Catching Up with Steph Skardal, QuiltCon 2018 Best in Show Winner

We caught up with Steph Skardal, the QuiltCon 2018 Best in Show winner with her quilt, Going Up.

MQG: Can you tell us about the inspiration for your Best in Show quilt?

Steph: I was inspired to blend the familiar piecing method of log cabin construction with an overall negative space design featuring another familiar quilting motif of flying geese. My piece was a play on scale as well, blending a small piecing scale (finishing at 1/2″) with a large overall design.

MQG: Why did you select this color palette?

Steph: At the time, I was sewing many two and three-color quilts. I really love quilting lines on white fabric, so I mixed a white with a high contrast, calming dark blue.

MQG: Can you share more about the quilting on this piece?

Steph: I quilted “Going Up” via a walking foot with straight lines on a domestic machine with 50 weight thread. In the white pieced section, I quilted in the direction of the flying geese. In the blue and white areas, I quilted straight lines just off the seam.

MQG: What was the most challenging part of making the quilt?

Steph: The most challenging part of making this quilt was keeping it square as it got larger. I had precut all the strips, so I had to do a little bit of finagling to make sure the larger blocks stayed accurate. Once I pieced 6 larger blocks together, I also had to ensure that the quilt stayed square as I quilted it on my domestic machine.

MQG: Thinking back, tell us about your initial reaction finding out that your quilt won Best in Show at QuiltCon.

Steph: I was very shocked that I won Best in Show! I brought my then 10-month-old daughter to the show at the time and I was bouncing her on my knee while I learned who won each award. By the time the Best in Show was about to be announced and I still hadn’t received an award, the knee bouncing had gotten much more nervous and fast. Immediately after I heard the news, I called my quilting mentor and we acknowledged the pleasant surprise.

Having seen the previous Best in Show quilts, I didn’t think my quilt was large enough or impactful enough to be recognized as Best in Show. I felt very honored, but at the same time I realize how subjective quilt awards can be – I’m sure judges regularly have a very hard time evaluating these awards when comparing the unique aesthetic voices represented in the QuiltCon submissions.

MQG: Did winning this award change your quilting path at all?

Steph: The award gave me a little more confidence to continue on my quilting journey and to follow my own design aesthetic and voice.

MQG: Where in the world is your Best in Show quilt today?

Steph: My quilt was acquired by the International Quilt Museum in Lincoln, Nebraska!