Monday, May 07, 2007

AQS 2007 Miniature Quilt George Sicilano

At the 2007 AQS Quilt Show in Paducah, George Sicilano of Lebanon, Penn., won third place in the miniature quilt division sponsored by Benartex. I met him on Saturday, April 28 and had a chance to ask about his quilt, "Small Medium at Large."



The name comes from the story of a psychic who was jailed on a charge of attempting to blow up a barge. Less than five feet in height, he escaped jail one night. The headlines the next day said, "Small Medium at Large."

The quilt measures 7 3/4 inches square and was foundation pieced and machine quilted.



See a larger photo of the quilt by clicking here.

Sicilano tells me he keeps 245 bolts, each a different color, in his studio at all times. He used about 40 of them in this piece, to get the subtle gradations of color. However, there are about 2,050 pieces of fabric in this one quilt.

He has been making quilts for about 10 years and he only does miniatures. He told me he starts his design on the computer. He won an honorable mention at the Paducah show in 1999 and things have progressed from there.

I asked how long it took to make this particular piece and he said he knew exactly how long it took. He said, "I finished my competition piece for this year and wasn't happy with it." So, he designed this one and started working on it with a very tight deadline. He worked for three and a half weeks, every day, from 5:30 a.m. to 12:30 a.m. the next morning.

It was really impossible to get good photos of the miniature quilts. They had them displayed in glass cases and the light reflection was horrible.



The Benartex Best of Show was won by Sally Collins of Walnut Creek, Calif. She made this quilt with no foundation. It is hand and machine quilted.

(Sorry - Photo removed at request of AQS)

The First Place winner was by Judy Spiers of Foxworth, Miss. Her quilt is called "Carnivale" and has bright colors and intricate hand and machine piecing in the original design. It is made from 4,640 individual pieces and is machine quilted.





(Sorry - Photo removed at request of AQS)

The Second Place winner was Pat Holly of Muskegon, Mich. Called "Tapestree," it was inspired by antique embroideries. It is embellished with decorative stitches and store-bought trims. It is machine stitched raw-edged applique and machine quilted.



(Sorry - Photo removed at request of AQS)

The Honorable mention winner was Connie Chun of Webster Groves, Mo. Called "Mary's Harvest," the original design was made in the medallion style with hand and reverse applique, machine paper piecing, and finished with hand quilting.



(Sorry - Photo removed at request of AQS)

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