Springwood quilter Rachaeldaisy was awarded Best in Show and Best in NSW at the recent Sydney Quilt Show.
The experienced quilter received the honours for a colourful quilt using different three dimensional techniques including folded fabric, applique, embroidery, suffolk puffs. The quilt was also awarded first place in the mixed techniques category.
Rachaeldaisy will fly to Melbourne for The Australian Quilting Convention Gala Dinner next April where the quilt – Whizz Bang! - will be judged for the Best in Australia award from each of the state Best in Show winners.
The quilt includes a variety of fabrics including denim, felted wool, vintage fabrics, recycled shirts, ric rac, doilies and modern quilting cottons. It has been embellished with vintage buttons and although the piecing was done on a sewing machine the final quilt has been entirely hand quilted.
“People often ask how long did it take. My reply is ‘Too many hours to count!,” said Rachaeldaisy.
“To meet the deadline for the Sydney Quilt Show I worked on it in every spare minute I had over the past six months often getting up early in the morning to work on it for a couple of hours before going to my day job and then also working on it in the evenings. My dedication and persistence has certainly been rewarded.”
Whizz Bang! will travel around Australia in an exhibit of Best in Show state winners as part of the Craft and Quilt Fair.
The Springwood Community Quilt Show committee also had a win with their 2016 raffle quilt, Lots of Dots. It won first prize in the group/collaborative quilt category.
Held from June 22-26, the Sydney Quilt Show is the quilt exhibition put on by QuiltNSW. There are more than 400 quilts made by members of the group that include quilters from around Australia and overseas.