NZ National Quilt Symposium : Part 2

Quilt Symposium was in Palmerston North this year. I have been filled with inspiration and am sharing a number of posts with you about my experience. In Part 1 HERE, I provided links to the tutors of the lectures I attended and shared some of the tutors' exhibition quilts.
In this post I want to share some of the prize winners and my favourites from the major exhibition shown in the Convention Centre which was titled "Growing the Passion".
Click on any photo in this post to see it larger
First up - Bernina best of show :

"Is it Art?" by Melanie Martin

The quilting on it was lovely

Lots of people loved this one :

"Exuberance" by Jean McLean

It won Professional First in "Growing the Passion" category, as well as Stu Schwartz' Judges Award and was selected for the NZ Quilter suitcase exhibition.

Other award winners that I particularly loved :

"In the corner of the garden" by Rosemary Rush

She won a Professional Merit ribbon for the section "Alive with colour"

Her colour choices are divine, and I love how the last line of black thread around the pieces make them pop. Her machine quilting is masterful - back view :-)

Another stunner to me was this :

"Fragility, Kina at Rangiputa" by Mathea Daunheimer

She won Professional First in the "No place like home" section.

This next quilt won 2 ribbons : Best of Show Excellence and Overall winner of "Best of Both Worlds" section

"Kisses for my daughter" by Donna Cumming

It positively glows as you can see better in this close-up

I am very taken with some of the abstract quilts this year : 

"Lime and Mango" by Sarah Ward

The above quilt won Amateur Merit in the "Out and About" Section. Love the colours and composition of that and this one below

"Graduation" by Kathleen Burford

Quilts don't have to be award winners to catch your eye and inspire. I love butterflies : 

"Butterfly kisses" by Natalie Murdoch

And I was very inspired by the next 2 as lovely examples of quilts that would use up some of your fabric stash and feature some of your favourites.

"Echoes" by Margaret Rogerson

"Needs more yellow" by Janet Ryan

I can't share every photo so go HERE for another quilter's view of the exhibition. I love the quilts she has chosen just as much as the ones I've shown you :-)
As well as the main juried quilt exhibition of the Symposium, the Convention Centre also had the 2014 Hoffman Challenge 

The New Zealand Hoffman Challenge is held annually, and participants must purchase a metre of the challenge fabric and produce a quilt that is no larger than 1 metre square and cannot be square or rectangular in shape. This is a selection of the quilts displayed : 

and this is my favourite :-)

'Kaleidoscope flutter" by Angela Simpson

And finally, Brazen to Brilliant, the Arty Bra challenge for BreastScreen Coast to Coast was fun to see. 

This was my favourite

...did you know I'm a librarian ;-)
There were a number of other smaller exhibitions of quilts displayed in various locations in Palmerston North during Symposium but I think you've got enough inspiration in this post to be going on with so I'll share them in Part 3. Hope you get to have some creative time this weekend.