Asmus takes second place in national quilt contest

     A local quilter’s work of art will be on display across the country this year, after taking second place in a national quilt design contest.

     Amy Asmus of Rake took second place in the Be Creative! Quilt Challenge sponsored by Quilter’s Newsletter Magazine, which published photos of the top 12 winning quilts in its April/May 2016 edition. Each contestant received a preselected bundle of fabrics that they had to work with, and quilters could use up to three additional fabrics of their own choosing.

     Asmus titled her winning entry “a-MAZE-ing Chain”, which incorporates an Irish chain pattern and maze-like fabrics in a 56” x 68” quilt. She says this was one of the most challenging quilts she’s ever worked on.

     “It was kind of frustrating, because you had a limited amount of the fabrics they sent you,” said Asmus. “So I designed it, and then I had to change some of the fabrics around so I would have enough.” She says the final design and colors ended up a bit different from her original idea.

     It took her about 5-6 months to complete her design, and she used both traditional piecing and paper piecing for her project. The preselected fabrics had a lot of busy patterns, so she used a couple of neutral fabrics to make a more cohesive quilt.

     Diane Matthias of Jubilee Quilting in rural Buffalo Center did the intricate long arm quilting to complete the quilt, which Asmus thinks gave her an edge in the competition.

     See full story in this week's Tribune.