The Quilt Alliance is delighted to announce the winners of its 2014 quilt contest, "Inspired By." JoAnn Hoffman of Hill City, South Dakota was chosen as the Handi Quilter Grand Prize winner by judges Marianne Fons, Mark Lipinski and Paula Nadelstern.

Hoffman's quilt, titled "Inspire," is a New York Beauty block that is paper pieced and appliqued using batik fabrics.

"Inspire" by JoAnn Hoffman

Marianne Fons, speaking on behalf of the judging panel said of Hoffman's quilt, "All of us loved "Inspire." We felt the maker did a masterful job of interpreting both the theme of the contest and the work that inspired her entry. We appreciated the out-and-out joyfulness of the piece as a whole, expressed via the vibrant, "juicy" colors and the design of the motifs themselves."

Contest entries this year had to be inspired by a quilt documented in either The Quilt Index project or the Quilters' S.O.S. - Save Our Stories project. Hoffman chose the work of Cynthia Mumford, a Michigan quilter interviewed for Q.S.O.S. in 2011 as her source of inspiration (photo below). "I love the Quilt Alliance contests because it makes you think out of the box and stretch your imagination," said Hoffman.

"Our theme was a real departure this year, requiring quilters to start with a quilt from our online resources as a specific inspiration. We worried this would seem daunting and scare off some potential contestants, but we've been pleasantly surprised," said Meg Cox, president of the Quilt Alliance. "While a good number of quilters used one of the quilts we chose in an Inspiration Gallery, a great many dug into the archives on their own. The range of styles and techniques they pursued is impressive, as is the overall quality of the quilts. Now, we can use the quilts from this contest as specific examples of how The Quilt Index and Q.S.O.S. can inspire quilters, and I hope that will help spur an increase in traffic to our popular site."

The Alliance received entries from 27 U.S. states and 7 countries this year for it's annual contest. International entries came from Canada, Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Spain and the United Kingdom, and several entries are the result of a collaboration of two or more quilters.

Alliance members voted to select their favorites in the Members' Choice Awards and the winners are below (left to right):
First place, left: Pauline Salzman for "News Hounds"

Second place, center: the Broadway Gentlemen's Quilting Auxiliary for "SHATTERED"

Third place, right: Mary Puckett for "Whirlwind"

Judge's Choice and Honorable Mention Awards:

Julie Dugas for "Tucks"

Eleanor Levie for "Listen to Your Mother: The Universal Mother Speaks to Quilters"

Susanne Miller Jones for "Resurrection"

Ellen Hernandez for "Going Dotty, Aunt Sarah"

Jean Van Bockel for "The Darwin Quilt"

Amy Anderson for "Pathways (We Are Here)"

Susan Flick for "The Moon and the Sky"

Amy Munson for "My Baltimore Album Style"

Sherri Lipman McCauley for "Blue Crossing"

Rhonda Denney for "Ashley Selfie with Dr. Pecker"

Michelle Flamer for "Gazzie's Secret"

JoAnn Hoffman, the Grand Prize winner, will receive an HQ Sweet Sixteen sit-down longarm machine package (machine, table and bobbin winder) by Handi Quilter, Inc.  Prize includes training by a local Handi Quilter retailer. This is the eighth year of the contest and the fifth year that Handi Quilter, one of the Alliance's business members, is sponsoring the top prize. Prizes for first through third and honorable mention prizes were donated by Alliance business members including Moda/United Notions, Aurifil, eQuilter.com. Simplicity Creative Group, EZ Quilting, The Electric Quilt Company, Original Sewing & Quilt Expo,  The City Quilter, Threads magazine, and stkr.it.

All of the "Inspired By" contest quilts were donated by their makers, and after a national exhibition tour with Original Sewing & Quilt Expo, will be sold on eBay November 10 - December 1.  The auction is one of the Alliance's most important annual fundraisers and provides crucial funds that support the operation of projects like Quilters' S.O.S. - Save Our Stories and Go Tell It at the Quilt Show! Complete details on the contest and auction are on the Alliance's website here.

"Inspired By" contest entries will be documented by the Alliance in The Quilt Index, www.QuiltIndex.org. The Quilt Index website provides centralized access to more than 56,000 records, including quilts from state or regional documentation projects, museum and private collections. The Quilt Index, launched online in 2003, is a joint project of the Alliance, Michigan State University Museum, and MATRIX: Center for Digital Humanities and Social Sciences at Michigan State University.

Above: quilts made for previous Quilt Alliance contests documented in The Quilt Index. 

The 2015 Quilt Alliance contest theme is "Animals We Love" and guidelines will be available on the Quilt Alliance website by August 8. "Our mission is to document, preserve and share the stories of (all) quilts and (all) quiltmakers," said Cox. "We encourage everyone who makes quilts to enter our annual contest regardless of their style (traditional, modern, art) or technique (longarm, hand quilting, applique, pieced...) --all are welcomed and valued!"

The Quilt Alliance, a nonprofit organization, supports and develops projects with institutional and grassroots partners to document, preserve, and share the history of quilts and quiltmakers. www.QuiltAlliance.org.