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6537_unknown.jpegOf course, we all know that quilting keeps your brain sharp, now there is evidence to prove it.

Dr. Denise Park, a neuroscientist at the University of Texas at Dallas, assigned 200 older people different tasks, including quilting, watching movies, and working with Photoshop.

"Quilting may not seem like a mentally challenging task," Park says. "But if you're a novice and you're cutting out all these abstract shapes, it's a very demanding and complex task."

Dr. Park found out that all activities are not created equal and some actually help fight off dementia.

Click here to read the entire article at NPR.

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Here's another fun project from Noodle-Head.com. This great Cargo Duffle Bag with all of its pockets would make a great bag to take to Quilt Market or your Local Quilt Shop!

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Here's just a few from "Noodlehead" herself.

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Have you created your 16" x 16" masterpiece to benefit the Quilt Alliance?  There is still plenty of time left to be "Inspired By" one of the Alliance's amazing online archives.

 Here are 5 Reasons to Make An "Inspired By" Quilt in May:

  1. You will uncover great new sources of inspiration for all your future quilts at www.quiltalliance.org.
  2. Your quilt will tour the country on exhibition, including to major shows like Quilt Festival.
  3. You could win the Handi Quilter Grand Prize, or one of 10 other prizes.
  4. When your quilt is auctioned on eBay in the Fall, the money will benefit a great quilt nonprofit. 
  5. Your quilt will be archived permanently on the prestigious Quilt Index.
Here's what you do:

1. Pick an inspiration quilt. Choose a quilt from The Quilt Index or the Quilters' S.O.S.- Save Our Stories (Q.S.O.S.) projects,  Browse and explore the projects to find your own inspiration quilt.

2. Find something(s) about the inspiration quilt that inspires you (like color, line, texture, subject matter).

3. Make your own quilt--work your magic--all techniques, materials, and styles are welcomed, but no replicas or copies allowed. All entries must be 16" x 16" and comprised of 3 layers (top, filling and back).

4. Sew a sleeve and a label on your entry and mail it to the Quilt Alliance with your entry form and fee by June 1, 2014.

Click here for full contest details and entry form: there is lots of information about finding inspiration quilts, plus an "Inspiration Gallery" of quilts you can use for your piece.

Quilts are already pouring into the Quilt Alliance headquarters in Asheville, North Carolina, and quilters are blogging about their process.  Here are two blogs by Alliance board members and what they are working on:

Read about Victoria Findlay Wolfe's "Inspired By" quilt here  (Please note that Victoria's stunning little pink and navy blue quilt is not yet quilted.)

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Read about Allison Aller and her quilt, Hungarian Rhapsody, here.

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New York folk artist Michael Cummings has a show not to be missed at Art Quilt Gallery in New York City. The exhibit opens May 6 and runs through June 14.

A few years ago, TQS stopped by for a visit with this charming artist at his 100-year-old Harlem brownstone. See how he creates his work by sorting fabrics on the floor and sewing on a 30-year-old sewing machine.

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(Haitian Mermaid #3. Courtesy Michael Cummings)

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Take a walk on the wild side and explore the latest issue of The Quilt Life Magazine.

Yes, that's Alex on the camel!

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P.S. Their new regular columnist is Victoria Findlay Wolfe and that's her quilt upon which Alex sits.

Click here to visit The Quilt Life Blog.

Here's what's inside:

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Don't want to throw out that old pair of jeans?  Here's a great way to recycle your denim, use up some scraps, and organize your craft supplies all at the same time.  "Make" yourself some fun Denim Do-it-All Bins from Makezine.com and Betz White.

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One very lucky TQS Member (who has posted a quilt in the Quilt Gallery) will win a Ricky Tims Rhapsody quilt when the Gallery reaches 36,000 quilts. Your fellow TQS viewers would love to see your quilts. Yes! Yours!  

Keep the quilts coming. Upload photos of your quilts today. Each TQS Member can enter up to twelve quilts. They do not have to be your quilts, they can be an antique quilt that came down through your family, or a top that you just proudly finished.

To enter a quilt, select MY ACCOUNT from the top navigation bar, then select MY PROFILE, then select ALL MY QUILT PHOTOS and add a photo. It's as easy as that. While you are at, don't forget to enter a little bit of information about yourself as well as your quilts.

 

Here's just an example of the wonderful quilts which can currently be found in the Quilt Gallery. It is Ehrnst Rhapsody by keeper. Click here to learn more about the quilt.

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In this final episode from The Hollywood Sew - "A Downton Dress," you'll learn about sewing with sheers and how to accessorize your look.  The completed dress is presented highlighting different looks for day or evening.

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Quilt National 2013 – the 18th biennial juried exhibition – is the quintessential and much anticipated showcase of contemporary art quilts and it's coming to the San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles May 3 - July 20, 2014.

The exhibit presents a current representation of the art quilt medium in all of its range of styles, techniques, and multi-faceted contemporary expressions. Its purpose is “to carry the definition of quilting far beyond its traditional parameters and to promote quilt making as what it always has been—an art form.” The quilts selected for Quilt National have never been exhibited or published before their premier showing in 2013 at the Dairy Barn Arts Center in Athens, Ohio.

The jurors for this exhibition are Linda Colsh, Judith Content, and Penny McMorris. They selected 87 works from 851 entries. A selection of 48 quilts will be on exhibit including juror Judith Content’s shibori dyed Cenote Azule and the quilts of two local artists Leslie Bixel and Joan Schulze. Layered with felt and net, Dianne Firth’s Storm, casts a shadow on the wall creating a beautiful effect of multiple images. Texture, fusing, applique, dyeing and surface design, and embellishments are a few of the processes that stand out in this display.

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For information about visiting the museum, click here.

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Enjoy episode 2 from The Hollywood Sew - "A Downton Dress."  This time you'll learn a bit of the history of fashion in the early 20th century and more work is completed in the creation of  a "vintage" dress incorporating style elements from the past while using a modern-day pattern.