Congratulations to our Winsday winner: Lise Simard

This week we hosted a 13 Fat Quarters GIVEAWAY of the Mama & Me collection on our Facebook Page. We wanted to know:

Which Quilt Festival would you love to attend?

We love doing these mini surveys although  I was surprised by how many could not answer the question.  This should be on your bucket list! You have to find one quilt show that is a must for you to see and you don’t have to spend a fortune either!

Start by contacting your local guilds to see when they have their shows.  Some guilds run an annual show while others run them every two years!  Keep in mind that the members do need to produce quilts in order to have a show so it all depends on them, and they are motivated if they have lots of people attending.  If you enjoy seeing these shows then start searching on the internet for quilt festivals close to you.

I started with local guilds and then I heard about the Vermont Quilt Festival which is only a few hours away from my home so I can make it a day trip.  The Festival contest exhibits entries from the United States, Canada and abroad. Four internationally known judges evaluate the entries and provide a brief written critique. The final score for each entry is the average of three judges’ scores. Score sheets and critiques are returned to contestants with their quilts.  So when you attend the Festival, you will see lots of ribbons ranging from 3rd to 1st place, Exceptional Merit and Best of ribbons.  I started attending these shows to see what made a quilt win an award and a few years later I actually started entering my quilts and receiving ribbons!

Ten years ago I began looking for Quilt Festivals abroad and arranged some of my holidays just to go and see them.  I was able to attend the International Quilt Festival of Ireland in 2012 as well as Salon Expo Magic Quilt in Lyon, France in 2009.  Both of these shows are no longer operating but it was great to be part of them.  I have also been to the Houston Quilt Festival which is such a dream come true. I am now planning to go and visit the Carrefour Européen du Patchwork  and I have just heard about the Textile Festival in The Netherlands!   But I would also love to attend Sister’s Outdoor, QuiltCon and all the AQS quilt shows!

So please do check your local area for quilt shows!  It is the season!  Start your bucket list and tell me all about it!

Lise Simard, I hope you will enjoy your local quilt show that is taking place this week end!  Tell us all about it! And if you can please email us your mailing address to  designstudio@camelotfabrics.com  by June 8th, 2016.  We cannot wait to see what you create with these fat quarters.  Please send us a picture for our Fan Friday blog!

And a huge thank you to everyone who entered!!

Stay tuned for next week’s Winsday…

Happy Sewing!