Things we do (outside of work): Amanda quilts

Though there are many makers in ASR, one in particular earned recognition for her work at the Minnesota State Fair this year. Amanda Temple (OSF) won first place in the quilting category called “pieced; machine quilted by someone other than the entrant.” She also won a special award from Bear Patch Quilting Company. Her work was on display in the Creative Activities Building. Congrats, Amanda!

More from the quilter:

The quilt is an adaptation of The New Hexagon by Katja Marek that consists of many small pieces of fabric hand stitched together using the “English Paper Piecing” process. There are a total of 246 2" hexagons, with up to 10 pieces in each hexagon. I started in January 2015 after I was laid up with a broken leg and not able to do other quilting and it took about two years to complete. Each piece is "fussy cut" from a specific design in the fabric, which makes the end result very precise. The quilting itself was done by Steffani Burton. The State Fair has different categories for quilts that were hand quilted, machine quilted, and quilted by someone else. I won first place in the "pieced; machine quilted by someone other than entrant" and a special award from Bear Patch Quilting Company.

​The thing I like about quilting is that it allows me to be artistic and creative even though I don't really have traditional artistic skills like drawing or painting. And hand quilting is portable, so I could work on it anywhere. Pieces of this quilt have travelled with me on many derby trips, to work, in front of the tv, and several road trips.

Thanks for sharing, Amanda, and congratulations on the blue ribbon!