Terri Tope: Quilting – In Her Own Words

Quilting has been my joy, and sharing it has been one of my greatest pleasures. It seems likeI have sewn all my life – starting with doll clothes and then on to 4-H clothing projects. It wasn't until being put on bed rest while pregnant with my oldest daughter that the quilting bug really took effect. Out of that tiny first apartment came some wonderful quilts and a huge learning curve. 

I have been predominately a quilter for 27 years, and try to stitch a little every single day. I do have a quilting studio that I work from and love – it's my organized chaos. After taking over the formal living room and dining room of our older Worthington, Ohio home, a couple of rooms rarely used are now full of life and fabric. A cutting counter from a local quilt shop that went out of business is the centerpiece of the workspace. It is huge, but also on wheels, with plenty of storage underneath! I don't know how I quilted without it.

When asked about my quilting specialty, my favorite response to give is that "I wear my scarlet letter with pride. I APPLIQUE!" Being a bit dyslexic and due to its shear repetitive nature, piecing is not one of my favorite things to do. (Understatement) In fact it gives me hives and I only do it under duress… just kidding. I currently am on this reverse appliqué adventure and it is taking me to some pretty neat places.

#35502 No Sew Gift Bag

Several years ago I played around with some fusible web and created the "no sew gift bag", which is one of my classes in Des Moines. I was signed up to go with my guild to go on a retreat in the Amish area of Ohio (Holmes County) and decided to use my friends as guinea pigs to test my bag directions. We were rolling along with my little trial class quilt well until we needed to press our bag under weight – a phone book works great. The Amish do not have phones and therefore no phone books were to be found. Our solution... fourteen ladies were pressing their bags by sitting on them under their bed pillows. This gave us some great pictures! Needless to say directions did contain a few corrections. 

Please plan to join us for some great new classroom experiences in Des Moines!

Terri is teaching the following classes at the Des Moines show in October….#33103 Spring Symphony Needle-turn Appliqué; #33503 Reverse Appliqué Lettering; and #35502 No Sew Gift Bag

Click here to register online or call Laura Davis, AQS Registration Coordinator, at 270-898-7903 ext.132 to register by phone.

ASK HELEN in DES MOINES

Did you know that Helen Squire of “Dear Helen” fame is going to be teaching 3 classes in Des Moines this year? For the past 10 years, she has written “Helen's Hints: Creative Quilting Designs” for American Quilter magazine, and has recently published the eighth book in the "Dear Helen" series, Quilting UFO´s with Helen´s Hints. You may remember her days as “Dear Helen” columnist for Lady's Circle Patchwork Quilts magazine. This is your chance to spend quality “small group” time with Helen; asking for her advice about adapting and choosing patterns, and planning your own quilting projects.

Helen designs, teaches, and lectures all across the country while maintaining her home base in Paducah, Kentucky – Quilt City USA! You'll never know what stories Helen will share, or whether her hair will be red…or green…or…? Just be totally prepared to have a great time!

She will be teaching class numbers: 38503, 38507, and 38511 in Des Moines. Also available: Lecture #32810 – How Quilting Makes the Quilt. Register by August 25 and you’ll receive your name badge in the mail. Click here to register.

Meet the AQS Executive Book Editor in Des Moines

If you've ever entertained the notion of writing a book about quilting, the show in Des Moines is your chance to discuss it with our executive book editor. Andi Reynolds will be available to meet one-on-one with prospective authors throughout the show (when she's not teaching or moderating the Authors' Roundtable, that is).

Come see her with just an idea or a proposal-in-progress. You can prepare to meet her by reviewing our book proposal guidelines, available on our Web site, or by attending her lecture, Publishing 101, on Wednesday, October 6 from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. Register for lecture #32801 by clicking here.


You can set up a meeting in advance by e-mailing Andi at andi@AQSquilt.com.

Andi's office will be in the corridor of Hy-Vee Hall outside the entrance to the quilt show. Look for the easel sign with her name. You may also ask for Andi at the Workshop Desk. She looks forward to meeting you!

Copyright Questions?

Copyright can seem complicated. We have received a number of questions in the AQS office about copyright as it relates to entering our contests.

See this link for some helpful information. You will find an article, "An Explanation of Design Permissions," and a link to a handy chart that gives information on when changes in the copyright laws were made. Both of these pieces of information should help to clear up some of the questions you might have when entering the AQS Quilt Contests.

Always start by getting permission, especially if money is involved. Today this is an easy process using the Internet to find contact information. Designers love to have you use their designs and give them credit as the design source.

AQS Quilt Contests - Submitting Entries

It’s already the end of August, school is back in session, and we are eagerly awaiting the cooler fall weather. 2011 will be here before we know it, and so will the deadlines for our Lancaster and Paducah 2011 quilt contests! We are receiving entries for both contests every week, and right now there is still plenty of time to submit your entry forms. November 5, 2010 is the deadline for Lancaster entries, and January 3, 2011 is the deadline for Paducah.

Erin, our contest coordinator, loves to see entry forms come in early, so get those quilts finished and send in your contest entries now! If you want to submit your quilts for Knoxville or Des Moines in 2011, she is ready for those too.

Here are links to be able to view and print the rules for 2011:
Lancaster rules
Paducah rules
Knoxville rules
Des Moines rules

If you have any questions about entering a quilt, you can e-mail Erin, erinulrich@AQSquilt.com, or call her at 270-898-7903, ext. 174.

Planning for AQS Quilt Show in Lancaster, PA

Plans are underway for many months prior to the AQS Quilt Shows. Last week Terry Guill and I traveled to Lancaster for a planning meeting. We like to stay at different hotels and eat at different restaurants so we can report our experiences to you.

We stayed at the new Cork Factory Hotel, located about seven blocks from the Lancaster County Convention Center. This restoration turned a cork factory into a modern hotel with a lot of charm.

The hotel room had tall ceilings, a comfy chair, flat screen television, and a nice big shower with plenty of hot water. We also enjoyed having dinner in the Cork and Cap Restaurant at the hotel featuring homemade breads, butter, pasta, lots of fresh vegetables, and they make a great steak too.

After we finished our meetings one afternoon, we went for a buggy ride at Aaron and Jessica's. What a great way to see the countryside. Our ride started by going through a covered bridge; did you know that Lancaster County has 27 covered bridges? Watch as you ride along the roads there and you'll spot several near Lancaster.

 

See the beautiful well-kept gardens and homes along the way - hardly a blade of grass out of place.

It was very pieceful to clip, clop along while seeing farm after farm in this Amish community.

You can make your hotel reservations now for the 2011 AQS Quilt Show - Lancaster that will be held March 16 - 19, 2011 at the Lancaster County Convention Center. You can book your room online or by calling 1-800-723-8824 option 1.

This year we will have one central parking lot with shuttle service to streamline both parking and getting you to/from the parking lot and the convention center. Final details will be available soon.

The Registration Guide will be available in October.

Have you seen all of the great classes available at the AQS Quilt Show in Des Moines, October 6 - 9? Phone registration is now open for the Des Moines show. Click here for a complete directory of classes and events. You can call 1-270-898-7903 to register yourself and a friend today!

Be sure to reserve your spot in the fun and informative lecture by Joe Cunningham called "Quilt Men at Work." Joe will show some of his own quilts and also images of the fantastic quilts being made by some of the other men of the quilting world! You'll see a variety of quilt styles - from traditional to modern art quilts, and you'll get to enjoy Joe's sense of humor!

And how about attending one of these cool classes:

#37501 Faux Log Cabin by Jean Biddick – if you like making Log Cabin quilts, then you’ll love how quick and easy this Faux Log Cabin quilt is to make. Clear out your scrap box by choosing lights and darks. You’ll be amazed at all of the ways you can set these blocks together to give different looks.







#37511 Charms, Strips and Bias, Oh My! by Laurie Malm – this is another stash buster project, including how to use bias strips and rickrack on the curved edges of the Drunkard’s Path. Learn Laurie’s method for sewing curved seams – she makes it a snap.

#38504 Trapunto without Tears by Zena Thorpe – you could call this class “a prizewinning technique taught by a prizewinning quiltmaker." Learn this simple technique that many of the prizewinning quiltmakers use to add that extra dimension to their quilting. It can be used in hand or machine quilting.




Register by August 25 to receive your name badge in the mail. Just pick up your phone and call Laura at 270-898-7903, ext. 132.

For registrations between August 26 and September 15, name badges will be held for pickup at the show.

Laura Davis
AQS Registration Coordinator