Houston Award Winning Quilt 2022

Congratulations to Angela Petrocelli of Prescott Valley, AZ whose quilt "Beyond Reason" was awarded the Best of Show Award at the 2022 International Quilt Festival in Houston. This is a remarkable feat as it's only her third-ever creation and all three have been widely lauded for their beauty and craftsmanship!

"Beyond Reason" a gorgeous quilt measuring 96" by 96" consists of 226,576 pieces. The quilt has seven grades of value with at least 25 different colors in each grade, plus of course black. It was on display in Houston in November and will be shown at various 2023 American Quilter's Society (AQS) shows. From a distance, it appears monochromatic, but up close you see the incredible, colorful details. (insert Beyond Reason Award Winning Quilt)

Get ready to experience the beauty of "Beyond Reason", an award-winning quilt that measures 96" x 96" and boasts 226,576 intricate pieces. From a distance, it appears to be one solid color but when you take a closer look, the patchwork is filled with vibrant detail - containing 7 grades of value with at least 25 colors per grade plus black! Don't miss your chance to see this masterpiece in person during the 2023 AQS events.

Upon the completion of her quilt "Why Not", it earned countless accolades and awards, including two prestigious honors at the 2016 AQS Paducah, KY show. As she toiled away on her second piece "Celtic Migration" - a work boasting more than 30,000 fabric pieces (an impressive 8,000 blocks) - she shared with those around her that she believed that was far too much for one quilt. Lucky for her someone then mentioned Albert Small's Ripley’s Believe It or Not Record-breaking design featuring over 123, 000 unique parts; this revelation ignited within her an ambition to create something even grander in size!

Crafting the intricate pattern for her quilt was no small feat; it took Petrocelli three months of trial and error to bring it from concept to reality. But, with unwavering determination - and a supportive husband cheering her on - she soon reached fruition in this lengthy endeavor! "I can do this," she thought proudly, confident that her design would function as planned. And so began an exciting chapter of sewing success!

Petrocelli revealed that most of her fabric was from one specific store in Mesa, AZ and it took 6,000 hours to complete the entire quilt. While she found a sense of ease and comfort when sewing the first 75,00 pieces together, Petrocelli stated she felt strained and like time had come to a standstill during the middle portion; however, this changed for the better as she worked on the last 75 000 sections. In order to meet her submission deadline for judging day by day incrementally grew longer; often sixteen-hour workdays were necessary solely devoted to completing her masterpiece. The whole process may have been tiresome but Petrocelli highlighted how frustrating piecing together all parts of fabric into one quilt can be while admitting there were times when scissors came out just so could make changes here or there.

Petrocelli was uninterested in quilting, despite her mother and grandmother had taken it up. Hand embroidery and crocheting had been more to her taste until one fateful night when she entered a casino for some respite from crafting - what happened next changed everything. She won $900 that very evening! Motivated by the win, Petrocelli set off on a two-hour drive down to Mesa AZ where she purchased her first Janome sewing machine; this signaled the start of an exciting new creative journey.

She is a steadfast Janome enthusiast, claiming that "they just don't break". Her quilting arsenal includes the Janome 3160 for piecing and an HD9 plus Continental M7 from Janome. Working on only one quilt at once, she recently stepped away to take some time off to refresh her mind - I can relate! While it's been quite an extended wait, I'm incredibly excited to see what imaginative creation she comes up with next!