Brno Patchwork Meeting Awarded the Best Quilts. This Year’s Themes Were Dominated by “50 Shades” and Precise English Foundation Piecing (EFP)

April 26, 2026 / 11:11 AM

Saturday afternoon at Brno Patchwork Meeting traditionally belonged to the ceremonial announcement of the winners of the international quilt competitions. In the Programme Centre, the authors of the best works in the two main categories of this year’s edition were honoured – the creative competition 50 SHADES and the traditional English Foundation Piecing (EFP) competition.

The programme also included a charity presentation for the Ronald McDonald House Charities foundation and the announcement of new competition themes for the next edition.

Every year, the international competitions at Brno Patchwork Meeting attract attention not only for their high level of craftsmanship, but also for the diversity of artistic approaches. This year, the expert jury evaluated the works anonymously using a points scale from one to ten, focusing on both technical execution and overall artistic impression. The jury consisted of ten international experts in quilting and textile art, including Heike Rosenbaum, Juliette Eckel, Anne Bellas, and Zofia Nowobilski.

In the creative competition 50 SHADES, focused on monochromatic quilts, Lithuanian artist Maryte Collard won first place with her quilt Winter Morning (No. 121). She received a Bernette 38 sewing machine donated by HAIŠMAN. Second place went to Sylvia Ignatowska from Poland for Shadow Guardian, while third place was awarded to Monika Malinová from the Czech Republic for Silence after the Game. Fourth place belonged to Sylvia Haluch from Poland for her quilt Balance. The special Brno Patchwork Meeting Student Award was presented to Kateřina Jimrišková for her work Lusse.

The traditional ENGLISH FOUNDATION PIECINGcompetition also featured exceptionally strong entries, with the jury focusing primarily on the precision of classical patchwork techniques. First place went to Ivana Musilová and Monika Vágnerová for their quilt Memory of Morocco (No. 147), earning them a TEXI FORCE sewing machine from STRIMA. Second place was awarded to Marcela Kočířová for Twisted Flower, while third place went to Simona Chaloupková and Monika Vágnerová for Tennessee Stars. Fourth place was awarded to Patchfanynky for Hummingbirds, and fifth place to Milena Kankrlíková for The Only One.

All awarded artists received valuable prizes from the exhibition partners STRIMA Czech, HAIŠMAN, Šicí technika BROTHER, and the PRYM brand. The organisers also thanked all partners for their long-term support of the competition programme, which remains one of the highlights of the entire exhibition.

At the end of the ceremony, the new competition themes for the 19th edition of Brno Patchwork Meeting were officially announced. The creative competition will focus on the theme MUSIC, while the traditional competition will be held under the title CLASSICAL CURVES.