A visit with Pokey Bolten to chat about Quilt! Knit! Stitch!

I believe that the fifth time you visit Portland, Oregon you decide to stay. Portland is an easy place to imagine living in, especially for quilters and artists. It has great fabric shops (I work for one of them!), an amazing community of talented and creative people and the best coffee on the planet.

A fun afternoon with Pokey Bolten (that's me, all smiley and giddy!)

Pokey Bolten invited me to join her for lunch at Helsers on Alberta St. during a recent visit here. If you have not had the pleasure of meeting Pokey, you most likely know about her from her magazines (she founded Quilting Arts Magazine and co-founded Cloth Paper Scissors) or maybe you have tuned in to see her host an episode of Quilting Arts TV (which she also founded!) She is currently the Chief Creative Officer of Quilts, Inc. the organization responsible for the International Quilt Market, the International Quilt Festival and most recently, Quilt! Knit! Stitch! which will be in Portland, Oregon August 14th- 16th. 

I was super excited to show Pokey the quilt Melissa Dunworth of SMQG posted on our Modern Metallic facebook group. I believe it is the official first finish for this challenge! She can't wait to see what everyone makes and also mentioned that Quilt! Knit! Stitch! is looking for folks to teach one hour 'make and take' classes and also to feature in a cool open studio format they have planned. I will post more information about that as soon. There is also a call for handmade flowers for a community garden exhibit at the show. Check out her fun tutorial and more information about that on her blog here.

our Modern Metallic special exhibit in the official Q!K!S! brochure!

Well, this was Pokey's fifth visit to our lovely city and I could see that look in her eyes as we walked down Alberta St.. Each store brought exclamations of excitement and each restaurant looked better than the next. Pokey, we would love for you to join us if you ever decide to set up a satellite office outside of Houston! Meanwhile we look forward to being a part of Quilt! Knit! Stitch! this August.

Stay in touch with Pokey via her blog pokey's ponderings

Modern Metallic special exhibit announced

Quilt! Knit! Stitch!™ presented by International Quilt Festival will be presenting Modern Metallic at our show in Portland this summer. This exhibit will premiere atQuilt!Knit!Stitch!™, August 14-16, 2014.

Modern Metallic will showcase modern quilts made by members of Modern Quilt Guilds in the Pacific Northwest. Quilters are encouraged to feature the use of metallic design details including but not limited to fabric, thread, and themes.  Modern Quilt Guilds invited to participate include:
Portland MQG
Fraser Valley MQG
Central Oregon MQG
Seattle MQG
Corvallis MQG
Eugene MQG
Vancouver MQG
Southern Oregon MQG
Victoria MQG

You may submit a total of two quilts for our consideration. There is no "made after" date requirement.

Quilts may be no larger than 48” x 48” (with the exception of the Portland MQG special 'Glitz' challenge quilts).

Completed submissions with visuals must be received online by May 2, 2014. You will be notified no later than June 6, 2014, regarding the quilts to be included in this exhibit along with shipping instructions. If selected, the pieces will need to arrive in Houston no later than July 8, 2014. Pieces will be returned by the end of September 2014 if your piece does not travel, or arrangements may be made to have a piece picked up at the conclusion of the show. If you agree to allow your piece to travel, it will be returned by the end of July 2015.

Visual instructions
Please read carefully the information for your digital images. The complete instructions may be downloaded here. Visual Instructions (PDF).

Timeline for entry
Announcement and preview – January 2014
Registration open – April 4, 2014
Notification by – June 6, 2014
Selected pieces arrive in Houston by – July 8, 2014
Pieces returned to owner – end of September 2014 (unless traveling)

Important special note to artists shipping from foreign countries: While we encourage you to insure your work for its full value for insurance purposes, we must ask you to value it for customs declaration purposes only at no more than $50 (U.S.). A higher customs value may require an expensive bond that may not be refunded upon your piece’s return to its home country. Also mark the customs document with "for exhibition and return, not for sale, no commercial value." We hope you understand that this is for practical purposes only, and certainly does not reflect on our estimation of your work. If you wish to claim full value for customs purposes, we recommend that you arrange a carnet A.T.A. for your piece at your expense. If we incur customs expenses due to a decision on your part to declare the customs value of your piece as more than $50, you will need to reimburse us for any such expense. If you claim less than $50 for customs purposes, and we still incur customs charges, we will pay those charges in full and will not expect reimbursement.
Entries selected from digital images are subject to additional evaluation when the actual piece arrives in Houston. If the actual piece is found to differ significantly from the digital image submitted for jurying, the selection committee reserves the right to reject the entry and override the jurors’ initial decision. The decision as to whether the difference is significant is entirely the prerogative of the committee.

How to Enter

Registration will open on April 4, 2014. The last day to register is May 2, 2014.
To preview the registration form, click here (webpage).

When you have completed your registration be sure to print a copy of the confirmation page for your records.

For More Information

If you have any questions, please contact Carmen Beck, Special Exhibits Coordinator at 512.323.2255, spexhibits2@quilts.com or Amanda Schlatre, Special Exhibits Coordinator at 713-781-6864, ext. 104, spexhibits3@quilts.com.   If you have technical questions about the online system, please contact Lisa Ellis at lisa@ellisquilts.com.com.

For Help with Resizing Photos or Filling Out Forms, click here.