Tune in to 750 AM - Home of Quilter Radio

While you are at the AQS Quilt Show in Paducah, April 27 - 30, tune in to 750 AM, WTHQ, for quilting information all day long. This station will be featuring:

• Quilt Show Information
• Class Times
• Nationally-known Quilters Talk Radio
• Pat Sloan's Creative Talk
• ... and more

Whether you are staying in Mount Vernon, IL; Cape Girardeau or Sikeston, MO, or Clarksville, TN, you should be able to tune in to We're the Home of Quilters at 750 AM on your radio dial.

Thank you to Stratemeyer Media for providing this special programming for our guests at the AQS Quilt Show.

Get the Scoop on Writing a Quilt Book

In just a few days, the 27th annual AQS Quilt Show and Contest will open in Paducah! If you have contemplated or even just dreamed about writing a book on quilting, then Andi Reynolds, executive book editor for AQS, is just the person for you to see during the show.

There are several opportunities to learn what is involved in authoring a book and getting it published.

• Potential book authors can also attend the lecture, Get into Print!, on Wednesday, April 27 from 10  to 11 am in the Eisenhower Room on the first floor of the convention center. Tickets for Lecture # 2802 will be available at the Workshop Desk; this is a free event.
• Later that afternoon, also in the Eisenhower Room, Andi will moderate the Author's Roundtable from 4:30 pm to 5:30 pm. Come hear what five AQS authors have to say about what it’s like to publish with AQS. This is your time to ask all the nitty-gritty questions you can think of about what it is like to write a quilt book. Invited authors are Dilys Fronks (Dual Image Appliqué); Linda J. Hahn (New York Beauty Simplified); Sally Terry (Pathways from Quilt Top to Quilted); and Linda K. Johnson and Jane K. Wells, aka The Crafty Ol' Broads (Cuddly Snuggly Quilts). Tickets for Special Event # 2202 will be available at the Workshop Desk—and it’s free, too!
• If you have given some thought to writing a quilt book, you can bring just an idea or a full-blown proposal or anything in between. Andi's office will be on the second floor of the Julian Carroll Convention Center, to the left as you come up the stairs or off the elevator. There will be a sign indicating where to find her. The field editors for American Quilter magazine will have space there, too.

(Advance registration for the Paducah show is now closed. Pick up your tickets for these events at the Workshop Desk in the Paducah Expo Center - opens at 12 noon on Tuesday and 8 a.m. on show days.

If you'd like to talk about a book or magazine idea, you can prepare in advance by reviewing the AQS book proposal guidelines. Click here to view or print the guidelines.

Both of these events should help explain the process of becoming an AQS author, but you don't need to attend them to talk with Andi. Walk-ins are welcome, or you may make an appointment by emailing her at andi@aqsquilt.com no later than Wednesday, April 20.

See you soon in Paducah!

Dogwoods in Paducah

The dogwoods are blooming now in Paducah and with the warm temperatures we are having, they likely will be gone during the quilt show... so I took my annual tour around town and shot some photos of the dogwoods to share with you. (You can enlarge any of the photos by clicking on them.)

We know spring is here when the Dogwood Trail banners go up and the dogwood trees bloom like this beauty on Jefferson Street.

Also on Jefferson Street is this yard that includes blooming azaleas, wisteria, and both pink and white dogwood trees. The wisteria is especially pretty this year, including in my own yard, where the blossoms are in clumps 10 - 12 inches long.

These "red" dogwood blossoms (the pink ones are much lighter) are on a tree at the Episcopal Church on Broadway.

I like this scene where the bench says "Rest Ye Awhile" in front of the

dogwood tree at the Episcopal Church. Very inviting!

You see many scenes like this one around town where the yards

are filled with pink, red, or white dogwoods.

The azalea bushes are starting to bloom, like this row of red ones

behind the red dogwood tree. What beautiful colors.

This tree on Madison Street was my favorite this

year - each dogwood was just perfect.

While the dogwoods may be gone when you arrive, there will still be plenty of

other blooming trees and flowers when you come for the AQS Quilt Show.

Last weekend Wayne and I made a quick trip to Iowa for a family

celebration and those of you coming from the north will still get to see the

wild dogwoods in the timber along I-24 as you drive south. Our trees are

two or three weeks ahead of what we saw along the interstate during our travels.

See you soon in Paducah for the quilt show. We are busy preparing for you!

We can'twait for you to see the beautiful quilts in the contest this year.

Bonnie Browning

Executive Show Director

Janome Sewing Machine Drawings

The 27th AQS Quilt Show and Contest in Paducah is just days away. As you are making your list of things to do, don't forget to register for the Janome 3160 sewing machines that will be given away. 

Look for the registration slips at the display near the Quilter's Park in the Paducah Expo Center. The display is close to the Janome Best of Show quilt and the other top winning quilts.

One machine will be given away each day at 3:00 p.m. - Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.

See the Movie "Stitched" in Paducah

During the 2010 AQS Quilt Show, Houston-based Picturesmith Productions taped part of the movie, Stitched, in Paducah. This year the movie is finished and ready for viewing!

The movie lasts 72 minutes and will be shown in the Eisenhower Room at the following times:

• Tuesday, April 26, 4 p.m.

• Wednesday, April 27, 6 p.m.

• Friday, April 29, 6 p.m.

• Saturday, April 30, 4 p.m.

Tickets ($12) can be purchased at the Workshop Desk in the Expo Center Hallway at the show.

Stitched follows three art quilters, Caryl Bryer Fallert, Hollis Chatelain and Randall Cook, for one year as they compete for some of the quilting world’s top prizes and attend the biggest quilt shows. Along the way, these artists juggle busy careers and challenges as they race to finish their quilts to enter in the these shows.

Caryl Bryer Fallert

Hollis Chatelain

Randall Cook

Wednesday - 1950s Fun Night

Woweee - what an evening is planned for Wednesday evening at the Carson Four Rivers Center, 7 - 9 p.m. it's the 1950s Fun Night!


Charlotte Angotti


Do you remember the 1950s – the era of the Pop Rebellion with its Doo Wop music, Elvis Presley, and Chuck Berry? Funny lady Charlotte Angotti and show director Bonnie Browning will co-host the event. It will be a crazy evening with games - we'll refresh your memory with some trivia, dances, and also featuring the APQS Rebels (Jim Langland on the keyboard and Mark Caraher on vocals). You haven’t lived until you have seen Jim and Mark in action live on the stage. Yes, we bet Elvis will be in the building!


Bonnie Browning


Will you win the prize for the quilter in the best 1950s dress? Come dressed in 1950s’ style and vie for some prizes – think bobby socks, poodle skirts, blue jeans and white tucked-in T-shirts, pedal pushers, petticoats, saddle oxfords, and let’s not forget the pompadour and duck-tail hairdos.




Don’t miss this evening of fun, games, audience participation, and more. AccuQuilt has donated a "GO" machine to be given away, plus lots of other great prizes have been donated by sponsors and vendors. Be there or be square!
.
Bus transportation will leave the AQS Bus Stop starting at 6:15pm and will return you to the bus stop at the conclusion of the presentation.
.
Advance registration will be open until 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, April 13... so there is still time to order your tickets... just click here to go to online registration or call 270-898-7903 and ask for the Registration Desk. Order #2204 Quilters’ 1950s Fun Night, $15.

Eve's Diary at the Paducah Quilt Show

Attend the AQS Awards Presentation on Tuesday, April 27, at 5:30 p.m. to enjoy Eve's Diary, adapted and performed by Gayle Stahlhuth, based on several of Mark Twain's stories and essays, including Eve's Diary, Extract from Eve's Diary, and Papers of the Adams Family. Life IS difficult to figure out without a dictionary!

Gayle Stahlhuth (performer/playwright) has performed off-Broadway, in national tours, regional theater, and radio. Her plays have been produced in NYC and regionally, including her own one-woman plays based on Louisa May Alcott, Catherine Beecher, Edna Ferber, and her own life, and many were written due to commissions. Since becoming Artistic Director of the East Lynn Theater Company (ELTC) in 1999, she has produced 57 different plays/musicals (some returned for another season), including 14 world premieres and 8 NJ premieres, and directed 31 of them.

She is a member of Actors' Equity Association, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, Screen Actors build, and the Dramatists Guild.

Eve's Diary is one of East Lynne Theater Company's touring productions. This Equity professional company, founded in 1980, celebrates the American Spirit on Stage through timeless classics and provocative new works. ELTC operates all year long with the following programs: Mainstage Production Season in Cape May, NJ; touring Shows throughout the country; and Educational Outreach for all ages. The name "East Lynne" derives from an enduringly popular 19th-century American play.

To order tickets online to the Awards Presentation, click here; or call 270-898-7903 and ask for the Registration Desk.

Hidden Gems in the AQS Paducah Teacher Line-Up

Lucky you, if you haven’t yet chosen which classes to attend on your trip to the AQS Quilt Show and Contest – Paducah, April 27 – 30. Two amazing instructors still have openings in their classes, and their techniques will truly expand upon and improve your quiltmaking.

Called “Dilys the Quilt” per the custom of her Welsh homeland,  
Dilys Fronks has taught innovative quilt designs and techniques across the US and Europe for more than 20 years. Appearing in Paducah for the first time in several years, she will teach a positive/negative appliqué technique that she calls 2-4-1. That is, when you cut your appliqué shape 1 time, you get 2 possible blocks. “2 quilts for 1 effort” is another way to phrase it, as is the title of her very successful book, Dual Image Applique, (AQS, 2010). Dilys has an unusual way with color, too, so if spicing up your quilts and getting the most out of the time you spend quilting—2-4-1 style—then Dilys’s classes are not to be missed. Be happy you caught up with her while she’s in the US!

Sign up for these classes with Dilys:

3501: Hand Reverse Applique Using a Cast Iron Design

3503: Positive and Negative Hand Applique

3102: 2-4-1 Applique

3505: Template-free Hand Applique

Marianne Hatton hails from the Boston area now, but this native South African, a newly-minted U.S. citizen, brings an unmistakable continental flair to sampler quilts. Forget boring 6, 9, or 12 set quilts incarcerated by sashing and weighed down with cornerstones.

Marianne shows you how to make a dynamic sampler quilt quite simply by using a super simple grid. Mix and match blocks and go to town. Create themed quilts that look like landscapes—but the blocks are just as easy as any beginner sampler class! Create a memory quilt of a trip to Europe or bring your garden indoors. The sheer versatility of the process she explains in Simply Dynamic Sampler Quilts (AQS, 2010) will blow your mind in her very popular classes. Marianne doesn’t come South very often, so if you can snag a class with her this year, count yourself fortunate.

Spend a day learning these great techniques from Marianne:

5102: A Simply Dynamic Sampler Quilt!

7107: A Simply Dynamic Kaleidoscope!








Call 270-898-7903 or click here to register online.

Don't delay, advance registration closes at 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, April 13.

Winners - AQS It's In the Bag Contest

Thank you to all of the contestants who entered the AQS It's In the Bag Contest. All of the bags are donated to the National Quilt Museum and will be auctioned during the Paducah Quilt Show.

Here are the winners:

Best Bag in the Contest – Marilyn Fromherz, Calimesa, CA













Category #1 Purse - 1st Place Winner – Janet M Scovic, Paisley, Orlando, FL

Category #2 Tote Bag - 1st Place Winner – Maxine Parker, Strawberry Shortcake, Las Vegas, NV

Category #3 Bag Full of Pockets - 1st Place Winner – June Schwierjohn, Posies Full of Pockets, Alton, IL

Category #4 Functional Bag - 1st Place Winner – Jean Dodson, Melon Bag, Arlington, TX

Category #5 Embellished Bag - 1st Place Winner – Marilyn Fromherz, Marilyn Fromherz, Calimesa, CA

Category #6 Green Bag - 1st Place Winner – Irma Dempsey, Quilted Flour Sack Patchwork, Indianapolis, IN

Category #7 Specialty Bag - 1st Place Winner – LynDee Lombardo, Look Whooze Back in Town, Olympia, WA

No entries for Category #8

Bucket List of Rituals for Paducah

Attending the AQS Quilt Show in Paducah should be memorable. Here is a bucket list of the rituals every quilter should perform in Paducah…

• Attend the Awards Presentation on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.
• Be at the Annual Quilt Auction, either live at the Food Tent in front of the Convention Center or by attending the free live webcast
• Cast your vote for Viewer’s Choice in the Expo Center for large quilts, and on the 2nd floor of the Convention Center for the wall quilts
• Donate items to the Museum’s Annual Quilt Auction

• Eat southern barbeque, strawberry shortcake and other good eats in the Food Tent at the Convention Center
• Find the Hurt Book Sale and vendors at the Finkel Building
• Go see Klaudeen Hansen and collect autographs of quiltmakers at the Quilt Art Autograph Party
• Have a seat and enjoy the free demonstrations at the AQS Grandstand
• Increase your stash at the AQS Merchant Malls
• Join or renew your AQS membership at the show
• Keep your packages safe at the Package checks in the Atrium of the Convention Center and at the entrance of the Pavilion (hint: remember where you left them)
• Learn something new in a workshop or lecture in the AQS School of Quiltmaking
• Mail your postcards and letters with the AQS Show Cancellation Stamp and packages from the U.S. Post Office booth in the Convention Center
• Note all of the familiar faces you see at the show year after year
• Offer to be a white-gloved hostess/host and you’ll receive the collectible AQS volunteer pin
• Park yourself at the Quilter’s Park in the Expo Center or find a chair in the hallways of the Convention Center to give your feet a rest
• Quilt on charity quilts at the Build Quilts for Love booth #1124
• Ride the free shuttles to the AQS-sanctioned events: The National Quilt Museum and the 23rd Annual Rotary Antique Quilt Show and Vendor Mall

• Spend Friday evening at An Evening of Inspiration and Entertainment with Ricky Tims, sponsored by Ken’s Sewing Center
• Try out a new sewing machine – all of the manufacturers will have booths with models to test drive
• Update your calendar for entry deadlines for all of the AQS Quilt Contests – pick up the rules at the Workshop Desk
• View the movie, Stitched
• Watch the live AQS Webcasts online, sponsored by Pfaff
• Xerox your itinerary so you don’t miss a thing
• Y’all come back now, y’hear
• Zzzzz… don’t forget to get some rest

You can still register until April 13 at 3:00 p.m. (central time); your registration will be held for pickup at the Workshop Desk in the Paducah Expo Center – open on Tuesday from 12 to 8 p.m. and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on show days.

Let us know how you do in completing the Paducah Bucket List!

Decorah Eaglets #1 and #2 Have Hatched

Two of the eaglets a the Decorah nest have hatched, one on 4/2 and one on 4/3.

April 2: 1st eagle has barely hatched in this photo. Notice the cracked shell still in the nest. 

Later in the day, the eaglet was fed some rabbit. I think the eaglets look like little aliens at this point. Wait until you see how fast they grow. Two more eggs to hatch.

Bob Anderson of the Raptor Resource Group that is responsible for putting the camera on this nest periodically zooms so we can get some great closeups of the eagles. Good camera work, Bob!

April 3: This morning both eagles were on the nest - there were lots of birds around making a lot of noise.

April 3: We get our first peak at the second eaglet - it's right behind #1 here. See what I mean about looking like little aliens? The eyes are black and so is the beak.

Mom eagle is ready for a nap this morning - must have had a busy night with the hatching of #2.

Click here if you would like to watch the Decorah eagles. More than 145,000 people from all over the world have logged on at one time to watch the Decorah eagles. There have been nearly 7 million page views of this site so far. This is watching nature at its very best! The arrival of the second eaglet even made Good Morning America this morning.

Stitched - See the Paducah Premier of the Movie About Quilters

During the 2010 AQS Quilt Show, Houston-based Picturesmith Productions taped part of the movie, Stitched, in Paducah. This year the movie is finished and ready for viewing!

Stitched follows three art quilters, Caryl Bryer Fallert, Hollis Chatelain and Randall Cook, for one year as they compete for some of the quilting world’s top prizes and attend the biggest quilt shows. Along the way, these artists juggle busy careers and challenges as they race to finish their quilts to enter in the these shows.

Watch a trailer about the movie.

Purchase your tickets online or call 270-898-7903 and ask for the Registration Desk.
Tickets are $12 and the movie will be shown in the Eisenhower Room at the Carroll Convention Center.
The movie will be show four times during the show. The movie runs 72 minutes so it will go slightly beyond the times listed.
#2851 Tues., 4–5pm
#2852 Wed., 6–7pm
#2853 Fri., 6–7pm
#2854 Sat., 4–5pm

Don't Miss these Events at the National Quilt Museum

National Quilt Museum's 
2011 Special Hours and Events
During the AQS Quilt Show

The Museum will begin opening 7 days a week, starting in April. The Museum is open the Sunday prior to, and after the Quilt Show. Due to the timing of this year’s show, the Museum is open Easter Sunday, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Regular Admission Sunday – Tuesday: $10 Adult; $8 Senior

Sunday, April 24: Museum is open 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Monday: Museum is open 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Tuesday: Museum is open 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.

More events on Tuesday:

10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.: George and Virginia Siciliano Demonstrations – Starting Tuesday, the Sicilianos will be in the lobby demonstrating their techniques most days throughout the week.

10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.: Bill Ford. – Demonstrating and promoting his painted aprons.

5:30 – 7:00 p.m: AQS Awards Presentation – (Carson Four Rivers Center, 100 Kentucky Ave.)

7:30 – 9:30 p.m.: AQS Sneak Preview – Be the first to see the prizewinning quilts in this year's AQS Quilt Contest; the merchant malls will be open too. Remember the Museum benefits from the proceeds of this event! (All Exhibit Areas)

Discounted Admission During AQS Show, Wednesday – Sunday: $8

Wednesday: Museum is open 8 a.m. – 6 p.m.

• 10 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.: NQM’s Silent Auction – (Convention Center 1st Floor Hallway) 
• 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. and 2 – 4 p.m.: Jim Shore Signing – (National Quilt Museum (NQM) Lobby) &am
• 7 p.m.: Jim Shore Lecture – (NQM Classroom) You can purchase tickets for this event by calling (270) 442-8856 x205 or online at www.quiltmuseum.org/JimShore. Tickets are $15. 
• Gift Shop Open 8 a.m.-7:30 p.m.

Thursday: Museum is open 8 a.m. – 6 p.m.

• 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.: NQM’s Live Auction Preview (Convention Center 1st Floor Hallway)
• 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.: Bill Ford Museum is open 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Demonstrating and promoting his painted aprons.
• 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.: Book Signing – Mary Tatem, author of numerous books including: Quilt of Joy, Quilt of Faith and Quilt of Life. (NQM Lobby) 
• 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.: Live Quilt Auction (Convention Center Food Tent) – NEW this year is the ability to participate in the live auction online through the AQS Webcasts. Click here to subscribe for webcasts at this year's AQS Quilt Show. 
• 7:00 p.m.: Evening Upstairs at Your Library Lecture Series “More than Preaching to the Choir: The Role of the Museum in the Current Quilt World” presented by The National Quilt Museum Curator of Collections and Registrar, Judy Schwender. 7 p.m. at McCracken County Public Library in the upstairs community room. For additional information contact Bobbie Wrinkle 270-442-2510 X 119 bwrinkle@mclib.net – Free

Friday: Museum is open 8 a.m. – 7 p.m.

Samples of Fabric for Fabulous Fabric Flurry

• 8 a.m. – 12 p.m.: New this year, the Museum will hold its first Fabulous Fabric Flurry on Friday during Quilt Week (April 29th) from 8 a.m. – 12 p.m.  or until the fabric is gone. Just $10 gets you all the fabric you can fit into your “Flurry Bag.” Look for the tent on the Museum lawn. Come early for the best selection. Event ends when supply runs out. Have fabric you would like to donate for the Fabulous Fabric Flurry? We are looking for clean, 100% cotton fabric in fat quarter and 1 yard lengths or more. Just bring them to the Museum and drop off for the Flurry! Or contact Susan Edwards, Director of Marketing at (270) 442-8856 x214 or sedwards@quiltmuseum.org.
• 10 am – 12 p.m.: New Quilts from an Old Favorite: Orange Peel Book Signing – See these exciting quilts and meet some of the quiltmakers. Admission to Gallery required. (NQM Gallery) 
• 10 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.: NQM’s Silent Auction – (Convention Center lst floor Hallway)

Saturday: Museum is open 8 a.m. – 6 p.m.

Sunday: Museum is open 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
.

Eagle Hatch Watch is ON

Have you been watching the Decorah eagles online? They have three eggs in their nest and today is the date for the first egg to hatch.

Click here to go to the eagle website to watch the live camera that runs 24/7.

This is watching nature at its best!


Here is a link to a PBS documentary about this eagle nest that gives a lot of information about these Decorah, Iowa eagles. The photography and information is very good.

Soon there will be a lot of action in the eagle nest as both parents work to keep the eaglets fed. If you have school-age children, I highly recommend this site. If you click on the UStream words in the upper right corner, you can gain access to the chat room where the discussion is only about eagles. (Right now there are more than 100,000 people logged into the site so it is very hard to get into the chat room.)

Bonnie Browning
Executive Show Director

National Quilt Museum Celebrates 20 Years

The National Quilt Museum celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. 

Do you have the museum on your schedule while you are attending the AQS Quilt Show, April 27–30?

Here are some of the special activities going on at the Museum during Quilt Show week:

20th Anniversary Fabric: MODA Fabrics has designed a beautiful line of fabrics especially for the Museum. "Dogwood Trail, Sentimental Studios" will be available in four colorways and matching blender designs - you will be able to get this fabric exclusively at the Museum's Gift Shop during the show (it will be in fabric stores in late summer). MODA is donating a portion of the proceeds from the Dogwood Trail Collection to the Museum.

 

Exhibits at the Museum to View during the Quilt Show:

• 20 Quilts for 20 Years: The museum’s quilt collection, which began with 85 quilts in 1991, has expanded to more than 300 quilts. Twenty additional quilts will be unveiled during this year's 20th Anniversary Celebration.

• Celebration!: The Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA) made these quilts to celebrate the Museum's 20th anniversary

• New Quilts from an Old Favorite 2011: Orange Peel: The 18 semi-finalists in the Museum's annual New Quilts from an Old Favorite Contest

• The Color Orange: Antique Quilts from the Pilgrim Roy Collection

• The National Quilt Museum Collection Quilts: The main gallery features a selection of quilts from the Museum's Collection

• “Oh, Wow!” Miniature Quilt Collection

 Watch for the next blog about all of the fun events that will be happening at the Quilt Museum during the AQS Quilt Show.