The Judges have Spoken – Nursery Rhyme Challenge Winners

Hi everyone! It’s now time to announce the winner of the Judges Vote for the Nursery Rhyme Challenge. We actually have a TIE for third! Both with an average score of 8.18. Congrats to… Karen’s Crafty WorldHere’s what the judges had to say:Judge 1: Very creative making your own blue and green fabric. Very whimsical. It makes me smile. Judge 2: I absolutely love the creativity behind this piece. It never would have occurred to do what Karen did here. Love the dimensional element of the pigs added on the frame and especially the texturing of the sky and grass. I also think the antiqueing of the frame was brilliant. It sets the piece perfectly! Judge 3: First, bigger isn’t always better. You started your story by telling us you “didn’t have a lot of time this week, so my project is small.” You sold yourself way short when you start out a GREAT article explaining your piece.This piece has so many obvious homes and I think that is important in all quilt competitions. Whenever I make any type of quilt, I always consider, “What will the quilt be used for when finished.” If your quilt and your title tell a story even BEFORE reading the story, this is true success.I love your whole piece. The use of paper when needed is delightful! I love the “scribbly” sun in the corner. The little plastic pigs bring a smile immediately and confirm the story of the picture. Your frame is perfect! Judge 4: Very cute! I especially like the quilting in the grass and for the sun’s beams. The style of the frame works well. and MoranArtandQuilts!Here’s what the Judges had to say:Judge 1: Love the cow’s look and the question mark. The different quilting for grass and sky is well done. I like the cloud shape and the different colored stars. Judge 2: Of all the submissions I think this piece captures it’s corresponding nursery rhyme the best. There is no confusion at all which rhyme this is about. I love the irregular shape and that it was inspired by clouds (versus just cut irregularly)…I think it fits the design perfectly. Great job with the perspective of the grass and the cow is too cute and very realistic/well executed with the stars and quilting decisions. Judge 3: I love the details in this little quilt. The buttons are adorable. The question mark made me laugh. The cow is so simple but you can almost see what she is thinking and also the moon seems to be telling the cow, No Way! Your field of green adds a lot of dimension to the wall hanging. I assume you plan to use this as a wallhanging. One potential problem I can see with this piece is how do you hang it and keep it straight. I am in no way marking you down for this but this would be a concern I would have if I was looking at this piece to purchase on Etsy or at a craft show. Judge 4: Just adorable! I especially like the vine print on the moon and the swirls on the cow’s spots. I hope your daughter keeps it long enough to use it in a nursery (many years from now!) Second place, with an average score of 8.70 goes to… PennyFabricArt!The Judges thought: Judge 1:Beautiful. Your brother will love this very realistic portrait of his dogs. I like that you chose the less obvious part of Hey Diddle Diddle to portray. Judge 2: Wow, what talent. Amazing technique and the result is wonderfully realistic dogs who truly do look like they are laughing. And I think it speaks to her talent that she captured two very unique expressions for the dogs. Judge 3: WOW! This piece looks like a painting and is finished to total professionalism with the micro suede and canvas. Your brother is going to have a fantastic piece hanging in his house and you are going to be getting order for wallhanging “pictures” of people’s pets. I can see your dogs laughing. I can see them laughing at you taking their picture! It reminds me of all your girls running around now with their little digital cameras taking a thousand close up pictures of them with their friends, always smiling to the max at arm’s length with their own camera. If only dogs could talk! Great job. Judge 4: Nice piece! I especially like all the colors going on in the coat of the dog on the left. And our first place prize, winning $15 to FabricFascination AND a $10 gift certificate to the Fat Quarter Shop, with an average score of 9.50 goes to… LoveBugStudios!And the judges thought: Judge 1: Wonderful art piece. It looks just like the crooked little house I always picture when I hear this rhyme. The shreds work wonderfully here. The trees add just the right detail. Judge 2: OMG, this is amazing. So much to say. First it is beautifully inspired by the nursery rhyme and so beautifully executed. I think the color selections are gorgeous and realistic. I love that she introduced a technique that most of us have never heard of let alone tried. I think the irregular shape of the final piece “makes” it. It just wouldn’t have been the same if it was square or rectangular. I really respect the thought and work that went into this piece in a short amount of time. Beautiful and so well done!! Judge 3: The entries in this challenge are a lot of fun. I think that is probably because Nursery Rhymes bring out the kid in all of us. Your technique gets an A+ for this challenge. This is something very new to the challenge and your execution of the technique is fantastic. I have seen this done before but your lines and end product is very clear instead of more “abstract” as is normally seen. This piece and process has huge potential for selling pieces on Etsy or at craft shows. I have never really looked but I think it would be a great seller! I also love the crooked border to match the story of the Crooked House.Judge 4: Neat interpretation! This came out very nice. I feel the irregularity of the shape is a little too irregular in the upper right corner, but the rest of the shape works well with the “crooked” theme. Congrats again to all the winners and to ALL the participants. Fantastic, creative, wonderful entries. I’m glad we could help inspire you to make some beautiful quilts this season! PS. I will announce the random drawing winners later today once my girls get home from the sitter!