The Quilt Alliance is delighted to announce the winners of its 2015 "Animals We Love" quilt contest. Nancy S. Brown of Oakland, California was chosen as the Handi Quilter Grand Prize winner by judges Marianne Fons, Mark Lipinski and Paula Nadelstern.

Brown's quilt, titled "Giraffe Nocturne," is hand appliqu�d, machine pieced and hand quilted using 100% cotton fabrics. 

"Giraffe Nocturne" by Nancy S. Brown

Marianne Fons, speaking on behalf of the judging panel said of Brown's quilt, "All three of us had this particular entry squarely among our top saves. We love the maker's fabric choices and skilled use of needle-turn appliqu�. This is a work where everything-the pieced background with its distant moon, the composition of the giraffe in the foreground, and the many details such as the animal's expressive eye-works together perfectly. Congratulations to the artist!"

The Alliance received 89 entries, all 16" x 16" in size, from 23 U.S. states and 6 countries this year for it's annual contest. International entries came from Australia, Belgium, Canada, Sweden 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: "Bzzzzzz" by Sheri Cifaldi-Morrill

Second place, center: "Eye See My Beloved" by Maria Ferri Cousins and Syrie Blanco Walsh

Third place, right: "Innocence" by Kathy York

Judge's Choice and Honorable Mention Awards:

Cindy Cooksey for "Grandpa T and His Salad"

Lisa B. Filion for "Olive. Olive you <3"

Mary Anne Griffin for "Houndton Abbey"

Patricia A. Hobbs for "Aviary Knowledge"

Susan Brubaker Knapp for "Fancy Goldfish"

Melanie Marr for "Bighorn"

Sue Rook Nichols for "Beulah and Irene"

Alison J. Ruggiero for "The Wonderful World Within the Cat"

Pauline Salzman for "Wuppies"

Kristin Shields for "Smarter Than the Average Bird"

Betsy Vinegrad for "Bein' Green Too"

Nancy S. Brown, the Handi Quilter Grand Prize winner, says "I have always loved animals and I thought making a quilt would be a nice way to support an organization that does such great work for the quilting world in preserving the stories of quilts and quilters. I was just hoping that the quilt would raise some money for The Quilt Alliance at auction. So imagine my absolute surprise and delight when I received the call from Amy Milne informing me that I won the grand prize. Wow!!! What an honor---especially given all of the wonderful and varied quilts in the contest. I had a hard time choosing my own favorite for the member's vote." A Quilters' S.O.S.- Save Our Stories (Q.S.O.S.) interview was recently conducted with Brown. You can watch a video featuring this interview on the Quilt Alliance Youtube channel here.

Brown 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 ninth year of the contest and the sixth year that Handi Quilter, one of the Alliance's dedicated business members, is sponsoring the top prize. Prizes for first through third and honorable mention prizes and exhibition support were donated by Alliance business members including Moda/United Notions, Aurifil, Simplicity Creative Group, EZ Quilting, The Electric Quilt Company, Original Sewing & Quilt Expo, American Quilter's Society, The City Quilter, and stkr.it.

Brenda Groelz, Handi Quilter, Inc.'s Director of Marketing and Education, commented on Brown's win: "Seeing Nancy S. Brown's winning quilt, Giraffe Nocturne, made all of us so happy, because we feel a kinship to Nancy already. In 2009, we added one of her quilts to our corporate collection of contemporary quilt art. Coincidentally, this quilt also featured giraffes and was from a Pilgrim/Roy challenge auction that supported the National Quilt Museum in Paducah, Kentucky. We look forward to seeing how using the HQ Sweet Sixteen affects Nancy's work in the future."

"Animals We Love" contest entries will also be documented by the Alliance in The Quilt Index, www.QuiltIndex.org. The Quilt Index website provides centralized access to more than 63,000 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 & Social Sciences at Michigan State University.

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

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.