Just before Christmas, Lansing resident Joan Piercy received what she, at first, thought was just another telemarketing call from two people posing as celebrities. Before the call ended, however, Piercy had learned that her name had been randomly selected from a pool of 50,000 entries as the winner of a worldwide contest. And, her callers were indeed well known personalities.
Her prize? A state-of-the-art Bernina 820 sewing machine valued at $7,499 provided by
The Quilt Show. Additionally, Piercy was awarded $500 worth of thread from Superior Threads and free quilting lessons from Sew Original in Boone.
With personal notification coming from
The Quilt Show’s hosts Alex Anderson, formerly of HGTV's
Simply Quilts, and Ricky Tims, who is a quilt teacher, author, and entertainer, Piercy was in a mild state of shock and still excited a month later when claiming her prize in Boone.
Making the official presentation at Sew Original was Ruth Goodwin, the show’s marketing director, who after learning that Piercy’s Lansing was not in Michigan, made the relatively short drive from her Raleigh office to Sew Original, the closest Bernina dealer.
It all began nearly three years ago when Anderson and Tims combined their comprehensive skills to bring to the World Wide Web “the richest, most diverse Web site for quilters ever created and the opportunity for them to watch a fully produced Web ‘TV’ show.”
The Quilt Show with Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims is the only quilt show series recorded live before a studio audience and can be seen exclusively on
www.TheQuiltShow.com.
Featuring the quilting industry’s top teachers and artists,
“The Quilt Show” is filmed in Boulder, Co at Daylight Productions Studios. All-new episodes premier every two weeks and are available on-demand with unlimited access during their run.
As the world’s first full-service interactive online video/Web magazine created just for quilters worldwide, the show is the first quilting series to be shot in front of a live audience and features instruction, entertainment and insights into the lifestyles of well known quilt personalities. The ever-evolving Web site offers its members a multitude of opportunities including a daily blog, forum chat rooms and the world's largest online gallery that allows viewers to locate quilts all over the world.
Similar to paying for a magazine, subscribers have immediate access to the latest shows and information that is upgraded daily.
In the show’s early days, Anderson and Tims decided that when their membership reached 50,000, they would give away a sewing machine, with each member a potential winner.
According to Goodwin, during the recent presentation, their goal was met in mid-December and all subscribers’ names were placed in a random, computer-generated drawing.
Ironically, Joan Piercy, an experienced seamstress/quilter and proud mother of three, grandmother of seven, joined the show on its third day and could not be happier.
“I still can’t believe this,” she said. As a long-time owner of a Bernina 440 sewing machine, she admitted, “I’ve never had anything like this one before.”
Goodwin came to Sew Original in Boone to present Piercy with her prize and was joined by the shop’s co-owner Melinda Rose, store patrons and local media.
Piercy is no stranger to Sew Original, a full service Bernina dealership and quilt shop, which is now the closest one to her home.
“I always enjoy coming over here and getting the supplies I need. They are so nice to me and make all of us feel welcome.”
Rose admitted that she and her business partner, Shirley Bailey, try to meet the needs of all their customers. “We want it to always be a place they enjoy coming to. We are proud to be a part of this celebration for Joan.”
Rose and Goodwin say the Bernina 820 is top of the line and offers high-performance features for quilters as well as fashion designers, fiber artists and crafters. It has been described as “the only, luxury, high-performance sewing and embroidery system in the world, offering the most sewing and embroidery space, unbeatable speeds, and the most advanced ergonomics of any home sewing machine.”
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Alex has been sick with a cold for 4 days.
Congratulations to TQS Member Francisca and to TQS Member BettyD. They were the two lucky names randomly drawn as the winners from last weekend's Weekend Fun contest. Francisca and Betty will each receive from C&T Publishing the eBook "To be an Elm Creek Quilter." 
"Local Quilter Sews Up Worldwide Contest"
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