Best of Show Quilt

$10,000 Sponsor: Handi Quilter Title: Happy Days Maker: AKI SAKAI Quilter: AKI SAKAI Design Basis: Maker's Original Design I'm thankful to spend happy days making quilts.The design was based on my favorite things and family memories. I like doll houses, so I designed the house in the middle. I also like to make cute and small sampler quilts.

Marie White Masterpiece Award

$5,000 Sponsor: Moore's Sewing Center Title: Mama Don't 'Low Maker: Patty Simmons Quilter: Patty Simmons Design Basis: Maker's Original Design - Improvisational Piecing The Jug Band vibes in this quilt cross from real to homemade instruments. Feel the rhythm and change in pitch that comes from blowing across that jug, humming into the comb and paper, horns blaring a zydeco tune, a squeeze box and washboard tempo keeping it lively. Sit back, observe, join in, and enjoy all that Mama Don’t ‘Low.

The Stevii Graves Director

$5,000 Sponsor: The Graves Family Title: Crossing the Mkuze River Maker: Sandra Mollon Quilter: Sandra Mollon Design Basis: Photo by Beverley Thain - Used With Permission When I saw Beverely Thain's image, I knew it was something I wanted to interpret into a raw-edge fabric collage quilt. I love all of the elements of the image and am drawn to images with water and reflection. I knew the elephants have lots of character and texture to add, and having them as a herd crossing a river is especially heartwarming. Machine quilted, some mixed media.

Outstanding Hand Work

$1,500 Sponsor: Martelli Enterprises, Inc. Title: To My Father Maker: Sachiko Chiba Quilter: Sachiko Chiba Design Basis: Maker's Original Design This quilt was created in memory of my father, who passed away about a year and a half ago. While I usually make quilts with flowers, for this one I expressed my gratitude by including many of his favorite fruits. I feel a sense of comfort imagining he is smiling in heaven.

Outstanding Machine Quilting Frame

$1,500 Sponsor: Janome Title: East Meets West Maker: Molly Hamilton-McNally Quilter: Molly Hamilton-McNally Design Basis: Maker's Original Design This quilt has an interesting and unusual background. It's a unique collaboration of the skills of two women, a Chinese student and her Chinese-American Teacher. It shows the meeting of the East and the West by incorporating the two traditional methods of paper piercing, the Western technique at the center of the quilt, and the hand appliqué, the Eastern surrounding designs. The entire quilt is made of silk. Art unites the World.

Outstanding Machine Quilting Stationary

$1,500 Sponsor: Janome Title: Tricuspid Biomorph #1 Maker: Caryl Bryer Fallert-Gentry Quilter: Caryl Bryer Fallert-Gentry Design Basis: Maker's Original Design For Tricuspid Biomorph #1, I resurrected a series of doodles I drew in 1995 based on radially symmetrical hexagons. I placed the hexagonal shape in a rectangle and played with it, extending the lines within the hexagon to the edges of the rectangle and tweaking them until I had a line drawing I liked. I filled the spaces between the lines with color gradations and images of fabric which I hand painted with dye.

Outstanding Artistry

$1,500 Sponsor: Martelli Enterprises, Inc. Title: Sahara Lion Maker: Lys Axelson Quilter: Lys Axelson Design Basis: Maker's Original Design The Sahara lion is a subspecies of the now extinct Barbary lion, known for its magnificent dark mane, and is unlike the robust lions of the Serengeti Plains and other sub-African habitats with their large prides, lounging in the shade, watching over herds of prey. The Sahara lion is lithe and handsome and adapted to the desert, where prey and water are scarce. Those still existing in the Southern Sahara are threatened by hunting and habitat loss.

Outstanding Visual Narrative

$1,500 Sponsor: BERNINA of America Title: Björg Celebrates 17 June Maker: Randa Mulford Quilter: Randa Mulford Design Basis: Maker's Original Design While living in Iceland many years ago, I attended the National Day (17 June) celebrations in Reykjavík with a friend and her young daughter, Björg. This quilt is based on a photo I took that day. Notice how Björg is dressed for this summer holiday—don't you just love that plaid coat, and her great smile? Now Björg is all grown up and will be the eventual recipient of the quilt.

Outstanding Abstract Design

$1,500 Sponsor: Janome Title: Embers Maker: Barbara Danzi Quilter: Barbara Danzi Design Basis: Maker's Original Design I designed this abstract quilt at my design wall by cutting shapes and lines freehand and arranging figure and ground to create interesting negative space. It’s important to me that you can see the hand of the maker. I designed this to display vertically, but when I turned it 90 degrees, the abstract design evokes the feelings of a warm campfire glow.

Outstanding Original Design

$1,500 Sponsor: Martelli Enterprises, Inc. Title: My Favorite Things Maker: Hiroko Miyama Quilter: Hiroko Miyama Design Basis: Maker's Original Design Momo's favorite things became a quilt. A caterpillar of the Great Purple Emperor, Moo-chan, on her palm, butterflies on Sumire, Yuri running to Momo, and Ponta staring at her hand are also her favorites, as well as mushrooms, beetles, and other insects. The patterns on her clothes are made with appliqué. The insects and mushrooms are made with punchneedle appliqué. Butterflies are original embroidery, and it took 90 hours including data creation.

1st Place: Abstract

$1,000 Sponsor: Brother International Corporation Title: Low Hanging Fruit Maker: Katherine McCormick Quilter: Katherine McCormick Design Basis: Maker's Original Design This piece is commenting on the ice raids. Low hanging fruit is the first picked. First they came for...

1st Place: Applique

$1,000 Sponsor: Road to California Title: A Calm Day At Sea Maker: Linda Neal Quilter: Jackie Brown Design Basis: Octopus's Garden pattern by P3Designs with Maker's Original Set The original pattern is a Baltimore Album-style quilt. I deconstructed the pattern, placing the center block in the lower right-hand corner. Eleven blocks were constructed round. The border elements were placed between the round blocks. The 12th block is the pelican. I added a triggerfish—the state fish of Hawaii—and several schools of black neon fish. The edge treatment is original. It consists of peaks and waves. It was lots of fun to create.

1st Place: Mixed/Other

$1,000 Sponsor: Road to California Title: Sonoran Sunset Maker: Marilyn Badger Quilter: Marilyn Badger Design Basis: Claudia Myers and Marilyn Badger Original Design This quilt really evolved from its original state. It was so much fun to add all the braids, ruching, beads, crystals, and hand embroidery after it was quilted. I just kept finding more and more to add until finally, it was time to give it up and move on.

1st Place: Improv

$1,000 Sponsor: Road to California Title: Abundance Maker: Linda Steele Quilter: Linda Steele Design Basis: Maker's Original Design Walking through the orchards in summer is a sensory overload, with the glorious scent and abundance of fruit. I try and express the way I feel about the subject as I cut and sew.

1st Place: Pieced

$1,000 Sponsor: Road to California Title: Desert Rose Maker: Claire Marks Quilter: Claire Marks Design Basis: Maker's Original Design I live in the beautiful Central Valley of California, and the delicate cactus flowers blooming in such a harsh environment always inspire me.

1st Place: Naturescape

$1,000 Sponsor: Road to California Title: Cathedral Trees Maker: Angie Tustison Quilter: Angie Tustison Design Basis: Maker's Original Design This quilt is based on a photo I took of my husband and our dogs in the redwoods near our home in Northern California. Taking photos for an art quilt was a great excuse to get out and go for a walk in a beautiful place. The redwoods have always been home for me, and I enjoyed working with such a familiar and comforting landscape. I especially enjoyed creating the threadwork details with machine embroidery on water-soluble stabilizer.

1st Place: Pictorial

$1,000 Sponsor: Road to California Title: Cuzco Fruit Stand Maker: Lynn Jurss Quilter: Lynn Jurss Design Basis: Maker's Original Design I photographed this woman and her fruit stand at the San Pedro market in Cuzco, Peru in 2020. The woman had a striking, peaceful face. Her hands suggest a life of hard work. The fruit was so vibrant and textured.

1st Place: Animal

$1,000 Sponsor: Road to California Title: Isbjørn Maker: Ricki Selva Quilter: Ricki Selva Design Basis: Photo by Kasey Carrothers-Used With Permission This bear was bored...so bored he swam out to a boat off the coast of Svalbard, Norway, where my friend, Kasey Carrothers, had been observing him. This rare and precious encounter, gave me the perfect subject for my first workshop with Sandra Mollon. I've worked in textile collage before. (Thanks, Susan Carlson!) Sandra's methodology was a perfect fit for me. It will take the passionate actions of the entire world to save our precious Ice Bears.

1st Place: Human Image

$1,000 Sponsor: Road to California Title: Therefore I Am Maker: Sue de Vanny Quilter: Sue de Vanny Design Basis: Inspiration from my photo This textile portrait captures a young Ethiopian girl’s sweetest smile as she helps her mother at a bustling market. Her joy, resilience, and sense of purpose shine through. Therefore I Am reflects her presence and contribution—she exists, she belongs, and her smile tells a story of quiet strength.

2nd Place: Abstract

$750 Sponsor: Brother International Corporation Title: Question Maker: Deborah Ryan Quilter: Deborah Ryan Design Basis: Maker's Original Design Question - What if women had the same reproductive freedom as men? Consider how your life would have been different. How everything would be different.

2nd Place: Applique

$750 Sponsor: Road to California Title: Just Four Ewe Maker: Janet Stone Quilter: Janet Stone Design Basis: Maker's Original Design A few orphan blocks from a previous quilt needed to be utilized. Just a fanciful design with my favorite colors, a few sheep, embellishments, and there’s a new quilt! It’s the first one since 2008 without an alphabet! Original design and quilted on a domestic sewing machine.

2nd Place: Mixed/Other

$750 Sponsor: Road to California Title: Mama's Garden Maker: Hanne Lohde Quilter: Hanne Lohde Design Basis: Maker's Original Design Mama’s Garden—All bugs and critters are welcome here! This vibrant wool appliqué and hand embroidery quilt celebrates the importance of pollinators and the tiny wonders that keep our world blooming. With 94 unique critters calling it home, each bee, butterfly, beetle, and snail is lovingly stitched with hand-dyed wool and fine threads, creating a joyful, colorful tribute to nature’s beauty and balance. We need more pollinators in our world!

2nd Place: Improv

$750 Sponsor: Road to California Title: Entanglement Maker: Barbara Danzi Quilter: Barbara Danzi Design Basis: Maker's Original Design I designed this improvisationally at my design wall by cutting shapes and lines freehand. It’s important to me that you can see the hand of the maker. The complementary color palette gives it a bit of structure, but I used many different oranges and blues to add depth. Orange lines spontaneously curve and weave through the blobby shapes to create a dynamic composition.

2nd Place: Pieced

$750 Sponsor: Road to California Title: Pink Lemonade Maker: Amy Pabst Quilter: Amy Pabst Design Basis: Maker's Original Design This quilt was foundation pieced on a 1947 Singer Featherweight and then quilted in the ditch on a Bernina. Fabrics include silks, velvets, commercial cottons, rayon, linen, synthetics, and fabric hand dyed with madder root, marigold, and weld. There are 27,440 individual pieces of fabric in this quilt.

2nd Place: Naturescape

$750 Sponsor: Road to California Title: Boulders at Lower Yosemite Falls Maker: Sandra Mollon Quilter: Sandra Mollon Design Basis: Maker's Original Design A photograph I took while on a hike to Lower Yosemite Falls was the inspiration for this quilt. I wanted to capture the movement, reflections, and the transparency of the water flowing over and around the rocks.

2nd Place: Pictorial

$750 Sponsor: Road to California Title: Stag's Leap Maker: Mimi Ghauri-Young Quilter: Mimi Ghauri-Young Design Basis: Maker's Original Design Every day I walk along a path with an eastern view of Stag's Leap mountain in Napa County. I love the way the late afternoon sun paints the hillsides with a pink glow. My original photographs were the starting point for this somewhat fanciful art work. I chose to do an interpretive landscape, intensifying and changing some of the colors and other elements in the composition to convey the sense of peace and beauty in the work.

2nd Place: Animal

$750 Sponsor: Road to California Title: The Visitation Maker: Ricky Tims Quilter: Ricky Tims Design Basis: Maker's Original Design Raven visits us with a message of great importance. Time is precious - use it wisely. The tree represents wisdom and foreshadows the idea that when one thing ends, another begins. The ghostly leaves indicate life will return after the darkness of winter. An original poem, stitched with free-motion bobbin embroidery, enhances the perimeter of the quilt along the binding. Made with curved piecing (no foundation piecing) and turned edge appliqué.

2nd Place: Human Image

$750 Sponsor: Road to California Title: Flight of Wonder Maker: Katie Henrich Quilter: Katie Henrich Design Basis: Quilt design was based on my personal photo The "Flight of Wonder" quilt was inspired by a photo of my boys at Kalmus Beach on Cape Cod, reflecting the everlasting harmony between them. It was a beautiful finish of a carefree day at the beach. Using only an enlargement of the photo and no assistance of computer-generated precision, I was able to loosely trace out the forms of the boys to capture their essence and create their likeness for raw-edge applique.

Judges Choice - Veruschka Zarate

$500 Sponsor: Clover USA Title: Mystique Lilies Maker: Claudia Pfeil Quilter: Claudia Pfeil Design Basis: Maker's Original Design A play of light, color, and transparency—mystical, diffuse, and yet, elegant. Iris blossoms unfold amidst grasses and leaves, set against a background that shifts from a darker center toward lighter edges. This flowing gradient creates a mysterious, atmospheric mood. The composition emerges from an improvisationally pieced background, where blossoms and leaves align with the underlying color transitions. A poetic interplay of fabric and light.

Judges Choice - Sue Spargo

$500 Sponsor: OC Sewing & Vacuum Title: Fertile Ground Maker: Ann Horton Quilter: Ann Horton Design Basis: Maker's Original Design The tree of life in Revelation 22:2 describes lush fruit while the "leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations". I felt deeply the need for healing in our world as I hand stitched the many leaves on the tree. Embellished with hand embroidery throughout.

3rd Place: Abstract

$500 Sponsor: Brother International Corporation Title: The Chairs Maker: Deborah Ryan Quilter: Deborah Ryan Design Basis: Maker's Original Design The Chairs is part of my exploration of topics that are of deeply personal significance. A complex subject is depicted with simplicity and balance.

3rd Place: Applique

$500 Sponsor: Road to California Title: Whimsical Wonders Maker: Lorette Cole Quilter: Lorette Cole Design Basis: Truffle Duffel pattern by Sue Spargo Imagine the whimsical creatures that live in a forest or as in this case along a rock wall among these mushrooms. Working on these was a chance to learn about their structure, their habitat, their environment. It was my opportunity to add some extra features like the dragonfly, ladybug, owl, fairy, gnome, caterpillar, snail, squirrel, fox, fairy house, and rabbit. Beads representing dew add even a sparkle. Hand embroidered and beaded.

3rd Place: Mixed/Other

$500 Sponsor: Road to California Title: Reinventing Dixie Maker: Margaret Solomon Gunn Quilter: Margaret Solomon Gunn Design Basis: Maker's Original Design This quilt is the result when a modernized Alabama Beauty meets a Yankee with an unsuspecting muse. I began by dying over a dozen yards of ombre fabric. The top wasn't pieced until I healed from surgery. I always think in purple and green, as evidenced here. Quilting is hand-guided and includes trapunto. You may think it's more like "Blue stars Fell on Alabama", but my muse isn't a jazz great. Any guesses?...You know her all too well.

3rd Place: Improv

$500 Sponsor: Road to California Title: Graduation Day Maker: Sharon Casey Quilter: Sharon Casey Design Basis: Maker's Original Design Graduation Day features three characters ready to take on the world! This improv quilt evolved as I was playing with basic shapes—rectangles, oblongs, and circles. An "aha" moment occurred when I flipped a purple half-circle on top of a rectangle and saw a head, which was followed by a black cap—and suddenly I had a valedictorian! I imagine his fellow graduates are a musician and perhaps a future lawyer (with pearls like Ruth Bader Ginsburg).

3rd Place: Pieced

$500 Sponsor: Road to California Title: Silver Spring Maker: Gail Stepanek Quilter: Jan Hutchison Design Basis: Maker's Original Design An original design using paper-pieced stars and hand applique. Jan's use of various colored threads adds accents to the design.

3rd Place: Naturescape

$500 Sponsor: Road to California Title: Fire on the Mountain Maker: Brenda Smith Quilter: Brenda Smith Design Basis: Maker's Original Design Climate change-driven wildfires continue to devastate our natural and human communities. We have learned much about the importance of fire in some vegetation communities, and prescribed or managed fires are used to reduce the threat of destruction to homes and wildlife habitats. But still, the sight of smoke rising in the sky sends a measure of fear. Will this one get away? Will we be safe this time? I made this quilt in 2024.

3rd Place: Pictorial

$500 Sponsor: Road to California Title: Beyond the Seas Maker: Isabel Munoz Quilter: Isabel Munoz Design Basis: Maker's Original Design It's a challenge to convey a sensation, in this case of movement, with only white fabric and black thread. Even feel the splash of the waves breaking against the ship's hull.

3rd Place: Animal

$500 Sponsor: Road to California Title: Leopard! Maker: Judith Phelps Quilter: Judith Phelps Design Basis: Photograph by David Whelan, Used with permission This quilt was created as part of a camouflage-themed challenge. It features intricate hand painting followed by detailed thread painting, bringing depth and texture to the design. Constructed with three layers, it’s intentionally crafted to be appreciated from both the front and back. A heartfelt thank you to David Whelan for generously allowing me to draw inspiration from his stunning photography.

3rd Place: Human Image

$500 Sponsor: Road to California Title: Survivor Maker: Sandy Curran Quilter: Sandy Curran Design Basis: Maker's Original Design His road was painful and difficult, but the hardships did not destroy him; they made him stronger. Each struggle he overcame made him lift his head higher and walk taller. He became a proud survivor. Turned-edge Dupioni silk.