View the full gallery of "Alliances" quilts on our website and or go straight to eBay to view and bid on this week's auction quilts.

 

Here are just a few of the stunning quilts you can bid on this week:  

 

 

 

 

    

Above, left to right, quilts by: Nanette Fleischman, Kathy Guardia, Michelle Fairchild.  

 

Above, left to right, quilts by: Serena L. Toppins, Rose Ann Szabo, Mary Kay Davis.  

  

Above, left to right, quilts by: Bridget Wideman, the Broadway Gentlemen's Quilting Auxillary (2-sided quilt) and Nita Marcos.  

 

 

Remember, bidding starts at just $50 for each quilt, and most usually go for less than $100. All of the proceeds will be used to keep the Alliance going forward in its mission to document, preserve and share the stories of quilts and their makers.

 

 

Happy bidding! Good luck, everyone! 

Team Q.S.O.S. Interviews 62 Quiltmakers at Festival     

Team Q.S.O.S in action. Each interviewee shared their story with an interviewer and a scribe. Beside them in the booth was a quilt of their choice--a touchstone object they spoke about in the interview. Volunteers also helped display and photograph quilts, register interviewees and manage the digital audio files and photos that were recorded.

A team of more than 60 volunteers converged on Houston this year with sleeves rolled up, ready to make history. The Quilters' S.O.S.- Save Our Stories project set out to interview quiltmakers featured in the new book Lone Stars III: A Legacy of Texas Quilts, 1986-2011 by two of the Alliance's co-founders Karey Bresenhan and Nancy O'Bryant Puentes. Quiltmakers who came to the Q.S.O.S. booths in the back of Exhibit Hall E to be interviewed included Kathleen McCrady, Barb Forrister, Frances Holliday Alford and Leslie Tucker Jenison. Each interviewee signed our copy of the Lone Stars III book--stay tuned--our plan is to auction this special copy.   

 

A highlight of the Festival Q.S.O.S. project came on Saturday morning when AAQ Board President Meg Cox conducted a Q.S.O.S. interview with quilt star Alex Anderson in the Meet the Teacher theater (photo at right). Alex talked about her own evolution as a quiltmaker and as a media host and also about currents she sees in the quilt community.  

 

Q.S.O.S. is truly a grassroots project, and anyone can do interviews. Not all our interviewees are famous quilters like Alex. Our goal for Team Q.S.O.S. volunteers is that they will use the training they received in preparation for and during Festival to begin interview projects in their own community. Our volunteers came from all over the U.S. Canada and Holland were also represented in our amazing volunteer corps. Thank you, TEAM Q.S.O.S. volunteers! You were a joy to work with and the reason we were able to document 63 new stories for the Q.S.O.S. oral history collection, archived by the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress.  

 

Thanks also to our Lone Stars III interviewees and to our generous sponsors:

 

Moda Fabrics/United Notions, Quilts, Inc., Art Call, leslietuckerjenison.blogspot.com and dinnerateightartists.blogspot.com.

October Drawing Winner and November/December Membership Incentives 

       

Jeanette Minard of Sayre, Pennsylvania was the winner of our Fall Membership Drive Drawing. Jeanette won a Go Baby! fabric cutter courtesy of our business members at AccuQuilt! Thanks to everyone who joined or renewed their membership. If your membership expires in November or December, we have some sweet rewards for you too!

Anyone renewing or joining at the $50 level or higher by December 31 will receive a gift packet from either Benartex or Moda Fabrics/United Notions, courtesy of our business members at these generous companies. And we'll draw another winning member's name on January 2 for a prize packet including books by AAQ board members  Dr. Carolyn L. Mazloomi, Mark Hyland and Jodie Davis and tools from EZ Quilting.