"Scrappy Manhattan" by Clara Stoikow received Stacey A. Watson's Judge’s Choice Award at QuiltCon 2024.

Artist Statement: "This quilt shows a map of Manhattan, one of New York City's five boroughs. The street grid was machine quilted. The main roads were highlighted with the help of appliquéd cords. Narrow elastic bands were appliqued as motorways and tunnels. I used dark grey fabric for water (the East River, Hudson River, Harbour). It was quilted with short running stitches, following the outlines of the shore in the direction of the water flow. This created a dense texture, from which the colorfully pierced Manhattan stands out well. Since the focus of this quilt is on the island of Manhattan, the surrounding neighborhoods were meant to look more subtle. They are an improv pieced patchwork of white and white-patterned fabrics, hand quilted with a diagonal grid of white running stitches. The hand quilting is intended to bring the different fabrics together to create an even, reserved background."

Techniques Used: Machine Pieced, Hand Pieced, Improvisational Piecing, Hand Appliqué, Hand Embroidered, Hand Quilted, Machine Quilted without a Frame (Domestic)

(Main Quilt Photo from quiltcon.com; Detail and Sign Photos from thenotsodramaticlife.com)