Asheville, North Carolina, Friday, January 15, 2010 --The nonprofit Alliance for American Quilts announced its fourth annual contest, increasing both the prizes and the exposure for quiltmakers who enter.

"New From Old" is the theme of the 2010 contest and quiltmakers are encouraged to think broadly and creatively about this opportunity to celebrate the past in the frame of the present. They might seek inspiration and/or content from antique quilt blocks, fabrics, trims, color palettes or stitches, then use the tools and materials of contemporary quilting to produce a new wall quilt. Artists might also respond to the theme more conceptually-an "old" idea recycled, a new way of creating an old block, technique or style, or a more personal interpretation.

The rules are simple: quilts must be 16" x 16" (including a 4" sleeve and a label) and consist of three layers.  Contest quilts must be sent to the AAQ by May 31, 2010. The contest is also a fundraiser; all quilts become a donation to the organization and will be auctioned on eBay Nov. 8 - Dec. 6, 2010 to benefit the AAQ and its mission to document, preserve and share the history of quilts and quiltmakers.

"Quiltmaking in America continues to incorporate all the new technologies and materials available in the 21st century, but every quilt, no matter the style, carries forward visual traditions and patterns from the craft's long, rich history," said Alliance president Meg Cox. "We wanted to create a contest that honors the fact that quilting looks both forward and backward, a contest that would encourage participants to seek inspiration for new quilts in the four centuries of quilts documented on our website. Also, this seemed a good time for a contest that encourages recyling!"

The contest quilts will tour national venues, including the National Quilting Association's annual show in Columbus, Ohio, June 16 - 19 and the American Quilters Society Show in Knoxville, Tennessee, July 14-17.  All contestants will benefit as well from their quilts being displayed on the AAQ website, not just during the contest and auction, but permanently, on the Quilt Index.

Corporate sponsors contributing prizes for the "New from Old" contest provide an attractive incentive to entrants. The Grand Prize, a Handi Quilter HQ Sixteen Quilting Machine for Sit-Down Use, is valued at $5,000. Other corporate partners joining the AAQ as contest sponsors this year are: Moda Fabrics, EZ Quilting, Simplicity Creative Group, Fons & Porter, Quilters Club of America, June Tailor, Quilting Arts, The Electric Quilt Company, The Quilt Show.com, Kreinik, Dharma Trading Company, Riversilks, C&T Publishing, Spoonflower, Quilters Newsletter, Darlene Zimmerman and Bust Magazine. Together, they are providing the richest array of prizes the Alliance has ever offered in a contest.

The documentation and preservation work of the AAQ is shared on its website, www.AllianceforAmericanQuilts.org, the free, public portal into its fast-growing projects that document both historical and contemporary quilts as well as oral histories of quiltmakers from professionals to hobbyists. This contest encourages quilters to actively use the website to inspire a personal interpretation of a "New from Old" quilt, including the use of the Quilt Index database. The Quilt Index (www.quiltindex.org) a joint project of the AAQ, Michigan State University Museum and MATRIX: The Center for Humane Arts, Letters and Social Sciences Online at MSU, provides access to nearly 50,000 images from quilts in private and public collections all over the U.S.
 

   "We hope people will interpret this contest theme as creatively and broadly as possible and we would really like to see younger quilters and first-time participants enter," says Amy Milne, executive director of the Alliance for American Quilts.
 

   Quilts must be sent with an entry fee; AAQ members get a significant discount ($5/quilt for members and $25/quilt for nonmembers).
 

    The full rules and a downloadable entry form can be on the AAQ website http://www.allianceforamericanquilts.org/projects/galleries/New from Old Quilt Contest/guidelines/