Quilt Alliance Staff Changes
Dear community members, I want to share some news about changes happening at the Quilt Alliance. I’ll be leaving the QA next month to begin my position as Executive Director of the Mitford Museum in Hudson, NC. The museum was founded by Jan Karon, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Mitford novels, and plans are underway for the Mitford Discovery Center to advance the common good through literacy, creativity, and community. It’s as unique an opportunity as the Quilt Alliance has been for me, and I’m excited about working in-person again and building something special in my community. This has been a tough decision. The timing is not ideal for the QA, because Emma Parker, QA Program Manager, has also decided to make a change. She is taking a full-time position at the Durham County Library, where she has been working part-time in the North Carolina Collection. I’m so happy for her (and the library!), but of course, sorry that the QA will lose her incredible talents. To that end, please join us on Zoom on Tuesday, Jan. 27, at 7 pm EST, for a Quilt Alliance Community Meeting. Register here to receive the Zoom link and reminders. This meeting is for QA members, donors, sponsors, project partners, and anyone in the quilting community who cares about quilt documentation. We’ll share details about the staff transition, QuiltCon plans, and other upcoming opportunities to help carry out the QA mission during this season of change. Emma and I will still represent the QA at QuiltCon in Raleigh, February 19-22. If you plan to be there, please visit us in the QA booth (#243). We’ll be selling quilt documentation supplies and giving away lots of label samples, fun prizes, and educational handouts on the importance of quilt labeling to share. Thank you for your continued support! We really hope to see you at the Community Meeting on Jan. 27. Warm regards, Amy Milne, Executive Director
QA staffers Amy Milne and Emma Parker posing at Quilters Take Manhattan 2013
Kusudama by Michael Michalski
KusudamaMichael Michalski of Brooklyn, New York201116″ x 16″Quilt Alliance’s Alliances: People, Patterns, Passion contest Materials: Commercial cotton prints and batiks, cotton and poly batting, cotton cord, foundation paper piecing, faux trapunto, couching. Artist’s Statement: Kusudama are decorative paper balls made for special occasions. They show the mastery of the origami artist in using simple paper squares. Likewise, the quilt maker uses fabric as a way to express an inner vision, of showing others how we see things. Quilts function as both an artistic viewpoint and a way of showing others we care. Kusudama represents how a craftsman and his medium work together in that expression, an alliance of artist and material.
More 2025 Staff Picks
Deb Josephs, QA Office Manager, recommends one of her favorite Go Tell It! videos to watch this holiday season… “One of my favorite Go Tell Its was part of a Quilt Alliance Community Quilt Day event in western North Carolina in a small, beautiful town called Sandy Mush in April, 2023. We were in an old gym that had been converted to a community center. Hanging from a second story railing were many quilts including a very large one that we were told hadn’t been taken down in decades. Several of the women who created blocks for the quilt were with us that day and we were privileged to help bring the quilt down and hear the story behind it. The quilt was created in 1986 and was called the Celebration of Sandy Mush. It was the work of more than 50 local quilters to show their community, its beauty and importance to them, in a protest against a proposed site for a high-level nuclear depository in their town. With those blocks, the quilters highlighted the scenery, churches and houses that generationally meant so much to them including the schoolhouse that was now the community center where we were together. Along with others, their efforts creating this beautiful, meaningful quilt, helped to call off the threat of the site later that year.”
Executive Director Amy Milne shared two videos from 2025 that stood out for her: Her first pick was this Go Tell It! interview with Eric Galindo. Eric was interviewed by QA board member A’donna Richardson, founder of the African American Quilt Documentation Study Group, at a documentation day at the Berkeley Art Museum & Pacific Film Archive. Amy loves Eric’s video not only because it was an amazing example of the partnerships that help us expand and sustain our work (it really, truly, takes a village, folks!) but also because she’s always interested in seeing a new generation of artists using quilts made by family members (or anyone, really) as inspiration for their own creative process. Eric is an artist and fashion designer living in California — you can hear more about his work in a Textile Talk from earlier this year that highlighted stories recorded by the AAQDSG.
Amy also picked this Go Tell It! featuring Quilt Alliance member Carol Mann sharing her version of the ‘Color My World’ block of the month by Wendy Williams. The quilt is a joyful, colorful, and personalized quilt that took Carol six months to make and six weeks to quilt! She recorded this Go Tell It herself using our Go Tell It! guidelines online, and she did a great job! This video is a great reminder that anyone, whether a Quilt Alliance member or not, is welcome to share your quilt story with the Alliance — we’d love to hear all about what you’ve made this year!
Want to see more interviews that stood out from 2025? Find three picks from QA Project Manager Emma Parker online here. And you can find all of our Go Tell It! interviews, from 2025 and beyond, at www.youtube.com/quiltalliance — what videos did you love from this year? And don’t forget, you can explore more than 1,200 QSOS interviews as well at www.QSOS.quiltalliance.org. We can’t wait to hear what inspires you from our collection of quilt documentation and quilt stories.
Blest Be the Threads that Bind by Michelle Flamer
Blest Be the Threads that BindMichelle Flamer of Wynnewood, PA201320″ x 20″Quilt Alliance’s TWENTY contest Materials: Raw edge machine appliqué and hand quilting Artist’s Statement: Whether we are old, young, black, white, “plain,” “English,” rich, poor, or quilt traditional or modern, we are all quilters united by that desire to create something wonderful from a lifeless pile of fabric! Blest Be the Threads that Bind celebrates Quilt Alliance’s twenty years of service to the American quilting community, a community that transcends time and endures even now in the 21st Century.
Emma’s 2025 Staff Picks
As 2025 comes to a close, I wanted to share three quilt stories that made this year shine. They’re not “favorites” (because choosing favorites feels impossible!), but each one represents something special that happened in the Quilt Alliance world this year—joyful quilt guild visits, thoughtful storytelling, and exciting new steps forward for QSOS. These videos reminded me again and again telling your quilt story matters! –Emma Parker, QA Project Manager
1. KC Shortes — “Go Tell It!” at the Austin Modern Quilt Guild This “Go Tell It!” was recorded at a meeting of the Austin Modern Quilt Guild, where KC Shortes volunteered (or maybe was volun-told!) to share an example ahead of a full documentation day later that week. Several guild members mentioned how meaningful their collaborative Exquisite Corpse project was for them; here’s another example from Nelia Box Karimi. If anyone claims quilting is a fading art form, the stories I heard from guilds this year—and the joy in this room—prove just how vibrant and creative today’s quilting communities truly are!
2. Go Tell It! interview with Helen Smith Stone This “Go Tell It!” from Helen Smith Stone not only features a beautiful quilt and a touching story about her relationship with her husband—it also celebrates how simple and empowering it can be to record your own quilt story. Helen filmed and submitted this herself using the DIY guidelines:see them here. It’s wonderful reminder that anyone can document their quilt and add their voice to the collection!
3. QSOS interview: Kimber Van Heukelom interviewed by Meredith Ahmed This QSOS interview recorded in February, 2025 is one of the first recorded using our updated QSOS protocols, and interviewer Meredith Ahmed (who also helps index and transcribe QSOS interviews) truly knocked it out of the park. Kimber shares her passion for historical quilts and her joy in making quilts today with her guild. Their conversation is a perfect example of how QSOS connects quiltmaking traditions with today’s quiltmaking world.
A.J. by members of the Broadway Gentlemen’s Quilting Auxiliary
A.J.Maggi Gordon, Shahnaz Khan, Chad Lindsey, Ritchy McFadden, Michael Michalski, Michele Reisch, Eric Sciotto, and Melanie Vaughan201320″ x 20″Quilt Alliance’s TWENTY contest Materials: Commercial cotton, decorator fabrics, yarn, embroidery thread; machine and hand piecing and applique, embroidery, inkjet printing Artist’s Statement: Like a quilt, American currency (even though it has evolved over the years) wears its tradition proudly. It is useful yet also decorative, full of meaningful symbols harkening back to an earlier time. While often overlooked as just a part of everyday life, careful study shows the handiwork of many artisans. This is our first try at a ‘slice quilt’. Though quite diverse, our myriad viewpoints and talents came together quite nicely, our own American melting pot. Makers are members of the Broadway Gentlemen’s Quilting Auxiliary.
A Quilter’s Legacy
In every presentation I give on behalf of the Quilt Alliance, I share two beliefs that guide our mission: Quilts are historical documents, carrying vital information about the lives, families, communities, and cultures of their makers. Most quilts outlive their makers, making it essential to preserve not only the quilt but also the story of its creator. After a quiltmaker has passed away, an undocumented quilt risks becoming anonymous—a one-of-a-kind textile with no story attached. Through labeling, photography, videography, and oral history, Quilt Alliance projects ensure that quilts and their makers are remembered, not forgotten. I’m never more aware of the importance of our work than when a quilter we’ve documented passes away, especially when that quilter is a friend. On January 21, 2023, I interviewed Thelma Luciana, my third-grade teacher, for the QSOS oral history project. Thelma’s daughter, Lynda Reilich, had contacted me a few months before to arrange the interview to commemorate Thelma’s 90th birthday. On the day of the interview, I visited Thelma’s beautiful 1950s home in my hometown of Morganton, nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, where she and her late husband, Jim, raised Lynda and her sister Cathy. The Luciana home was filled with Thelma’s quilts — on walls, beds, shelves, and handmade quilt racks made by Jim. I got a fun tour of Thelma’s large collection of works, all hand pieced, appliqued, and quilted. Also neatly and artfully displayed around the house were treasured family quilts, dolls, and miniature furniture. We set up a quilt stand with the piece that Thelma had chosen as her “touchstone quilt.” Dream of the Thistledown Fairies would serve as the starting point for our interview. Our interview was delightful. I loved learning about Thelma’s history; how she learned to sew and quilt from the women in her family in her hometown, nearby Black Mountain, NC. I was so grateful to Lynda for contacting me and setting the documentation session into motion. We sent out a press release to the two local newspapers, and both ran stories about Thelma’s interview. The Burke Quilters Guild honored Thelma by hosting me at one of their meetings, and I played back the interview for the group. You can watch the video recording, explore the full interview, and see more photos of Thelma’s touchstone quilt on the QSOS website. Thelma Luciana passed away in her lovely home on August 22, 2025. Her QSOS interview is mentioned in her obituary, and her family displayed Dream of the Thistledown Fairies and many of her quilts and treasures at her memorial service. Thelma will be missed by her family, former students like me, her devoted friends, and fellow quilters, but her story will never fade away, and her quilts will never be called anonymous.
Soul Sisters by Jamie Fingal
Soul SistersJamie Fingal201116″ x 16″Quilt Alliance’s Alliances: People, Patterns, Passion contest Materials: Commercial cottons and batiks fused, painted, free-motion machine quilted. Buttons sewn on by hand. Artist’s Statement: My closest friend and I often send each other e-mails that have “coffee break” in the subject line. It is our way to sit down at the computer with a cup of coffee, tea, or even a glass of wine and read each other’s catch-up news. What could be more fun than cups and saucers on our heads? Dedicated to women friends!
Tulip Garden by Jeff Lovin
Tulip GardenJeff Lovin201016″ x 16″Quilt Alliance New from Old contest Materials: Hand appliqued, hand pieced and hand quilted. Artist’s Statement: I am a native of Madison County, North Carolina, and started quilting over 23 years ago for extra income. I am a self-taught quilter, though many have contributed to my knowledge of quilting. Mrs. Brown from Middlefork taught me how to punch rugs, and I sort of shifted from rugs to pillows to quilts. Many I make are vintage patterns, and some are my own creations. I have quilts for sale at Fiddlestix in Mars Hill, NC.
In Memory of Shelly Zegart
Shelly Zegart, one of the founding visionaries of the Alliance for American Quilts (Quilt Alliance), died at home in Louisville, Kentucky, on July 22, 2025, after succumbing to a brief but grave illness. Shelly‘s beloved husband, Kenny, died earlier this year. Shelly’s contributions to the scholarly world of quilts are remarkable, and her loss is deeply felt. In 1981, Shelly co-founded the Kentucky Quilt Project, an effort to collect data on quilts made in Kentucky through a series of Quilt Days held across Kentucky. The project inspired groups in almost all 50 states to conduct their own quilt surveys based on the KQP model. To find a home for this growing body of quilt documentation, Zegart, along with Quilts Inc. founders Karey Bresenhan and Nancy Puentes, and Eunice Ray, founded the Alliance for American Quilts in 1993. Much of the data collected by the state quilt projects is now archived in the Quilt Index, another project that Shelly and fellow AAQ board members worked tirelessly to help establish. For thirteen years, Shelly housed the AAQ headquarters in her home in Louisville, Kentucky. In 2006, when the organization moved its office to Asheville, NC, and Shelly retired from the board, she and her husband, Dr. Kenny Zegart, established the Zegart Fund to help sustain the AAQ. Devoted colleagues, friends, and family made matching gifts in honor of Shelly’s work with the AAQ. In 2011, Shelly served as executive producer and host of a 9-part documentary series “Why Quilts Matter: History, Art & Politics,” that aired on more than 200 public television stations. In 2020, Shelly received the Governor’s Award in the Arts – Folk Heritage Award to honor her outstanding contributions to the state’s artistic traditions. In addition to her incredible life in quilts, Shelly was the founder and President/CEO of Kentucky to the World, Inc., a nonprofit whose mission is to elevate the cultural and intellectual reputation of Kentucky on the global stage. The Quilt Alliance would not exist today without Shelly’s dedication, drive for excellence, generous support, and deep love and appreciation for quilts. We welcome you to share your memories of Shelly in the comments. Link to Shelly’s obituary in the Louisville Courier Journal.
New Episode of Running Stitch, a QSOS podcast
New Episode out now!
Ciao Bella Limoncello by Michele Muska
Ciao Bella LimoncelloMichele Muska200916″ x 16″Quilt Alliance Crazy for Quilts contest Materials: Silks, cottons, glass beads & felted postcards, sterling silver and glass enamel button, silk bias tape ruching and grosgrain ribbon flowers. Artist’s Statement: When my son returned from Sicily he made Limoncello from our friend’s organic Meyers lemons. He had to peel many lemons and go through a long process to get to the end result. I helped him strain the citrus libation several times and now it sits in my freezer for special occasions. This little block evokes the brightness and contrast that this special brew and experience represents to me.