2024 Beauty and the Batik Challenge Winners

1st Place - $300 Winner - Carolyn Butterfield from Marysville, WA
Carolyn is overjoyed that her Octopus quilt has won first place, especially since this was her very first contest! With about 10 years of quilting experience, Carolyn expertly incorporated all six of the batik challenge fabrics into her stunning design.
The bubbles in her quilt were meticulously crafted using rings of light blue and white fabric, surrounding tiny bits of lighter colors, and were further detailed with a white gel pen. Pink rhinestones were scattered throughout, adding a beautiful shimmer. In addition to the challenge fabrics, Carolyn used a bright pink fabric from her stash and a Hoffman digital print for the background.
Reflecting on her approach, Carolyn shared, "I don't do a lot of traditional patchwork quilting... I like to stand out and do things a little different." We're so glad she did! Carolyn also mentioned that she now has the "contest bug" and has entered several quilts in challenges across the country. We have a feeling this won't be the last time we see Carolyn’s incredible work. Congratulations on being our first-place winner, Carolyn!
2nd Place - $200 Winner - Ann Michelle Anderson from Sanford, NC
Ann Michelle was completely surprised when her beautiful appliqué quilt was selected as our second-place winner. We could hear the excitement in her voice when we shared the news! What's even more impressive is that Ann Michelle has only been quilting for about nine months.
For her design, she used all six batiks from the Keepsake Quilting Challenge Medley, along with a green batik and a plain white fabric. Her inspiration came from Melinda Bula's book "Cutting Garden Quilts," specifically the "Pansies in Vase" pattern. While Melinda Bula used 34 different fabrics in her example, Ann Michelle achieved a stunning result with just eight, including a multi-colored dot print from Robert Kaufman that added a range of colors in one fabric. She also used Lite Steam-A-Seam 2 for her appliqué work.
We have no doubt that Ann Michelle will create many more beautiful quilts in the years to come!
3rd Place - $100 Winner - Audrey Ginsburg from Denver, CO
Audrey was thrilled to discover that her design had been selected as our third-place winner. Her creation is a unique take on the Star Flight Miniature pattern by Nancy Johnson-Srebro. With over 20 years of quilting experience and a lifetime of sewing, Audrey found her true passion in quilting and never looked back. She also shared with pride that she has been a loyal customer for over 20 years! Thank you Audrey!
We were immediately struck by the exquisite quilting on Audrey's Star Flight Miniature quilt—it was simply stunning and added a beautiful depth to her design.
Staff Favorite - $100 Winner - Allan Gilbert from Placentia, CA
Allan has been quilting just under 5 years. He's had this quilt block image designed by Laureen Smith of Tourmaline and Thyme Designs stored in his phone for over 5 years! We're so happy our challenge fabrics inspired Allan to create this beautiful quilt. We liked the clean lines, symmetry of the design and use of color. Thank you for participating Allan!
Honorable Mention - $50 Winner - Kathy Blankenbeker from Camdenton, MO

Kathy has been quilting for 35 years! The inspiration for her design began at a retreat with five of her friends, where she creatively modified a jelly roll pattern and scaled down the block size to meet our challenge’s 30" requirement.
We were struck by the precision of Kathy's piecing, with perfectly aligned points and strips, and her masterful use of color from the six challenge fabrics. By adding a light background, she made her design truly stand out. This was Kathy’s first time entering a contest, and now that she’s retired, she’s hoping to enter more!