Quilt Alliance Contest Artists in the News

The Quilt Alliance contest turns eleven this year and the 2017 theme, “Voices,” hints at the diversity and the history of the yearly challenge. Each year since 2007, we have asked artists to create a quilt that speaks to an open-ended theme, adaptable to any quilt medium. We encourage everyone who makes quilts to enter our annual contest regardless of their style (traditional, modern, art) or technique (longarm, hand quilting, applique, pieced…) –all are welcomed and valued!

The first QA contest was launched in 2007 with several goals in mind. One goal was to raise funds to support the Alliance’s move from Louisville, Kentucky to our present home in Asheville, North Carolina. We also wanted to establish this fundraiser as an annual initiative to provide ongoing operating support. Another aim was to document the work of our members by taking a “snapshot” of quilts made in a particular year. QA board members Karen Musgrave and the late Yvonne Porcella set out to make the contest friendly to all quilters, whether they identified as longarmers, hand quilters, modern quilters… or simply artists. With this in mind, they crafted an open-ended theme that anyone could speak to, and that tradition has continued.

Quilt Alliance quilt contests from 2007-2016

2007: Put a Roof Over Our Head
2008: My Quilts/Our History
2009: Crazy for Quilts
2010: New from Old
2011: Alliances: People, Patterns, Passion
2012: Home Is Where the Quilt Is
2013: TWENTY
2014: Inspired By
2015: Animals We Love
2016: Playing Favorites

There are two weeks left to enter the 2017 contest–we extended our postmark deadline to July 3, 2017. Find full details and online registration for the “Voices” contest on the Voices contest webpage..