Award: Members' Choice: Honorable Mention

Artist: Katherine M Dossman - Belton, Texas USA

Materials and Techniques: Cotton fabrics for the top and back. I used Derwert Inktense pencils for the kitten applique. The dresden flower stems are hand stitched embellished ribbon.

Artist's Statement: I love cats and the joy that they have brought me in my life.Cats are my favorite animal. Katrina is the name my grandmother used for me when I was little, I miss her and wish she could have taught me to quilt. My favorite colors are brights and I am fond of hexies and dresden plates.I think my grandmother would enjoy this art quilt.

Size: 16" x 16"

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Artist: Laurie Ceesay - Menominee, MI USA

Materials and Techniques: Raw edged fused applique. Machine quilting on a commercial sewing machine.

Artist's Statement: My favorite style of quilt is a portrait quilt. I used my favorite color hot pink as well as my favorite embellishments-glitter nail polish, rhinestones, special occasion fabrics like velvet and tulle and white matte fabric paint for the eye reflection. I am a hairdresser and the layered asymmetrical bob hairstyle is also my favorite hairstyle which I featured in this quilt!

Size: 16" x 16"

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Award: Members' Choice: Honorable Mention

Artist: Karen Grover - Rockford, IL USA

Materials and Techniques: Cotton fabric, machine pieced, satin stich machine applique, Superior Threads, 80-20 Hobbs batting.

Artist's Statement: Whenever I need a break from my normal quilting routine, I turn to Diane Hire's playful method of free cutting and lack of rules. It inspires me and loosens up my imagination. This quilt happened on a dreary March afternoon and brightened my day considerably.

Size: 16" x 16"

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Artist: Allie Aller - Washougal, Wa USA

Materials and Techniques: cotton and silk fabrics, various trims, rayon and cotton threads, premade fabric flowers; machine applique, embroidery, and quilting, hand embroidery

Artist's Statement: My favorite way to make quilts right now is to combine traditional patterns with elements of crazy quilting, incorporating lots of different fabrics with hand and machine techniques...and I always add flowers whenever I can!

Size: 16" x 16"

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Artist: Megan E Byrne - Wembley, WA Australia

Materials and Techniques: Whole cloth quilt made from 100% cotton fabric and warm and white batting. Free motion quilted on my home machine with rasant thread. Hand stitched binding.

Artist's Statement: I love roses and my garden is full of them, I also like to quilt. I designed this quilt to feature my favourite flower as well as my love of whole cloth quilts and free motion quilting.

Size: 16" x 16"

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Award: Marianne Fons Judge's Choice

Artist: Amy Munson - Bismarck , ND USA

Materials and Techniques: Cotton fabrics, embroidery floss and beads using raw edge piecing and applique, hand embroidery and machine stitching.

Artist's Statement: What do I love most about quilting? I love creating my own patterns and unique designs that mix traditional and contemporary techniques. I love raw edges and ripped fabric, embellished with embroidery and beads. I love playing with color and texture.

Size: 16" x 16"

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Artist: Kristin Shields - Bend, OR USA

Materials and Techniques: cotton and linen fabrics, cotton batting, cotton thread, improvisational piecing, machine quilting

Artist's Statement: One of my favorite ways to sew is in an improvisational style with small scraps. This quilt top is made entirely with pieces from the scrap bin.

Size: 16" x 16"

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Award: Members' Choice: Honorable Mention

Artist: Pauline Salzman - Treasure Island, FL USA

Materials and Techniques: Aboriginal Artists cotton fabric, Cotton Fabric. Aurfil Thread, Netting, Wool felt batting. Fused Applique with netting over the top

Artist's Statement: Quilting a quilt in bright colors and telling a story doesn't get much better. This is my tribute to those young girls who have been told they are plain. They are not. My mom told me I was plain. Learn to play the piano...so I could be invited to parties. Using an old photo...I decided Jane is not so plain and she has an inner beauty. Using Aboriginal Artists that I bought in sample packs made that possible.

Size: 16" x 16"

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Artist: Ann M Bordeau - Arden, NC USA

Materials and Techniques: Bottom baton fabrics, EPP hand-pieced center, machine quilting + a coordinating "orphan block" was used for the backing.

Artist's Statement: I enjoy English Paper Piecing so thought I would "Play with this favorite" technique for this year's submission.

Size: 16" x 16"

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Artist: MaryEllen Sax - Woodbury, MN USA

Materials and Techniques: My piece is a collection of old and new fabrics and embellishments. Including a vintage hankie and odd pieces of old lace. Silk ribbon embroidery as well as embroidery with a variety of types of threads. A mix of beads, buttons and jewelry pieces.

Artist's Statement: My favorite quilt technique is crazy quilting. A favorite pastime is collecting interesting vintage lace, ribbons, fabrics and embellishments to use in my pieces. Favorite color blue. I'm also a big fan of quilting with traditional block designs.

Size: 16" x 16"

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Artist: Susanne M Jones - Potomac Falls, VA USA

Materials and Techniques: Cotton,satin ribbon, knit fabric, embroidery floss, pearls, ribbon roses, Kraft-Tex paper fabric, string,yarn, and a jewelry finding. Machine pieced, machine appliqued, machine embroidered, machine quilted, hand embroidered, knitted mittens on toothpicks, box making.

Artist's Statement: My favorite pastime is making compilation quilts. I chose to represent the lyrics of My Favorite Things. Included are warm woolen mittens, knitted on toothpicks; a brown paper package tied up with strings near a whiskered kitten; and cream colored ponies frolicking in a winter scene that is melting into spring. The girl wears a white dress with blue satin sashes. Can you find raindrops on roses, snowflakes and wild geese flying with moons on their wings?

Size: 16" x 16"

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Artist: Mary K Davis - Sunnyvale, CA USA

Materials and Techniques: Machine appliqued and quilted with a little bit of glue thrown in.

Artist's Statement: I think it would be great fun to restore a vintage camper. Wouldn't it be wonderful to hit the road with your sewing machine and your favorite sock monkey while enjoying the great outdoors?

Size: 16" x 16"

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Artist: Sue K Gies - Custer, SD USA

Materials and Techniques: Quilted as if a wholecloth quilt with metalic yarn thread. Then I colored with water color pencils for textile, blended with Inktense pencils then used textile medium to seal and blend. I then hand sewed on 100s of glass beads.

Artist's Statement: My favorite quilting technique is to always try new and different things. This one was quilted as if a whole cloth with a sparkling metalic thread, then painted with a water color technique then blended using paint media. Then hand beading was sewn on. This was new and challenging to me and that is why it would be considered playing favorites.

Size: 16" x 16"

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Artist: Sue K Gies - Custer, SD USA

Materials and Techniques: I used mostly batik fabric, and the background was gradation, which make the bird look as though it has sun shinning on him. I used a raw edge applique technique with a blanket stitch prior to quilting it. I custom quilted it with many circles and fern motif that I designed. The pattern was from Edyta Sitar (Laundry Baskets) a class I took.

Artist's Statement: I have many favorites when it comes to quilting and applique has to be right at the top. I generally pick out patterns that have some applique in them, or I end up adding something during the process. This one also has piecing and applique and I love Edyta Sitar's technique of piecing. I took this online class from her and it was so much fun. Quilting is also right at the top of my favorite. I am a longarm quilter and love to try all sorts of stitches. I like the small and detail stitching. The more quilting the more I like it.

Size: 16" x 16"

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Award: Mark Lipinski's Judge's Choice AND Members' Choice: Honorable Mention

Artist: Sheri Cifaldi-Morrill - Woodbridge, CT USA

Materials and Techniques: Materials: Cotton Fabric, Cotton Thread, Cotton Batting Techniques: Foundation Paper Piecing, Domestic Machine Quilted

Artist's Statement: I designed and produced Up and Away using one of my favorite piecing techniques—foundation paper piecing. I love paper piecing because I can design and execute precise design elements. All of my paper piecing designs are created in Adobe Illustrator. I also love testing out new designs on a small scale before producing them larger. This challenge was the perfect opportunity to prototype a new design!

Size: 16" x 16"

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Artist: Sheri Cifaldi-Morrill - Woodbridge, CT USA

Materials and Techniques: Materials: Cotton Fabric, Cotton Thread, Cotton Batting Techniques: Foundation Paper Piecing, Domestic Machine Quilted

Artist's Statement: So Many Colors is a tribute to one of my favorite brands of threads using one of my favorite piecing techniques—foundation paper piecing. The spools are actual size. The same brand of thread was used for piecing and quilting—all colors are Cotton 50wt.

Size: 16" x 16"

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Artist: María J González Rico - Alcorcón, Madrid España

Materials and Techniques: Turn appliqué, painting, punching. Materials used: cotton fabrics, hand dyed fabric, wool, textile paint, cotton fabric, poliester thread.

Artist's Statement: This work I have experimented with point and machine punching, to give depth and texture to this country landscape.

Size: 16" x 16"

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Award: Members' Choice: 1st Place

Artist: NANCY S BROWN - OAKLAND, California USA

Materials and Techniques: 100 % cotton fabrics. Hand appliqued and hand quilted. Some embroidery.

Artist's Statement: When I was a child my Aunt Zelma visited Australia and when she came back she told me about the most amazing creatures that she had seen. It was then that I fell in love with the animals of Australia. I love them all but I think that kangaroos would have to be my favorites. This quilt depicts two young kangaroos at a meeting.

Size: 16" x 16"

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Artist: Callie E Lavoie - Wells, ME USA

Materials and Techniques: Cotton fabrics, cotton batting, machine pieced, machine quilted.

Artist's Statement: "Playing Favorites" Cool crisp days in Maine beside the ocean. Piecing traditional "Storm at Sea" blocks and reveling in the blue and white palette. All favorites!

Size: 16" x 16"

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Award: Members' Choice: 2nd Place

Artist: Betsy Vinegrad - Short Hills, NJ USA

Materials and Techniques: Techniques: Designed in Electric Quilt 7, paper pieced, walking foot and free motion quilting, Materials: Commercial cottons, solids, prints and batiks. Backing is made from fabrics used on the front. Wool and cotton batting.

Artist's Statement: Quilts and pizza top my list of favorites. I made a pizza quilt, "No Slices! Fuggedaboutit!", for Empire Quilters 2011 President's Challenge, Landmarks of New York. It won 1st place because it was the president's favorite. Fans offered to buy it because it was their favorite. My husband objected because it was his favorite. Since there wasn't enough pizza to go around, I had to make "More Slices" for the Quilt Alliance, my favorite charity.

Size: 16" x 16"

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Artist: Sue Rook Nichols - Riverside, CA USA

Materials and Techniques: 100% cotton fabric and batting, fusible applique, free motion quilting on a long arm using several brands of rayon and polyester threads.

Artist's Statement: One of my favorite things to do at the end of the day is to sit on the patio with a glass of wine. I love bright fabrics and simple motifs and I am learning to love fusible applique.

Size: 16" x 16"

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Artist: Charlotte Noll - Lauderhill, Florida USA

Materials and Techniques: Background raw noil silk to look like grout, batiks and handdyes. Raw edge appliqued/quilted with silk thread.

Artist's Statement: My favorite things besides quilts are orchids and butterflies. I took a picture of a newly birthed monarch on an orchid plant in my butterfly garden and made a mosaic pattern from it. I love to use my mosaic quilt technique especially to depict nature. The raw noil silk looks like grout and the batiks, hand dyes have the look of glass.

Size: 16" x 16"

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Artist: Jessica Skultety - Phillipsburg, NJ USA

Materials and Techniques: Solid fabrics (Kona, Cloud9 Cirrus Solids, FreeSpirit). Machine applique, domestic machine free motion quilting.

Artist's Statement: This quilt encapsulates my current quilting loves: solid fabrics, cool colors, machine applique, and free motion quilting. Orange peels have become my signature style; I love how versatile and whimsical they are. I'm currently creating a body of work featuring the orange peel in modern/modern traditional quilts under the hashtag #jsorangepeelcollection. It's my hope that I'll never run out of ideas, because making orange peels is, in a word, comforting.

Size: 16" x 16"

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Artist: Linda M Robertus - Grange, QLD Australia

Materials and Techniques: hand-dyed and commercial cotton, machine piecing and quilting

Artist's Statement: My favourite quilt design is the Lone Star, and I enjoy trying to come up with new ideas to use this traditional design in modern ways.

Size: 16" x 16"

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Artist: Sherri Lipman McCauley - Lakeway, Texas USA

Materials and Techniques: Hand dyed fabric, painted and stenciled. Circles appliqued and adhered with Mistyfuse. Machine stitched and quilted.

Artist's Statement: I like to work extemporaneously and in the abstract. Bright colors tend to excite me, as well as geometry and asymmetry. I typically work in the moment, working with paints and dyes on fabric, creating serendipitous designs. The simple line of a geometric shape, the blast of a colorful line, or the contrast of black against white makes my canvas sing.

Size: 16" x 16"

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Artist: Sarah Entsminger - Ashburn, VA USA

Materials and Techniques: Hand dyed cotton fabrics and commercial variegated threads. Machine pieced and machine quilted.

Artist's Statement: Dappled sunshine, a gentle breeze, the rustling of leaves and a slow moving creek. These are the sights and sounds that describe one of my favorite things - walking in the park. Being out in nature, either hiking or walking, provides a connection to the land that is essential to me as well as an opportunity to calm my soul. Piedmont Park is one of my favorite places to walk.

Size: 16" x 16"

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Award: Members' Choice: Honorable Mention

Artist: Maude Wallace Haeger - West chester, OH USA

Materials and Techniques: Cotton fabrics, gauze, thread. Piecing, embroidery, and thread painting.

Artist's Statement: Go Fish is a favorite childhood card game, first of all. I personally like to work bigger than 16 inches, so this is always a challenge to get all I have to say in such a little space. I have many "favorites" in the quilt making world. When I am frustrated I LOVE to create the paper pieced points of what I consider the "crown" of the New York Beauty quilts - it is very controlled and and I feel in control of the process which helps me out of frustration. I LOVE to do various types of embroidery and have since I was a child. I used to do it all by hand, and have the quilt to prove it, but now I use the sewing machine and Solvy. The fish designs were created for a much larger quilt that has a whole fish pond in a center garden pond, but for this piece, I was able to place fish in the center of the "sun" and then have one fish kind of jumping in just for fun and to create more depth to the piece. I also like to create depth through visual means in my pieces, thus you will also see pieces of net which add one more layer of depth to the piece. Many of my newest pieces have layer upon layer of filmy cloth and lots of embroidering which create an enriched surface that looks vaguely like pastel. I also love color which should be apparent from the piece.

Size: 16" x 16"

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Artist: Lisa Ellis - Fairfield, VA USA

Materials and Techniques: Machine pieced and quilted. Materials: Commercial cottons

Artist's Statement: My obsession with the cathedral window block started with a quilt my grandmother made in the 1970’s using a variety of bright, cheerful, and colorful fabrics. She made the block the traditional way by folding squares of muslin, adding the colorful windows, and hand stitching back the flaps. I developed a new method to make a mock cathedral window entirely by machine and to incorporate more fabrics into the block. Color Play honors the tradition of my grandmother with an exploration of color. 

Size: 16" x 16"

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