Nationally Known Quilt Designer to Present Workshop at Living Heritage Museum

Pam Bono, nationally known designer, publisher and teacher in the quilt world will be presenting a quilting lecture and class August 17th and 18th at the McMinn County Living Heritage Museum in Athens, Tennessee. If you have ever wanted to take a class from a well-known teacher, but can’t afford the time and expense to go to a big quilt show, here’s your chance. Sign up today to enjoy the experience of learning from someone who is creative, fun and down to earth.

Friday, August 17, 2007 at 7 pm Pam will speak on her experience as a pattern and book designer. She will explain the process of how she got into the publishing business as she shows quilts that she has made over the years. Admission is free to Heritage Quilt Guild members and $7 for nonmembers for the lecture and trunk show. Preregistration is not required.

Saturday, August 18, 2007 from 9 am to 3 pm Pam will teach her speed piecing technique using the Angler 2 that she developed several years ago. Accuracy and speed are the emphasis as each student completes a good portion of the project. Registration for the class is $75 and includes your kit, which consists of first quality fabrics that are accurately cut and labeled for the Iris Table Runner, 4 Placemats and 4 Napkins project. A total of 7 yards! There is also an Angler 2 in the kit, cut and ready for use. The only other supplies needed for the class are a sewing machine and basic sewing supplies. The deadline for class registration is August 10th on a first come, first served basis. In order to secure our spot in the class, a (nonrefundable) $35 must be received as a down payment, with the rest due at the time of the class.

Presented by the Heritage Quilt Guild of Athens, TN. For more information or to register, contact Jane Phillips at 423-745-1367 on weekdays, 423-744-9877 on evenings and weekends or by email at jm.phillips @comcast.net.

"Celebrate Quilts" 25th Annual Quilts Show & Competition

“Celebrate Quilts” the 25th Annual Quilt Show and Competition opens May 5th at the McMinn County Living Heritage Museum in Athens. 200 antique and contemporary quilts will be on display in one of the south's largest quilt shows. The Awards Ceremony begins May 5th at 2 pm with quilts judged in a variety of categories including beginners through advanced. Lectures, videos, workshops and a miniature quilt silent auction are highlights of the Show. Nationally recognized instructor Cindy Blackberg will teach a workshop on June 30th. Retired seniors will also be demonstrating traditional quilting around a quilt frame each Thursday morning.

A few new components to the Quilt Show have also been added this year. A new category to the show has been added and includes over 80 paper quilt squares made by Athens City School students that visitors to the Museum will be able to vote on for winner of the Kids’ Viewers Choice Award.

Along with these beautiful quilts, the exhibit will include a brief history of quilting and explain some of the techniques and terms used by quilters that may not be familiar to some folks as well as the opportunity to try your hand at designing your own quilt square. Throughout the exhibit there will also be quilting story times for children that will be scheduled during the two-month exhibit and an opportunity to have your quilt appraised.

Cindy Blackberg will be presenting a workshop about the Mariner’s Compass June 30, 2007 from 9:00 AM till 3:00 PM. Registration is $45 for Museum Members, $50 for Non Members. Learn to easily hand or machine piece the classic pattern Mariner’s Compass. Piece on 11” block (sewn into a 16” square) in class that can be made into a pillow or the center of a medallion quilt. Accuracy will be achieved by using template stamps. Tips will also be given in color placement and how to make your block lie flat with no ruffling! See the example at www.cindyblackberg.com.

The Quilt Show formerly won the prestigious "Top Twenty Tourist Attractions In The Southeast" by the Southeast Tourism Society. It has also been featured in several national magazines including Southern Living, Country Living, Quilter's Newsletter Magazine, Quilts, Reader's Digest and more.

Funding for the 25th Annual Quilt Show was provided by the Tennessee Arts Commission, Tennessee South East Development District, Stitches From the Heart, Mammaw’s Thimble Fabric and Quilt Shop, Heritage Quilt Guild, Athens Federal Community Bank, Southeast Bank and Trust, BB&T Bank, Little Blessing Quilt Shop, Out of Towners Quilting Group, Smokey Mountain Quilters of Tennessee and the The Cherry Pit Quilt Shop.

For more information on the exhibit or workshop contact the Museum at 423-745-0329.

Kids and Quilts

As part of the celebration of the Living Heritage Museum's 25th Annual Quilt Show, Museum staff recently brought the quilts into the classroom as part of the Kid's Connection After School Program where the children, in Kindergarten through the sixth grade were able to make their own quilt square after getting an introduction into the history and construction of quilts. The squares are on display at the Museum until June 30th when the quilt show closes, so be sure to come in an vote for your favorite!