MARIYA WATERS

Mariya Waters is an international and Australian award winning quilt maker and teacher.

She currently specialises in hand appliqué and machine quilting but has also won international awards for contemporary art and innovative quilts.

Mariya began quilting in New Zealand in 1990 and her first quilt was selected for a juried quilt show and then published in a book.

In 1994 while living in England her third quilt won the prestigious Ascot Trophy at the national championships.

Since then Mariya has specialised in making quilts for exhibition with most taking a year or more to complete.

Many quilts completed since 1994 have won an international award. Federation Tessellation 591 won Best of Show at the Victorian Quilters state show in 2002 and Best of Country at the World Quilt and Textile show in 2003. Many of her quilts have appeared in magazines and books such as "Colour Play" by Joen Wolfram and some form parts of public and private collections around the world.

Mariya’s 40-45cm silk whole cloth miniatures have won awards around the world. One appears in an American quilting calendar for 2005 and another has been used in the American Quilters Society advertising. Several other quilts have been selected for use by various companies for advertising purposes.

Mariya’s quilt Dance of the Butterflies, won 1st place at the Quilters’ Guild of NSW 2003 show in Sydney. It won runner- up to Best of Show at the Victorian Quilters Inc show in July 2003. This was followed by success in Houston where it won 3rd place in Large Traditional Quilts. In 2005 this quilt was at the World Quilt and Textile Show in the USA where it was awarded 1st Traditional Quilt of the World.

Mariya's latest quilt Renaissance Revival looks set for even bigger success. It has won Best of Show and Best Domestic Machine Quilting and the inaugural Hangers' Award at the Quilters’ Guild of NSW June 2007 show in Sydney. This was followed by Best of Category and Viewers' Choice at the Victorian Quilters Inc July 2007 show in Melbourne. The Quilt won the Founders Award in the IQA show in Houston, USA in October 2007. In February 2008 the quilt was awarded best of Australia (the Bernina Australian National Quilt Award 2007) at the Australian Council of Quilters function in Melbourne.

You can see more about this extraordinary quilt (4 years in the making) Click here