Quilt Shows 2013

Quilt Show Review for 2013

Each years starting in November I start to get information for our Quilt Show Calendar on quilting shows and events for the coming year. So I get first look at a number of interesting shows and naturally start planning which ones I might be able to attend.

Last year on our spring trip I caught the Azalea Quilt Show in Tyler, Texas which I especially enjoyed since it occurs the same time as Tyler’s Azalea Festival. While we were down there we also caught in nearby Rusk, Texas a ride on the Texas Railroad’s Steam Train excursion that runs back and forth between Rusk and Palatine. If you catch it right the dogwoods are in bloom along the railroad trail. This year due to Ross’s knee surgery I’ve had to stay close to home this spring, but he should be mobile enough to go to the big Paducah Quilt Show in late April. The remodeling of the Convention & Expo Center is now completed. The inflatable “Paducah Pavilion” pressed into service a few years ago when the convention/expo center lost space due to construction and then a flood will continue to be used. So the show should have more square feet of exhibit and show space than they have had for several years. Here’s the AQS Show Website for more info. If you’ve never been to Paducah before we have several pages in our Paducah Quilt Show section on our QP website that show scenes from the shows and some of the other interesting things to see and do while you are in Paducah.

I’ve also got my eye on the Prairie Heritage Quilt Show in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. It is April 7 – 9th and is getting bigger every year. Another one I’ve been to in the past and hope to attend this year is the Quiltfest on the Mississppi Show in LaCrosse, Wisconsin. That show is May 18 – 19th. I see the Minnesota Quilters are doing their show this year in Duluth, Minnesota, one of our favorite cities to visit. That show is happening June 13 – 15th and I expect Ross and I will attend. There’s also a chance I might catch the Vermont Quilt Festival in Essex Junction, Vermont (near Burlington). A few years ago we profiled the Vermont Quilt Show in our QuiltingPathways travel pages. While we were there we enjoyed a side trip to visit the Shelburne Museum and its quilting exhibits in Shelburne, Vermont. The Vermont show is always the last weekend in June.

At the 2011 Wisconsin Quilt Expo I exhibited a heritage quilt I created from old blocks from the 1930s we found in my Mom's attic.

Moving towards Fall I’ll definitely be catching the Madison Quilt Expo, September 5 -7, in Madison, Wisconsin. This is becoming one of the biggest annual shows in the upper midwest. I have some photos and info in the blog from the 2012 Quilt Expo and more info and links on the Madison Quilt Show in our regular QuiltingPathways pages. I’ve been invited to attend the Northwest Suburban Quilters Guild show in Hoffman Estates, Illinois later on in September. It sounds like an interesting event so I hope my schedule allows me to attend. Many of the annual shows that host their events in fall or early winter have yet to contact me or publicize their 2013 schedule so I (as well as others) won’t be able to make my plans until later. All of these events that I’ve just mentioned, as well as perhaps hundreds more are listed, with contact information, on our Quilt Show Calendar. So go there for more details and links.

A reminder to Quilt Show planners, send me your updated event information – quiltingpathways@gmail.com. Also try to find a place on your quild or event website to put a link back to QuiltingPathways.com . . . because the more people who find their way to our website the more people learn about your events. What goes around comes around.

Maybe see you at a show this year. Happy Quilting and Traveling.