This is it! … just 1 Day until the M-AQF Competition Entry Deadline

Quilt & Wearable Art Competition Deadline: January 26, 2016

To enter, please click below:
Enter your Quilt Online or View a Printable Entry Form.
Enter your Competition Garment Online or View a Printable Entry Form

From the 2015 Competitions:
Best of Show:
Big Bertha by Margaret Solomon Gunn

Best of Show:
Circle Game 1957 by Marty R Ornish

Founding Sponsor BERNINA/Nancy’s Calico Patch; Major Annual Sponsor Brother/Tidewater Sew-Vac; Major Sponsors Baby Lock/All Brands, Janome/Sew E-Z, and Husqvarna Viking/Bella Fabrics; and Silver Sponsors ABM International / Innova and Handi Quilter generously sponsor the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival.

For complete M-AQF details, including pre-registration, workshop and lecture information, please visit quiltfest.com.

Thursday, February 25 is a great day to enjoy a workshop at Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival. We have several suggestions: Twist & Shout with instructor Anna Hergert, Vikki Pignatelli’s Crazy About Curves workshop, or So Square taught by Gyleen Fitzgerald.

Anna Hergert is the 2014 Canadian Quilters Association Teacher of the Year! Anna’s classes earn rave reviews, so you should take this opportunity to study quilting with this outstanding instructor. Anna’s Thursday Mid-Atlantic workshop is Twist & Shout. In this design class, you will journey from realism to abstraction and produce one-of-a-kind tessellated designs. Get ready for the “WOW” effect! Click here for complete workshop details.

Vikki Pignatelli is known for her flowing designs and passion for color–as well as breaking all quilting “rules. Vikki’s Thursday workshop, Crazy About Curves, is “No Rules, No Stress, All Fun!” Students will quickly master Vikki’s technique that is a combination piecing/appliqué method of creating even sharp curves and narrow points effortlessly and with precision! For workshop details, please click here.

Gyleen Fitzgerald’s Thursday workshop, So Square, is perfect for the beginning quilter. Squares and rectangles do all the work as students create a visually stunning graphic and modern quilt. Click here for complete workshop details.

The Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival is generously sponsored by BERNINA of America/Nancy’s Calico Patch Brother/Tidewater Sew-Vac; Baby Lock/All Brands, Janome/Sew E-Z, Juki, Husqvarna Viking/Bella Fabrics, Juki, ABM International / Innova, Handi Quilter, Sew Batik and Intelliquilter.

Important Reminder: The pre-registration deadline for M-AQF is February 5, 2016. For those who miss this deadline registration will open, for available workshops and activities, at the quilt festival on Wednesday, February 25 at 3pm.

7 Days until the M-AQF Competition Entry Deadline

Quilt & Wearable Art Competition Deadline: January 26, 2016

To enter, please click below:
Enter your Quilt Online or View a Printable Entry Form.
Enter your Competition Garment Online or View a Printable Entry Form

From the 2015 Competitions:
White Spaces by Bev Bird

Fancy Coat by Roberta Morgan

Founding Sponsor BERNINA/Nancy’s Calico Patch; Major Annual Sponsor Brother/Tidewater Sew-Vac; Major Sponsors Baby Lock/All Brands, Janome/Sew E-Z, and Husqvarna Viking/Bella Fabrics; and Silver Sponsors ABM International / Innova and Handi Quilter generously sponsor the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival.

For complete M-AQF details, including pre-registration, workshop and lecture information, please visit quiltfest.com.

Intimidated by writing a book proposal? It’s not as scary as it may seem. Join quilt book authors Renelda Peldunas-Harter, Carolyn Perry Goins & Cindy Sisler Simms as they guide you through their “5-Step Roadmap” to writing a book proposal. The “Roadmap” takes you through your initial idea, identifies your writing/thinking process, breaks down the actual proposal, gives you a reality check, and includes follow-up with the workshop’s coordinators. Sponsored by Schiffer Publishing this 3-hour workshop will be offered at Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival on Thursday, February 25 at 1pm.

Renelda Peldunas-Harter: Renelda, a retired military officer has turned her service into the quilt book From Ensign’s Bars to Colonel’s Stars. A love of quilting and a desire to honor the men and women who defend our nation culminated in this book. During her 25+ years as an active duty officer and reservist, Renelda was always fascinated with fabric, shapes, and color. As she and her family moved around the country with the military, she always found quilt guilds and after her final “promotion” to full-time civilian, she has pursued quilting full-time.

Carolyn Perry Goins: Carolyn made her first quilt in the 1970s using a how-to book! She has continued her education by attending conferences and quilt festivals, and studying from noted instructors. In 2005, she created CPG Designs to produce quilt patterns for beginners. Her patterns encourage new quilters to express their creativity and improve their technique. She has been an active member of quilt groups around the world. She is author of The Fiona Block – 14 Projects from Sassy to Classy.

Cindy Sisler Simms: Cindy was raised in the heart of the  Appalachian Mountains, where quilting was a part of everyday life.  Her grandmothers started teaching Cindy to quilt when she was about 5 years old. She made her first full sized quilt, all by hand, at the age of 10. She has been quilting for over 55 years, and teaching quilting techniques for over 35 years. As a military wife for 20 years, Cindy  feels the Mariner’s Compass always points the way home. She is the author of Mariner’s Compass Quilts: Solid & Split Point Patterns.

14 Days until the M-AQF Competition Entry Deadline

Quilt & Wearable Art Competition Deadline: January 26, 2016

To enter, please click below:
Enter your Quilt Online or View a Printable Entry Form.
Enter your Competition Garment Online or View a Printable Entry Form

From the 2015 Competitions:
Thank You by Cary Langhorne Caldwell

Regal Red Power Suit by Miriam S Oberkirsch

Founding Sponsor BERNINA/Nancy’s Calico Patch; Major Annual Sponsor Brother/Tidewater Sew-Vac; Major Sponsors Baby Lock/All Brands, Janome/Sew E-Z, and Husqvarna Viking/Bella Fabrics; and Silver Sponsors ABM International / Innova and Handi Quilter generously sponsor the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival.

For complete M-AQF details, including pre-registration, workshop and lecture information, please visit quiltfest.com.

Cathy Wiggins is a self-taught quilter who truly loves sharing her passion with others. In 2002, her neighbor introduced her to quilting and took Cathy to her first quilt guild meeting. By Christmas of that year, Cathy had made five quilts, which were all very traditional. After attending her first quilt show in Williamsburg, Virginia, she knew that she had finally found the artistic outlet she had been looking for, but felt she had never quite achieved in the watercolor world. She saw that anything was possible using fabric as her palette! Since the beginning of her quilting career, she has won praise and recognition both nationally and internationally, for her unique and whimsical designs. Cathy has now turned her focus to leather and is pioneering the art of quilting on leather.

Cathy’s lecture, Evolution of an Artist – Fifteen Years of Quilting, will be presented at 4:30 pm on Thursday, February 25. 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! 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. Come join Cathy as she shows us how it’s possible to evolve as an artist while, simultaneously, introducing change in an industry.  Pictured: example of Cathy’s quilting on leather.

Just for Fun – Quilts for the Kid in All of Us is Cathy’s special exhibit at M-AQF. Come enjoy the whimsical creations of Cathy Wiggins’ ‘Just for Fun’ quilt series. You’ll relive your youth while viewing many of your favorite childhood puzzles and games brought to life in quilts. Everything from hidden picture and find the difference puzzles to mazes and matching games will delight kids of all ages. These international award-winning quilts have traveled around the world and been featured in magazines. Now see all 14, including Christmas Eve ABC’s pictured below, in one exhibition.

Founding Sponsor BERNINA/Nancy’s Calico Patch; Major Annual Sponsor Brother/Tidewater Sew-Vac; Major Sponsors Baby Lock/All Brands, Janome/Sew E-Z, and Husqvarna Viking/Bella Fabrics; and Silver Sponsors ABM International / Innova and Handi Quilter generously sponsor the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival.

The Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival at the Hampton Roads Convention Center in Hampton, Virginia, February 25-28, 2016, features an    impressive instructor line-up offering a variety of workshops and lectures. This year’s Quilt Festival features nationally and internationally well-known instructors including the very talented and informative Gyleen Fitzgerald!

Gyleen makes quilts that blend color, pattern and texture to provide a contemporary essence in traditional quilting. She loves to share her enthusiasm for quilting and will do so through her full-day workshops at M-AQF:

WS #012 So Square
Thursday, February 25

WS #013 Play Modern
Friday, February 26

WS #014 Trash to Treasure Pineapple Quilts
Saturday, February 27

Gyleen’s philosophy of quilting – “Done is better than perfect, break the rules, do what works for you, have your quilts out and use them or your family will yard sale them when you are gone.” We have to agree …

The 27th annual Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival at the Hampton Roads Convention Center February 25-28, 2016, will feature an amazing collection of ‘hometown’ fiber art. Guilds from Virginia are taking part in M-AQF in the best way they know how – by creating quilts & fiber art! The Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival is proud to include these special exhibitions & demonstrations … that’s a lot of beauty, talent and fabric in one room!

•  Alphabet Soup – Colonial Piecemakers Quilt Guild
• Bringing Hexy Back – Richmond Modern Quilters Guild
• Express Yourself – Virginia Beach Modern Quilt Guild
• Fabric Fanatics
• The Fabric Poets
• The Windchimes – Fiber Artists @ Loose Ends
• First Thursday Night Bee
• For the birds – Cabin Branch & Stonehouse Quilters
• Honoring 19^th Century Quilters – The Churn Dashers of Tidewater Virginia
• A Modern Quilting Journey – Peninsula Modern Quilt Guild
• Music to My Ears – Richmond Quilters Guild
• On the Road Again – River Country Quilters
• Naturescapes & Illusions/Quilt Me a Song – Tidewater Quilters’ Guild
• 30 x 30 x 30 – Peninsular Piecemakers
• Golden Thimble Needlework Guild
• Traditional Rug Hooking – James River & Shockoe Slip Rug Hookers

Founding Sponsor BERNINA/Nancy’s Calico Patch; Major Annual Sponsor Brother/Tidewater Sew-Vac; Major Sponsors Baby Lock/All Brands, Janome/Sew E-Z, and Husqvarna Viking/Bella Fabrics; and Silver Sponsors ABM International / Innova and Handi Quilter generously sponsor the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival.

One of the highlights of Mancuso Show Management’s quilt festivals is always the instructors who present workshops. Talent, creativity and expertise are abundantly available from the wonderful teachers. This year the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival, February 25-28 in Hampton, Virginia, has a spectacular faculty who will offer a wide variety of workshops for beginner to advanced quilters and textile artists. Included is well-known instructor Laura Wasilowski, a Mancuso Show Management regular and nationally admired quilter.

Laura is a contemporary quilt maker whose artwork is collected and exhibited internationally. Her quilts begin with her unique hand-dyed fabrics and threads and are infused with color, whimsy and joy. Laura is author of Fusing Fun, Fuse-and-Tell and her latest book Fanciful Stitches, Colorful Quilts.

Laura’s three full-day workshops at M-AQF are:

Woven Flower Basket Quilts
WS #030 on Thursday

Pretty Planet Quilts
WS #031 on Friday

Tiny Homes & Gardens
WS #032 on Saturday

A highlight of Laura’s appearance at M-AQF is her Thursday, 6:00 pm lecture, Art Quilts: The Musical. Yes, she sings! 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.”

Laura sums up her quilting life by saying, “The art of quilting gives me the freedom to express myself and play at the same time. It’s the best job in the world!”

For those interested in studying a wide variety of quilting techniques and styles, the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival, February 25-28 in Hampton, Virginia features a range of workshops and lectures presented by a world-renowned faculty, including Vikki Pignatelli who is eager to spread her knowledge and passion of quilt making to students planning on participating in her full day workshops.

Have you ever wished for an easy method of machine piecing intricate curves, or wanted to incorporate curved designs into a quilt but had no inkling where to begin? Look no further than one of Vikki’s workshops! Vikki told Quiltfest, “When I first began quilting, I visualized beautiful curved designs, but the traditional method of piecing curves left me frustrated. I knew there must be an easier way. After much trial and effort I did find a way . . . and now I’m crazy about curves!”

Vikki will teach three, full-day workshops at M-AQF:

WS #027: Crazy About Curves

WS #028: Fun with Fabrics: Adding Dimension to Landscape

WS #029: Improvisation Everyone Can Do

In addition, on Saturday at 4:30 pm Vikki will present a lecture based on her newest book, Nurture Your Creative Spirit: Wisdom and Insight Learned From the Art of Quilting.

Vikki’s love for quilting is contagious. You won’t want to miss her this year at the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival!