Coming attractions: Supersized July issue!

The next issue of American Quilter magazine (July 2011) will be published in mid-May, shortly after the annual AQS show in Paducah. To accommodate all the winning quilts from both the AQS Lancaster and Paducah shows, we've added more pages to the issue: "Yes, supersize that, please!"

In addition to the show winners, you'll find terrific articles on The Modern Quilt Guild by Iris Frank; Remarkable Hand Dyed Fabric by Mark Sherman; and Window of Imagination, in which Michele Byrum shows you how to create gorgeous floral appliqué from the most unlikely fabrics.

Two complete patterns, including my own quilt Meditation above, will be in this issue, plus instructions for an easy-to-make cotton bandana quilt as a free web bonus.

This issue is always a sellout, so be be sure to check your AQS membership expiration date to ensure this issue arrives in your mailbox in early June. Not yet an AQS member? As long as your membership is received and processed by 4 P.M. (Central time) May 3rd, your American Quilter magazine subscription will start with the July issue.

Reader quilt: Morning Star (Baby Greeensleeves pattern)

One of the patterns published in the January 2011 issue of American Quilter magazine was Baby Greensleeves by Claudia Clark Myers. Several readers, including Terri Kohlbeck of Kalispell, Montana, have let me know they enjoyed making this foundation-pieced quilt. Terri gave me permission to share her photo and letter here:

"Here is a picture of my Baby Greensleeves quilt. I named it Morning Star. It is all done in metallic fabrics. I have been quilting for about seven years after a traumatic experience with anaphylactic shock. I had a lot of brain trauma and believe the quilting helped me heal, and of course I became addicted. Quilting has been such a blessing. I entered Paducah this year and have been juried in to the show - what a shock and so exciting. Claudia has given me permission to show the quilt. I will have two quilts in the show.

I so appreciate the American Quilter's Society and their magazine (American Quilter) and all the wonderful people who work so hard to keep it all going. Quilting has become my passion and I do appreciate all the expertise I get from the designers and the magazine."

Thank you, Terri, for sharing your inspiring story and your beautiful quilt. And congratulations for having two quilts juried into the Paducah show; that is an honor in itself! 

The pattern for Baby Greensleeves is available online at www.AmericanQuilter.com for all AQS members.

Santa Fe Quilts

What does a quilt magazine editor/certified quilt judge do on vacation? Participate in quilt-related activities, of course! I was invited by the Northern New Mexico Quilt Guild to judge their every-two-years Quilt Fiesta in Santa Fe, an invitation I accepted with pleasure. And what a wonderful show it will be! The talent runs deep in this group, from lovely hand stitching to exquisite machine quilting to wildly imaginative narrative and innovative designs and techniques — eye candy for anyone who appreciates textile arts.

As in most groups, there is a corps of dedicated volunteers organizing this show, including guild president and show chair Lynne Horpedahl, shown above with her quilt entry named Our House. The show runs from Oct. 1-3 at the Santa Fe County Fairgrounds, and you can find more details at http://www.nnmqg.org/. If you happen to be in the Santa Fe or Albuquerque area later this week, don’t miss this great show.

And if the quilt show, art galleries, folk art museum, and fabulous food weren’t enough to draw you to Santa Fe, you won't want to miss Santa Fe Quilting, 3018-A Cielo Court. This is truly one of the most well-stocked, diverse, and colorful shops I have ever explored – and I’ve seen more than a few in my time. Whether your quilt preferences are contemporary, traditional, or somewhere in between, you’ll find fabric, thread, patterns, embellishments, kits, and an abundance of beautiful finished quilts on display. Owner Mary McCusker (photo below) and her staff are knowledgeable and helpful.

The judging is over for this show, but the quilt fun continues. I’m getting on another plane tomorrow en route to Charlotte, North Carolina. My horoscope (I'm a Capricorn) predicts more quilts and fabric in my immediate future…

A Paducah Story

For 26 years, dedicated quilters and fiber artists have made the springtime "pilgrimage" to Paducah, Kentucky, for the annual AQS Quilt Show & Contest. Every year generates not only an amazing array of spectacular quilts and enthusiastic quilters, but also new events, exciting developments, and heartwarming stories. Here’s one of those stories.
Annabel Baugher is a farmer’s daughter and a farmer’s widow who just celebrated her 89th birthday. She has two sons, two daughters-in-law, four living grandchildren, and two living great-grandsons. When she was very young, Annabel was taught good hand sewing by her mother; she was so young, in fact, that she can’t remember when the needle was first placed in her hand or the thimble put on her finger. Annabel does remember her mother saying, “Keep that thimble on your finger and learn to use it or you will never be a seamstress.”
Annabel was a charter member of AQS and met AQS founders Bill and Meredith Schroeder in 1985 when two of her quilts were included in the 1985 Paducah show. That year she won first place in the Other Techniques category with a wholecloth quilt of her own design, and placed third with a different quilt in the Pieced category. In 1986 she entered a wholecloth quilt made from a Stearns & Foster pattern, and in 1991, another wholecloth quilt placed second in Other Techniques. In 1993, a quilted wedding gown Annabel made for her granddaughter received an honorable mention and viewer’s choice in the AQS/Hobbs Bonded Fibers Fashion Show. Her granddaughter attended the show and modeled the gown.
The photo here shows Annabel and Bill Schroeder at this year’s show in Paducah, one of six AQS shows she has attended over the years. Annabel and so many other wonderful quilters like her are what make the Paducah tradition so special. Thank you, Annabel, for being a member of the extended AQS quilting family. I look forward to seeing you at another AQS show soon!


Click here to view all the winners of the 2010 Paducah AQS Show & Contest:
http://www.americanquilter.com/shows_contests/paducah/2010/quilt_contest/quilt_winners.php

Paducah, here we come!

Paducah, Kentucky, site of the 26th annual AQS Quilt Show and Contest, is buzzing with activity in advance of the show opening next week (read more at http://AQSQuiltnews.blogspot.com/). By the time we offsite editors arrive on Monday, April 19th, the quilts will have been judged, winners selected, vendors arrived, and general preparations completed. All of the AQS Paducah staff and hundreds of volunteers work long hours for months in advance to pull this incredible show together. I feel privileged to be a part of this amazing tradition and look forward eagerly to it each year.

Three American Quilter magazine editors (Iris Frank, Kathie R. Kerler, and me) will be attending the Paducah show this year. (That's Iris on the left and Kathie on the right.) We'll be interviewing major award winners and doing all the write-ups on winning quilts for the next issue of AQ. But we're also at the show to find new article ideas and explore the newest techniques to present to readers in upcoming issues. Do you have an idea for an article, or have you developed an unusual or creative technique not previously published? We'd love to talk with you. Have you made a quilt from a pattern published in any recent issue of American Quilter? Bring photos or show us your digital images and we'll "publish" you on the AQS Web site.

There are a couple ways to find us. The editors' office is on the second floor of the conference center, in the hallway outside of booth 3801. To speak with any one of us about a possible article, stop by the office and leave a message if we're not there. Or, you can leave your name and cell phone number at the AQS membership desk and we'll get in touch with you. If you see us during the show, please say hello and let us know what you like about American Quilter and what we can do to improve. Feedback from readers is so important!