From The Inside Out won Best Piecing at Road to California 2018. It was made and quilted by Catherine Butterworth who received $1,500 from Sponsor, American Professional Quilting Systems.
Catherine comes from a family of seamstresses and quilt makers. She became interested in quilting over 30 years ago when patchwork fabrics were introduced into the family business. Up until then, the business only carried ladies’ dress fabric. Born and raised in Ohio, Catherine has made her home in Sydney, Australia for the past 44 years.
The fabric is what inspired Catherine to make From The Inside Out. Says Catherine, “It’s all about the fabric! I fell in love with an Alexander Henry design and fussy cut the center cream motif just because ‘I had to.’ I rather like Feathered Stars so that seemed a logical plan for the beginning of this medallion quilt. As the quilt name suggests, I worked from the inside out. At every stage it was the fabric motifs that dictated the design.”
It took Catherine over 2 years to make this Best Piecing quilt which included 8 months of solid work. As each border was added, Catherine not only looked at her color choices but also critically analyzed the overall tonal balance within the quilt. Touches of machine couching, hand applique, Suffolk Puffs, 3 dimensional triangles and the odd French Knot were added for fun and extra interest. The quilt was machine pieced and machine quilted on a stationary machine.
Catherine received the news that she had won Best Piecing while on her family’s annual summer holiday on the mid central coast of New South Wales in Australia. Her reaction? “I let out a rather loud scream despite the fact that I was alone at the time catching up on email correspondence.”
What does Catherine plan to do with her prize money? The money will “cover my international postage bill” and “perhaps a plane ticket back to the United States for a visit.”
What is in Catherine’s quilting future? “I would like to take my machine quilting up a notch or two.”
To learn more about Catherine and her patchwork expertise, please visit her website.]]>
Tags: Best Piecing, Catherine Butterworth, Fussy Cuts, Winning Quilt
