Lancaster Instructor Edyta Sitar: In Her Own Words

My love for fabric began at a very young age when I used my mother’s newly hung drapes to create my first fabric project! My mother recognized my passion for fabric and thus began the journey with fabric and sewing. Creating beautiful gowns opened the door into creative textile design and established the building blocks which lead me into a quilting adventure.

One of my biggest blessings is my husband, Michael. I not only fell in love, I was introduced to the family tradition of quilting by my mother-in-law, Carol, and grandmother-in-law, Anna. My husband's grandmother welcomed me to live with her and the day I stepped through her door was the day I started quilting. She made it clear to me that when I live with her, I will be quilting with her. And so she sat me down across from her, with a quilt on a frame between us. She taught me how to rock the needle and that's where my quilting journey began. I have been quilting for 18 years.

My quilting studio is in a barn that my husband built for me. My favorite part of my studio is the loft upstairs. I get a perfect light and can leave all my fabrics spread out up there. I call it "fabric nesting". Something that makes me a little bit unique in the quilting world is the fact that I love using my batiks and prints in the same quilt. That allows me to enjoy all my fabrics and get great results.

I love gardening so flowers many times become my inspiration for colors and patterns. Students are my inspiration for teaching, and my favorite thing about teaching quilting! They are always happy and excited to learn something new. And what amazes me about quilting is that it does not have a language barrier. I once had a student that did not speak any English and we were able to complete a project during a class perfectly communicating with body language.

When I am not working, I enjoy spending time with my family. My children and my husband are my greatest motivation, providing the basis that you can accomplish anything you want if you just set your mind to it. Being able to do what I love and share this love with others is the greatest feeling and reward I could imagine! This is the Cinderella dream for me. My daily companion is my little dog, Max. I think he likes quilting too because every time I lay out a quilt… he immediately wants to lay on it.

Edyta travels all over sharing her passion; connecting to and inspiring quilters of all levels by sharing personal, stimulating stories about the quilts she makes. As the owner and co-founder of her company, Laundry Basket Quilts, www.laundrybasketquilts.com, she has been published in magazines world-wide and her quilts have received numerous awards.

She is teaching the following classes at the AQS Quilt Show and Contest in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, March 16 – 19, 2011…

#42804 Why We Quilt – Let Us Count the Ways (lecture)

#43506 Painting with Fabrics-Fusible Appliqué

# 47104 Dresden Star-Perfect Points

#47502 Foundation Piecing-On Eagles Wings

#47509 Mosaic Quilt




Click here to register for the Lancaster show and to sign up for one of Edyta's fantastic classes.

Greetings To All of Our AQS Friends...

 Sometimes we do have snow in Paducah and our photographer Charley Lynch 

recently snapped this shot of our office to use in this year's greeting card.  

All of the staff at the American Quilter's Society wish a very Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and Happy New Year to our quilting friends around the world!


Joyeux Noel * Shinnen omedeto. Kurisumasu Omedeto * Sung Tan Chuk Ha * God Jul * Feliz Navidad * Noeliniz Ve Yeni Yiliniz Kutlu Olsun * Pozdrevlyayu s prazdnikom Rozhdestva is Novim Godom * Feliz Natal * Maligayan Pasko! * Nollaig Shona Dhuit * Froehliche Weihnachten * Hyvaa joulua
Translations from: http://www.worldofchristmas.net/merry-christmas.html 

Do You Have an AQS Christmas Wish List?

What is on your Christmas wish list? AQS Gift Certificates might just be the answer for that gift for your friends, mothers, and sisters who are quilters. Or tell your significant other how to order one just for you.




AQS Gift Certificates can be used to purchase any of these items from the American Quilter's Society:

* AQS and other books, eBooks, calendars, software, and souvenirs in the AQS Catalog

* AQS Membership which includes six issues of American Quilter magazine and much more... ($25 per year for U.S. residents)

* Workshops, Lectures and Special Events at AQS Quilt Shows

* Subscribe to: The Quilt Life: Ricky Tims and Alex Anderson   ($24.99 for six issues per year)

Order your gift certificates by Friday, December 17 and we'll do our best to get the certificate to you in time for Christmas giving. The gift certificates can be purchased for any amount you wish and there is no expiration date on them.

You can order online or by calling toll free: 1-800-626-5420.

We hope Santa brings you lots of quilting supplies!

Cookies, Santa, Paducah Quilt Show Entry!

Christmas is almost here and the weather has turned cold – BRR (at least here in Kentucky!).

It’s that time of year again – time to send in your Paducah Quilt Contest entry forms. So while you are checking off your holiday to-do lists, don’t forget to enter your quilt. We know you have been hard at work and we want to see what you have been making, besides cookies for Santa!

The contest deadline is January 3, so be sure to mail your entry forms by that date.

Find and print the rules here.

Erin Ulrich
Contest Coordinator
(270) 898-7903 ext. 174

Progress on Executive Inn Demolition

We are seeing more progress on the demolition of the Executive Inn now. Here are some photos that I took this week.

You can now see that they have removed a whole section of the building, with part of the roof hanging precariously on the back section. There are gates around the hotel so only the workers (with hard hats) can be in the demolition zone.

They have punched holes in the front of the next section too.

The Silver Saddle is now nearly gone - just a few supports and the roof. They will be making a new entrance into the convention center along the wall where these two buildings were joined.

We will be posting a map of the AQS Bus Stop and additional parking areas as soon as it is finished.

We'll post more photos as the demolition progresses so you can see too!

Paducah Online Registration is Now OPEN

Making your plans to attend the 27th Annual AQS Quilt Show in Paducah, Kentucky, April 27 - 30, 2011?

Come experience four days of quilts! quilts! quilts! and the southern hospitality of Paducah and western Kentucky. You will want to spend several days seeing the quilts and vendors in the Paducah Expo Center, Julian Carroll Convention Center (two floors), the Pavilion, and the AQS Vendors on Kentucky in the Finkel Building. The National Quilt Museum is a 'must see' stop on your agenda too.

Click here to view all of the wonderful classes, lectures, and special events - after you have checked out what is available, just click on the pink button to go directly to online registration:



Once you are in the registration program, you will find all of the class descriptions, supply lists, and photos of the class projects. Just a reminder that many of the classes will fill quickly, so don't delay in reserving your seat.

You can print a copy of the Paducah Registration Guide here.

If you need assistance with lodging, click here for the listing of AQS-approved accommodations on the website of the Paducah Visitors Bureau. If you can't find a hotel room, consider the AQS Home Bed and Breakfast that is coordinated by the Visitors Bureau; request forms will be available on their website on February 1, 2011.

Lancaster Instructor Dianne Hire: In Her Own Words

Although enchantment with fabric seems to have always been a part of my life, I began my quiltmaking journey in 1985. Today, I look back at the development and exploration of my creative process. Even in 1985, the adapting of traditional time-honored designs and techniques was significant. Somehow, even then, I experimented, finding my own way, my own song, my own work within tactile dimensions. From that moment on, this became my Hard 'n' Fast Rule: find out the rules and determine a way to break them.

I honor diversity.
I celebrate new approaches.
I challenge concepts.

To stretch the rules and locate fresh boundaries is my desire. By approaching quiltmaking this way, I embrace technical skills while not allowing techniques to overshadow image.

I am a colorist who intuitively responds to the joyful way colors intermingle. I require vibrancy to speak out but never shout, yet boldly sing. That song is interpreted in fiber, strings, strong design and intense vitality of color.

Here is a look at my quilting workspace…

I love hand-dyed fabric, or commercials that look hand-dyed. I adore having them arranged and color-coordinated. However, when I work, this place is never organized and there is fabric all over the floor. This image is a photo-op that wasn’t included in the book, Vivacious Curvy Quilts, just released in October. It took me weeks and weeks to clean up these shelves and durn, the image wasn’t used! I am so glad to share it with you so you can enjoy all of my work. :-)





I also organized each and every single one of these beads, doo-dahs, buttons, etc. This image wasn’t used in the book either.

Design wall, large surface ironing board, and OLD iron that won’t shut off (thankfully)... although I cannot tell you how many times it’s stayed on overnight.






I thought I might share a good teaching story. There have been many funny things that have happened, but one incident stands out above all others. Always, there is great laughter, chaos, mayhem, and terrific fun in my classes. Here goes:

Sarah***, a very talented hand-dyer, was working on her lovely piece designed with many shades of brown (from deep chocolate to taupe, sand, peanut, etc.) with greens (olive, forest, mud, camel, etc.), an array of purples with black and white accents. Truly, it was beautiful, but as she noted, it wasn’t quite singing the way she wanted it to. She asked, “what would you do?”

Silly girl...because, as everyone knows, I have the coloring sense of a first grader, so I went straight to an explosive color that most folks thought didn’t belong within her palette and cut an unblock (definition: a 4-sided figure with nothing equal, no right angles, no parallelograms). She saw what I was doing and said, “if that color works, I’ll kiss your butt!” Everyone in the room heard her and was now focused on her work space, wondering what would happen if the intruding color might actually be an acceptable addition to her piece, and...

I pinned the hot little reddish-orange-pink unblock into place. Walking to the front of the room, turning my back to all the students, I then bent forward at the waist, smiling at Sarah with anticipation.

Next thing, she was right there, kissing me on the behind, Everyone lost it laughing, but especially Sarah and me. BTW: we are now very special friends.

(Sarah’s name and her chosen colors have been changed to protect the innocent. Everything else is true.)

Dianne is teaching the following classes at the 2011 AQS Quilt Show and Contest in Lancaster, PA, and she is also co-hosting the Quilter's Fun Night (#42202) with Bonnie Browning on Thursday night! They will definitely be more colorful than these photos when you see them at Fun Night!

#47101 come PLAY with me

#47103 Dangles: Curvies and Wedgies

#47501 Swirling Fan Centrifuge

#47507 Elegant Slender Curvies



Click here to register for the Lancaster show and to reserve your spot in Diane's classes today!! Who can resist working with all of this color?!

It's Time to Enter the AQS Quilt Contest in Paducah!

Animations provided by MySpaceAnimations.com

After you’ve eaten your turkey and dressing, and you are having a rest, think about which quilt you might be able to enter in the Paducah quilt contest. With 15 categories and $120,000 in cash awards, there is no reason not to enter.

The deadline is January 3rd, but you don’t have to wait till the last minute – save that for your Christmas shopping! Go ahead and send your Paducah contest entry today.

We can’t wait to see what you have been quilting!

Demolition of the Big E Begins

Last week the exterior demolition of the Executive Inn started with the cutting of a beam and removing the Big E from the top of the building.

Here's a pictorial view of what happened: (you can make the photos larger by clicking on them)

The crane lifts the "E" from the top of the Executive Inn. The E's were auctioned off during the 54th Telethon of Stars produced by WPSD and the Lion's Club of Paducah this past weekend..

And it came down all in one piece. What a piece of history!

Ready to begin...

Taking the first bite....

And then a bigger bite...

Making a big hole in this section of the hotel.

Bonnie Browning took this photo on Saturday showing how they have demolished the side walls of the Silver Saddle (view from where the Pavilion site).

Caryl Bryer Fallert was at the celebration of the demolition of the exterior of the Executive Inn on Tuesday. Thanks Caryl for sharing your photos.



The demolition will take from 90 to 120 days and will be completed prior to the AQS Quilt Show in April.,

Lancaster Instructor Sue Nickels: In Her Own Words

I started quilting in 1978 after my daughter was born because I wanted to make a baby quilt for her.

Sewing, knitting, cross stitch and other crafty things have always been part of my life. My major in college was art, so quilting seemed like the perfect thing for me. I have been quilting for 32 years!

I do have a designated sewing room/office. My favorite feature about my workspace is my sewing table and my BERNINA sewing machine. I have a table that is very deep behind my machine so I can quilt even very large quilts on my home sewing machine. The sewing machine also sits down in the table and the slide-on tray is flush with the table for easy movement of the quilt. I also have a nice design wall and good lighting. Next will be better storage space for my fabrics and supplies!

My quilting specialty is creating quilts using machine techniques. I teach machine quilting and machine appliqué for the traditional quilter. My classes are nice for beginners as well as experienced machine quilters. I am always striving to keep growing and to use my machine to achieve the best quality results. I am teaching mostly machine quilting workshops at Lancaster. I absolutely love to teach beginners because machine quilting seems very intimidating to most quilters. I love to show that anyone can be a good machine quilter with some good basics and practice.

My favorite story from a class (this was a 5-day retreat) was a student who forgot her power cord for her sewing machine and was so upset that she wouldn't be able to use her machine all week. She called her husband and asked if he could ship it to next day UPS. He could not find the cord at home so he went and bought one at the local shop and said he would ship it to her to arrive the next day. At about 6pm that same day- in walks her husband with the power cord -- he drove 5 hours to bring it to her! We dubbed him the best husband ever and a lot cuter than any UPS driver! (The kicker was when he asked where her original cord might be as he couldn't find it at home, she said she couldn't imagine where it had gone -- he went to sewing machine travel bag, dug around a bit and pulled out the original power cord and he wasn't even mad -- just said he was happy to see her!)

On a more personal note, I am a new grandma! Stella Holly Kavanagh was born May 21st and is now five months old. They live in Philadelphia and we live in Michigan, so we don't get to see her enough, but I will be a little closer while I am in Lancaster!

Sue is teaching the following classes at the AQS Quilt Show and Contest in Lancaster, March 16 - 19, 2011.

#42809 Machine Quilting Tips and Tricks (lecture)

#43503 Stitched Raw-Edge Applique – Tulips and Heart

 # 45501 Drawing Fabulous Feathers

#48101 Machine Quilting: Feathers and Stippling

#48502 Machine Quilting Basics; #48514 Machine Quilting Basics
This is the same class offered twice.



Click here to register for the Lancaster show and to sign up for one of Sue's awesome classes.

Lancaster AQS Quilt Contest Deadline Extended to November 19

When it comes to planning quilt contests, we here at AQS like to think we are old pros. But every now and then something gets past us. We tried to set the deadline to enter the AQS Lancaster Quilt Contest so that we would have plenty of time to process all your entries before the holidays. But it looks like we set it too far in advance and gave ourselves two weeks more than we really need.

We know you work hard to finish your quilts in time and these extra two weeks might be just what you need to finish your quilt! So in order to be fair to all you hard-working quilters, AQS has officially extended the deadline for Lancaster contest entries to November 19, 2010. That means you have two additional weeks to get your entry forms to us! Click here for the rules and entry form. 

Good luck!

Erin Ulrich
Contest Coordinator

Copyrights Getting You Down?

Do you like to attend quilt shows… and see lots of quilts? Shows across the country are seeing fewer entries in their shows. One show has put their contest for 2011 on hold due to lack of entries so they can consider other possibilities. Are you not entering your quilts because you don’t know how to get copyright permission for a pattern you used?

If you have a quilt that you want to enter in a show but don’t know what to do about getting permission from a pattern maker or designer, AQS Contest Coordinator Erin Ulrich will be happy to help you. We work with copyrights every day and it is nothing to be afraid of. E-mail Erin at erinulrich@AQSquilt.com or call her at 270-898-7903, ext. 174, with your questions.

From the beginning, the American Quilter’s Society has produced quilt shows for you to be able to exhibit your quilts and be recognized for your artistry. When you enter the AQS Quilt Shows, you are vying for thousands of dollars in cash awards; we are giving $252,750 in 2011. The deadlines are approaching for the Lancaster (November 5 extended to November 19) and Paducah (January 3) shows.

The contest quilts let us show the variety of quilts being made today, from very traditional to those made from unique materials and designs. These contest quilts are what everyone wants to see when they attend shows. So why not enter one of your quilts today… and don’t hesitate to give Erin a call. We are here to assist you. If you need a copy of the rules, just click here and then choose Contests for the show you want to enter.

Bonnie Browning
Executive Show Director

Services for Marge Boyle

We have received several calls asking about the services for Marge Boyle.

Visitation: 12 - 2 p.m. Saturday October 30 at Milner and Orr Funeral Home of Paducah
Funeral Service: 2 p.m. Saturday October 30 at Milner and Orr Funeral Home of Paducah

Milner and Orr's address is: 120 Memorial Drive, Paducah, KY  270-442-5100

Click here to read her obituary.

We Lost a Dear Friend and Colleague

A chair now sits empty in our office - on Tuesday evening Marge Boyle, our Director of Sales and Marketing, suddenly passed away. Yesterday was a somber day as our staff heard the news and could not believe it. She had not been ill.

Marge and I ate lunch together every day (that we were both in the office) and that gave us the time to talk about all of the ills of the world (we didn't solve many of the issues though), visit about what was going on in the quilting world, or browse through some of the latest quilting magazines. We talked about things that we didn't have time for during our daily routines.

She kept us on schedule with advertising our shows and making sure our weekly OnPoint newsletter was ready to go with the very latest news for quilters around the globe, and was always willing to share her vast knowledge of the quilting industry with us.

We already miss our friend, Marge Boyle.

Farewell! 
God knows when we shall meet again.
                           ~William Shakespeare

Meet Lancaster Instructor Laurel Anderson: In Her Own Words

I learned to sew when I was very young but waited until my first born started school to learn to quilt. I joined a group making quilts for a local homeless shelter. They loved having my child around while I learned the basics of quilting. The quilters made the mistake of complementing my color choices. This gave me the courage to tackle a quilt on my own. It took three before I was hooked. That was 16 years ago.

My quilting studio is in the family room. It helps to be close to the family and kitchen. I can multi-task... like sew and help my daughter learn her spelling words at the same time. Teach your family that all the best homes have the iron out at all times!

I love flowing curvy appliqué. I am happiest when I am designing or product testing. Sometimes I make a quilt two or three times to explore its color possibilities. My china cabinet is filled with hand-dyed fabric.
.
Early in my teaching career I had a student arrive with three suitcases of fabric; this gave her plenty of fabrics to choose from. My Iris design includes antique brocades and old lace. It was turned into a full length coat with embroidery and feather stitching and is shown in my book, Appliqué Workshop. More information is also available at my website, Whispercolor.com.

Laurel is teaching the following classes at the AQS Quilt Show and Contest - Lancaster, March 16 - 19, 2011, at the Lancaster County Convention Center..

#43102 Heart and Teacup Quilt

#43501 Iris Panel Quilt

#43504 Blushing Lady Tulip Quilt

#43508 Fabric Vases

#45502 Cheat at Color




Click here to register for the Lancaster show and to sign up for one of Laurel's awesome classes.

Countdown to Lancaster Contest Deadline

There is still time for you to enter the 2011 AQS quilt Show in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Entries must be postmarked on or before November 5, 2010.

Here are the Quilt Contest Categories:
Bed Quilts: Fabric quilts made for a bed, using any quiltmaking technique.
    A. Bed Quilts – Pieced
    B. Bed Quilts – Appliquéd
Wall Quilts: Fabric quilts designed to hang on a wall, using any quiltmaking
technique.
    C. Wall Quilts – Hand Quilted
    D. Wall Quilts – Home Sewing Machine Quilted
    E. Wall Quilts – Longarm/Midarm Machine Quilted


To read all of the rules, just click here -- you can read and/or print a copy.

If you have any questions, contact Erin Ulrich at erinulrich@AQSquilt.com or 270-898-7903, ext. 174.

Oops!

At the AQS Des Moines Quilt Show, we incorrectly credited the photo on the cover of the show book. Credit should have been given to Sarah Jane Stowell for her Hexagon Quilt, which was entered in the Wall Quilts, Machine Quilted category in the Des Moines contest. We apologize for the mix-up. Thank you to Sarah Jane for letting her beautiful quilt grace our show book cover!

AQS Quilt Show - Lancaster, PA: 2011 Registration is Now Open

The Registration Guide for the AQS Quilt Show in Lancaster, March 16 - 19, 2011, is now available. You can order the printed Registration Guide or go online to register by clicking HERE.

Registration can be made online, by mail or fax NOW. Telephone registration does not open until January 5, 2011.










If you are bringing a charter tour to the show, contact Laura Davis, Registration Coordinator, for assistance in getting tickets and information for your group. You can reach Laura by e-mail: lauradavis@AQSquilt.com or phone: 270-898-7903 ext. 132.

We have a great line-up of national instructors, including:
Kathie Alyce
Laurel Anderson
Bobbie Aug
Karen Kay Buckley
Jane Garrison
Diane Gloystein
Klaudeen Hansen
Dianne S. Hire (co-hosting Quilter's Fun Night on Wednesday)
Linda Baxter Lasco
Stacy Michell
Judith Baker Montano
Sue Nickels
Rachel Pellman
Andi Reynolds
Sherry Rogers-Harrison
Nancy Sapin
Mary Sorensen
Helen Squire
Edyta Star
Sally Terry
Ricky Tims

Many of the classes will fill quickly, so register soon to have the best chance of getting the classes you want.

A listing of the AQS-approved accommodations is printed in the Registration Guide. To book your rooms at these special rates, click here for online booking or call the PA Dutch Convention & Visitors Bureau at 800-723-8824. They can also assist you with lodging at Amish bed and breakfasts, country inns or farm stays.

The AQS Quilt Show - Des Moines... A Photographic Review

If you missed the AQS Quilt Show in Des Moines, October 6 - 9, here are a few photos from the show.

Mark your calendar for next year's Des Moines show:  September 28 - October 1, 2011.

Customize your own slideshow design

And the Des Moines Winners Are....

This morning the winners of the AQS Quilt Show and Contest in Des Moines, Iowa, were announced just prior to the opening of the show. AQS President Meredith Schroeder welcomed the quilters to the show, and then introduced Greg Edwards, CEO of the Greater Des Moines Convention and Visitors Bureau who welcomed the quilters to Des Moines. He told us the CVB ordered this beautiful weather for the show this week.

Christine Brown thanked the show sponsors and judges, and then announced the winners in the contest. Congratulations to all of the winners in the 2010 AQS Quilt Contest in Des Moines!

Award Winners

2010 AQS Quilt Show and Contest – Des Moines, Iowa

October 6-9, 2010

Best of Show Award
#407 HULA HIBISCUS, Lisa Calle, Pottstown, PA

Best Hand Workmanship Award
#104 SEVEN SISTERS, Karen Capps, Madison, WI

Best Machine Workmanship Award
#459 NOUVEAU QUATTRO ALFABETICO, Janet Stone, Overland Park, KS

Best Longarm Workmanship Award
#446 PARROT’S ISLAND, Claudia Pfeil, Krefeld, Germany

Best Wall Quilt Award
#308 VINTAGE VALUES, Linda M. Roy, Knoxville, TN


Bed Quilts, Hand Quilted
First #106 BLUE BIRD GARDEN, Dorothy Dailey, Burnsville, MS
Second #121 DRESDEN PLATE, Beverly J. Willis, Mansfield, OH
Third #107 MASAMA GIRLS, Linda Kay Gapp, Lincoln, NE

Bed Quilts, Machine Quilted
First #206 STARS FOR ARDEN, Ronda K. Beyer, Tualatin, OR
Second #217 NORTHWEST PASSAGE, Diane Johnston, Pahrump, NV
Third #219 GEESE IN THE MOUNTAIN GARDEN, Barbara E. Lies, Madison, WI

Wall Quilts, Hand Quilted
First #310 ORANGE POPPIES, Sharon Ann Waggoner, Springfield, IL
Second #302 SIMPLE GIFTS, Peggy Garwood, Fairfield Glade, TN
Third #309 HUMMERS SCATTERING SPARKLE, Ann Seely & Joyce Stewart, Deweyville, UT

Wall Quilts, Machine Quilted
First #471 RED PETUNIAS, Juanita Yeager, Altamonte Springs, FL
Second #429 CALAMARI TIME, Karlyn Bue Lohrenz, Billings, MT
Third #421 ANCIENT WEAVER, Ann Horton, Redwood Valley, CA

Fabric Art
First #541 SPRING ENCOUNTER, Ruth Powers, Carbondale, KS
Second #512 KANDINSKY AND ME, Carole J. Floyd, W. Des Moines, IA
Third #552 RED SKY, Heidi Zielinski, Stevensville, MT

Honorable Mentions
#115 RETURN TO THE ATTIC, Marsha D. Radtke, Crossville, TN
#215 BIRDS ‘N BLOOM, JoAnn Hoffman & Marilyn Hoelscher, Hill City, SD
#304 MRS. BROWN’S LOVELY DAUGHTER, Victoria Miller, Northfield, MN
#454 PANIERS du SOLEIL, Maribeth Schmit, Cedarburg, WI
#550 SUNLIT, Carol Taylor, Pittsford, NY

The rules are available for all of the 2011 AQS Quilt Contests; click here to view or print the rules.

Don't Miss the Quilt Contest Entry Deadlines

We're heading to Des Moines, Iowa, for our third annual AQS Quilt Show there... but Erin Ulrich, our Contest Coordinator, is staying at the office to process entries for the Lancaster and Paducah Quilt Shows.

The entry deadlines are:

Lancaster, PA:  November 5, 2010

Paducah, KY: January 3, 2011

If you have any questions, you can call Erin at 270-898-7903, ext. 174, between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (central time).

Send your entries to:
     American Quilter's Society
     PO Box 3290
     Paducah, KY 42002-3290

Click here to print the rules and entry form for Lancaster, and click here for the Paducah rules

Good luck with your entries - you can't win if you don't enter...

It's AQS Quilt Show Time in Des Moines, Iowa

The AQS Quilt Show kicks off with the announcement of the winners of the quilt contest at 8:40 a.m. on Wednesday (Oct. 6) in Hy-Vee Hall at the Iowa Events Center. Advance registration has closed and all of our quilt show supplies have been loaded onto the truck. We'll soon be flying to Des Moines so we can complete the setup and hang the 1,000 quilts that will be on display.

Here are some words of welcome from the AQS Quilt Show staff:

Erin Ulrich, Contest Coordinator: "Good luck to all the Des Moines contest semifinalists – I can’t wait to see which of your beautiful quilts will go home as AQS prize winners!" 

Kelly Meyer, Vendor Coordinator:  "Get ready to shop until you drop... the Merchant Mall will have every quilting supply you will ever need or wish to have." 

Laura Davis, Registration Coordinator: "We've packed our bags and we're heading off to Des Moines! Come see us at the Workshop Desk to purchase any last minute classes, lectures, or special events. Don't forget, we've been able to add seats to our Eleanor Burns: Quilt Blocks on American Barns special event on Wednesday night, so come and purchase your tickets when you get to the show. We will be at the workshop desk on Tuesday from noon til 6:00 pm if you want to come get your tickets early!" 

Marcelle Cashon, Education Coordinator: "Hi Everyone, welcome to Des Moines! We are excited to be here again for our third show. If you need to pick up tickets for Special Events, Lectures, or Workshops,  come by the Workshop Desk to see me." 

Mary Beth Head, Graphic Artist: "Hey Quilters! Be sure to come see me in the AQS Souvenir Booth. Be the envy of your friends and guild with your new shirt, tote, books and other souvenirs!" 

Terry Guill: Director of Show Operations: "Welcome to Des Moines! You will love the 1,000 quilts on display, the merchant mall, classes and lectures. We are glad you are here! 

Bonnie Browning, Executive Show Director: "We can't wait to see you at our quilting party in Des Moines. Have a great time at the show!"

Be sure to wear your most comfortable shoes - we say "dress to the ankles and take care of your feet."

See you all in Des Moines next week!