| Asheville, North Carolina, July 1, 2015
The mission of the nonprofit Quilt Alliance is to document, preserve and share the stories of quilts and their makers. Every September since 2011, quilt world stars like Marianne Fons, Denyse Schmidt, Jennifer Chiaverini, Hollis Chatelain, and Amy Butler have shared their stories at our annual Quilters Take Manhattan event to support our cause. This year, our event weekend spans three days and our Saturday main event at the Fashion Institute of Technology will double in venue space.
Add-on events during the weekend include museum tours, walking tours of the Garment District led by fellow quilters, workshops at The City Quilter, a lecture by Aurifil's Alex Veronelli, the Moda Meet and Greet party at Kathryn Markel Fine Art, the After Dark cocktail party at the studio and loft home of Victoria Findlay Wolfe, and a chance to see the Tony-award-winning musical Something Rotten with a special up-close peak at some of the exquisite costumes.
 
Ricky Tims will headline the 2015 main event, to be held on September 26 from 9:00 am - 5:00 pm at FIT. With his trademark cowboy hat and ready wit, Ricky Tims is one of the most popular quilt teachers, designers and speakers on the quilt scene. He's also a bold entrepreneur, co-founder and co-host of The Quilt Show with Alex Anderson, an online, subscription-based TV show, and presenter of three-day Ricky Tims Super Seminars in select cities across the country. His quilts have been shown at venues worldwide, and he's often on the road, leading tours to exotic locales. Lauded for his work as a pianist, conductor, composer and arranger, Ricky has been a spokesperson for quilting to the non-quilting world as well. In 2008, he was featured on CBS Sunday Morning with Charles Osgood.
Tims will give his lecture, "Let the Art Find You," a frank and entertaining talk about his first career as a musician, and how he wound up finding fame and joy in quilting. He'll encourage the audience to take risks with their own work, and provide advice on how to get to the next level of personal achievement, whatever your goals may be.
During the formal portion of the program Victoria Findlay Wolfe, modern quilter, author, teacher and founder of the NYC MOD Quilt Guild, will give her lecture, "How 15 Minutes of PLAY boosts your creativity." Edyta Sitar, fabric and pattern designer and founder/owner of Laundry Basket Quilts, will be interviewed for the Quilters' S.O.S. - Save Our Stories oral history project by Quilt Alliance President Meg Cox. Our emcee will be Jodie Davis, Quilt Alliance board member, author, on-air personality and entrepreneur.
Before and after the formal portions of the program at FIT, attendees will have lots of options: view an exhibition of quilts made by our presenters as well as the 2015 Quilt Alliance contest quilts, sit in on a trunk show, enjoy fantastic shopping with our vendors, have quilt authors sign their newest books, or root for their favorite during a friendly quilt competition. Quilters Take Manhattan guests will see an impressive group of quilts at this year's event. In addition to quilts shared by Ricky Tims, Victoria Findlay Wolfe, and Edyta Sitar, the QTM exhibition will include a portion of the 2015 Quilt Alliance Animals We Love contest quilts. The remaining Quilt Alliance contest quilts will be exhibited at The City Quilter, just a few short blocks from FIT. Quilters Take Manhattan guests will also have the opportunity to see two groups of quilts up close and personal. Quilt legend and founder of Studio Art Quilt Associates Yvonne Porcella will share her own art quilts with small groups in her QTM Trunk Show. Quilt expert and dealer Laura Fisher of Fisher Heritage in Manhattan will share pieces from her antique and vintage quilts inventory.
 Attendees at the FIT event will also witness the 3rd Annual Quilt Match Manhattan, a fun-spirited design challenge to determine the Quilting Weight Champion of the Worrrrrld! The Match was inaugurated at our 2013 event, and this year's contenders are Frances Holliday Alford, Karla Overland and Edyta Sitar. Each contender will have one hour to lay out an original quilt design on a board with the help of one assistant chosen from the audience. The winner will receive a one-of-a-kind Quilting Weight Champion of the World Belt to be passed down by the 2014 winner, Allison Aller.
 Quilters Take Manhattan's main event runs from 9:00 to 5:00 pm on Saturday, September 26, during which time you will laugh, eat, learn, shop, look at quilts, and make new friends. Expect: overflowing goodie bags, amazing door prizes, a great silent auction and raffle and a very good time. Tickets for the FIT program, and all of the add-on events are available on the Quilt Alliance website. Sponsors for Quilters Take Manhattan 2015 are: Presenting sponsor: Moda
Platinum sponsors: Aurifil, Craftsy Gold sponsors: Cherrywood Fabrics, Mistyfuse, Spoonflower, AccuQuilt, Modern Quilts Unlimited, stkr.it, Come Quilt With Me, Rock Paper Scissors, Where Women Create, Victoria Findlay Wolfe Quilts, and The City Quilter
Silver sponsors: Simplicity, E-Z Quilting, Handi Quilter, eQuilter.com, Quilting Treasures, FreeSpirit, Michael Miller, Windham Fabrics, Springs Creative, Havel's Sewing, and PAAQT
Bronze sponsors: Timeless Treasures, Bernina, Marcus Fabrics, Fairfield, Melanie Falick Books, and Oliso
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