Entry Deadline is January 5

Just a reminder that your entries for the AQS Quilt Contest and the AQS Fashion Contest for the Paducah quilt show need to be postmarked tomorrow - January 5.

All photos need to be digital this year - if you have slides or photos, you can take them to your local camera shop, or photo studio in stores like Walgreens and Walmart and they can help you get them on a CD.

If you have any questions about entering, please call Sharon Durbin at 270-898-7903, ext. 174.

Good luck with your entries. You could be a winner at our 25th Anniversary Show in April!

Bonnie Browning
Executive Show Director

Executive Inn Lottery Update

Work is progressing on the closing of the sale of the Executive Inn. There are many legal documents that have to be finalized to complete it. We, too, wish this could all be finished, and hope that soon we can announce that it is all final.

Last week I met with Bill Parsons, President of Space Coast Hospitality Management Services, who is buying the hotel, and Chef Tim Creehan, who will be managing all of the food services at the hotel during our event. Here is a link where you can meet Chef Creehan: http://www.beachwalkcafe.com/aboutus/timcreehan.html . He is excited to plan food for our special events, for the restaurants in the hotel, and also outside near the barbeque and strawberry shortcakes. I have the Chef's cookbook, Simple Cuisine, and I can't wait to taste some of his culinary handiwork.

Also, those of you who participated in the room lottery at the Executive Inn will be contacted soon by staff from the Space Coast office. We are forwarding them all of the cancelled checks that you have sent to AQS. If you had a check cashed for this lottery and have not sent a copy of it to AQS, please do so immediately. You can e-mail a copy of the both the front and back of your cancelled check to: sylvia@AQSquilt.com, or mail it to Sylvia Thomas, AQS, PO Box 3290, Paducah, KY 42002-3290.

Bonnie Browning
Executive Show Director
bonniebrowning@AQSquilt.com

Merry Christmas from AQS

All of the AQS staff wish each of you a very Merry Christmas and

a New Year filled with quilts, quilt shows, and quilting friends.

Some fun during your holiday preparations

As you are busy making holiday preparations, take a break from your baking or shopping, and see if you can answer these questions related to Christmas.

1. What President was the first to decorate the white house Christmas tree?

2. What song was written for Thanksgiving, before becoming one of the most popular Christmas songs?

3. How many gifts would you receive if you received all of the gifts in the song "The 12 Days of Christmas"?

4. In the song "Winter Wonderland," who do we pretend the snowman is?

5. What popular children's cracker today was introduced in 1902 as a Christmas ornament?

6. In 1939 Robert May created this Christmas figure as a Christmas promotion for Montgomery Ward department store in Chicago.

7. In the 1920’s what world wide beverage company adopted the Santa Claus figure for a winter advertising promotion?

8. What popular Christmas candy today had it’s debut and was given out by a choirmaster in 1670 to quiet the noisy children?

9. What best selling Christmas song did Gene Autry record in 1951?

10. What American President barred the Christmas Tree from being displayed in the White House?

11. The politicians, women’s groups, and seniors’ organizations protested this Christmas song written in 1979 and popularized by Elmo and Patsy.

12. Round or oval candies filled with fruit preserves or cream and covered with chocolate are called _______?

13. Which country created eggnog?

14. How many reindeer hooves are there (include Rudolph)?

15. What carol demands figgy pudding?

Answer the questions....then scroll down, down, down to find the answers. You can use these questions for your guild or other gathering during this holiday season.

















Answers:
1. President Pierce
2. Jingle Bells
3. 364
4. Parson Brown
5. Barnum's Animal Crackers
6. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
7. Coca-Cola Company
8. Candy cane
9. Frosty the Snowman
10. The environmentalist President Teddy Roosevelt
11. Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer
12. Sugar plums
13. United States
14. 36
15. We Wish You a Merry Christmas

Hope you had fun!

Paducah Contest Deadline

The deadline for entering the AQS Quilt and Fashion Contests in Paducah, Kentucky, is nearing. In the rush of the holidays, don't forget to send your entries. Your entries (maximum of 2 per person) must be postmarked or received in the AQS office by January 5, 2009.

If you need a copy of the rules, just click on the title of this post and it will take you to the rules on the AQS Web site.

We are already processing entries, so you can send your entry any time. You don't need to wait for the deadline.

Good luck! Maybe you will be the Best of Show winner at the 25th Anniversary AQS Quilt Show!

Paducah Registration is Now OPEN & Executive Inn News

The Paducah registration is now open! Just click on the title of this post and it will take you directly to the online registration site.

This morning opened the link for online registration for the 25th Anniversary AQS Quilt Show & Contest in Paducah, Kentucky, April 22 - 25, 2009.

Update on the Executive Inn: The final closing is going to be this week, and work will begin on hotel rooms next week. When the new owners take over next week, they will go through the reservations to determine the status of everyone who has paid for rooms at the Executive Inn and will be in contact with you. Thank you for being so patient with this whole process. We want you to come to Paducah and enjoy an exciting 25th anniversary with AQS.

Paducah Registration Guide

The quilt show staff has been working hard to get the Paducah Registration Guide ready. It went to the printer today.

The online registration will be open next week as soon as our Webmaster gets the links and all of the information uploaded onto our Web site, www.AmericanQuilter.com . Just click on the Show & Contests link at the top of the page.

The past Best of Show winners will be our guests at the 25th Anniversary Celebration. Several of those winners will be teaching too. This will be your opportunity to take classes from some of the best quilters in the world.

If you are looking for lodging for the Paducah show, please go to the Paducah Visitors Bureau's Web site, www.paducah.travel and click on the AQS Quilt Show, then look for the AQS Approved Accommodations list. You will see that most of the hotels in the city are already filled.

Another option for lodging is the AQS Home Bed & Breakfast where local homeowners open up their guest rooms to house more quilters in the city. This program starts February 1, when you can call 1-800-PADUCAH to request the AQS Home Bed & Breakfast form. If you are an AQS member, they will find you lodging in this program.

Wednesday night will be the 25th Anniversary Celebration & Reception at the Four Rivers Center. This will be the night when the 2009 winners receive their awards (not Tuesday night like we have been doing), we'll honor all 25 of the Best of Show winners, and more surprises. Thursday evening will be Alive on Stage: 30 Years of Eleanor Burns, and Friday night will be Ricky Tims in Concert to help celebrate our 25th anniversary.

Make your plans now to be in Paducah for this extra special show, April 22 - 25, 2009!

Harman Sister Reunion at Des Moines AQS Quilt Expo

We Are Family!

We are sisters—one from California, one from Florida, and two from Illinois who share many interests and thoroughly enjoy doing things together. We have had opportunities to gather for birthdays and weddings (each of us has two children) but we wanted a Harman sister reunion. No husbands, no children, no responsibility, no accountability—just food, fabric, and fun!

We’ve had only two reunions in the last 15 years, so our third had to be especially memorable. We all love needle crafts including cross-stitch, embroidery, knitting, and quilting. Following a very brief discussion of the interests we share, we made the decision—let’s quilt!

The AQS selection of Des Moines for its new quilt show offered the perfect venue for our reunion. The weather and hotel accommodations were wonderful. The instructors inspired us and the classes gave us the confidence to continue on our own, stitching and piecing back in the hotel room well into the night.

We signed up for the Mystery Quilt with Kimberly Einmo and wore our matching lime-green Harman Sister Reunion 2008 T-shirts to class on Thursday. Instructors, vendors, quilters, and shoppers greeted us and laughed as we explained the significance. Several people asked if they could become honorary sisters. We browsed through the huge variety of quilting supplies and beautiful fabrics every chance we could, and when we returned to the market on Friday to purchase one more fat quarter or quilting tool, many people greeted us saying, “Oh you’re the sisters!”

Mom introduced us to the world of fabric, thread, and needles. The four of us have made quilts for our own children (five girls and three boys), and now for their children (six boys and two girls), and our daughters have made quilts as well. Guess you could say quilting is in our family.

Linda (Harman) Apple, California
Susan (Harman) Nelson, Illinois
Karen (Harman) Anderson, Illinois
Janet (Harman) Turner, Florida

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Thank you to the Harman sisters for sharing their story, and to AQS American Quilter Editor Chris Brown for snapping a great photo of them. Many reunions happen at AQS shows - moms and daughters, sisters, friends from across the country all make their plans to spend some quality time together. If you want to plan your own reunion in Des Moines, Iowa, next year, the dates are October 28 - 31, 2009.

It All Begins with Destruction

Steve Doolittle, Downtown Development Director, visits with AQS staff Rick Loyd, Billy Schroeder, and Meredith Schroeder about the destruction taking place. Today we were given a tour of the building to see the progress being made. Here are some photos so you, too, can see what will lead to a completely renovated convention center in Paducah. Many of the areas were really destruction zones but we stepped as close as we dared to snap these photos.

The City of Paducah has committed to renovate the convention center compatible with the renovation of the Executive Inn. The classrooms will be completely remodeled with new everything - from top to bottom, and we are especially grateful to have new lighting in these rooms for our workshops. New heating and air conditioning will be installed. The International Rooms will be renovated with new ceiling, lighting, wall treatments, and carpeting.

Steve Doolittle, Meredith Schroeder, AQS President; Mary Hammond, Executive Director of the Paducah/McCracken Convention & Visitors Bureau; and Terry Guill, Director of AQS Show Operations, take a look at where the planter (we always called it the moat) was removed in the lobby of the convention center. It is amazing how much space that planter took up.

The ceilings will be replaced throughout the building. Two shifts a day are working to get the building ready for reconstruction. All they left in place are the metal heat ducts as you can see in this photo. New electrical lines will be installed throughout the building.

The upper hallway was in big time destruction mode today. Won't we all be anxious to see it all put back together?

Workers were busy ripping out wiring and heat registers. This was a pretty big mess.

Carpeting is being ripped out of the classrooms. New ceilings and lighting will be installed in all of the classrooms.

The bathrooms have been gutted and will be brand new from top to bottom.

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Wow, can you believe all that they have torn apart so far? Keep an eye here on our Blog and we'll bring you new photos as the work progresses.

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Can't wait until April? Well, you can see that there is a lot of work to be done, but these crews are up to the task, and the building will all be fresh and new for our 25th Anniversary Celebration. And, we'll also get to celebrate a newly renovated convention center and hotel rooms. Put on your dancing...or your track shoes and come celebrate with us.

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Meanwhile back at the office, Cindy Carrico and Marcelle Cashon are busy working on the Registration Guide for our 25th Anniversary Celebration. It will be later in November before it is all finished. We still have a lot of information to get formatted in our software, and then it goes back to the teachers for proofing, and a final proofing in our office...then we'll get it to the printer and posted for online registration. We'll post a notice on our Web site and here on our Blog when we have a better idea of the date it will be ready.

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Here's a little secret: 19 of the past Best of Show winners will be joining us in Paducah...and you'll be able to take classes from several of them. How great is that... to learn from some of the best!

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Bonnie Browning

Executive Show Director

Olfa Young Designer Okada Award at Paducah

Do you know any young quilt designers who are creating innovative quilts?

One of the categories in the Paducah Quilt Contest is Young Designer Quilts. The quilter can use any technique in making a fabric quilt in a unique interpretation. This category is open to ages 18 to 35 (determined on the opening day of the show). The judges will be looking for originality in this category.

There are some great awards for this category. All quilts in this category are eligible for the $5,000 Olfa Young Designer Okada Award. In addition, there will be 1st ($1,500), 2nd ($1,000), and 3rd ($750) places.

Pass the word around to your quilting friends and to your guild about this special contest geared to young quilters. They can't win if they don't enter.

The rules for the AQS Quilt Contest are available on our AQS Web site, www.AmericanQuilter.com. Just click on Shows & Contests and then choose the Paducah Quilt Show. The deadline for receiving contest entries (entry form and two digital images) is January 5, 2009...so there is still time to work on an entry.

If you have any questions about the Young Designer Quilts category or the Paducah Quilt Contest, please call the AQS office at 270-898-7903.

Executive Inn Update

The contract to purchase the Executive Inn by Space Coast Hospitality has been signed. The contract closing will be in 10 to 14 days. The long-awaited renovations will begin shortly after the closing.

Once the closing has taken place, the new owners will begin to determine the status of the reservations for those who sent checks to the hotel.

If you sent a check to the hotel and have NOT received a confirmation for your room, please forward a copy of the front AND back of your cancelled check to Sylvia Thomas in the AQS office who is collecting this information. Her e-mail address is: sylvia@AQSquilt.com or fax it to 270-898-1173.

A Glimpse of the 2008 AQS Quilt Expo in Des Moines

If you missed the show in Des Moines, here is how it looked through Bonnie Browning's camera lens. You can view them larger by clicking on the photos. Put the dates for next year's AQS Quilt Expo - Des Moines on your calendar now so you don't miss it: October 28 - 31, 2009.

The view from the windows on the third level of the Iowa Events Center was beautiful. The exhibit floor looked like a patchwork quilt. This is only 2/3 of the exhibit hall. There is another room of quilts under where I was standing. More than 900 quilts were on exhibit at this show.

Two familiar faces, Dale Perry and Bill Schroeder, greet quilters as they enter the show.

Winners Marilyn Badger (co-winner with Claudia Clark Myers of the Best Longarm Workmanship Award) and Anne Lullie (winner of the Best Machine Workmanship Award)

visit in front of Anne's quilt.

AQS President Meredith Schroeder presented a contribution to the Des Moines Area Quilters Guild in appreciation of their assistance in providing volunteers for the show. (L to R: Mary Shotwell and Jill Reber, Co-AQS Volunteer Coordinators; Meredith Schroeder; Sherri Street, Guild President; and Doris Rumpp, Guild Treasurer)

With this being an election year, we included a Hooray for the Red, White & Blue exhibit. Nancy Kirk, Kirk Collection, Omaha, Nebraska, shared some of her antique red, white, and blue quilts and costumes.

One of the popular events is the All-Star Review where the instructors demonstrate a technique and the quilters move around the room at their own pace. Each participant receives a booklet of handouts from the instructors so make notes or as a reminder when they get home.

Quilters are getting a close look at one of the quilts in the exhibit by Sandra McMillan, Albion, Nebraska. We all aspire to make such beautiful quilts.

You know how popular aprons are again. MaryJane Butters, Moscow, Idaho, shared her collection of aprons as one of our special exhibits. Do you remember your grandmother wearing one of the aprons that covered her whole front? I do. And it reminds me of her baking cookies.

An exhibit of Judy Martin's quilts was very popular. People loved her Log Cabin quilts. Thanks, Judy, for sharing your beautiful quilts.

The National Quilt Museum displayed two exhibits at the show: New Quilts from an Old Favorite: Sawtooth, and the 2009 Pilgrim/Roy Challenge. The Yoyos from Paducah drew crowds as they demonstrated some tricks for making yoyos and how to use them in a variety of ways.

Here's a great view of the exhibit hall!

This is a view of the exhibit hall from the skywalk windows that overlook the show. Great quilts! Great vendors! Lots of visitors!

Wish you were here.

The show closes at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday - that's tomorrow, so you still have one more day to come see the show.

Sunrise in Des Moines

Here is the view of the Iowa State Capitol from my hotel room window.

Do you need a hotel room for the AQS Quilt Expo in Des Moines?

If you need a hotel for the Des Moines AQS Quilt Expo, the Downtown Marriott still has some rooms available.

The Marriott is located in downtown Des Moines and is connected to the Iowa Events Center via the skywalk system. It is the closest hotel with rooms still available.

To book your room at the Marriott, call 515) 245-5500 today. Rooms at the AQS rate are limited.

Des Moines Marriott Downtown
700 Grand Avenue
Des Moines, IA 50309
515-245-5500

See you in Des Moines, October 8 - 11!

Bonnie Browning