The Thread: News From The Q-Niverse

SANDY, UTAH–Christmas came earlier this week for Autism Speaks, the leading autism science and advocacy organization, and the Carmen B. Pingree Center for Autism in Salt Lake City. Thanks to Riley Blake Fabrics, quilt shops (both online and brick-and-mortar) and quilters around the globe, the two groups received $14,000 and $7,800 respectively from the sale of Riley Blake’s Pieces of Hope fabric collection.

The collection was launched in August this year, and included at least 16 prints, many featuring a puzzle piece, which is considered a generic symbol for the many disorders on the autism spectrum, says Brian Cloward, national sales manager for Riley Blake. The line did well in pre-sales, Brian says, ranking second in sales in a field of 13 or 14 fabric collections.

“It was pretty exciting for us to see it do so well,” Brian says.

He has a more personal reason for being glad about the collection’s sales, and the subsequent donations those sales have made possible. Pieces of Hope was created to help children with autism, including his 10-year-old son, Mason (pictured above).

Brian’s wife, Jenna Cloward, also with Riley Blake, and RB staff designer Shari Butler came up with the idea for the collection and pushed it to completion. “No two children with autism are the same, so care has to be specialized for each child. Each parent wants to provide the very best for their child, but funds are limited. They need help, and we all want answers,” says a recent post on the Riley Blake blog. From that desire, the Pieces of Hope collection was created.

The back of the storyboards used to pre-sell the collection to shops promoted Autism Speaks, and shops were given small posters they could use to publicize Pieces of Hope to their customers. And response was strong.

“It turned out to be just beyond our wildest dreams how well the line did,” Brian says. Riley Blake also got tons of response from grateful stitchers via the RB blog, email and Twitter, thanking them for shedding some public light on autism, which affects 1 in 88 children, and 1 in 54 boys, according to the Autism Speaks website.

Checks for the funds were presented on Dec. 19 by Mason and others from Riley Blake to the Pingree Center and to an Autism Speaks representative. The Pingree Center—where Mason attended school for seven years—will reportedly use the funds to install WiFi in its building. Says Brian, many autistic children, like his son, use iPads to communicate, and by outfitting the school with Internet access, the students can learn and interact in more varied settings around the building. Autism Speaks will use the funds for ongoing research and education. (And according to its website, any funds donated through Dec. 31, 2012 will be matched, up to $750,000.)

Quilt Alliance Ends Fundraising Year On A Positive Note (Or Two)
ASHEVILLE, NC–The Quilt Alliance, a non-profit group dedicated to documenting, preserving, and sharing the American quilt heritage, is also celebrating the giving season, thanks to two events. First, the generosity of an anonymous foundation. All contributions made to the Quilt Alliance between now and the stroke of midnight on January 1, 2013, will be matched up to $10,000, say Quilt Alliance leaders.  

In related news, the Alliance’s “Home Is Where The Quilt Is” auction of house-shaped art quilts has raised $12,874. More than 100 house-shaped quilts were made and donated by artists from all over the globe. Winning bids ranged from $50 to $1,675, which was paid for Jamie Fingal’s Home Is Where Your Story Begins quilt (pictured).

The auction is one of the Quilt Alliance’s biggest fundraisers. The theme for the 2013 auction is “Twenty,” and the deadline for entries is May 1, 2013. Details are on the Alliance’s website.

 

Festival ‘By The Numbers’–More than 61,116 Attendees, 100 Teachers, 546 Vendors
HOUSTON—International Quilt Festival–the world’s largest quilt show, sale and quilt-making academy–is only getting larger. According to attendance figures recently released by Quilts, Inc., the festival’s sponsor, more than 61,100 attendees descended upon Houston in early November for the 38^th annual edition of Festival.

“I am consistently amazed at how fresh and exciting it is not just for me, but for people who come from all over the world, more than 30 countries,” says Festival founder and director emeritus Karey Bresenhan. “Quilting is such a vibrant art form, and I’m pleased to see that its popularity is only growing, especially among younger women.”

Of those attendees, 4,548 took part in Festival’s Quiltmaking Academy, which included more than 350 classes in a wide variety of skill levels and techniques, taught by more than 100 faculty members from around the world.

The vendor aspect of Festival was slightly bigger this year, with 546 exhibitors in more than 1,033 booths offering antique and contemporary quilts, fabrics, books, notions, patterns, antiques, crafts, jewelry, and more for sale.

The special exhibits showcased more than 1,500 quilts and works of fabric art in

nearly 40 special exhibits, including the Modern Quilt Exhibit, as well as quilts from France, Brazil, Japan, greater Europe, and around the world.

Also wowing attendees was the inaugural Festival Pet Postcard Project, in which attendees “adopted” pet-themed fabric postcards for $20, The project netted more than $20,000 for Friends For Life, a no-kill animal shelter and adoption agency in Houston.

Another new attraction this year was the Open Studio area sponsored by Craftsy, It featured groups of Festival’s teachers demonstrating their art four in mini-classrooms attended by Festival-goers, allowing a lot of up-close interaction and questions.

“The thing I love about quilters is that they are always curious and always searching for new things to learn and new ways to improve their art and creativity,” Bresenhan says.

Next year’s Festivals will be April 11-13 in Cincinnati, June 21-23, in Chicago, Aug. 2-4 in Long Beach and Oct. 31-Nov. 3 in Houston.