Reuben Hovde continues to win prizes with his Einstein quilt.
The Einstein Quilt, crafted by seventh grader Ruben Hovde, continues to win awards. The most recent award, for the Rapid City, South Dakota native, was at the Northeast Wyoming Quilt Show in Gillette, Wyoming.
Hovde took the prize for Best Youth Quilt (nine- to 18-year-old-year-old category) and the prize for Best Energy Quilt.
In September his quilt won Best of Show (over adult entries) and Best in the Youth Division, at the Hill City Quilt Show in Hill City, South Dakota beating out 300 other quilts (https://www.hillcityarts.org/quilt-show).
In August the quilt took a blue ribbon at one the state’s biggest county fairs: the Central States Fair.
Hovde’s quilt is 80 x140 inches, with 2-inch finished squares. A standard California king-sized bed is 84 x 72, but the youth did not want to cut it down because it would have meant losing some of Einstein’s face.
He was asked how he got the idea for the quilt. “I saw a bunch of Rubik’s cubes that were put together to form Einstein’s face and thought I could make a quilt like that.”
He told his mom, a graphic designer, about his idea and she made a pattern on graph paper for him to follow. The quilt is made up of black, white and six shades of gray material.
Hovde, who plays tuba in his middle school band, started quilting several years ago with help from his mother Melissa, an exquisite quilter. His first quilt was a rag quilt and his second was a simple 9-patch quilt with scraps.
“I like doing it, because I like the end results,” Hovde said.
Hovde’s favorite subject in school is P.E. and he was on the wrestling team for two years, but mom and dad, Erik, nixed it this year, “After two broken arms, two separate times, he is not doing it this year,” mom said.
Would Hovde sell his Einstein quilt? Yes, for $1,000. . .a bargain for all the material, the time spent constructing it – and a three-time winner.
And why? “I can always make another,” Hovde said.
More than 300 quilts were entered in the Hill City Quilt Show.
FABULOUS!!! A youth to be very proud of. He seems to know who he is and proud of his many activities. Good job!!