The 2014 Quilt Alliance contest theme has been announced and it's inspirational! "Inspired By" challenges you to dive into the massive resources offered by
The Quilt Index and
Quilters' S.O.S. - Save Our Stories (Q.S.O.S.) projects to find a quilt that really makes your heart sing. You'll use this quilt to inspire your own original entry, which must be 16" x 16", composed of three layers (front, filling and back), and include a label and 4" sleeve.
The possibilities are (almost) endless--in fact there are more than 54,000 records of quilts in The Quilt Index and the Q.S.O.S. collection includes over than 1,000 images of quilts shared by project interviewees.
The contest postmark deadline is
June 1, 2014 and downloadable entry form can be found on our
website. All quilts are a donation and will be auctioned to support the mission and projects of the Quilt Alliance in November 2014. During the summer and fall of 2014, the "Inspired By" entries will be exhibited nationally, shared on our website and documented in The Quilt Index.
The Quilt Alliance typically receives more than 100 entries to our annual contest with quilts donated from the U.S. and all over the world. Professional judges will select the Handi Quilter Grand Prize and the lucky winner will receive a HQ Sweet Sixteen longarm sit-down machine package (machine, table and bobbin winder) from Handi Quilter Inc. 
First through third place finishers will receive prizes from our partners at
Moda Fabrics, The Electric Quilt Company, EZ Quilting, Simplicity Creative Group, AURIfil. Our venue sponsor is Original Sewing & Quilt Expo, and our documentation sponsor is stkr.it. You can read the full press release
here.
Although I've only made it to the finish line once in the seven years of Quilt Alliance contests (
click here to see my 2008 contest entry in the Quilt Index), I fully intend to make it happen this year with my own Inspired By entry. Here are a few inspiration quilts I like and why and a preliminary idea for each.
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Terese Agnew's "Portrait of a Textile Worker" shared in her 2006 Q.S.O.S. interview. The image in this quilt is made up of more than 30,000 garment labels. Artwork that combines a beautifully rendered image with a meaningful use of materials that reinforces the piece's message, gets me every time. I've been saving those little plastic squares that cinch up bread bags for a *long* time. This quilt inspires me to use them in an illustrative way.
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Crazy quilt by Ephraim B. Watson, 1876-1900, documented during the The Heritage Quilt Project of New Jersey, Inc. The large, simple letter and object forms in this quilt, alongside the playful and resourceful use of smaller scale crazy piecing rings all my design bells. I'm inspired to create a typographic quilt with hand-drawn letters and improvisational piecing.
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"Whine and Dine at Sushi Zen" by Pam RuBert, shared in her 2006 Q.S.O.S. interview. The bold graphic quality of Pam's work is so exciting to me. If I picked this quilt I would start with a story, do a simple line drawing and then try [try!] to replicate my design in applique. (Someone talk me out of this one.)
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Sunrise quilt made in 1941 by the Bismark Community Women of Sunfield, Michigan . Documented as part of the Michigan Quilt Project. The effect that the texture and color of this quilt has on me is Home, Comfort, and Everything Will Be Absolutely Alright. I would work with older fabrics, important to me, and pick a traditional pattern (probably not this one, although I love it) to work with.
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We'd love to hear what Quilt Index or Q.S.O.S. quilts are calling your name and inspiring your contest entry. Please share them on the
Quilt Alliance Facebook page. Be sure to add a link to the inspiration quilt you choose, and tell us what ideas you have for your own creation. Can't wait to see what inspires you!!
Stay warm, everyone!
Click here for complete Inspired By contest details and downloadable entry form.
