Celebration XX Readers' Choice Winners

1st Place Original:  Memories of Oak Point, 34 1/2" x 44", #3- and 4-cut wool on linen. Designed and hooked by Trish Johnson, Toronto, Ontario, 2009.

What an exciting time! After the judges have chosen the rugs that are included in Celebration, the fun begins for the readers, who do their own round of judging to determine the year's favorites. The readers are not tied to any specific criteria for judging, so the votes represent a wide range of standards and tastes. When all the readers' votes for Celebration XX rugs were counted, one rug was an overwhelming favorite across the board: Memories of Oak Point by Trish Johnson. This rug garnered the most votes overall and also won in its own category, Original Designs, by a wide margin. We can certainly understand why this multilayered, intricate rug had such widespread appeal. Congratulations, Trish!
 
The results for the rest of the field were much tighter, though we emerged with clear winners in each category. We contacted the winners of the Readers' Choice balloting and asked them each to share a bit more about their winning rugs.

Congratulations to the Readers' Choice winners and all the Celebration XX finalists. It is a privilege to see the beautiful works of art that you create each year.

This article is from the June/July/August 2011 issue. For more information on our issues, check out our issues page.