25th AQS Quilt Show is Now History

Wow...what a busy week we had. The 25th Anniversary Quilt Show closed at 5 p.m. last night. And Wayne and I were able to sleep in past 6 a.m. this morning. My feet and knees still hurt but I'm taking it easy today.

We began on Friday, April 17, as we moved into the newly-renovated Julian Carroll Convention Center (thank to the City of Paducah) to prepare for judging the quilts. The judging was done on Saturday and Sunday as Libby Lehman, Yvonne Porcella, and Mary Sorensen viewed and judged all 16 categories in the contest. Mariya Waters from Australia won Best of Show and she arrived at the show on Wednesday morning. What a delight, as she accepted the honor of winning this top award, talked with visitors about making her quilt, and enjoyed visiting Paducah. Wait until you see the photo of this quilt in the next issue of American Quilter magazine - you'll see the miles and miles of hand couched thread around every applique piece in her quilt!

Monday and Tuesday were set up days - getting the quilts all hung and vendors set up. Did you all visit all of the vendor areas, from the Expo Center, to both levels of the Convention Center, the Galleria near the Patio Dining Room in the hotel, and of course, the Vendors on Kentucky (Finkel Building) where we had even more vendors and the AQS/Collector Books "hurt book" sale? I bet you didn't buy just one book!

The show officially opened on Wednesday morning at 9 a.m. Thousands of quilters were waiting to view the winning quilts. Congratulations to all of the winners in this year's contest. Wednesday afternoon, Nancy Zieman hosted the afternoon tea and shared tips for making landscape quilts and some other quick projects. The evening program, the 25th Anniversary Celebration, sponsored by Janome, included Keith Harrell as the keynote speaker, introduction of the past Best of Show winners, presentation of the awards to this year's winners, followed by a reception for all who attended.

Thursday was the Quilt Auction at the Four Rivers Center in the Afternoon. That evening Eleanor Burns regaled the audience with a look back at her past 30 years of Quilt in a Day - she even admitted when there were patterns that took more than one day. GRIN

On Friday afternoon, the AQS/Hobbs Bonded Fibers Fashion Show included both the models wearing their fashions in the contest, and the Quilted Elegance Fashions by Rami Kim during the judging intermission. All were a feast for the eyes! The Ricky Tims Concert, sponsored by Ken's Sewing Center, featured Ricky playing the piano, his mini piano, a recorder, flute, and a trumpet. We are lucky to have all of this talent wrapped in one of our quilters. We already have him scheduled for next year...so if you weren't here this year, put Friday evening on your calendar for next year.

The Brunch & Fun with Helen Squire on Saturday morning was like something from outer space - you should have seen Helen's GREEN hair. She shared tips for getting all of our UFO's quilted.

And, so now, we move on to finalizing our plans for the Knoxville (July 22 - 25) and Des Moines (October 28 - 31) shows later this year. The Knoxville registration is open online (http://www.americanquilter.com/) and we are working on the registration materials for Des Moines so they'll be available soon.

25th AQS Anniversary Quilt Show in PADUCAH !!!

Hi All:
Today we announced that AQS will host its 25th anniversary in Paducah, Kentucky. Space Coast Hospitality Management Services, the new owners and management company of the Executive Inn, has contracted with A & K Construction, Inc., of Paducah, Kentucky, to renovate all of the hotel rooms and provide improved hotel services by April, 2009. In addition, the City of Paducah has committed to remodel the Julian M. Carroll Convention Center.

The remodeling will solve many of the problems that we had at the 2008 show - air conditioning problems in the convention center, and the run-down conditions at the hotel. It has taken the months since the show for the plans to develop far enough that AQS is comfortable that the renovations can be completed in time for next year's show. More renovations will continue after the 2009 show with the building of an entirely new entrance and other exterior modifications.

We will all look forward to a new look for this hotel that has hosted the AQS Quilt Show for the past 24 years. Watch the AQS Web site, www.AmericanQuilter.com for upcoming information on making reservations at the Executive Inn; the reservation system is one of the things that will change soon so they aren't ready right now to handle reservations for the show.

And even though many of you have complained about the high rates the hotels in Paducah charge, those rates are set by the hotels. In Paducah we do not contract with the hotels like we do in our other show sites. We certainly can't be involved in price setting of the rates the hotels charge. If you don't like the hotel rates here, I suggest that you look at attending one of our other shows where there are more hotel rooms and thus more competition between the hotels, so the rates are in line with what is charged at other national quilt shows.

For me, this announcement today means that we can move full steam ahead with the plans for our 25th anniversary quilt show.

Saturday afternoon - Christian Music Concert

A bright sunny afternoon on the banks of the Ohio River in Paducah was the site of the final event during this year's AQS Quilt Show. Musicians and singers from two churches, the Crossroads Christian Church, Newburgh, Indiana, and the Nazarene Missionary Baptist Church, Evansville, Indiana. A special addition to the concert was artist Gretchen Smith, Paducah, who paints Christian art inspired by music (left side of photo).

AQS Quilt Show - Opening Day

Today is Wednesday, April 23 - the opening day of the AQS Quilt Show...and this is the crowd waiting for the doors to open.

It was 85 degrees here today and it is supposed to stay warm for the next couple of days. Unusually warm for April here in Paducah.

The dogwoods are still beautiful so don't miss the Dogwood Trail drive through the city.

Nancy Prince demos at All-Star Review

One of the most popular events at the AQS Quilt Show is the All-Star Review. Here Nancy Prince demonstrates techniques for thread painting.

Water Level Going Down - April 15....tax day

Today is April 15...and you can see that the water level is going down around the bench in Schultz Park. It looks to have dropped a couple of feet since my last photo of the bench.

Rumors continue to circulate that Paducah is flooded. They are just that - rumors. Paducah is dry and the flood gates have not needed to be installed at all this year.

Did you know that Paducah has 12 miles of flood walls to protect the city from flood waters? The city watches the water levels very carefully so the gates can be installed in necessary. Thankfully, this year they have not been needed.

See you all at the quilt show next week.

AQS Quilt Show & Paducah in Wall Street Journal

Yesterday (April 12), the AQS Quilt Show and Paducah were featured in the Wall Street Journal. Here's the link to read the article and see some photos.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120794966336508795.html?mod=weekend_journal_primary_hs

The writer, Meg Cox, has written a book called The Quilter's Catalog that is a history of quilting today and features many quilters and happenings in the world of quilting. You'll find some nice kudos to yours truly in the Introduction. I was a resource for Meg as she was developing her book. Meg will be at the AQS Quilt Show signing her book in The Craftsman's Touch booth in the Pool Annex vendor area.

Welcome to Paducah for the AQS Quilt Show

Here is the billboard that welcomes visitors to Paducah for the AQS Quilt Show. This one is on Wayne Sullivan Drive if you are coming from Highway 62 from the south side of town. There is also another one located on Park Avenue not far from Hancock's of Paducah - you can see it on the left as you drive toward downtown.

It looks like the cool weather is going to keep the dogwoods from blooming too early this year. We want them to put on a grand show of blossoms during the show.

See you soon in Paducah. We begin the judging on the 18th...not too long to wait now until Paducah becomes Quilt City USA once again.

AQS Qult Show Delays High Profile Murder Trial

Who would ever think that a quilt show would postpone a murder trial? That is just what happened in Paducah this week. An ex-soldier accused of raping a 14-year old girl and murdering her and her family in Iraq was postponed two weeks because there are not enough hotel rooms available for the trial participants. The trial, previously scheduled to begin April 13, will now begin April 27, after the quilt show closes.

I guess the world outside of quilting is now learning what a big show the AQS Quilt Show really is! Go quilters. Some of those reporter who will be coming to cover the trial should come a day early and see how talented today's quiltmakers are, and see how 35,000 quilters take over a town with a population of 26,000.

For those of you who don't know about the AQS Quilt Show - the show fills every hotel room in the city of Paducah and all of the hotels for about 50 miles in every direction. This quilt show is a very big deal for the economy of western Kentucky and southern Illinois.

This is reporter Bonnie bringing you the news from Paducah....