Innovative Pieced Quilts
by Cynthia England
Picture Piecing is a unique piecing technique that Cynthia England developed to achieve detailed imagery in quilts. It is a form of paper/foundation piecing, but Cynthia has taken out the frustration and fabric waste: there’s no picking out stitches, and you can reuse the pattern. Cynthia’s quilts have won many awards and her quilt, Piece and Quiet, was distinguished as one of the 20th Century’s Best Quilts.

Detail: New Beginnings by Devon Pfeif
The PRINCE Cherrywood Challenge 2018
What happens when you give artists the same fabric, same color, and same inspiration? The result is an amazing variety of ideas! All the pieces in this collection are created with Cherrywood Hand-Dyed Fabric. Artists took inspiration from Prince, the late musician from Minnesota (also home of Cherrywood). Because of the cohesive nature of the quilts, the exhibit makes a huge visual impact.

Detail: Folk Art Four Clock by Susan Smith, CA 1840
From Hands Alone: Selected Quilts from the Collection of Chris Moline
The quilts included in this exhibit are selected from the collection of Chris
Moline and represent items that display the artistry and innovation of
quilts made by hand.

AQS QuiltWeek – Fall Paducah 2017 Janome America Best of Show
ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE by Kathy McNeil
AQS Fall Paducah
Contest Quilts
The international quilt contest sponsored by AQS presents quilts showcasing a wide variety of techniques that quiltmakers around the world are using today. Quilters will vie for $121,250 in cash awards, with the Janome Best of Show receiving $20,000. Quilts range from traditional designs that everyone knows, like Lone Star and Log Cabin, as well as Modern and Art quilts that reach outside the box with new designs and techniques.

Quilts of Valor –
A 50 State Salute
Quilts of Valor Foundation (QOVF) presents quilts representing 24 states that will be awarded to Veterans and military who have been touched by war. The “50 State Salute” exhibit” features quilts made in patriotic designs from the simple to the complex. Members of QOVF range from young beginning quilters in the ”Under Our Wings” program to experienced members who have been making QOV for 15 years. These quilts are meant to inspire all levels of quiltmakers and showcase the many possibilities for expressing gratitude to our military through quilts.
“A 50 State Salute” will be displayed at AQS QuiltWeek events throughout 2019. After its last stop at The National Quilt Museum from November 2019 to February 2020, the quilts will be awarded to veterans and military in Paducah, Kentucky. Stop at the Quilts of Valor booth for more quilts, the exhibit book, and information about the Quilts of Valor Foundation.

Dij Pacarro
The Dirty Dozen: Provence to Paris
The Photo Challenge completed in 2017, “Welcome to Provence”, was based on a photo by The Dirty Dozen Fiber Artist, Kathryn Robinson, of the courtyard of a 700-year-old farmhouse in Provence, France. The photo was selected as it had an array of elements in it that could be used as inspiration. The finished size of each of these pieces is 36 inches high by 24 inches wide

Michelle Basten
International Miniature
Quilt Exchange
TheQuiltShow.com sponsored a quilt exchange between U.S. and international quiltmakers. The goal of the project was to connect quiltmakers to learn about each other – to show that we are more alike than different. The teams were paired on a first-come basis; they developed a pen-pal-like relationship to learn about each other, their quiltmaking styles, and to develop friendships. The only criteria was that the quilts needed to be a maximum of 24” and a minimum of 18”. From the 300 quilts (150 teams), 24 teams (48 mini quilts) were selected for this traveling exhibit based on their stories.

Detail: Playtime by Judi Madsen
AQS iquilt and Author Showcase
Artistry and craft are blended together in the AQS iquilt & Author Showcase. AQS provides a platform to view quilts, projects, and demonstrations. The displays feature quilts from well-known instructors for iquilt online classes and authors of AQS books. You will find interactive opportunities as instructors demonstrate their techniques.

Detail: HARU by Maria Shell
SAQA: Metamorphosis
Metamorphosis generates transformative change in shape, nature, or structure. Animals physically develop and change from birth to maturity. Concepts and ideas morph and change over time. Even the earth’s landscape progresses through many geological and ecological stages.
Change may be positive, negative, frightening or enlightening. The pieces in this exhibition demonstrate the inevitability of change—physical, philosophical, or personal — and the results of such transformations, no matter how subtle.

Detail: Happy Paducah Memories 1996 – 2018 by Molinda Lauxmiller
35 Years of AQS
Anniversary Showcase
This exhibition showcases 15 of the previous Best of Show winning quilts at AQS QuiltWeek Shows, which are on loan from the National Quilt Museum’s permanent collection. In addition, this exhibit will also include a collection of AQS show pins, a t-shirt quilt by Molinda Lauxmiller featuring shirts from previous AQS QuiltWeek shows, and other American Quilter’s Society memorabilia from the past 35 years.