Congratulations to all of those who participated in this challenge. I am happy to announce that together we have raised over $500 for the Save Our Monarchs Foundation.
A special thank you to our wonderful judge Susan Brubaker Knapp —fiber artist, teacher, author, and host of Quilting Arts TV.
And now, without further ado, Susan’s notes and comments:
“I loved every one of the Monarch Sewing Art Challenge entries! The winning pieces demonstrated good design principles, creativity, good craftsmanship, and met the rules of the competition.”
(Click images to expand)
FIRST PLACE
FIRST PLACE: Diane Sabo – Diane’s cheerful pillow includes fun raw-edge flowers embellished with beads. Great choice of yellow background color that makes the butterfly pop. Love the bright piping fabric, too! Her choice to include lots of fabrics in the “windows” on the Monarch’s wings is unexpected and creative.
SECOND PLACE
SECOND PLACE: Brenda Harringan – Great texture and shimmer on the wings; is it Angelina fiber? I love the use of beading for the spots of white on the wings. Beautifully rendered delicate flowers. Brenda’s choice of the light blue/green leaf fabric adds a sense of depth.
THIRD PLACE
THIRD PLACE: Beverly Torres – Nice vertical composition. Beverly took the challenge a step further by including the monarch in all its phases: caterpillar, chrysalis and butterfly. She creatively beaded the 3-D caterpillar and made fun fabric choices.
FOURTH PLACE
FOURTH PLACE: Beth Berry– Wonderful fabric choices here; the butterfly stands out beautifully on the violet background, and the blue fabric creates a feel of the wind blowing. Beth’s butterfly is beautifully rendered, and I like the way it goes over the edge of the binding. Beth has also created a feeling of depth with the smaller butterflies in the background.
FIFTH PLACE
FIFTH PLACE: Debra Shaw – A simple but dynamic composition. The flowers are terrific, and the butterfly glows. Nice composition and color choices. Great job matching the binding to the main part of the quilt, too.
A note from the Save Our Monarchs Foundation
“We would like to extend our immense gratitude to textile artist and fabric designer, Lorraine Turner, who raised over $500 to support Save Our Monarchs Foundation through her Monarch Sewing Art Challenge! She inspired so many people to create beautiful Monarch textile pieces that go towards funding Monarch conservation!
The Monarch Sewing Art Challenge donations will go towards funding Save Our Monarchs’ School Pollinator Garden Program. This program provides schools with free Milkweed Seed Packets and one Pollinator Wildflower Mix for children to plant in a Butterfly & Bee Garden!
Special thanks to Aurifil thread, and FreeSpirit Fabrics for providing prizes for the winning contestants and supporting this amazing art form. All of Lorraine’s work is dedicated to supporting endangered animals like Monarchs and we support her mission every step of the way. Thank you so much for your support!”
To view all of the entries please visit the
Monarch Sewing Art Challenge Gallery. Be sure to click on the images to see ALL of the judge’s comments.
