Red Feathers, where she did the quilting on, won Best of Show in 2013. [caption id="attachment_4212" align="aligncenter" width="442"] Red Feathers – Best of Show Road to California 2013. Made by Claudia Clark Myers. Quilted by Marilyn Badger.[/caption] And at Road 2016, Marilyn won 1^st Place for Traditional, Large Pieced for her quilt, Arandano. Arandano was a therapy project for Marilyn.  After making quilts for competition for so many years, this was her first quilt she made just for herself. She never intended to enter it in a show.  However, as she approached the end of the project, she decided that maybe Arandano was good enough to enter into competition.  When she made the decision to enter it, Marilyn had to go back and correct a lot of flaws to make it competitive.  It took her 1-1/2 years to complete from piecing to hand beading.  Marilyn says she learned a lot about hand embroidery and beading and she really loved adding those touches to Arandano. Quilting Treasures sponsored the Traditional, Large, Pieced category and awarded Marilyn $1,000 for her first place win. Of winning this prize, Marilyn remarked, “It is always wonderful to have a quilt you have put so much work on win it’s first time out in the competitive world.  I was thrilled and even more so at Paducah where it won the $20,000 Best of Show award and became a permanent part of the collection of the National Quilt Museum.  It just doesn’t get any better than that!” What did Marilyn think when she was asked to be the Featured Artist for Road to California 2017? “Totally shocked!  Road to California is one of my favorite shows and I have attended either as a teacher, vendor or student for as many years as I can remember.  To have my quilts on display there will be awesome and I can’t wait to meet and talk with all the quilters who stop by to see my exhibit.” [caption id="attachment_4216" align="aligncenter" width="440"] Exuberance by Marilyn Badger[/caption] In her role as featured artist, Marilyn hopes to encourage more quilters to enter competitions, as well as inspire the younger generation of quilters to continue the art form.  “It has been such a passion of mine for over 30 years and I want to see the industry continue to grow, ” shared Marilyn. In her booth near the front of the show floor, Marilyn will have on display as many of her award winning quilts that can fit into the area.  APQS will be furnishing a machine for her use during the show. Marilyn will be quilting some of her own small quilts and demonstrating how she accomplishes her quilting techniques. [caption id="attachment_4218" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Photo by APQS[/caption] Marilyn lives in St. George, Utah. Besides being Road’s featured artist, what else does she hope to do while she is in California?  “Enjoy the nice weather and perhaps go do a little car racing with my friends.” Be sure to stop by Marilyn’s booth and ask her about that car racing!! To learn more about Marilyn, please visit her Facebook Page.  ]]>