#aqs quilt contest

[bevanne46]

2025 AQS QuiltWeek - Branson

Wall Quilts – Fiber Art/Mixed Media Category

Honorable Mention: THE BOATMAKER II by Mary Anne Fontana of Middletown, DE

Learn about AQS Quilt Contests here: https://www.americanquilter.com/aqs-quilt-contests

[sirladystitch]

Hey guys! Thanks for stopping by, I'm excited to get started on here!

I'm gonna go into a bit more detail under the cut, but TLDR, I've made a new blog to document the process of my next big quilting project, which I hope to enter into the AQS 2025 Lancaster show.

Why I'm Doing This

A few weeks ago we went to our local state fair specifically to see the handicrafts section and got inspired by all the quilts there. I've been wanting to step back from fandom stuff and work on more original pieces, and I've always wanted to try entering more contests, so I figured a quilt show would be a perfect thing to work towards.

I want to do something that's showy and has room to embellish as much as I want without being overly complicated. I've decided to rework my phoenix pin design:

(Sorry about the pixelation/anti-theft stuff I can't get Glaze to work on my computer lol)

How It Will Be Assembled

I'm going to build the quilt in two parts:

The background is pretty simple, just a matter of squares and long strips to frame out a section filled with applique leaves and apples (I was too lazy to redraw it here just imagine it lol).

The bird itself will be sewn onto gauze and then placed onto the background as a last step. The pieces are fairly large blocks of color, the embellishments will be dealt with through painting, embroidery, and beading. This will allow me to work on detailing the bird without dealing with the bulk of the background.

The applique pieces will be fused background and then sewn together with decorative stitching/embellishments. I think the actual quilting itself will be tracing the basic shapes and trying to be as neat as possible while doing so.

Sizing

Since I'm hoping to enter this into a contest, I needed to size it to fit within the contest dimensions. I've settled on a quilt that's about 70" by 50", which is a little shorter than the 72" height limit and totally within the width limits.

Materials

Fortunately I think I have most of the materials I need on hand, at least for the quilt top. The design will be primarily batiks (my beloved), although the bird will probably require some additional iridescent textures and layering.

Math is hard but I think for the background I'm going to need:

30 x 52 Blue background

50 x 1.5 strip yellow cubes

50 x 1.5 strip blue cubes

four 5.5 x 5.5 corner squares

two 2.5 x 52 red side panel

two 2.5 x 30.5 red top/bottom panel

two 1 x 52 yellow side panel

two 1 x 30.5 yellow top/bottom panel

eight 1 x 52 black side panel

eight 1 x 30.5 black top/bottom panel

eight 1 x 6 black corner frames

203 inches of 2” black binding

assorted green, brown, gold (tree applique)

The bird will be primarily made of fat quarters and 1/4 yard strips, plus lots and lots of scraps.

To be honest I another reason I am making the background first is so that I can adjust the background as needed since I have a bad feeling the numbers don't quite add up.

Timeline

The deadline for the contest submission is May 8th but I'm hoping to be done before that. I'm roughly planning the following schedule for benchmarks:

End of Sept - Have all materials and cut background pieces

End of Nov - Have background assembled, minus binding

End of Dec - Bird pieces painted as needed and the base of the bird has been fused together and onto the gauze background

End of Feb- Bird embellishments done, bird trimmed and sewn down to the background

End of April- Quilting complete

I'm hoping to take some time off of work in October to really get a head start on all of this, so fingers crossed progress goes smoothly. Wish me luck, and thanks for joining me on this adventure!

[creations-by-chaosfay]

I'm not entering because I'm very uncomfortable with the idea of a stranger handling one of my quilts without either buying it or without me being present. Others, however, are perfectly fine with this. If entering one of these contests is something you're interested in, check them out. I simply won't be one of them.

[quiltails]

"Abbey's Flower Garden" by Ceidys Butterworth of Fisco, Texas. Quilted by Susan Corbett. Winner of Third Place Wall Quilts - First Entry in an AQS Daytona Beach Contest.

Beautiful English paper pieced hexies from the pattern "Forget Me Not Sew Along" by Sue Daley.

Photo taken at AQS QuiltWeek Daytona Beach 2019.

[iosiphonetools-blog]

American Quilter's Society - Shows & Contests: Knoxville Expo - AQS Quilt Shows and Contests, Quilting Memberships

American Quilter’s Society – Shows & Contests: Knoxville Expo – AQS Quilt Shows and Contests, Quilting Memberships

American Quilter's Society – Shows & Contests: Knoxville Expo – AQS Quilt Shows and Contests, Quilting Memberships

American Quilter's Society - Shows & Contests: Knoxville Expo - AQS Quilt Shows and Contests, Quilting Memberships

[moneyheadquarter-blog]

It's QUILT WEEK, Grand Rapid Michigan@USA Contest. Win Attractive Prize. Deadline April 21. http://www.cvent.com/events/2017-aqs-quiltweek-grand-rapids-contest/event-summary-e7e36c6689ee42b586164fa0cbfd95c5.aspx

[quiltails]

"Atrapasuenos" by Isabel Munoz of Madrid, Spain. Winner of First Place 1st Entry in an AQS Paducah Quilt Contest.

This beautiful Zentangle style dream catcher is completely thread painted!

Photo taken at Quilt Week Fall Paducah 2018.

[quiltails]

"Golden Tears" by Silmara Raya of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Winner of Second Place Wall Quilts - First Entry in an AQS Paducah Contest.

Inspired by "Golden Tears" by Gustav Klimt, this evocative artwork features fabric painting, trapunto, applique, embellishments, thread painting and free motion quilting.

Photo taken at AQS Quilt Week Fall Paducah 2018.

[quiltails]

"Moroccan Moonfire" by Tami Graeber and Judi Doud of Tucson, Arizona. Honorary Mention Award for 1st Entry in an AQS Daytona Beach Quilt Contest. Machine applique, long arm quilted, beaded and painted. Great threadwork! Photo taken at AQS Quilt Week Daytona Beach, Florida, 2017.