Pasadena, California, is overrun right now with quilters of the modern persuasion, all enjoying the sights, sounds, shopping and quilts at the third QuiltCon presented by the Modern Quilt Guild.
If you can’t be there, though, we’ve got some of the big news in our latest Stashed! e-newsletter, released this very morning from onsite at QuiltCon. Here’s a quick newsy peek:
Melissa Averinos, winner of QuiltCon 2016 Best of Show
Best of Show–Goes to Melissa Averinos for her quilt, My Brother’s Jeans. Melissa wins $5,000 for earning this top prize, sponsored by Northcott. (If you recognize her name, it’s because Melissa won a Judge’s Choice award at QuiltCon 2015 for her Face #1 quilt.)
New Fabric Collections Debut–In Pasadena, Victoria Findlay Wolfe will be showing off Mostly Manor, her new fabric collection for Studio 37, a division of Marcus Fabrics.
Victoria Findlay Wolfe’s Mostly Manor
Also in Pasadena, designer Libs Elliott, who has quickly become known for her edgy designs created using processing code, will be debuting her very first fabric collection, True Love for Andover Fabrics. Now, how did she come up with the name of her strongly graphic collection?
Libs Elliott, new fabric designer for Andover Fabrics
“Because it’s tattooed on my knuckles!” Libs says. With print names like Heartbreak, Wound Up and Pony Boy, this collection will have stories of its own to tell. And we’ll tell you more about Libs in a near-future blog post.
Want to know more details about all of this? Grab the latest edition of Stashed!. And sign up here to make sure you don’t miss future editions. (It’s free, and full of real news, patterns and great giveaways. Did we mention it’s free. You want this.)
Meanwhile, back to the QuiltCon tease…
The quilts–Did you know about 1000 quilts were submitted for this show? The selection committee had a difficult time narrowing the visual feast down to the 250+ quilts selected for the competition. Other special exhibits include the Quilts of Molly Upton, Gwen Marston’s Abstract Quilts in Solids and an exhibit of the Modern Quilt Guild’s 2015 Quilts of the Month.
The shopping–There are five aisles of vendors showing all kinds of sew-treats, including fabric, patterns, notions, books and sewing machines. Vendors include Michael Miller, Andover, Birch Fabrics, Sew Batik, Brother, Elna, Wonderfil Specialty Threads, BERNINA, C & T, Marcus Fabrics and so many more.
The classes— The list of instructors and lecturers is rich with talent, beginning with keynoter Gwen Marston, who has been quilting since the 1970s, written 27 books, and hosted umpteen retreats. Other instructors include Christina Cameli, Jeni Baker, Rebecca Ryan, Libs Elliot, Sarah Fielke, Jacqui Gering, Carolyn Friedlander, Anna Maria Horner, Shea Henderson, Luke Haynes, and more.
GenQ will have a crew on the ground, too. Look for Jake, Leslie, Vicki, Rose, Bev and Linda as they peruse quilts, chat up quilters, check out the lectures and events and grab some great photos. Keep an eye on our facebook page and instagram for up to the minute happenings.
Quilt. Sew. Live. Breathe.
COMMENT #1
I am so glad Melissa’s quilt won, I don’t know her, but this quilt being a winner raises so much awareness. My Brother’s Jeans by Melissa Averinos. What a beautiful tribute to her brother.