Knoxville - Great City, Great Show!

We hosted our first AQS Quilt Expo in Knoxville July 22-25 in the great city of Knoxville. The citizens outdid themselves with friendliness and hospitality. They even had a business-window-dressing-with-quilts contest while we were there!

The Knoxville Convention Center is a wonderful facility, the concession food was *good* (!) and the nearby hotels very nice. Oh yes -- the quilts were magnificent and there were enough vendors to melt anyone's plastic. The teachers, lecturers and special events were all first class. It's unusual for a show to go off without a hitch, especially a new show in a new town and venue, but ours did, and everyone involved had a fun time. We're looking forward to three more years, at least, in East Tennessee.

We actively try to meet potential authors at our shows and talk about new book ideas. I give a lecture on what it is like to publish with AQS, which people say is informative and helpful. Join us in Des Moines for "Putting Pen to Paper: Publishing with AQS." The Des Moines registration guide is available online at www.americanquilter.com.

Some very creative people discussed some excellent ideas in Knoxville. If you weren't there and think you might want to write a book with AQS, look for our book proposal guidelines under the "Authors" tab on our home page. Send completed proposals with two or three finished, representative projects to: Andi Reynolds, Executive Book Editor, AQS, 5801 Kentucky Dam Road, Paducah, KY 42003 (270-898-7903).

We look forward to seeing what you're creating!

Put Some Magic in Your Quilts!

Hot off the press, we are proud to announce the arrival of Michelle Linder's book, Square Magic!

Michelle has devised an ingenious way to transform a plain square into hundreds of different blocks. Simple straight piecing and clever color use transform the ordinary into extraordinary.

Even better, she explains how to perform her magic with 3", 2" and 1" squares so you can work with a size you like.

As a bonus, after you trim to get the block you're going for, you've automatically created a miniature version of the same block!

Seeing is believing how amazingly simple but effective her technique is. And the 12 projects in Square Magic offer lots of placement and color options, border choices and more. Try it for yourself and you'll become addicted to using Michelle's method in all of your pieced quilts because it's -- magic!

AQS item # 8024 on our website, www.americanquilter.com or 1-800-626-5420.

Get Stylin' with Ease!

Look what just arrived! Fran Morgan's latest AQS book is Stylish Sweatjackets. Fran leads the design work at Fabric Cafe (www.fabriccafe.com) and is well known for her fresh, happy look. She's done it again here as she shows how to take off-the-rack sweatshirts and turn them into custom-fitted jackets suitable for any occasion. This book is geared to sewers of any age and experience and would be a great mother/daughter effort: first, you shop, then you sew! The techniques are straightforward and can be mixed and matched to meet your own personal style. Enjoy looking great on a budget and staying warm to boot. AQS item # 8025 on the website: www.americanquilter.com or 1-800-626-5420.

Don't Miss Out!

AQS's first show in Knoxville, Tennessee will be fantastic. Along with amazing quilts, excellent teachers and exciting vendors, there is the beauty of Knoxville and all that city has to offer, show specials, and opportunities to meet the individuals who make the quilt world so special -- including some of our authors!

Come meet Pam Clarke, Pepper Cory, Margie Engel, Rita Fishel, Klaudeen Hansen, Sandy Hart & Gudny Campbell, Deb Karasik, Rami Kim, Ann Lainhart, Laura Patrick & Ed Ditto, Marsha Radtke, Sharon Sebrow, Lynda Smith, Helen Squire and Alice Wilhoit.

See the blog for June 10, 2009 for the book titles, or search our website: www.americanquilter.com. Autographed books increase in value and they're just special, so treat yourself at the AQS Book Fair, Thursday, July 23, 4:30 pm - 6:00 pm outside the Lecture Hall (and just before a special evening with Eleanor Burns!).

And if you think you might want to become an author yourself, there's a lecture just for you: Writing a Quilt Book: The Reality Show, Thursday, July 23, from 4 to 5 pm.

See you in Knoxville! Let's make quilt history!

AQS Author is HMQS Teacher of the Year!

Congratulations to Pam Clarke, author of Quilting Inside the Lines: Machine & Frame Quilting! She has been named the 2009 Teacher of the Year by the Home Machine Quilting Show. Pam was honored for the marvelous level of professionalism, talent, and expertise she has offered her students.

Pam is a dynamo in the quilting world – in her professional longarm quilting business she has quilted over 7,000 quilts! A quilter since 1970, and a longarm quilter since 1988, she continues to teach machine quilting, piecing, and appliqué classes at venues and shows across the country.

Pam is teaching at the AQS Quilt Expo in Knoxville, TN, July 22-25. To sign up for a class call AQS at 270-898-7903.

Margie Engel, also an AQS author, won the PQA Teacher of the Year Award! Her post is dated March 25, 2009. Congratulations to both!