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The first Challenge in the Quilted In Honor Initiative has been announced. It is the Giving Quilt Challenge.  Win your share of over $15,000 in prizes and donate your quilt to Operation Homefront!

And guess what?  Alex, Ricky and Bonnie Browning are the judges and they'll be giving away twelve great awards for:

Best Giving Quilt  ·  Color  ·  Improvisation 
Applique  ·  Piecing  ·  Original Design  
Creative Use of Fabric  ·  Best Hand Quilting  
Best Machine Quilting  ·  Most Humorous  
Best Pattern Adaptation  ·  Best Surface Design

...And the Grand Prize is a Bernina 750QE

(quilt: Home is Where the Heart is by Carol Doak and Sharon Pederson)

These rules apply to the 2013 Quilted In Honor Giving Quilt Challenge.

1. Quilter must use Island Batik Quilted In Honor fabrics, available from local quilt shops, or at AQS online.
   You can help support the additional Challenge Sponsors by using these products: Aurifil thread, Pellon batting, OESD embroidery designs, Giving Quilt Pattern by Carol Doak & Sharon Pederson at PatternSpot.com.
2. The maker(s) of a cloth quilt can enter the completed work by entering online at AmericanQuilter.com/Giving.
3. There is a $5.00 entry fee per quilt entered in the Quilted In Honor Giving Quilt Challenge. The fee will be donated to Operation Homefront.
4. There is no limit to the number of entries per person. The name(s) on the top line of the entry should be that of the maker(s).
5. All quilts must fit the size requirements and definitions of the selected category. Please look carefully at category names and sizes. There are three categories: Wall Quilt 24" x 36", Lap Quilt 36" x 48", and Baby Quilt 40" x 60". Quilts may be +/- 2-inches in either direction.
6. All quilts must have a minimum of 24 and a maximum of 36 gift card pockets. (Click here for instructional video)
7. All quilts must have a 4-inch finished hanging sleeve. (Click here for instructional video)
8. All quilts must be quilted by hand, machine, or both. Quilting is defined as a running stitch that passes through top, batting, and backing. Tied quilts are not eligible. Any quiltmaking technique can be used.
9. Three photos must be uploaded with the entry. (Click here for photography suggestions)
   Please include:All accepted quilts will be eligible for prizes and donated to Operation Homefront, except those that are incomplete, torn, or soiled.
   • A full-view digital photo of the quilt showing all four corners. No part of the quilt can be obscured. Do not crop or manipulate your photos, however you may crop the background so long as all edges, corners, and binding of the quilt are visible.
   • A detailed photo showing quilting stitches.
   • A photo of the entrant(s) from the shoulders up. Include in your entries only these three photos.
10. Quilts must be a single unit and may not be framed with wood, metal, etc.
11. All decisions of the judges are final. The challenge reserves the right to reject any entry.
12. Quilted In Honor Giving Quilt Challenge Entry Deadline is February 7, 2014, at 11:59 p.m. (CST).
13. Accepted Quilted In Honor Giving Quilt Challenge quilts are due at AQS by February 21, 2014. (Click here for shipping information)
14. Winners will be announced at AQS QuiltWeek® – Paducah, Kentucky 2014.
15. Accepted Quilted In Honor Giving Quilt Challenge quilts will be donated to Operation Homefront at the conclusion of AQS QuiltWeek® – Paducah, Kentucky 2014.
    
    

Ship your quilt to arrive in Paducah by February 21, 2014.

• Be sure your quilt has a label with the quilt title on the back.
• Pack the quilt in a plastic bag, inside a sturdy box.

Mail to:

American Quilter's Society
Attn: Terry Guill – GQC/Entrants Last Name
5801 Kentucky Dam Rd
Paducah, KY 42003 USA

AQS cannot confirm the arrival of individual quilts.
Please track your quilt using your shipment tracking number.

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And you thought markers were just for quilting!  Here are a few make-up tips from the past; don't forget your calipers!

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Here's a great way to use up all those little squares you've been saving.

From Wedding Dress Blue comes Film At Five, a big quilt (86 1/2" square) made up of 2 1/2" squares and a single background fabric.

Get out that scrap basket and get sewing!

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It's almost time for the annual AAQI (Alzhiemer's Art Quilt Initiative) Celebrity Invitational Quilt Auction.   This year's participants include some of the giants of quilting, many of whom have joined us here at TQS. This is a rare opportunity to own a one-of-a-kind work of art and benefit the AAQI.  The auction will be held the first 10 days of November.  Click here for more details and to see the quilts.

Listen as Alex talks about her quilt, You're Not Alone.

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When the weather is cold and blustery why not escape the chill and spend a few hours viewing some of the textile world's most enticing showsWhether your tast runs to stunning ball gowns, garments made from beer cans (!), traditional and                             1.                                               2.                                            3.
contemporary quilts,
quilts covered in organza flowers, or the timeless work of weaving, the range of work and talent is sure  to inspire you to improve your skills or try something new.

1. Two Approaches: Now and The Future of Quilting at the National Quilt Museum, Paducah, KY.  Works by modern quilt maker Denyse Schmidt and innovative quilt artist Marianne Burr. 
2. Thirty Quilts for Thirty Years: Caryl Bryer Fallert. Caryl Bryer Fallert is celebrating 30 years of making innovative quilts by creating 30 new works that will be featured in this exhibit. The exhibit runs from December 6-March 11, 2014 at the National Quilt Museum, Paducah, KY.
3. Dedication to Maria Callas and Grace Kelly by Nikos Kolos at the Tsaritsyno State Memorial Estate, Moscow, Russia.  The unusual costume sculptures processed by using aluminum beer cans into woven fabric are a sight to behold.   The exhibit runs through March 2, 2014.
4. Kaffe Fassett Comes to Wales interweaves the beauty of traditional whole cloth quilts with the vibrant and colorful quilts of Kaffee Fassett.  The exhibit which runs through November 8 is featured at The Welsh Quilt Centre, Wales.
5. Stargazing at the Museum features 25 new quilts inspired by the quilts of the 19th century. Many museums, historical societies and private collectors gave permission for their quilts to be reproduced by members of the international American Quilt Study Group for this display. This stunning exhibit, at the Virginia Quilt Museum, runs through December 14.
6. A Sensitive Art offers the viewers a chance to see some of the best contemporary tapestry weavings by the British Tapestry Group.

 
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6.                                                                                                            4.

1.                                                                                    
   
   The costume sculptures by Nikos Floros are unique and original works of striking beauty. Their exclusivity consists in the method of processing aluminum jars into aluminum fabric.
   
         The exhibition will be taking place from September 6, 2013 to March 2, 2014 - See more at: http://russia-ic.com/news/show/16974#.UlycuRAUbIU
   Tsaritsyno State Memorial Estate
   Tsaritsyno State Memorial Estate
   Tsaritsyno State Memorial Estate

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This is a hilarious video from the 1930's predicting what clothing would look like in the year 2000. In the video they suggest, aluminum for a dress. What materials do you think we'll be using?  Thinking about it now, what do you think quilts will look like in another 100 years? 

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Enjoy a free pattern inspired by the very first issue of The Quilt Life! when Alex and Ricky held their first TQL Cook-Off in April, 2010. 

Alex chose her Dad's recipe for dill pickles as the challenge recipe and the pickle dish pattern fits the bill.

The block is paper-pieced and makes a 9" finished block. Just four of these beauties would make a great table-runner.

Click here for instructions and templates.

Remember when printing to check your patterns for accuracy as not all printers are the same.

Want to sharpen your paper-piecing skills?  Watch Episode 1213 - "Shake It Up" with the Queen of Paper Piecing with Carol Doak or Episode 809: Paper-Pieced Perfection with Alex Anderson.

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For many of us these day, the cloth napkin has been relegated to the back of the linen closet. Not so for Catalan artist, Joan Sallas, who demonstrates that the art of napkin folding can be both stunningly beautiful and very creative. Originally an origami paper artist, Sallas became fascinated with historic napkin and linen folding. He has meticulously researched and mastered this forgotten art and is now the world's leading virtuoso folder. He has almost singlehandedly revived the extraordinary art that first appeared in Renaissance Italy but reached its zenith in German-speaking lands in the 17th century.

Folded Beauty: Masterpieces in Linen by Joan Callas, currently on exhibit at Waddesdon Manor in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, features displays of Renaissance and Baroque folding patterns. The exhibit remains on view through October 27.

From the manor's website: "The exhibition celebrates the art of folding. When applied to linen, it was used to make table decorations of great intricacy and beauty, both for display and practical use. All of the creations at Waddesdon were made by Joan Sallas, who lives and works in Germany, and are based on documented historical patterns.

From 22 May, you can see a 1.5m-high table fountain flanked by heraldic beasts on the table in the Dining Room, a snake and numerous animals, vegetables and architectural features – all original designs that would have graced the tables of courts and those of high-society across Europe. The scale of the linen creations vividly recreates the drama of the dining experience in the Baroque age and relates to the 18th-century ceramics and silver in the collection at Waddesdon."

Folded beauty - masterpieces in linen by Joan Sallas from Waddesdon Manor on Vimeo.

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We've taken a look at vintage hats, now it's time to travel down to the toes for some gorgeous shoes. Learn how patent leather is a girl's best friend in the rain. 

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The Fat Quarter Shop has a new series called the Shortcut Quilt Series and for their first feature they are creating "Jelly Roll Jam."  This is a quick and easy quilt pattern featuring a Jelly Roll pre-cut. You will have two quilt tops in no time at all with very little fabric waste.

Website: www.fatquartershop.com
Click here to get FREE Jelly Roll Jam Quilt Pattern.