize I’ve known their maker, Sandy, for years, but I’d never seen any of her quilts. So I emailed her to express my appreciation for her work, and to ask if I could share her quilts here. She agreed 😃! This is her Best of Show winner ~ Moonglow:

Her combination of the fussy cutting in the piecing, along with celtic appliqué is spectacular. And the geometric white/black print fabric makes my eyes dance across the quilt. Here’s a detail pic:

And, if you think the quilting in the blocks is great, wait until you see the background quilting:

Sandy commented about Moonglow: “This prize winning English Paper Pieced quilt (EPP) uses two of the block designs from Liz Oner’s Dawn to Dusk pattern. I added the celtic motifs and Yvonne Carrillo did the wonderful longarm quilting.”

The Best Machine Workmanship award went to Jardin a la Monet, and Sandy’s comments follow.

“Jardin a la Monet is my version of Liz Oner’s EPP Vignettes. It has won several ribbons and also best quilting done by my friend Mary Francis. Designer/quilter Liz teaches EPP at Blue Bar Quilts in MIddleton, Wisconsin, and offered this as a BOM. I enjoyed adding the hand appliquéd bias tube, celtic designs. I had purchased the theme fabric quite a few years ago in Colorado having no idea what I would use it for. All I have left of the 5 or so yards are schnibbles!”

These are two of her earlier pieces from the mid-90s. Poinsettia:

and Curvy Lines:

This next quilt is “an original wallhanging made for a Kaffe Challenge at the Keeping Up with the Jones Quilt Shop in Brodhead called Red Sky at Night“:

Don’t you just love how Sandy has come up with her own unique style, and the wonderful way she puts it all together?!? This was her final comment in our email chain:

“I love playing with celtic designs and appreciate the talents of Mary Francis and Yvonne Carrillo which complete and compliment my work. I want to give a shout out to Liz Oner (she’s on google and instagram) for introducing me to EPP. I have followed your blog for a long time and love your artistic creativity! Happy summer, Sandy”

Thanks Sandy! And a happy summer to all of you too!