I Ain't Afraid To Appliqué won 1st Place Large Quilts: 1st Entry in an AQS Paducah Quilt Contest at Paducah 2023.

I Ain't Afraid To Appliqué is named as such because, originally, Donna was afraid to appliqué. The quilt was a personal challenge to herself to overcome her fear of appliqué because she has only been quilting seriously since 2016. It features machine and turned edge appliqué, piecing, and longarm machine quilting by Donna's friend Becky Clayton. I Ain't Afraid To Appliqué was created using TQS's very own 2020 Block Of the Month pattern by Sue Garman, Afternoon Delight. With no goal other than to conquer her fear of appliqué, and to create a quilt using black, cream, and tan, Donna was just as surprised as anyone that her quilt made it into Paducah, let alone won a First Place award. It took Donna one year to make the quilt and she made it as part of Barbara Black's Sunday Sew and Sews group back in 2020 when they were all making the BOM for that year.

First Main Quilt Photo from AQS ; Second Main Photo and Detail Photos by Ricky Tims from the floor of AQS QuiltWeek Paducah 2023