As Clear Laker Marilyn Bujalski learned more about the world of quilting shows after taking it up in 2000, the idea formed that she would sometime, somehow, get one of her creations into one of the major international shows held in the U.S. each year.

 

“It was on my “bucket list” after retirement,” she said.

 

That time is now, as one of her elaborately-stitched quilts has made it into the field at the International Quilting Association show that will open in Houston, TX on Nov. 1.  Even the entry process is rigorous, Bujalski said, with a limited number of applications accepted for inclusion into the show.  She provided a CD and a photo of her quilt to the judging panel earlier this summer, and they then asked her to send the actual quilt to them by Aug. 12.  After that, her quilt became one of only 348 that will take part in the “judged” category at the show.

 

The Houston event is the 40th annual quilt show produced by the association, Bujalski said, and the 2015 event is titled “Quilts, a World of Beauty”.  She and several fellow quilters from the area will drive to Houston for the show, she said, and they will be joined by a quilting friend from France.  The show itself has a distinctly international flavor, Bujalski said, with entries from Japan, Australia, England and other countries around the world.  An estimated 62,000 people attended the 2014 show, she said.

 

The quilt Bujalski has entered in the Houston show as shown here has an oceanic theme, which she selected in part because her late mother had a love for the sea throughout her life.  The piece is 120” tall and 100” wide, and is comprised of 44,000 individual pieces stitched together in a grid pattern which is similar to cross-stitching, but she has added techniques of her own to achieve the result she aimed for.

 

Tight stitching is key to success in this endeavor, she said, with the silk and “floss” thread she uses in her projects.  While the size of the pieces may seem daunting to the non-quilter, the work is mainly done on individual 12” x 12” squares that must follow the printed paper pattern exactly to achieve the desired results, Bujalski said.

 

While the Houston quilt is large, it is by no means the biggest project Bujalski had taken on in the quilting world.  She has also created an 18’ x 8’ quilt depicting The Last Supper, which involved 57,642 individual pieces and has been displayed at a number of area quilt shows.  Other large projects include a “tiger” quilt she entered at the other major international show in the U.S. which is located Paducah, KY, and an elegant “peacock” quilt with an elaborate extended tail in the design.

 

Bujalski started quilting in 2000, and began to specialize in the type of project shown here in 2005, she said.  She started the Houston quilt in March of this year, and completed it on May 17.  She has been a member of the St. Cloud Heritage Quilt Guild since 2002, and she joined the Hearts and Hands quilters in Becker in 2009.  Plans are in the works to conduct a joint quilt show with a group in Monticello again this year, Bujalski said.  She will also have an entry in a quilt show in St. Cloud next month.

 

Bujalski had also been the city clerk in Clear Lake from 1999 until her retirement in 2012, she said.  She said she will continue quilting, since she enjoys both the process and the people involved, but she may work on a somewhat smaller scale going forward.

“Inspiration is limitless”, she said.