The always spectacular The Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival  returns to the Hampton Roads Convention Center, February 25 – 28, 2016. Advance show tickets can be purchased at a discount of $1.00 off the $15.00 admission price ($14.00) at the following local businesses:

• Nancy’s Calico Patch: 896 J Clyde Morris Blvd Newport News, VA 23601, www.ncpquilting.com.
• TideWater Sew-Vac at any one of their ten locations, www.tidewatersewvac.com:
  • Foxfire Center: 2401 Seaboard Road, Suite 100, Virginia Beach, VA 23456
  • Oakridge Area: 1574 Holland Rd, Suffolk, VA 2343
  • Kemps River Crossing:1352 Fordham, Virginia Beach, VA 23464
  • London Bridge Shop Center: 315 N. Great Neck, Virginia Beach, VA 23454
  • Southern Shopping Center: 7525 Tidewater Dr., #34, Norfolk, VA 23505
  • Woodford Square Shopping Center: 701 N. Battlefield, Ches, VA 23320
  • Mid-Town Store : 701 Airline Blvd, Portsmouth, VA 23707
  • Bayberry Village Shopping Center: 996 J Clyde Morris Blvd, Newport News, VA 23601
  • Coliseum Square: 2040 Coliseum Dr, Hampton, VA 23666
  • James York Plaza: 551 Merrimac Trl., Williamsburg, VA 23185
• All Brands Servicenter: Westland Shopping Center: 8079 West Broad St, Richmond, Virginia 23294, www.allbrandssewvac.com.
• Sew E-Z: 4801 Virginia Beach Blvd, Virginia Beach, VA 23462, www.sewe-z.com.
• Bella Fabrics: 3235 Bridge Rd, Suite 7, Suffolk, VA 23435, www.bellafabricsva.com.
• Virginia Longarm: 2085 Valpark Dr Oilville, VA 23129, www.thelongarmnetwork.com.
• The Crazy Cousin: 4131 Plank Rd, Fredericksburg , VA 22407, www.thecrazycousin.com.

Stop by these participating M-AQF exhibitors’ stores to purchase a discounted ticket, now through February 23, 2016 (while supplies last, cut-off date may vary by location.)

The Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival will feature astounding works of quilting art, it also offers a wide array of workshops presented by world-renowned instructors along with a fabulous Merchants Mall for plenty of shopping. The Festival’s centerpiece, however, will again be its outstanding collection of over 500 quilts and works of wearable and textile art on display. In addition to the competition entries, there will be special exhibitions of quilts and textile art on display. This ever-popular quilting arts event is one not to be missed!

A wonderful way to cap off your day at M-AQF is to enjoy a lecture presented by the Festival’s All Star faculty. Lecture tickets are available at the Workshop Registration counter in the lobby of the convention center and are $20 each.

Choose one or more of these presentations to learn something new, and meet an instructor and your fellow quilt enthusiasts.

EARLY BIRD LECTURE
Paula Golden – Body Smart Quilting
Wednesday, February 24, 6:00 pm
Proper body mechanics and ergonomic work spaces (computer, sewing, ironing and quilting) are the keys to quilting longevity. Learn ten easy tips to make your work space healthy and efficien

CATHY WIGGINS – Evolution of an Artist – Fifteen Years of Quilting
Thursday, February 25, 4:30 pm
Cathy began her quilting journey just like many of us, piecing traditional quilt tops but that didn’t last long. Soon she was venturing out, creating her own techniques, developing patterns, writing books and traveling the world teaching. She’s worked with fusibles, fabrics, embroidery, beading, painting and now leathers to create her award-winning quilts. It has been a journey, taken one stitch at a time, with courage, determination and the ability to push the quilting world envelope by introducing cutting edge techniques into competition quilting. Join Cathy as she shows you how it’s possible to evolve as an artist while, simultaneously, introducing change in an industry.

LAURA WASILOWSKI – Art Quilts: The Musical
Thursday, February 25, 6:00 pm
Join Laura in celebrating the life of a quilt artist. Listen to her adventures in quilt making, see her art work, and hear traditional art quilt folk songs like Everybody Gets Rejected Sometime and the Minnesota Quilter’s Polka. It’s a quirky documentary featuring a display of her small art quilts and many other songs from the Chicago School of Fusing Bond Fire Songbook.

KAREN KAY BUCKLEY – From the Beginning: Album of a Quilter
Friday, February 26, 4:30 pm
Karen will take you on a journey through her growth as a quilter. You will see how the journey started with her first quilt to her most recent work. She will share the important things she has learned along the way. You will also see how a project develops and comes to fruition. Included in this presentation is a slide tour of Karen’s home and studio.

VIKKI PIGNATELLI – Nurturing Your Creative Spirit: Wisdom and Insight Learned Through the Art of Quilting
Saturday, February 27, 4:30 pm
Passion, humor, persistence, faith in yourself, courage … these five qualities and others all play a role in your creative life. What does it take to be a great quilter? Vikki willl discuss how she learned important life lessons – sometimes the hard way – through quilt making.

Ashley Nickels, a quilter, crafter, and teacher grew up surrounded by quilters (mom, Sue Nickels and aunt, Pat Holly) – making her first nine-patch at age eight. Ashley worked as a classroom teacher perfecting the art of designing captivating learning experiences, but now works full-time in the creative community, teaching sewing and quilting classes, running her small business, Alphabet Summer Handmade. Learn more about Ashley and her work at www.alphabetsummer.com.

In Modern Explorations in Raw-Edge Machine Applique, Ashley will teach her preferred technique for applique, the raw-edge technique. Using a variety of different designs by Ashley, students will also learn how to design their own appliqued pieces. You will practice this technique with the blanket stitch on the provided BERNINA sewing machines. Join Ashley at M-AQF on Saturday, February 27 from 9:00am to 4:00pm for this great workshop. Sewing machines and accessories provided by BERNINA of America / NANCY’S CALICO PATCH.

Words in Quilts is the newest hand quilting workshop developed by well-known instructor Dierdra McElroy. Knowing how to incorporate words into your quilts will open up new avenues of design and self-expression. Didi will present this workshop at the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival on Friday, February 26; click here for details.

Dierdra’s mother, Roxanne, shared her passion for quilting with her daughter who went on to design new quilting products such as the world famous Roxanne Thimble and Roxanne Glue-Baste-It. Years later the Roxanne name is well known by all discerning quilters and Dierdra is known for her methodical testing of products in the industry, and shares her findings in the classroom to help quilters avoid pitfalls and frustration. She wrote the world famous hand quilting book That Perfect Stitch that has been referred to as the hand quilting bible and is frequently the standard text book in quilting classes around the world.

Didi delights in motivating students to step outside of the box to new creative heights and to strive for excellent workmanship no matter their style choices. She is internationally recognized as one of the world’s greatest hand quilters and her ability to break down that art into manageable steps amazes her students.