The Iron Quilter Challenge at the Greater Ithaca Quilt Show in Ithaca

Well, it was up at the crack of dawn to meet two friends to make the journey to Ithaca to see the Iron Quilter Challenge as well as to visit the quilt show (and needless to say the vendors). It was a long drive but we got there in plenty of time to see the kickoff for the challenge. The ladies were already psyching each other out trying for the crowd and emotional advantage!


The Challenge rules were announced precisely at 11 and the ladies had three hours to come up with a finished quilt any size over a foot by a foot. They would have ten minutes to grab fabric from a table that had been covered. The challenge theme was announced "to curve and not to curve". The ladies had been allowed three fabrics of their own to bring as well as embellishments of any kind and thread of any kind.

While everyone was still relaxed and happy at the beginning!

Diving for the fabrics!

Pat psyching out the competitors! She wins the prize for being able to work the fastest while still maintaining the psychological edge -- a real crowd pleaser!! Her trash talk with Priscilla, Maureen and Mary Diamond really kept the mood fun!

The audience awaiting the results!




After grueling sessions with the judges questioning every aspect of their pieces, the winner of the judged part of the competetion was announced -- Susan Clark from Ontario Province in Canada! She also won the raves of the viewers who also picked her as the best (Viewer's Choice) so she went home with two -- yes, irons! Her quilt probably best embodied the spirit of the competition -- using the fabrics on the table. She had only brought some black fabric with her as her own fabric.

If you want to see a lot more pictures including pictures of all the quilts in the competition, go to my Picasa site -

http://picasaweb.google.com/Elizabeth.Brandkamp/20091004IronQuilter#