Local Artisan Wins Top Quilting Award

A local quilt maker’s tribute to the opulence of her native England’s Houses of Parliament was chosen as a finalist in a show sponsored by the International Quilt Assn.

Zena Thorpe, 57, of Chatsworth said her quilt “Crowned With Glory--Right Royally” has won one of five top awards in the prestigious “Quilts: A World of Beauty” show.

Thorpe will learn which honor she has won during the International Quilt Festival ceremony Tuesday in Houston.

The inspiration for the design was a recent trip to the government building in London, where Thorpe decided to capture the look and feel of the “birthplace of democracy,” she said.

“The decor is just overwhelming--the crowns, the tapestries--it’s just glorious stuff,” Thorpe said. “And this is what I wanted to portray. I wanted to get the impression of the opulence of the House of Parliament.”

The quilt, she said, is adorned with crowns and fantastic flowers placed on a red background, with a royal purple border.

It will be displayed at the festival along with 326 other finalists in the annual competition. Thorpe won the Best in Show award in 1994.

She calls quilting an obsession, admitting that she will spend an average of three to four hours a day, and often more, on her work.

“It’s wonderful to be able to create a picture with fabric. It’s very satisfying and, as I said, obsessing,” she said.

Although she has done handwork and sewing since she was a girl in Sheffield, England, Thorpe didn’t pick up quilting until nine years ago. Now, she is an American citizen, an award-winning designer, and has lectured on quilting in Great Britain.

Still, she does not go into a project with her eye on a prize.

“I don’t make a quilt for the judges, I make them for me,” she said. “But of course, when you create, you want to share it.”