Monica Jones and Zada Campbell created “Beyond Infinity” for the School Block Challenge. (CONTRIBUTED)

Deja Howard, Mary Haddock and Destiney Delao designed “T’was the Night Before Christmas” for the School Block Challenge. (CONTRIBUTED)

MADISON – Students in Family and Consumer Science (FACS) at James Clemens High School mastered a dying art and placed in a national contest.

FACS teacher Sherri Shamwell entered her students in the national School Block Challenge. “I’m very proud of my students for placing in the National Quilt Museum’s challenge. There were 316 submissions overall,” Shamwell said.

Monica Jones and Zada Campbell were second-place winners for their quilt block design, “Beyond Infinity.” The border contained words and phrases like “Space, “Infinity” and “Boundless.” The collage of patterns, shapes and colors resulted in a striking piece of art.

Deja Howard, Mary Haddock and Destiney Delao won third place for their work, “T’was the Night Before Christmas.” On their quilt block Santa’s sleigh glides through a midnight-blue sky as he drops his presents to the village cottages below. Two snowmen wave at Santa.

Sponsored by Moda Fabrics, the annual School Block Challenge is open to youth. The students use packets of three fabrics from Moda to design one block. Individual students or small groups could create the contest entries for judging in categories for grades K-4, 5-8 and 9-12.

Shamwell believed entering the contest “would be a great assessment tool for their sewing unit and a great opportunity to work collaboratively with their peers.”

Located in Paducah, Ky., the National Quilt Museum was founded by Bill and Meredith Schroeder to celebrate the work of today’s quilters and advance the art by bringing it to audiences who aren’t familiar with the art form. The $2.2 million facility sits near the Ohio River in historic downtown Paducah.

To view the winning blocks, visit quiltmuseum.org, click “Contests” and click “School Block Challenge.”