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When you fill out a brief survey at the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival, you’re entered to win a $25 or $50 Quiltfest Bucks Gift Certificate to be used at any ONE vendor on the show floor. Winners will be informed via email and over the loud speaker at the show.
No cash value, no change given. Certificate has no value after end of show on February 28, 2016. Be sure to fill out your survey for a chance to win big!
One week from today The Center of it All for Quilts, Wearable and Textile Arts will be in Hampton, Virginia at the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival!
To get you ready for all the wonderful works of art you will see in Hampton, here are the Best of Show winners from last year’s quilt and wearable art competitions.
Big Bertha by Margaret Solomon Gunn
Circle Game 1957 by Marty Ornish
This exhibit showcases eleven colorful and stunning quilts, half of which have never before been seen by the public. The quilts of
African Americans varied widely, depending on the date, location, community, the purpose for which the quilt was made, and the personal artistic vision of the quiltmaker. The bold designs and brilliant colors of the quilts featured in the exhibition speak to a longstanding cultural and artistic tradition within which the women designed and created their quilts. Although none of the quilts in the exhibit were made during the era of slavery in America, several of the quilters represented in the exhibit were born into slavery and others descended from enslaved families. Each quilt maker used the humble materials of fabric and thread to create a bedcover that was warm and practical as well as brilliant in color and artistry.|
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Have a friend that you’re trying to convert into a quilter? Beginners are encouraged to attend all Mancuso Show Management quilt Shows! There’s so much to learn & aspire to and plenty of people willing to help. Click here to find a show near you: www.quiltfest.com.
Speaking of aspiring to… get a look at The End of the Line? By Joanne Baeth, Best Wall Quilt at the 2014 Pacific International Quilt Festival.
We are just over a week awayfrom the opening of Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival 2016! Go ahead, you can let out a little cheer!
To get you even more excited (than you are already) here’s a look at 2010’s Best of Show quilt, Circles of Life by Linda French.
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:
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.
