The 7th annual Quilt Alliance contest theme is TWENTY and all quilters who love quilt history and believe that every quilt has a story worth sharing are encouraged to enter. This year in honor of our 20th anniversary as a nonprofit organization, we celebrate “twenty”: the numeral, the concept, the quantity, the word. All techniques and materials are encouraged. Entries must be a quilt (3 layers–top, filling and backing) and conform to our contest guidelines. Postmark deadline for entries is May 1, 2013. The Grand Prize winner (to be chosen by a panel of three professional quilters/designers) will receive an HQ Sweet Sixteen machine quilting system by Handi Quilter, Inc.  Download entry forms here.

detailHere is a Tiny Desk Exhibition (love those NPR Tiny Desk Concerts) of Alliance contest quilts made by Alliance member Dr. Ramona Bates of Little Rock, Arkansas. Ramona donated these miniature beauties between 2009-2012 and each quilt now lives in the collection of a generous quilt fan. Click on the link below each quilt to see materials and techniques Ramona used along with her artist statements. These quilts are also documented in The Quilt Index, along with all Alliance contest quilts (browse them here).

Meet this Member!
Visit Ramona’s Blog, Sutured for a Living, and find out more about this talented plastic surgeon with a passion for piecing (and knitting, and dogs and knitted items for dogs…). Thank you, Ramona, for giving your time, talent and treasure to this organization. As you help us save the stories of quilts and quiltmakers, we are so proud to preserve and share your own quilt story.

I hope you enjoy this Tiny Desk Exhibition. Please share with a friend!

1-6-9B-110RBCrazyforQuilts

For the 2009 contest, “Crazy for Quilts”
04. “Still Crazy After All These Years”
Ramona Bates

1-6-FD-110RB_NewfromOld

For the 2010 contest, “New from Old”
14. “Label Me”
Ramona Bates

1-6-18C-110RB_APPP

For the 2011 contest, “Alliances: People, Patterns, Passion”
38. “Redwork or You Should Have Seen It In Color”
Ramona Bates

1-6-1F0-110RB_HomeisWheretheQuiltis

For the 2012 contest, “Home Is Where the Quilt Is”
16. “Dog in the Yard”
Ramona Bates
Click here for materials & techniques and artist’s statement

Amy Milne headshot

Posted by Amy E. Milne
Executive Director, Quilt Alliance
amy.milne@quiltalliance.org

How To Trim Flying Geese Without A Specialty Ruler

If you don’t have a Bloc-Loc ruler, you may find trimming these flying geese challenging. But by following these steps, you should be able to get four accurate geese in each color!

First, line up your ruler so the point of the flying geese unit will be trimmed exactly ¼” above the point. Try to line the unit up as straight as possible on the other three sides.

Next, flip the unit over. Line up the edge you just cut on the 2” line of the ruler as shown below, and trim the excess from the top.

Flip the unit right side up again. Line the lower left corner up with the 3 ½” mark on your ruler as shown above. Trim the excess on the right.

Finally, flip the unit over again so the point is pointing towards the 2” line. Align the left edge of the unit with the 3 ½” ruler mark as shown above and trim the excess on the right. Your flying goose unit is now ready to be pieced into your block!

Quilt Documentation Tip

 Andrea’s block story is all about the importance of quilt guilds. Quilting can feel solitary, but guilds bring us together. It’s a topic of conversation that was discussed with two Birthday Block of the Month Designers in a recent Textile Talk where the participants all shared emotional stories about their love for their guilds. 

Did you know that your guild can document your quilts as a group? Consider hosting a quilt documentation day in your guild! Follow these instructions and have members share three minute stories about one meaningful quilt in the Quilt Alliance’s signature Go Tell It documentation program. You could even host a screening so all of your members can see the videos! Get in touch at: qsos@quiltalliance.org

See You in October for Month Seven!

Thank you so much to everyone who has participated in the Quilt Alliance’s Birthday Block of the Month so far! Our designer for next month, the seventh block we’re making together, is Bonnie Hunter herself! 

Be sure to tag @quiltalliance and @3rdstoryworkshop on Instagram with your block photos this month, and use the hashtag #QuiltAllianceBOM. And leave any questions about this month’s block in the comments below!

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