Andrea Stracke won $2,500 for Best Hand Quilting from Sponsor, World of Quilts Travel, for Aragonit
It was just a matter of time before Germany native, Andrea Stracke, would discover quilting. She had always been interested in trying delicate, hand crafting. Growing up, she spent time experimenting with knitting, crocheting, embroidery, calligraphy, miniature painting and glass grinding. In 1989, Andrea found a book about patchwork quilts in her favorite book store and from that moment on, she was “hooked.”

Andrea shares that she is “completely self-taught” when it comes to her quilting. She learned through books and by trial and error. In 1995, she started specializing in making whole cloth and strippy quilts in different sizes after coming across
Barbara Chainey’s book, “The Essential Quilter” in 1993. She said that book “made my heart sing.”
Aragonit was inspired by jewelry made in the Belle Époque Era (1884-1914). Andrea said she loves “the beautiful ornaments and scrollwork used for brooches, pendants and other pieces.” Andrea spent
600 hours working on
Aragonit. During that time, Andrea became “completely sure” that she was dedicated to hand quilting intricate and detailed hand quilting patterns. She learned on this project the importance of
adding intense background quilting to make the main motifs stand out clearly.
It was early morning in Germany when Andrea received the email from Road to California that was sent at 10:00 PM Pacific Coast Time. At first, she couldn’t believe what she was reading on her computer. When the realization sunk in, she “shed some tears of joy.”
What did Andrea do with her prize money? She bought some fabric, batting and thread to create new quilts. She plans to use the remainder of the money to pay the shipping costs to enter a few more quilt shows in the future.
In the future, Andrea plans to keep on making whole cloth and strippy quilts – her real passion. Andrea admits that her designs “are becoming more and more detailed and intricate” and she knows that there is much for her to learn and apply to her upcoming work. “Inspiration is everywhere.”
You can learn more about Andrea Stracke on
her website.
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Tags: Andrea Stracke, Award Winning Quilts, German Quilter, Hand Quilting, Winning Quilt
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Omg..i cannot believe that is ONLY 600 hours..magnificent!!!
Amazing, right!!