Road to California is fortunate to be able to call on quilt industry leaders to be the judges for its annual Quilt Contest. For Road to California 2019, the judges were David Taylor, Linda V. Taylor and Kimberly Einmo. Together, in an all-day process, they determined who received the $92,000 in prize money to the over 200 quilts accepted for judging.
After the judges determined the main prizes, they then got to pick which quilts were their judges’ favorite quilts:
Judges’ Favorite Quilts: David Taylor
David chose for his judges’ favorite quilts, Happy Easter, which was made and quilted by Aki Sakai. Aki received $1,000 for her miniature quilt.
From Japan, Aki has been quilting for over 25 years. She says her quilt designs always represents her “favorite things.” Aki remarked, “I like cute and small things very much. And I like to make seasonal quilts. The Easter bunny in the middle is my daughter. Her Japanese zodiac sign is rabbit, and she belonged to the juggling club.” Even though it is a miniature quilt, it took Aki about 5 months to make. It is entirely handmade.
Judges’ Favorite Quilts: Linda Taylor
Guns N’ Roses received Linda V. Taylor’s designation for judges’ favorite quilt.
It was made by Karen Brandt and quilted by Karen McTavish. The two Karens received $1,000 from Sponsor, Sew Cherished, for their award-winning quilt.
Karen Brandt said that her “favorite applique is Baltimore style. Guns N’ Roses is Baltimore with a Texas twist.” It took about one year for her to complete this design.
Judge’s Favorite Quilts: Kimberly Einmo
The bright and whimsical, Pear Drops, was chosen by Kimberly Einmo for her judges’ favorite quilts.
Made and quilted by Cheryl Kerestes, Cheryl’s original design was “inspired by a love of flower gardening, appliqué, machine quilting and embroidery.” The quilt took two years to make and was made from “unusual fabric colors” in her stash. Cheryl commented that this quilt was made “step by step without a plan, not knowing how it would work out.” She said she learned that a person can “make a quilt without planning the whole thing.” Cheryl also received $1,000 for her work. Her prize was presented by Sponsor, Wonderfil Specialty Threads.
Thanks to our wonderful judges for combining their years of quilting experience and expertise in awarding Road 2019 prize winners.
