ABOVE Penguins All Around, the winning miniature quilt by Sue Sherman of Newmarket, Canada. Model is Sue P from Punnet’s Town UK.
By Patricia Belyea
BIRMINGHAM UK Who doesn't love a winner! To follow are the winning quilts from the Festival of Quilts 2026.
NOVICE QUILT
Teal Square
Olga Kulakova
Moscow, Russia
Olga, a new quilter, traveled from Russia to see her machine-pieced quilt, filled with circular forms and intriguing straight-line quilting, receive top honors.
MODERN QUILTPerspective
Claudia Scheja
Werne, Germany
Simple yet complex at the same time, Claudia's striking design is enhanced with incredible longarm quilting.
ART QUILT
Mimoza
Masa Yanagimoto
Takamatsu City, Japan
Yellow pom-poms representing mimosa flowers burst from this free-spirited quilt, capturing the joy of a sunny day with blue skies, white clouds, and soaring swallows.
CONTEMPORARY QUILTBy Moonlight
Tomomi Makabe
Tokorozawa, Japan
Inspired by fighting fish, Tomomi used reverse appliqué and exciting Japanese textiles to create movement, energy, and beauty in this three-dimensional quilt.
TRADITIONAL QUILTBeauty in the Broken
Kathy K. Wylie
Whitby, Canada
Recognizing that beauty can emerge from hardship, Kathy created this fretwork quilt with hand appliqué, hand piecing, openwork, and free-motion machine thread lace.
TWO PERSON QUILT
Space Oddity
Esther Tronchoni and Peter Hayward
Javea, Spain
David Bowie's Major Tom comes to life through raw-edge appliqué, needle felting, false weaving, and both free-motion and walking-foot quilting.
GROUP QUILT (ADULT)
Dancing With Dandelions
Cowslip Workshops (5 members)
Launceston, UK
Designed by Jo Colwill and Sandy Chandler, this joyful quilt combines machine piecing, hand needle-turn appliqué, and hand-guided longarm quilting.
ORIGINAL DESIGN QUILT
Artistic Rides
Tomoko Ota
Shizuoka, Japan
Precise and highly technical in appearance, Tomoko's quilt features hand piecing, appliqué, embroidery, and hand quilting — the perfect gift for her motorcycle-loving husband.
SUSTAINABLE QUILT
In Memory of Brian
Kris Shanks
Torrox Costa, Spain
Created entirely from the clothing of a recently departed friend, Kris improvised the piecing without a pattern and machine quilted this deeply moving work.
PICTORIAL QUILT
Where's the Tipping Point
Sue Sherman
Newmarket, Canada
Sue combined exceptional artistic skills—including dye painting and free-motion quilting—to create a compelling statement about climate change and habitat loss.
QUILT CREATIONS
Pride Around the World
Matt Wilding
Blandford Forum, UK
Matt transformed foundation paper piecing, traditional piecing, and walking-foot quilting into a remarkable two-metre quilted sphere.
EXCELLENCE IN LONGARM QUILTING AWARDFull Tilt Quilt
Jenny Haynes, Iva Steiner
Sheffield UK
Jenny cut up four machine-pieced circles to create the kaleidoscope design and Iva finished the quilt with amazing longarm quilting.
METTLER ARTISTRY AWARD
Born To Be Wild
Sue de Vanny
Greenvale, Australia
Fabric collage, free-motion thread painting, and free-motion quilting come together in this extraordinary portrait of three young African wild dogs watched over by an adult.
BEST OF SHOW
Silent Eyes
Sung Yeon Park
Seoul, Republic of Korea
Sung Yeon received the HandiQuilter £5,000 Best of Show prize for her breathtaking close-up of a butterfly wing, created with innovative layers of fabric and stitching.
The winners represent an outstanding range of styles, techniques, and voices from around the world. Seeing them together reminds us that there are countless ways to transform fabric, thread, and imagination into something unforgettable.
TO SEE MORE BLOG POSTS ABOUT FESTIVAL OF QUILTS 2026:
competition quilts at FOQ 2026 :: part one +click here
competition quilts at FOQ 2026 :: part two +click here
the beauty of japan at FOQ 2026 +click here
textile galleries at FOQ 2026 +click here
something unexpected at FOQ 2026 +click here
red poppies at FOQ 2026 +click here
peeps, shopping & learning at FOQ 2026 +click here
