Special Exhibits Pennsylvania National Quilt Extravaganza and Mancuso Show Management are proud to present: World Quilt Competition XVII: On Tour  | See the exciting international entries of the 2013 World Quilt Competition XVII along with ribbon winning entries from the United States. This outstanding collection of quilts highlights the skills of quilters from around the world: Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, New Zealand and North America. Sponsored by Coats & Clark, Handi Quilter, ABM International/Innova and www.worldquilt.com / Mancuso Show Management. |
Pictured above, from the 2012 World Quilt Competition: "Believe" by Reiko Nobata, Japan.
A Slice of Oz presented by Gloria Loughman, Australia  | An exhibition showcasing the work of Gloria Loughman. Known around the world for her vibrant, large landscapes, Gloria’s quilts feature hand painted and dyed fabrics and extensive machine embroidery. Come and see in real life may of the quilts featured in her recent book Radiant Landscapes. Pictured: "Fern Pool" by Gloria Loughman. |
Blind Eye: The Result of Doing Nothing Midwest members of The Surface Design Association  | Too often today we see tragic situations that result from the lack of action. This exhibition hopes to explore the destructive results of ignoring a situation or people’s ignorance to thinking everything will be okay when they choose to not get involved in making the world a better place. Left: the Golden Chair by Jeanette Thompson. |
Celebrating 50 years of the Cape Cod National Seashore
A challenge was issued to members of Bayberry Quilters Of Cape Cod to recreate scenes of the Cape Cod National Seashore to commemorate this National Park’s 50th anniversary. Quilts could be no larger than 100” perimeter and all were required to use a piece of the same brown to green to sand-colored fabric. Fifty-three members responded with great diversity which was first displayed at the National Seashore Visitors’ Center. Formed in 1981, the guild has 300 members, an annual August quilt show, a quilt outreach which donated 500 quilts last year to wounded warriors, sick and terminally ill children, families in crisis. Visit babyberryquiltersofcapecod.com. Colorful Song Titles: Cabin Branch and Stone House Quilt Guilds 2013 Challenge
 | In our 2013 challenge, quilters had to come up with a song that has a color in the title and use that as the inspiration for their quilt. The song could be instrumental, pop, country, jazz, nursery, classical or other as long as an actual color was in the title. We did not allow the actual title to be placed on the quilt, so people could guess what song was represented. Challenge organized by Jill Sheehan, Shannon Shirley and Michelle Yaras. The Cabin Branch and Stone House Quilt Guilds preserve, promote, educate, encourage, maintain, and exhibit the art of quilt making in Prince William County, VA. |
Visit www.cabinbranchquilters.org or www.stonehousequilters.org for more information. Pictured: Inspired by the Beatles song, "Blackbird" by Jane Miller.
Color Wheel of Emotions
 | Cultures universally associate colors with emotions using them to describe a mood or express a feeling. Anthropologists and businesses alike hypothesize about the role colors play within a community and how to anticipate a reaction. In contemporary society a person may be feeling blue or turn green with envy. Red is often associated with strength while yellow is a happy color. These works were designed to convey a sense of emotion or feeling expressed by the artists. Curated by Carol R. Eaton, Studio Arts Quilt Associates. |
Delphinium Field presented by Artistic Expressions  | The gorgeous Delphinium flower is the subject of the Delphinium Field exhibit. Delphiniums are tall, stately plants with showy flowers and branching spikes. Each flower has 5 petal-like sepals with 2 or 4 true petals in the center. We think of these as blue and purple plants, but Delphiniums may have blue, red, or yellow flowers. Delphinium Field, exhibited by Artistic Expressions, is a display of the fabulous Delphinium flower represented in each artist’s chosen color and style. The art quilts are 18” wide by 28” high in portrait orientation. To learn more about Artistic Expressions and the artists please visit our Blog at http://5artisticexpressions.blogspot.com/. Pictured "Floral Lure" by Linda Friedman. |
Getting Your Kicks
on Route 66 |  |
Bobby Troup’s song encouraged Get Your Kicks on Route 66. That’s also the goal of this exhibit. Over sixty artists created a favorite memory to honor this magnificent highway and the communities through which it traveled. Route 66, often known as Main Street USA, came into being in the 1920s as a two-lane artery connecting Chicago to Los Angeles. It’s formal existence lasted six decades; ultimately being decommissioned in the mid 1980s. Segments of the original 2,448 mile highway still exist and are routinely honored as the pride of surrounding communities. In addition to being known as Main Street USA, author John Steinbeck in his novel Grapes Of Wrath, gave name to the highway as the road of flight from the dust bowl, coining the phrase, “66 is the mother road.” Curated by Kelly Gallagher-Abbott and Patt Blair. Visit route66quilts.blogspot.com. Pictured: "Beginning the Mother Road by Patt Blair.
Hens and Chickens
 | Pamela Allen has collected the best of her students’ work from online art quilt classes. Even though her class convenes online, cyberspace allows for in depth critiques of work in progress, exchange of information about art history and a growing camaraderie among the participants. Who knew classes could become international learning seminars yet fun and friendly exchanges of mutual problems and triumphs? |
Being able to share one’s issues with others who are working on the same assignment has been one of the big surprises of working online. Pamela affectionately refers to her students as her “Chickens” and herself as the “Mother Hen.” Thus, the title of the exhibition. Pictured: "Rock Star" by Karol Kusmaul.
The Hoffman Challenge
 | Started in 1988, the Hoffman Challenge has grown to be a premiere traveling quilt, clothing, and doll collection. This year the Hoffman Challenge is celebrating its twenty-sixty anniversary. The Challenge started with 94 enthusiastic quilters, and in some years, the number of entries has grown to more than 700. The Quilts: Designs are chosen for their creative use of the chosen fabric. This collection includes top entries and prize winners from the Pieced, Appliquéd and Mixed Techniques categories.
The Clothing: The clothing shows the versatility of stitchers who made a variety of garments from simple to elegant to artistic. Enjoy seeing the ways of manipulating fabric, how using metallic thread and fabric add a sparkle, and the special touches added by embellishments. |
The Dolls: Notice the artistic way the challenge fabric is a part of each doll or its clothing.
Pictured: Hoffman Challenge 2013 fabric, "Peacock." Magnified View presented by Quilts on the Wall Fiber Artists
Get up close and personal with anything to admire the details: radish, abalone, opal, diamond, plant, even the Milky Way. Our twenty artists explored magnified views of subjects in as great a variety of techniques as their subject matter. City streets and the tangled threads on a sewing room floor came under scrutiny. What a diverse and interesting world we live in, when we take the time to look at the Magnified View. Maps presented by Quilts on the Wall Fiber Artists We usually use maps to help us get where we want to go, but they also can tell us where we are in the universe and more about our surroundings. This exhibit features fiber art quilt pieces based on the many interpretations and uses of maps in our lives. Mason Dixon Quilt Professionals Network Presents ‘Reflections’ Quilt Challenge  | Re•flec´tions n. pl. 1. To throw or bend back (e.g., light) from a surface. 2. To form an image of; mirror. 3. To manifest; show. 4. To think seriously. The word ‘Reflections’ is the theme for the MDQPN’s 2013-14 Quilt Challenge. Members were asked to make a quilt which would interpret a ‘reflection’ literally, spiritually, emotionally or physically. The results range from the whimsical, to the thoughtful, the serene and even the patriotic! MDQPN members are quilt artists, teachers, designers, authors, judges, appraisers, hand/machine quilters and notions/tool manufactures. |
Not Your Traditional Nine Patch: The Signature Art Quilters
 | Working with a size limit of 42” on any side (and not a square), we were challenged to design a series of nine (more or less) “quiltlets” that were to be united by design, color, theme, or a unifying factor of our own choosing. These pieces were then to be attached to each other, not in a traditional way, but connected in an altogether new way formulated by each of us. For more information, please email signatureartquilters@gmail.com. Left: Quilt by Helene Kusnitz. |
Our World: A Slice Of Life
This 90” x 90” project was created by the Rambling Art Quilters, 14 fiber artists from across the state of Missouri. This challenge was created in a brainstorming session about working in different shapes. The “world” shape was selected. Each artist received wedge dimensions, orientation markings, and was asked to depict a favorite place or time – “a slice of life”. The result is an amazing variety of times, locations, and subjects completed in many techniques and materials. The Philadelphia Modern Quilt Guild  | The Philadelphia Modern Quilt Guild (Philly MQG) is a local chapter of a national non-profit organization, The Modern Quilt Guild. Members share their love of modern quilting in monthly meetings. Each month the Philly MQG hosts a “challenge” or a “swap,” which are designed to push members outside their comfort zones to learn new skills/techniques or to flex the creative side of their brains. Our March/April challenge was to create a cover for a plain, purchased seat cushion. We had no rules other than to create a usable cushion cover in a modern style - which meant no embellishments because they are meant to be used! Members were not told the cushions would be exhibited so they are truly representative of the interesting work typically shown at a monthly meeting. |
Visit our website, www.phillymodernquiltguild.com, for more information.
Pretty Planet
 | Pretty Planet is an exhibit of art quilts inspired by the beauty of the earth. Members of the Fiber Artists Coalition find inspiration in the environment, the people, and the joy of living in a wonderful world. Whether firmly planted in the soil or soaring through the sky, their art absorbs and reflects this pretty planet. Pictured: "Big Sky" by Trish Williams. |
Quilt as Desired Twenty-four vintage tops have been “Quilted as Desired” by some of the best long arm quilters in our business. Together we have taken unremarkable vintage tops and created something magical! Enjoy this unique marriage of the old and new as the lines that divide our quilt worlds become blurred. Curated by Mary Kerr. | Quilters Treasure Challenge 2013 |  |
The winning entries of Quilters Treasure’s 9th annual challenge are announced at Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival. The theme was “____?_____ into the Wild Blue Yonder” (you fill in the blank). Entrants were to use the challenge fabric “Ocean Blue” from the Quilters Treasure line of fabric. A new Wearable Art category was added in 2006. Sponsors for this challenge included Singer Sewing Machine, Hobbs Bonded Fibers, Quilters Rule, Barb’s Original and Morgan Products. Quilter’s Treasure’s 10th challenge was announced January 1, 2013; visit QuiltersTreasure.com for details and an entry form.
Renewing Tradition - Preserving The Past Friendly Quilters, an African American quilt guild, was organized in 1997 by four members who expressed interest in learning to quilt as a medium to renew our heritage and preserve the past. A voice of spirituality is embedded in all of our works of art. The Stitchers of Faith was organized in 2009 after a group of women from Second Baptist Church of Doylestown attended a Friendly Quilters Quilt Exhibit at a local museum. The ladies wanted to learn to do what they saw. Both organizations’ are learning quilting techniques while creating and donating quilts to the Sickle Cell Anemia children at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. They enjoy bringing colorful, inspirational Quilts of Comfort to these young children. If you would like to join The Stitchers of Faith or donate quilts, fabric, or your time to their cause, contact Edna White at TheStitchersofFaith@gmail.com. Stretching Art & Tradition 15: Hi, It’s Me! For Stretching Art & Tradition 15, participants created a quilt, garment or doll interpreting the them, “Hi, It’s Me!” Participants interpreted the theme as liberally or strictly as they liked. Secretly dreaming of being a super hero or a super baker? Are you can open book or are there unplumbed depths? This challenge is all about telling the world who you are or would be if only you had the chance and a winning lottery ticket! The intent of the Stretching Art & Tradition annual challenges is to encourage the growth of the individual artists through stretching themselves by attempting a new form, technique or material. Women, Peace & Security  | Quilt for Change (quiltforchange.org) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA.org) have joined forces to present this exhibit entitled “Women, Peace and Security.” The 20 art quilts in the exhibit highlight the challenges women face in conflict zones around the world and the vital role women play in bringing societies back together after a conflict. Quilt for Change, a Rhode Island based project, uses the art of quilting to inspire social change. UNFPA is an international development agency that promotes the right of every woman, man and child to enjoy a life of health and equal opportunity. The quilt artists in the exhibit come from the U.S., Canada, France and Iran. Pictured: "Isolation" by Allison Wilbur. |
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