AMQ Festival

Tickets for Ricky Tims Seminar

2012-01-31T22:29:00.001+10:30

We will begin posting the tickets for Ricky’s seminar on Friday of this week (3rd February) and you should have your tickets by the following Friday. Keep the tickets safe as it will be required to receive your Book, entry into the seminar, quilt show and vendor mall; ticket will be valid Friday only.

Tickets are still available for Ricky’s Seminar “Ricky’s Best Kept Secrets”.

We’ve had many enquiries about the tickets for the Banquet Dinner, these will be released at a later date and notification will be via this blog.

Advertising

There are many advertising opportunities available at Festival and most can be found on the website. The cost of having a 1/4 page in the Class Catalogue is $75.00 and a 1/4 page in the Show Program is $65.00, a total of $140.00. However, we are offering a discount to those that choose to take 1/4 page in both the Class Catalogue & Show Program and the total cost will be $100.00. To take advantage of this great deal your ad must be received no later than February 29th. Check the website to make sure you have your ad in the correct format. If you have any questions relating to advertising please contact Tracey.

Do you have a web-based business? Would you like to get your product or service out into the quilting community? If so, contact Sharon and she will email you details of a package that has been put together to promote web-based business’s – cost $100.00 (+GST).

Classroom Sponsorship

We are proud to announce that Handi Quilter and A1 Quilting Machines are sponsoring two of the classrooms. Handi Quilter will be supplying Sweet 16’s for their classroom and this room will be referred to in all promotional material as the “HQ Sweet 16 Classroom”. An A1 Quilting Machine will be used in another of the Classrooms and this room will be referred to as the “A1 Quilting Machine Classroom”.

At the time of writing we have another two companies that have expressed interest in sponsoring a classroom and once this is confirmed it will be announced on the blog. There may be one more opportunity to be involved in this type of sponsorship, if you are interested please email Sharon.

Teacher Profile

Jane Monk is another of our Teachers and Jane should be “basking in glory” at the moment. In this month’s issue of Quilter’s Companion you will receive a DVD in which Jane demonstrates the art of Zentangle. If you haven’t got your copy, pay a visit to your local Newsagent and purchase one – it’s certainly worth it.

Jane has been drawing with pencil and ink since she was a child. When she started quilting in 2002, she realised her love of drawing could be combined with her love of quilting and she purchased her own long-arm quilting machine in 2007. Jane’s customers love her freehand quilting style and she has won a number of awards for this style of quilting. Jane also designs and draws a lot of her own quilting patterns and background fillers for specific use in quilts. The development of Zentangle by Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas was a fantastic catalyst for Jane to create background fillers from her drawing and use everyday life and items for their inspiration.

If you are interested in taking a class with Jane please visit the website to see what she has on offer. Jane’s DVD has certainly created excitement on the forums with people anxious to learn her technique.

That’s it for now, until next time….

Keep on quilting!

Sharon & Tracey

AMQF Staff

2012-01-18T20:35:00.001+10:30

Tracey and I are on a mini-break at present, we’re attempting to catch up with our families and spend some time with them before preparations begin in earnest for AMQF 2012.

Tracey is in the South-East of South Australia staying in their caravan and I am in Tasmania trying to catch a glimpse of Tony (DH) in between his speedway commitments!

Neither of us has much computer access and I’m even more limited as it would seem that Optus has omitted to install many towers in Tassie at all. Please forgive us if your questions haven’t been answered or dealt with in our usual way – we are doing our best and it seems there’s never a good time to take a break!

Volunteers

In 2010 we were blessed to have so many people nominate as Volunteers are we are hoping that we have support again for AMQF 2012.

Val Towill has offered to once again take on the position of Volunteer Coordinator and she will create and maintain a database and allocate volunteers where needed. Val is about to undergo a complete knee replacement and we wish her all the best for her surgery and a quick and painless recovery.

I will be taking the nominations up until March when Val will take over. If you would like to offer your services for the many available tasks please email me your details, sharon@amqfestival.com.au and the times/day/s that you would like to help. This information will be passed on to Val and she will be in touch with you in due course.

Teacher/Class Information

As you know the information on our Teachers and classes was released last week. Primarily this was done so that those travelling from interstate and overseas can make their travel arrangements and take advantage of the cheaper flights. We will have further information available closer to the opening of registrations.

We will be profiling each of our teachers and this week we will start with Cindy Needham.

Cindy is known as the Linen Lady as she has mastered the art of taking an old piece of linen that had no further use and turned it into an heirloom and at the same time giving it a new lease of life. She is a fantastic teacher with a great sense of humour which will become apparent as she shares her stories.

Cindy is teaching a total of 5 classes and these classes are for anyone that uses a sewing machine of any kind – all Cindy’s work is done on a domestic sewing machine but it is easily adapted to mid and longarm machines. She shares all her techniques and you will be confident in your ability to produce some beautiful work of your own at the end of the class.

Cindy is also a National Educator for Superior Threads and what she doesn’t know about threads isn’t worth knowing:-) She will impart her knowledge of thread during her “Threadbar” classes which will cover thread weight, tension, needles, delivery and the tricks of the trade on troubleshooting even the crabbiest of threads!

To see some of Cindy’s work please visit, www.cindyneedham.com

Until next time, keep on quilting!

Cheers

Sharon & Tracey

2012 Teacher listing

2012-01-13T15:09:00.001+10:30

It is with great pleasure that we can now announce our teachers for 2012. We want to shout this to the rooftops!!!

We have an amazing line up of teachers for Festival this year, with still some more to come prior to opening registrations. We are just working out the final details of some new & exciting classes for everyone. Please pass this on to all your friends & quilting cohorts so that they can either bookmark this blog or sign up to the newsletter to get the information direct in their inbox when we send it out.

To see the list of 23 teachers that are offering 74 different classes you can visit our website here. Please note that registrations for all these classes will not open until April 2012, so PLEASE do not ask us to take early bookings at this time. We will be profiling all our staff over the next few months and everyone now has the opportunity to dream, plan & save for this amazing event.

Many of you have been asking what will be available to enable you to plan your travel & accommodation accordingly. Well now this will give you something to work on! Don’t forget that accommodation options are listed on our website, but that there is ample choices in Adelaide with the Festival being held right in the centre of the city on North Terrace. The Adelaide Convention Centre is located next door to the Adelaide Railway station, so all trains will finish their journey right next door as well as our tram service from Glenelg, that stops right out front!

Only 9 months to go & we have lots still to do! It is exciting working on all this & we are honoured to do this to assist in promoting the opportunity to receive education on all types of machine quilting. We love that we can assist those business’s that make huge efforts to provide goods & services to us here in Australia as well.

In the near future we will have some pretty amazing offers to enhance the exposure of lots of little businesses here in Australia. We would like to encourage all readers to support those that support us!

Until next time…

Tracey & Sharon

Ricky Tims

2012-01-08T16:32:00.001+10:30

The response to the Ricky Tims seminar has been fantastic and the enthusiasm for this is certainly infectious! There are still vacancies for the seminar and if you know of anyone that is interested please let them know. If you wish to book then please click on the link below;

http://www.amqfestival.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=57&Itemid=63

In the coming weeks we will be sending out registration letters that will include a registration number and this will need to be presented at the Registration Desk on your way into the Seminar.

The reason for these letters being sent out is two-fold. Firstly, it will confirm that your registration has been received and that you are on the Database for the seminar. Secondly, this letter will need to be presented and exchanged for your “seminar bag”. This bag will include your ticket to “Ricky’s Best Kept Secrets”, a 56 page Book and your ticket to the Quilt Show & Vendor Mall which can be used on Friday 28th September.

This will enable us to streamline the registration process on the day and ensure everyone is seated in a timely manner.

Please keep this registration letter in a safe place as it is a vitally important part of the registration process.

Classes and Teachers

We are really pleased and excited to have 23 teachers & 74 classes planned at this stage with more being negotiated prior to registrations opening.

The classes will cover longarm, midarm & domestic machines. There will be classes for those with computerised systems including Intelliquilter, Statler, Compuquilter & Qbot. There will also be classes that focus on design, drawing, embellishment, art quilting & digitising. The list of classes will be released in the near future although registrations won’t open until 15th April. There really will be something for everyone!

Sponsorship Packages

The major sponsorship packages have now been emailed out to our previous sponsors and we are currently seeking further sponsors. If you would like a copy of the packages available please don’t hesitate to contact us.

We are also looking for “contingency sponsors” and we are certainly open to discussion and negotiation. If you have any products that you’d like to donate or a new notion that you’d like to get out into the quilting community we have many unique ways of helping you do this.

An event such as this requires sponsorship so that we can make it as spectacular as possible.

All sponsorship queries should be directed to sharon@amqfestival.com.au

It’s now less than 9 months until Festival is here and we’ve certainly got our work cut out til then!

Until next time,

Sharon & Tracey

Ricky Tims all day seminar!

2011-12-12T18:10:00.001+10:30

We are thrilled with the response to our first full page advertisement in Quilter’s Companion magazine in November. Lots of people have emailed, phoned & joined up to our newsletter in order to hear all about news for Festival in 2012.

So this is a very public announcement that we are opening registrations on 15th December 2011 for

RICKY'S BEST KEPT SECRETS - all day seminar!

being held on Friday 28th September 2012

Join Ricky Tims as he shares some of his most sought after quilting secrets in a day-long event that will leave you amazed and wanting more. Enjoy entertaining and informative live lecture and video demonstrations as Ricky shares his favourite tips, techniques and a ton of fantastic quilting information. No sewing and no supplies but you'll take away the equivalent of at least six hands-on classes and you'll leave with knowledge, inspiration, and a spiral-bound notebook full of detailed instructions to start those projects when you get home. Topics include demystifying machine quilting, quick and easy bindings, his award-winning Rhapsody technique and Caveman, Convergence, and Kaleidoscope techniques. It's the class everyone will be talking about and you don't want to miss it.

Cost: $175- includes the following: more info on website

6 hrs with Ricky
56 page full colour spiral bound notebook
Morning tea - endless tea/coffee/expresso & biscuits
Lunch - Sandwiches and baguettes with assorted fillings, Fresh whole fruit, Orange juice and mineral/spring water. Continually refreshed until lunch break ends.
Afternoon tea - endless tea/coffee/expresso & biscuits.
Entry into Vendor Mall & Quilt show with Award presentations & Official opening on Friday evening 6.30-9pm

Registration desk will be open from 7.30am to collect your seminar bags! There are no other classes scheduled for this day to enable everyone to attend this wonderful opportunity.

Ricky will have time during the breaks to chat to attendees & will also have a range of his products available to purchase. He has asked for some volunteers during these times to assist in selling his products. Two will be needed for each break. We will put out a request for volunteers closer to the event via our newsletter, so keep an eye out for that to get in first!

On Saturday Ricky will be in the vendor mall & will be available to chat or sign books, whilst also perusing our wonderful Quilt show & vendors.

Also as our 'Special Event' we have Ricky performing his concert during our Banquet Dinner on Saturday evening prior to our Alzheimer's Benefit Quilt Challenge Auction.

Registrations for the Banquet dinner will be opened on April 15th 2012, the same day as all other class registrations will open.

RICKY TIMS: A QUILTER AND HIS MUSIC
Join award-winning musician, quilter, and story-teller extraordinaire, Ricky Tims, for an evening of music, laughter and inspiration that will keep you spellbound and laughing. Ricky took his first piano lesson at the age of 3 and continued his musical profession until quilting came along, lighting a creative fire that allowed him to combine both his passion for music and his passion for quilting into one very unique career. Spend an evening with him as he plays his favourite and most recent compositions with visual display, and listen as he shares what inspires and motivates him in his work and life today. It's a perfect evening of music, wisdom and humour that will tickle the funny bones of quilters and non-quilters alike.

The Ricky Tims seminar is co-sponsored by

Now to help us spread the word even further we are going to have another competition/giveaway!

We have some more beautiful Quilter’s Companion 2012 diaries to give away to the first 10 people who leave a comment on this blog post and who ALSO do their own blog post helping us to let everyone know that Ricky is coming to Australia! Please put your blog address in your comment for verification. I will contact the first 10 to get your mailing addresses to send your diaries to you before Christmas!

Until next time….

Tracey & Sharon

AMQA Show 2012

2011-12-09T22:52:00.001+10:30

AMQA Inc have finalised all the categories for their next show being held at AMQ Festival next year.

You can find the terms and conditions for their AMQA Show 2012 on their website.

A summary is provided here but please visit their website for ALL the details and the online submission form to enter your wonderful quilts. The AMQA committee is working hard to obtain some fantastic prizes for their show being held at AMQ Festival, so please consider entering your quilts!

Categories

Note: Perimeter is determined by totaling the measurements of ALL sides. Please measure your quilts once completed to ensure correct measurements as this is needed for category choice and exhibition planning.

1. INNOVATIVE CUSTOM Large: Minimum of 240”, maximum of 480” perimeter. Heirloom/Show quilts have been specifically designed as quilt show entries and/or not intended to be used as functional bed quilts. Fibers, fringe, crystals and embellishments of any other kind are permitted.

2. INNOVATIVE CUSTOM Small: Minimum 60”, maximum 240” perimeter. Heirloom/Show quilts have been specifically designed as quilt show entries and/or not intended to be used as functional quilts. Fibers, fringe, crystals and embellishments of any other kind are permitted.

3. WHOLECLOTH: Minimum of 100” perimeter, maximum of 480” perimeter. The entry must be a single piece of fabric or minimally pieced from the same fabric to increase size only. The Wholecloth piece should be designed to highlight the many quilting techniques of today’s machine quilters, including, meandering or background quilting, straight lines, feathers, continuous line and non-continuous line designs. The quilting must be the dominant feature of the Wholecloth and the quilting should encompass the entire quilt. Painting or other embellishments are not permitted in this category.

4. TRADITIONAL CUSTOM LARGE: Minimum of 240” perimeter, maximum of 480” perimeter. This category is for those functional bed quilts that we do for ourselves or for our customers that are meant for daily use but have been machine quilted with high quality custom quilting techniques. No embellishments, metallic threads or thread painting of any kind are permitted in this category.

5. TRADITIONAL CUSTOM SMALL: Minimum 60”, maximum 240” perimeter. This category is for those functional quilts that we do for ourselves or for our customers that are meant for daily use but have been machine quilted with high quality custom quilting techniques. No embellishments, metallic threads or thread painting of any kind are permitted in this category.

6. THREAD ART /PICTORIAL: Minimum of 100” perimeter, maximum of 280” perimeter. Involving thread play and/or a mixture of mediums and embellishments. All embellishments must be firmly attached and quilt must be able to be hung conventionally and with minimal care required. All quilts entered in this category must be the original design of the quilt maker and not made under the direction of another person in a workshop/course situation.

7. MACHINE EMBROIDERY: Minimum of 240” perimeter and maximum of 480” perimeter. The quilt must incorporate machine executed embroidered blocks or machine embroidered appliqués or motifs as a significant design element. Hand embroidery, while beautiful, is not allowed in this category. Specialty threads and embellishments are allowed. The quilt will be judged equally on the quilting and machine embroidery.

8. EDGE-TO-EDGE: Minimum of 240” perimeter, maximum of 480” perimeter. An all-over-the-quilt pattern which is continuous-line derived from a pantograph or freehand quilting. The quilting design must cover the quilt completely from one edge to the other. Painting on fabric is permitted in this category.

AWARDS TO BE PRESENTED

Best of Show

Runner up Best of Show

1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd in each category if applicable (as per above)

Novice Award – This is an additional award given to a quilter who has begun quilting since October 2010, either on a Domestic Sewing Machine, Short or Long arm and have NOT entered any other exhibition. This award is applicable to a quilt entered into any of the above categories. Please indicate on entry form if you wish to be considered for this award.

Note about quilts that are machine quilted with a Computerized Quilting System (CQS): Any quilt that is machine quilted with a CQS may be entered into the categories except for the edge to edge category. Utilization of a CQS is not a guarantee of perfection since stitch quality, stitch length, design choice and proper design placement are important factors for ALL machine quilters.

So we encourage you to start planning your quilts to enter the show for next year. We thank you in advance for making this an amazing exhibition of machine quilted quilts.

Until next time…

Tracey & Sharon

Quilt Challenge

2011-12-02T22:11:00.001+10:30

The fabrics have now been received for the Alzheimer’s Benefit Quilt Challenge which is being held in conjunction with AMQF 2012. The fabrics are lovely and we can’t wait to see them transformed into your memories. The packages of fabric will be posted out by Wednesday 7th December.

We’d like to thank everyone that has registered to take part in this great initiative to raise money for alzheimer’s research and a special thank you must go to everyone that donated extra money to this charity.

Please circulate this information to your friends, quilt and sewing groups so that we can raise a grand amount for this very worthwhile cause and get to look at more inspirational quilts!

Accommodation

The accommodation at the Oaks Embassy is steadily filling so be quick to ensure you don’t miss out! There are one and two bedroom apartments available with a fully equipped kitchen; information is available on the website.

Transport

We’ve had a few enquiries regarding transport and this is a little difficult if we don’t know exactly where people are thinking of staying. However, the Adelaide Convention Centre is in the heart of the CBD – right on North Terrace. The central train station is separated from ACC by the Intercontinental Hotel – it’s that close. It is also directly on the tramline which runs from Glenelg to Port Road, Hindmarsh. If you need any help in deciding if the area you are looking at is close to transport you are welcome to send me a brief email and I’ll do my best to let you know if it’s near the ACC or appropriate transport, sharon@amqfestival.com.au.

Vendors

It is exciting to see some new vendors joining us in 2012. As vendors commit with their deposit they will be listed on the website so that you can see who will be there. If there is a particular item you wish to see or purchase you can let them know to bring it along with them to Festival!

That’s it for now and we hope to bring you more information in the near future.

Until then…..keep on quilting!

Sharon & Tracey

Congratulations to the winners….

2011-11-17T15:23:00.001+10:30

I’ve finally found my camera & downloaded its contents to be reminded that I actually had this!!

Sharon & I are immensely pleased to sponsor the Best In Show – Runner Up 2012 for the SA Quilter’s Guild. Their quilt show was held a week & half ago now. I managed to get down there for one day & also the award presentations at Burnside.

The full list of winners can be located here.

Unfortunately the only photo I have is not great quality BUT both of us were thrilled to present Rachelle Denneny (BOS winner at AMQF last year) with her cheque for BOS Runner Up!!

Her quilt is simply amazing as always & it also received the Domestic Machine Quilting award as well.

Pure Joy 130cm x 130cm

Congratulations also to the Excellence in Longarm Machine Quilting award winner – local longarmer – Elaine Kennedy!

Her quilt was called Cream Feathers & Scrolls 250cm x 250cm

Until next time….

Tracey & Sharon

A Challenge for everyone to remember!

2011-11-14T14:43:00.001+10:30

We have been working hard to obtain some better priced accommodation near the Adelaide Convention Centre. Inspecting all the rooms at various places was even fun!

We have negotiated an AMQF special rate at the Oaks Embassy & Oaks Horizon hotels that are situated 1 minute (just across the road) from the Adelaide Convention Centre. We would recommend that you book soon to hold a room as they are not ‘holding’ rooms for us but will provide a conference rate instead whilst rooms are available.

Of course there are LOTS of places where you can stay in Adelaide & still find easy transport by bus or train right into North Terrace where the Convention Centre is located, but for those that want to be within a minutes walk away from classes & vendors this is ideal.

Please visit the website for more information and you need to download their booking form & fax or email it back to them to obtain your room.

Next is our exciting news about a CHALLENGE!

Introducing the AMQF Alzheimer’s Benefit Quilt Challenge

AMQ Festival is proud to join with Lloyd Curzon Textiles and Dayview Textiles to present to you a challenge to assist us in raising much needed funds for more research for Alzheimer's Australia. All proceeds will be donated.

Quilt Challenge Theme “Memory”

Let your imagination run wild and think of a special memory that you have and then transfer that vision into fabric. A memory that is special to you, a childhood memory of a ride on a carousel, a place that you’ve visited, a person that holds special memories, a favourite quilt block the list is endless and remember how blessed we are to have our memories and be able to participate in this initiative.

Each entry is to be accompanied by a story of the memory no longer than 250 words.

All quilts are to be donated and auctioned with full proceeds going to Alzheimer’s Australia. The top thirty finalists will be selected for display at AMQ Festival 2012 with the top 10 being auctioned at the Banquet dinner at Festival. The remaining 20 quilts will be up for silent auction at Festival; all others will be auctioned online within 30 days.

A printable copy of the rules & application form can be found here.

There is also an online application form that you can complete to order your challenge kit as well.

There would be many of us that have experienced the pain & sadness of a loved one that is afflicted with this terrible disease. We feel it is a valuable challenge to remind us all to be thankful for our memories & to raise much needed funds for Alzheimer's Australia to continue their amazing work for those afflicted with this disease. We hope that you will take up this challenge & to also encourage others to take this up to see how much we can raise!

YES there will be prizes donated by AMQ Festival for the top three winners! You have to be in it to win them and everyone gets a ribbon for participating and assisting to raise funds.

First Prize:

Bursary to attend AMQF 2012. Includes: Attendee Package, Registration to Ricky Tims full day Seminar, Ticket to Banquet dinner & up to 8 hrs of classes + Fabric pack Value $750-

Second Prize:

Bursary to attend AMQF 2012. Includes: Attendee package, Ticket to Banquet dinner & up to 8 hrs of classes + Fabric pack. Value $600

Third Prize:

AMQF 2012 registration bag & up to 4hrs of classes + Fabric pack. Value $250-

Until next time…

Tracey & Sharon

Diary Giveaway competition

2011-10-16T17:38:00.001+10:30

Thanks to all that left a comment and also listed our blog on your own blogroll!

I have today sent emails to those that I don’t have your mailing address & also to a couple that replied but have forgotten to list us on your blog with a link.

Once I’ve heard back from you all with mailing addresses & confirmation of links the diaries will go out. Hopefully by the end of this week?

Keep an eye open for future giveaways! We have been fortunate and been given a few more of these to enable us to reward you.

Until next time…

Tracey & Sharon

Technology at its best!

2011-10-13T17:01:00.001+10:30

Yesterday we were thrilled to let you all know about our MAJOR SPONSOR – Handi Quilter!

Today we have now created a Facebook Page as well… we would love for you all to visit and ‘like’ us. Leave a comment or make suggestions as well?

All the tools at our disposal are many when online. We have numerous jobs to get done & they prove invaluable to assist us in this great adventure to create a fantastic festival for you all to attend & participate in.

We have recently changed our newsletter service to Mailchimp so if you happen to get a duplicate message in the next few days please disregard this as we are having a couple of initial teething problems. Hopefully we will have it sorted soon & all will be perfect!

We also have some give-aways for you! Thanks to Universal Magazines we have 10 of their gorgeous 2012 diaries to give away.

These are in the newsagents for $19.95 each!

So the first 10 people from Australia to make a comment on our blog as well as list AMQ Festival blog in their blogrolls on their own blogs will be sent a beautifaul diary. We definitely welcome everybody to list our blog on yours at any time of course…

We will contact the first 10 people after confirming your blogs to get your mailing addresses.

Until next time…

Tracey & Sharon

AMQF Announces Major Sponsor

2011-10-11T22:31:00.001+10:30

We are excited to announce that HandiQuilter will be the Major Sponsor of the Australian Machine Quilting Festival 2012. HandiQuilter will also be providing Sweet 16’s for one of the classrooms and this classroom will be known as the HQ Sweet 16 Classroom for the duration of Festival.

There are many other sponsorship packages available and these will be released over the next few weeks.

Teachers

The applications for Teachers closed at the end of September and the response has been fantastic. We are currently going through the applications to ensure that we have a great balance of classes for quilters of all disciplines and levels.

It has been a misconception that AMQF is only for longarm quilters or professional quilters but this is quite simply not the case. AMQF is for anyone that uses a sewing machine of any kind to piece or to free-motion quilt.

Over the next few months we will be releasing as much information as possible on our teachers which will enable you to make class choices so that you get the maximum benefit to further your education and skills.

Accommodation

We have been working hard to get the best accommodation deals that we can. I’m sure you can appreciate that prices for accommodation in the CBD are a little more than those in the suburbs but believe me we’re trying our best and will have this information available in the next 2 weeks.

Until next time,

Sharon & Tracey

Teaching Opportunities closing soon…

2011-09-13T10:34:00.001+09:30

This is a reminder that you only have just over 2 weeks to submit your classes to be considered for Festival next year!

The inaugural Australian Machine Quilting Festival was held in Adelaide in October 2010. It was a resounding success thanks to all who attended, lectured and participated in the classrooms, vendor mall and quilt show.

The attendance far outweighed our expectations for our first Festival with 200 students, 1200 class registrations, 19 vendors and 19 teachers at this event. We also had approximately 2000 general public attend over the 4 days, attending the quilt show and going shopping.

We have already outgrown our first venue and 2012 AMQ Festival will be held at the prestigious Adelaide Convention Centre, North Terrace, Adelaide, South Australia - from Friday 28th Sept to Monday 1st Oct 2012.

For this next event we have created an online teacher class submission process to enable anyone interested to submit a class. We KNOW there are many talented machine quilting teachers out there on both longarm & domestic machines, but we don't personally know you all to approach you. We are also very interested in those that can provide education on using their domestic machines on a frame setup as well! So instead of personal invitations we want to hear from those that have been teaching in this area that want to
further their experiences by teaching at a National level at Festival.

Please visit the website to submit as many classes as you
would like to teach. We are keen to sit down to work through them all to determine a balanced mix of classes to present at next year's event.

Please note that we anticipate a substantial increase in attendees &
students next year. We are featuring a full day seminar on Friday 28th Sept. with RICKY TIMS that is sure to delight everyone!

Until next time…

Tracey & Sharon

Vendor applications open

2011-08-22T18:09:00.001+09:30

We are thrilled to let you know that vendor applications opened a couple of weeks ago & we are already 1/2 full!! If you know of anyone still thinking about coming to Festival as a vendor then encourage them to submit their application sooner rather than later to obtain their spot!

We have personally sent invitations to many businesses this past week that service our industry and thank those that are coming on board for machine quilters to spend their money with. If any others want to be added to our list of vendors for these communications then please join our mailing list for vendors.

Teacher Class submissions are also coming in with an amazing variety of classes being offered. There is still time to submit your classes if you are keen to share your knowledge! Class submissions close on 30th September & then we will have the challenge to choose the best classes to ensure variety, inspiration & so much learning for us all. This is the reason we created Festival – to provide education & inspiration to all machine quilters!

We are also thrilled to announce that Bernina Australia and Otto & Penny’s Sewing Centre, Walkerville, SA have agreed to be co-sponsors of the Ricky Tims Seminar!

This year with Ricky Tims, along with some other amazing teachers of both domestic & longarm quilting – we will totally amaze you with choices.

Sharon has been very busy inspecting & negotiating options for accommodation near the Adelaide Convention Centre for everyone. Stay tuned for all the details coming soon….

Until next time

Tracey & Sharon

Teacher class submissions now open!

2011-07-01T22:31:00.001+09:30

We invite all teachers who are interested in sharing their knowledge with others to submit their classes online for us to consider for 2012.

Please ensure that your class titles are accurate & interesting to attract students! Your description will need to be clear and enticing to assist in marketing them.

Submissions will close on 30th September 2011.

All proposals will be considered to enable us to create a balanced & exciting schedule of classes for attendees. Teachers will be advised by 30th November 2011 which classes have been accepted.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any problems with completing the online form. Include as much information that you can & provide photos where applicable.

Vendor applications for booth space will open mid July.

Until next time….

Tracey & Sharon

Progress Report

2011-06-30T09:11:00.003+09:30

Almost 9 months have passed since we held the first Australian Machine Quilting Festival, a little bit of time was used to catch our breath but that was shortlived. We have been working away in the background putting plans in place for AMQF 2012 and one of the first things we had to do was find a new venue.

After many hours of searching and many kilometres of driving we are really happy to announce that AMQF 2012 will be held at the Adelaide Convention Centre, North Terrace, Adelaide. Since AMQF 2010 we have had many approaches from vendors, students and sponsors and it became apparent very early that we'd need a larger venue to meet our requirements.

We are also very proud and excited to announce that Ricky Tims will be attending AMQF 2012! Ricky will be holding a seminar all day on Friday 28th September and then performing at the Banquet Dinner on Saturday 29th September. If you have any spare time and would like to see Ricky "live" go to Youtube and put his name in the search engine, his music is amazing never mind his quilting! Ricky Tims is an incredibly talented quilter and musician, he is inspiring, fun and best of all you'll have a chance to meet him in Australia.

Expressions of interest will be sought from teachers for AMQF2012 and this information will be on the website, hopefully, by the end of the week. If you think you have something to offer the machine quilting fraternity we'd love to see your proposal.

Sponsor and Vendor information will be available during July. If you are interested in sponsoring or would like to have a booth then please send an email and further information will be sent to you as soon as it is available.

Until next time, Keep on quilting!

Sharon & Tracey

Update on Quilting Roster

2011-05-01T19:18:00.005+09:30

We'd like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you for your generous offers of help and support in our effort to establish a quilting roster database. The aim of AMQF is to manage the database and if the need arises in the future we will be able to put machine quilters in touch with individual organisations that may require tops quilted. This will be of a great help getting the quilts to those in need as quickly as possible. There are quilters on the database from most states of Australia and at this stage, as far as I have been informed, all the quilts that we have been notified of have been allocated and/or completed; the quilts have been allocated according to "logistics" where possible. Australian Patchwork and Quilting contacted us on hearing about the roster and an article will be published in the June edition of AP&Q so that as many people as possible will be aware that this service is available. Thanks once again, it has made us proud to be part of such a generous community. Sharon & Tracey

Quilting Roster

2011-04-08T23:09:00.007+09:30

The past few months has seen many disasters unfold in our Country and others in our near regions. It is almost too difficult to comprehend and I'm sure we have all been horrified as we've seen these tragedies unfold in the various medias that are available to us.

Time moves on and so does the media and the areas that have been so tragically affected are left to try to re-establish their lives. Many individuals and organisations do their very best to help where they can and are to be commended for their efforts.

Whenever a situation arises, quilters are always one of the first to respond and pool together to get as many quilts made as quickly as possible and distributed to those in need.

It is with this thought in mind that we would like to put together a roster of machine quilters that would be prepared to help where they can. The way it would work, if you are interested, would be to contact us via email, we will then collate the information and create and maintain a database.

We would advise the various Guilds that we have a list of machine quilters that are prepared to help and would then pass on contact details should the need arise.

When the Queensland Floods hit and the fires in WA, I contacted our State Guild and advised them that there were a few "longarmers" prepared to quilt a number of quilts should they like to take advantage of this service. The first of those quilts have now arrived and been allocated and it would be greatly appreciated if more quilters would come forward to "lighten the load". The aim is for this roster to be Australia wide and be a central point in case of these disasters.

We look forward to your help and participation in this initiative.

Thanks so much, Sharon & Tracey

AMQF photo DVD is ready!

2010-12-12T21:51:00.001+10:30

Just a quick note to let you know that it has been a lot of editing, sorting & work to finally get this ready to be posted to everyone that has pre-ordered. There is a big box of packages going out in tomorrow’s mail!

Originally we were stating that this would be a photo CD BUT there were just too many high quality photos to fit on a CD & we found it really hard to choose which ones to leave out. So instead, we have created a DVD instead.

The AMQ Festival DVD will play as a DVD on your computer as well as on any DVD player and has 10 chapters of slideshows on it. One for each quilt category, plus a winners slideshow, Banquet Dinner and also candid shots of the vendor mall, quilt show & classrooms. It will take just over an hour to play through all the slideshows and you can stop/rewind or go back to the menu, just like a DVD anywhere you like.

If you haven’t already ordered your DVD, you can still do so!

Visit the website to order & get your DVD in time to put under the Christmas Tree!

We would both like to wish everyone a happy, blessed Christmas & look forward to an exciting New Year in 2011. Enjoy your quilting & be inspired with all that we learnt at Festival!

until next time…

Tracey & Sharon

AMQF Wrap Up

2010-10-14T21:57:00.002+10:30

It's hard to believe it's almost 2 weeks since AMQF began - time certainly marches on! A huge thank you to everyone that participated in "Festival" and made the debut such a fantastic event. We certainly couldn't have done it without all the wonderful volunteers who gave their time so unselfishly; never has the saying "many hands make light work" rung truer. We will keep you updated on AMQF 2012 as we progress.

Lost & Found One of our students lost a bag containing 2 pieces of material, it was in Clare Fairless-Lewis's class. We also had a tote bag handed in - it was pink/black/floral with another bag inside, these were purchased from the Patchwork on Parade booth and handed in from Kim Brunner's class. If you have information on either of these items please email sharon@amqfestival.com.au

Merchandise

The AMQF merchandise has now been added to the website for purchase, please click the box above to see what is available.

Feedback Thanks to all those that have taken the time to give us feedback, this is very important if we are to improve and grow. If you are comfortable emailing your feedback please do so at info@amqfestival.com.au or alternatively you can post it, anonymously, to AMQF, 13 Harbour Drive, Gulfview Heights SA 5096.

Until next time, Sharon & Tracey

It’s all over…

2010-10-08T23:16:00.001+10:30

Sharon & I would like to thank everyone that attended as a student, a teacher, a vendor, a visitor, a sponsor and ESPECIALLY all those that also volunteered & assisted in so many ways. We have had some amazing feedback from so many & truly the strongest comments are in appreciation of having so many volunteers. Without you it would not have happened as smoothly as it did!

The weather was absolutely perfect, the venue & surrounds were amazing as well.

We still have much work to do, but we have slowed from 500mph to only 100mph now vbg.

AMQ Festival dates for next time are:

28th September – 1st October 2012

Keep these free & put them in your diaries! We have some great plans already which we will unveil when confirmed.

I have tonight finally found some time to get some photos of the winning quilts on the website. One is missing, but I will get that tomorrow. You can view them here

Best of Show was the lovely Rachelle Denneny with Fancy Flutterbys

Rachelle won a Brother NV400 sewing machine donated by Sue’s Sewing World. She said it was the first sewing machine she has ever won! Next special event for Rachelle is when she will be flown to Houston to receive a top 7 award at that show for another quilt. Congratulations from all of us Rachelle – we are so very proud of you!

There will be merchandise available on the website once I get to put it up there for those that missed out. Limited stock only.

Also the Festival Photo CD will be able to be purchased/ordered once they are all on there.

All those that have preordered will receive their CD in the mail by mid December. Just have to give the photographer time to complete exams & then complete the huge job of editing & sorting 1000’s of photos into sections to go on the CD. Then they all have to be reproduced, labeled & packaged for everyone. There will be many extra shots of the vendor mall, classrooms and the banquet dinner.

Will keep on blogging to keep everyone informed on the progress of AMQ Festival 2012

until next time….

Tracey & Sharon

Glorious weather forecast for Festival!

2010-09-27T23:39:00.001+09:30

Only one more day left for me to get organised up here on Yorke Peninsula. The infamous ‘trailer’ is still not finished but is promised by lunchtime tomorrow so we can pack it…

Hopefully I can take photos of it when it is ready to pack!

Here is the weather forecast for Mawson Lakes! Couldn’t ask for better I don’t think. There are beautiful walking tracks, lovely cafes overlooking the water to fill in your time if you are not shopping or doing classes.

and the Mawson Lakes Hotel which we have booked out & have our Banquet Dinner! There are still seats available for this if you have not already booked.

Not long now…

Tracey & Sharon

Appointments for Electrical Tagging

2010-09-26T17:36:00.002+09:30

I have had quite a few queries about the equipment tagging and have this information to share. The electrician will be at Mawson Lakes from 10.30am to 4.00pm on Friday 1st October. If you wish to have your equipment tagged, and it MUST be tagged to use at AMQF, please email sharon@amqfestival.com.au If you can't make it during these times you will need to make your own arrangements to get your equipment tagged. This is for ALL electrical equipment, including extension cords and it is something that is non negotiable!

Entry to quilt show & vendor mall

If you have partners or friends that are coming to festival and have not registered for classes, then please let them know that the most economical way to do this is by purchasing a ‘pass’ for $15 that will allow entry all four days of festival as many times as you like.

Class requirements lists

If you go to the online registration page you can still click on the class you registered for to go to the teacher page where all the class descriptions & requirement lists are. Please ensure you have all that you need to ensure an enjoyable & fulfilling time in your classes.

See you soon!

Sharon & Tracey

Electrical Equipment Must Be Tagged!

2010-09-25T09:14:00.002+09:30

Blog posts may now become very disjointed as we think of topics that need to be addressed. All electrical equipment must be tagged before it can be used at Festival. This is an accepted practice but for those than are unaware of it, this is a gentle reminder. We will have an electrician onsite during set times Thursday and Friday so if you'd like to take advantage of his service please contact sharon@amqfestival.com.au ASAP.. The charge for this service is $4.40 per machine and you pay the electrician direct.

General Information

In your Registration Bag/Attendee Package you will find an information sheet which has local essential services listed. Keep this handy, It also contains contact numbers if you require further information - please be respectful of times when calling these info numbers.

I'm too frightened to add a countdown number here, I just know it's too close and we still have so much to do:-)

See you soon,

Sharon & Tracey

We are back online!

2010-09-18T19:21:00.001+09:30

What a day of headaches & computer woes…

The infamous Turkish Hacker has been annoying 1000’s of websites since 2006 and this time it was my turn! A huge learning curve, assistance from our host server and lots of time that I don’t have means that www.amqfestival.com.au is now back working for you to finish signing up for classes.

Online Registrations closing

Please note that online registrations will be extended to 6pm on Monday 20th September due to this problem on the website to allow for each & every registration to be printed & packed into their bags for you to collect on arrival. This is a mammoth job that needs to be done in the next week!

If you miss the deadline and still wish to attend "Festival" or register for extra classes, this can be done by coming to the Registration Desk where we will have forms available.

Banquet

The final numbers for the Banquet will be submitted on Monday 20th September so if you are thinking about attending now is the time to register to avoid disappointment.

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I would also like to mention & show my appreciation to the amazing Christine Abela from www.geckogully.com who has also spent a lot of time today assisting me in getting 2 of our websites back up & running as well. Christine (also a sponsor of AMQ Festival) has done an amazing job of creating both Constantine Quilts & Patternpress (both sponsors of AMQ Festival) and has fixed all the hacked files in these two websites for us!

Now I have to go get my hair dyed from this grey before Festival as well! The Turkish Hacker is to be blamed vbg…

13 days to go…

Tracey & Sharon

Registrations closing!

2010-09-17T22:59:00.002+09:30

Breaking news….

We are working on it & going greyer by the second!! We have been hacked by a Turkish hacker (?) so the website it currently unavailable. Please be patient whilst we sort this out & we will let you know what is happening as soon as we know.

We can hardly believe it!

The time since registrations opened in July has just flown with "Festival" only 2 weeks away today. The time has come to close them now, so that we can finalise everything and have your Registration Bags and Attendee Packages ready for collection on Friday 1st October.

Registrations will close at 6pm on Sunday 19th September and the ability to register online will be closed at this time. If you miss the deadline and still wish to attend "Festival" or register for extra classes, this can be done by coming to the Registration Desk where we will have forms available.

Congratulations to Rachelle Denneny

Rachelle has just received notification that she has won an award for her quilt entered at Houston - the organisers never reveal what you have won until the presentation ceremony but have told Rachelle she has won one of the top 7 awards. We are so happy for Rachelle and proud of her accomplishments, if you haven't booked into a class with Rachelle you only have 2 days to do it; her work is truly magnificent!

Quick Quarter Demos

Sue Van Riet of Sue's Sewing World has just announced she will be offering some fantastic Show Specials during "Festival". Check your Show Program for times if you're looking for a great deal on a new domestic sewing machine - you won't be disappointed.

Banquet

The final numbers for the Banquet will be submitted on Monday 20th September so if you are thinking about attending now is the time to register to avoid disappointment.

See you soon,

Sharon & Tracey

15 days to go..

2010-09-16T17:16:00.001+09:30

I am writing to you from the beautiful Mt Remarkable location in the mid north of South Australia. The event? My youngest DD’s Yr 6 camp where I am in charge of the kitchen. This is my third Yr 6 camp as cook and will be my last, so I couldn’t not come again this year. It was also DD’s 12th birthday on the first day - yesterday, so the whole class celebrated with a big cake & fun activities last night. Today I made the effort to go with them all to climb the mountain. 6.4 kms up/down means that I might not be able to walk very well later tonight & tomorrow! The weather turned bad but the views were magnificent!

You will meet Sarah on the Constantine Quilts booth at Festival!

I’ve had some correspondence with one of our most experienced quilters here in Australia who is also one of our two judges this year for the AMQA quilt show. She has offered this advice to share with everyone…

Dear Tracey,

I was speaking to a beginner Longarm Quilter last night and discovered that she had only chosen beginner classes.

As quilters of various abilities I thought all should be looking at attending classes which are the next step up from where they consider themselves to be. Even if your skills are not up to the more advanced techniques, attending classes that are more advanced can give direction to where the quilter would like to be and arm them with the techniques that can get them there. This Festival is an opportunity for the quilter to grow and advance but more importantly it is an opportunity to invest in themselves and their businesses.

Susan Campbell, Rowdy Flat Quilting

How true this is!!

Thank you Susan for sharing this…

I’ve also had a phone call today (whilst climbing the mountain vbg) from a student getting excited about coming to Festival. I am sharing this as probably most would have the same question?

She was wanting a hard copy of the AMQ Festival Information Book to have on hand with all the info. However, we are printing a huge number of Show Programs that will have a list with descriptions of all quilts entered into the AMQA Show 2010, a list of teachers & their classes, advertising, sponsor lists, vendors list & much more.

These will be in your registration bags plus they are available to the general public as they purchase their entry tickets.

Until next time – which will be really soon now!

Tracey & Sharon

A Give-away for everyone!

2010-09-13T13:30:00.001+09:30

I have just had a note from John Nielsen, our wonderful digitising teacher from New Zealand…

Dear Tracey & Sharon

I can't believe that it's only three weeks until we will all gather for the first AMQF in Adelaide!

Of course I am really looking forward to be part of your Quilt Festival, meeting lots of new quilters - and to see all your talented work.

As I lived 10 years in Christchurch I am also looking forward to do a bit of sight seeing in Adelaide and shall stay for some extra days - where I hope to get around and see as much as possible.

I am sure I have mentioned this already in my class description, but here is a reminder anyway!

It would be good if "my" students could bring along a USB stick - as I plan to copy and give away designs we make in class - or if there is any special requests. Students can also bring photos or scans of shapes or design they wish to draw/trace.

As an IQ-man myself I shall bring my tablet, and if any of my students want to bring theirs too, that's fine as well - and we can check how well our designs transfer to IQ.

I have attached a *pdf file with some designs I have made in Art and Stitch as well as in Pre-Design Studio. I have converted these to all "computer quilt formats" please feel free to download them all for sharing. These are not "super-duper professional" made, but I think still quite acceptable - and I have used most with great success!

I am saying this - as I do not consider myself a "professional digitizer" but certainly with Art and Stitch it does get very easy for everyone to make your own designs.

Furthermore - if any of "my" students have any questions or requests please let them know they are quite welcome to email me direct.

*Notes re files:

Hibiscus is a True Font conversion to stitch file. Ironwork is of an old Church door. Aust. Rabbit panto still needs some work re spacing, but might be OK if you flip one row and off set it! The unit for the circular panto can as a panto be off-set etc and works well in 1 inch strips too - enjoy

Kind regards

John Nielsen

Quiltfairies at Baylys Beach, NZ

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REMINDER!

To everyone that has registered… if you wish to be able to purchase wholesale from those that offer this then you MUST advise Sharon of your current ABN so that we can provide easy identification to those vendors involved. This must be done prior to September 20th.

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Class requirements lists

It is your responsibility to read the class descriptions of those classes you have signed up for to ensure that you have any requirements with you. If you have any questions then please do not hesitate to contact us or the teacher involved for clarification. Most teachers have a link on their information page to their website for you to contact them if you need.

Please bring a notepad & pen to ALL classes.

Until next time…

Tracey & Sharon

Countdown to Festival – less than 3 Wks to go!

2010-09-12T16:50:00.001+09:30

Domestic Machines are available to borrow…

Brother Sewing Machines in conjunction with Sue’s Sewing World, are providing sewing machines for Festival. So if you are sitting on the fence about doing a hands on class that requires a domestic machine then please don’t hesitate to contact us to arrange to have one of these wonderful machines available for you to use.

The classes that require you to have a machine are:

219
Introduction to Free Motion Quilting with Rachelle Denneny on DSM.
DSM-Hands on

320
Free Motion Quilting-Beyond the Basics with Rachelle Denneny. CB
DSM-Hands on

335
Fun With Inktense with Helen Stubbings. All-DSM Hands on

421
Trapunto by Machine with Rachelle Denneny. CB-DSM Hands On

453
Journal Cover with Sue van Riet

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The Gammill Statler get together is at the Mawson Lakes Hotel on Saturday night the 2nd of October.

Starts at 6.30 to 7.00.

Please RSVP By September 24th and number of people attending.

Reply to Libby at goldys53@yahoo.com

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We are thrilled to welcome Wonderfil Specialty Threads, Canada as a SILVER SPONSOR. Please ensure you show your appreciation by visiting them in the vendor mall over Festival.

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We also welcome Janome Australia educator to Festival - Julie Sallai.

She will be demonstrating the new Janome Horizon – A Quilter’s Dream on the Quick Quarters Spotlight Demonstrations stage in the Endeavour Centre where the quilt show & vendor mall are located. This wil be everyday at 1.30pm

You can see this machine up close at the Country Chix booth in the vendor mall.

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We have planned some great Quick Quarter demonstrations but there is still room for more. If you have a product to share & promote then please download the application form & return it ASAP if you want to be included in the Show Program! We go to print this week so this would be a priority!

Festival is looking like the place to be! We now have quite a few groups organising get togethers at various times. If you would like this information to go out in our newsletter then please email me your details & it can be done!

Don’t forget you can download the AMQ Festival Information book & share it with your friends that are not online.

Until next time…

Tracey & Sharon

Eye Candy to see…

2010-09-02T15:15:00.001+09:30

I’ve been given some wonderful photos from Penny Roberts of her quilts to show you all! If you visit her teacher page you will be able to view a slideshow of photos of her 3D threader and what you can achieve with it. Here is a small sample…

Thread Dimensions, Adding Texture to Quilting

There is more to quilting than just patterns! Learn how you can creatively quilt with multiple threads on Gammill, APQS, A-1 and more! Make 3D Textures of dense outlining, fluffy soft fuzz, and loopies! How about Red Work on your longarm? Thrill your customers by learning how to blend color and add depth using multiple threads on Edge to Edge and Bread and Butter quilts!.

BONUS for attendees!!

We have negotiated with Sue van Riet of Sue’s Sewing World that her class to make a Journal Cover, that was just announced this week, is now only $50- for a 4 hour hands on session with new Brother Sewing Machines to use. These machines will be available at a fantastic price after the show if you happen to fall in love with them.

Statler Owners invitation

Attention to all Gammill and Statler Gammill owners, we are trying to organise a get together on Saturday night of the festival.

We are looking at a dinner at a convenient venue.We need numbers, and any suggestions as to where to have it, or any other format you may wish. This a great opportunity to get to know each other and to learn more.Please email me and as soon as possible as time is running out .

See you at the festival

Libby Goldsworthy

AMQA Members Get Together

PLEASE JOIN US FOR BREAKFAST

SUNDAY 3RD OCTOBER 7.30AM

The Committee Members would like to extend an invitation to all AMQA Members that will be attending the AMQ Festival to meet for breakfast at the Mawson Lakes Hotel Sunday 3rd October @ 7.30am. This is a great opportunity to meet us & other members from all over Australia for an informal get together. A buffet style breakfast is available at your own cost.

RSVP: 20th September 2010

Terry Elverd

AMQA President

E-mail: president@amqa.com.au

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We trust everyone has their travel & accommodation plans all made? We are so looking forward to seeing & meeting everyone at Festival, but there is still lots to do of course!

Don’t forget you can download the AMQ Festival Information book & share it with your friends that are not online.

Until next time…

Tracey & Sharon

Class updates

2010-08-30T16:37:00.001+09:30

We have another NEW class! This time we are thrilled to let you know that Brother Sewing Machines have offered machines to be used in our classroom by students. Sue van Riet from Sue’s Sewing World (who has also donated a Brother sewing machine for Best Of Show quilt) will be presenting a fantastic class that will inspire you to keep creating!

Journal cover - 4hrs Hands on with Brother sewing machines supplied in this classroom. Maximum 10 participants.

This book cover will enable the attendees to use the machine for stippling, decorative stitching circular work, crazy patchwork and attaching decorative trims. In the 4 hours we should be able to finish, or close to, so that they can take the project home without wondering how to do it. There is nothing for the customer to bring as it is all included in the kit.

Kit fee $38.50

Front Cover Total cover

Sue van Riet has always had a love for sewing and craft, so she decided to share what she knew with others and in February 2007, the doors to Sue's Sewing World opened. A family businesss, Sue's Sewing World is run by Sue and her husband Richard, with the assistance of a part-time staff member and an experienced sewing machine technician. Sue also employs experienced and passionate teachers to run classes and workshops. They specialise in quilting, dressmaking, pattern drafting, heirloom sewing and machine embroidery, as well as specialist project classes. The staff also offer support and training on software for machine embroiderers.

Sue is one of our wonderful sponsors & will also be vending at the show. Please drop by her booth to say hello & thank you for all the effort she has gone to for Festival!

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We have also filled Keryn Emmerson’s class on Monday now.

428 - Creative Studio 3 in Stand Alone Mode with Keryn Emmerson.

There are two places left in this same class on Saturday due to students swapping days.

Last class notice for today… class 202 - Block to Block Custom Quilting with Pam Clarke has now also been filled to capacity!

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We are also thrilled to advise that Horn Australia Pty Ltd have offered an amazing prize for the Quilt Show! Valued at $899- this will be a fantastic addition to any studio.

Kimberley

Australian made LARGE Horn lifter for larger sewing machines, with three positions
– stored
– flat bed sewing
– free-arm sewing
Back flap folds up for large projects. Ideal for quilting.
Large additional work space to the right
Australian made swivel trays and a large storage bin for your sewing accessories
Storage for flat bed sewing insert. Sold separately.
Adjustable shelves for easy storage.
Room for storing an overlocker or for storage
On castors, making it easy to move around
Conditional one year warranty on materials and workmanship
Lockable cabinet for child’s safety.
Storage space or your overlocker.
Cabinet has more depth than the standard range of sewing cabinets to assist with taller people and give more sewing space when the cabinet is opened.
Handy storage for threads and accessories, all within arms reach!

Please take a moment to visit our sponsor page on the website to thank & acknowledge all of these wonderful companies!

Until next time…counting down now!

cheers

Tracey & Sharon

Accommodation options

2010-08-28T11:05:00.001+09:30

Mawson Lakes Hotel is now fully booked!! Over the past few days we have received emails from those wanting accommodation and have managed to secure a corporate rate at Quest Apartments at Mawson Lakes - the phone number is 08 70710100 and the only accommodation they have available is listed below. To secure this rate you’ll need to mention Australian Machine Quilting Festival and book ASAP!

* Studio Apartment $161
Our spacious studio rooms easily accommodate up to two guests in a King size bed, (or two singles), and offer ensuite bathroom with complimentary Quest toiletries, reverse cycle air conditioning/heating, in-room safe, iron & iron board, kitchenette with tea/coffee making facilities, microwave, toaster, bar fridge, cook top and two person dining suite. Make yourself at home with a work desk with Broadband Internet Access, direct dial telephone
with voicemail, DVD player, LCD television connected to Foxtel digital
service, and the convenience of complimentary onsite car parking, guest laundry facilities and gymnasium. Rates include up to two guests in the apartment and daily housekeeping service (excl Sundays & Public Holidays). Maximum occupancy is two guests.
* One Bedroom Apartment $174
Our one bedroom fully equipped apartments are spacious and stylish,
accommodating two guests in a King size bed (or two singles). The one bedroom apartment features an ensuite bathroom with complimentary Quest toiletries, separate lounge area with reverse cycle air conditioning/heating, in-room safe, along with iron & ironing board. Master bedroom includes LCD television with DVD player for extra guest convenience. Attend to business in your apartment with a work desk with Broadband Internet Access. A fully equipped kitchen provides oven and cook-top, fridge, tea/coffee making facilities, fully equipped laundry facilities, microwave and toaster. Your home comforts have been catered for with direct
dial telephone with voicemail, DVD/Stereo with Ipod dock, LCD television connected to Foxtel digital service, and the convenience of complimentary onsite car parking and gymnasium.

Further to the above there are 2 Hotel/Motels in the area and if you have a car they are within a 5 minute trip. We don’t have an arrangement in place with the following but I suggest you ask if they offer a Corporate Rate.

Pavlos Motor Inn - 859 Main North Road, Pooraka (08) 82606655

Country Comfort - 574 Main North Rd Gepps Cross SA 5094 (08) 8349 4999

HTH,

Sharon & Tracey

Banquet & Accommodation

2010-08-26T21:54:00.002+09:30

The Banquet Dinner will be held on Sunday 3rd October and places are filling fast. Final numbers must be finalised in the next few weeks. If you are thinking about attending the Banquet or taking a friend or partner please complete the booking process as soon as you can. The bookings are processed through the website via the online registration form. The menu can be viewed in the AMQF Information Book which is a downloadable PDF file and can be found here This Information Book is a precursor to the Show Program and I'm sure you'll find it of interest. We have a great night planned for the Banquet, the program will include;

AMQA Inc Quilt Show Presentation
An interesting fun time with Kimmy Brunner, our dinner speaker
A free gift for every person attending
Lucky door prizes

Accommodation at the Mawson Lakes is now completely booked! We have a few other options in the area and if you need accommodation please contact us via email and we'll do all we can to assist you.

We are certainly in countdown mode now and working extremely hard to make this the best experience for everyone that has shown their confidence in us!

Cheers,

Sharon & Tracey

More classes for everyone…

2010-08-23T22:01:00.001+09:30

Yes, we have listened and we are pleased to offer you repeat classes at times that hopefully will fit into your schedules!

Firstly:

Class 152 - Do the Zentangle ® and create beautiful background fillers for your quilts with Jane Monk is now also available on Friday 3-5pm

AND

Class 238 - A1 Tech Talk with Stewart Plank. for all A1 owners is now being offered on Saturday 1.30 -3.30pm

We hope that all those that asked can now fit these in with Jane & Stewart.

Helen Stubbings has recently posted this on her blog, thought you might like to see what she is planning for Festival…

Be your own Virtuoso

As stated in my last post I have been busy working up a new version of my Very Own Virtuoso class. I hear so often ‘I cant draw to save myself’ , ‘I could never draw or design anything like that!’. Well, although I believe anyone can learn to draw, this class has been developed for those of you who don’t have the confidence to start…. cos, maybe you can’t draw, but you can trace!

As a designer I see potential designs and inspiration everywhere I go and always have my camera or sketchpad at hand… travelling around the world each country has its own design elements and architectural styles also – now I haven’t been to many countries but where I have been I have snapped happily – one day I hope to get to many more and add to my photo and design stash! – but I have more than enough to work from for myself and to share with you all.

So, how do I start? Well I enlarge and print my photos, just in black and white from a photocopier or printer – not as a photo…

Then pick out the main individual design features and use a black sharpie to outline… there you have it, the first design element…

then with the help of rulers, grids, tracing paper and time the options are endless….

I have hundreds of these!!!

and hundreds more in my photo albums…..

View Full Album

now, can someone give me hundreds more spare hours so i can stitch and colour or appliqué all of these ideas into quilts!

If you come to any of my design classes you are able to use my design element package already done for you to make a wholecloth design on the day – you will then know exactly how to start your own portfolio… imagine that, your very own design portfolio.. and you said you couldn’t draw! Before you know it you will be designing your very own original elements and adding to the architectural styles of the world.

happy inspirations, hope I may be able to share and help you with your designing process one day at a class somewhere..

hugs, Helen – back to drawing for me now…

All I can say is WOW – this is inspirational! Come & join in on the journey with everyone else in Helen’s class.

Until next time…

Tracey & Sharon

Important information for Students

2010-08-19T21:31:00.008+09:30

We'd like to share some information that may be of interest to our students and attendees at Festival. All registered students and those that have purchased an Attendee package will need to go to the registration desk to collect their bags containing the information that will be required throughout Festival.

The hours of operation for the Registration Desk will be provided at a later date along with a timetable/program for the weekend's activities.

Mawson Lakes is a new development and all the facilities that you would require are within a very short walking distance and in your Registration Bag you will find information relating to Restaurants/Eateries, Supermarkets, Doctor/Dentist Surgeries, Hairdressers, Banks & ATM's, Transport etc. There will be onsite catering consisting of pastries, sandwiches, wraps, cake, fruit and drinks and there are cafes and take away places within 3 minutes of Endeavour College.

Intelliquilter Classes

It is strongly suggested that if you are wanting to take your IQ to classes that you ensure that your battery is fully charged; there will be powerpoints available. Having previously taken Helen's classes it is not a requirement to take your IQ - you will be supplied with comprehensive handouts and sometimes having your IQ with you can be a distraction, JMO!

Vendors

A few of the vendors that will be attending Festival are wholesalers and as such can only sell to registered businesses. If you have a registered business it would be greatly appreciated if you could email a copy of your Business Registration/ABN details. Once we receive this information we will create your name badges which in turn will allow the vendors to easily identify you. Without this information you will be unable to purchase wholesale.

Business Listing

One of the benefits offered to those purchasing an Attendee Package was a one line listing to be printed in the Show Program. To clarify this - it is a ONE LINE LISTING. It is up to you how you'd like this to appear - it could be your name, address, phone number OR Business Name, web address etc. Please note that the font used will be the same for all listings. Please email this information ASAP.

There will be another new class released shortly - a class for those using a DSM. Stay tuned for further updates & information.

Cheers

Sharon & Tracey

AMQF Information book now available!

2010-08-15T13:41:00.001+09:30

It has been frantic both at Sharon’s house & mine these past few weeks! It will only get busier now that we have only 6 weeks to go!

With amendments & additions happening all the time, we have finally got our AMQF Information book available for everyone to download and share with your non-internet friends. This has been a lot of work and hopefully will not change now, except for extra advertising up until Festival itself. It includes class descriptions, quilt show information, vendor listing & much more…

We would be thrilled if everyone was willing to download & print this book and provide it to your local guilds, local shops and friends that do not have internet access. We will also be printing these to provide to our local shops here in Adelaide & for those that have requested them so far, but to spread the word we need everyone’s help?

Class change:

We would also like to advise you that the following class has been changed to a 2 hr class.

Very own Virtuoso with Helen Stubbings

2 hrs

Say you cannot design? Learn how to use your photographs of architecture all around you to make your very own wholecloth or quilting designs – you don’t have to be able to draw, just trace and flip.

In this short class Helen will demonstrate her design method showing step by step how you can use your own photos to ‘cheat’ and get your own package of classic design elements. You will then use Helen’s element package to design your own 20” wholecloth design. Helen will then demonstrate her simple Colourqué® technique so that you can continue to colour your piece after the class.

Please visit the website to view further information & the requirements list.

Travel information

We have been advised that it would be approx $30 by taxi from the airport to Endeavour College at Mawson Lakes. There are also buses & trains that will deliver you there as well. There is more information & maps on the website on how to get to Mawson Lakes that is located only 12kms north of the city. There will be quite a number of you that are flying in on various days. We encourage you to use the comments section on this post on our blog to post when you might be arriving to determine if you can meet up with others to share a taxi out to Mawson Lakes!

Until next time…

Tracey & Sharon

Do the Zentangle® … would you like to??

2010-08-13T15:20:00.001+09:30

What is this – you might ask?

Well if you visit the blog of our newest teacher you will be blown away by this drawing technique.

Do the Zentangle ® and create beautiful background fillers for your quilts - Basic starter class

You may have noticed that Zentangles are taking the world by storm. Zentangle® is an easy to learn method of creating beautiful images from repetitive patterns. It is a fascinating new art form that is fun and relaxing. It increases focus and creativity as well as improving your dexterity and pen control. Zentangle provides artistic satisfaction and an increased sense of personal well being, even if you thought you couldn’t draw ... you really can, one stroke at a time!I have taken Zentangles one step into the world of quilting where I use this method of drawing to discover new designs for background fillers. Inspiration is everywhere we look, even in the fabric we are quilting. So come along to this hands-on class where I will teach you how to draw simple, beautiful Zentangles and then how to adapt these patterns into background fillers for your quilting.

Anything is Possible One Stroke at a Time

Registration is now open for this class….don’t miss out!

The opportunity to sponsor our bags is now closed, however there is still time to get an advertisement in our Show Program that will be available for all attendees and visitors during the 4 days of Festival. Please visit the website to view your options on marketing your products or services to a target market of machine quilters.

Don’t forget the Quick Quarters spotlight demonstrations as well. Demonstrate your product to the general public on the stage to show everyone the benefits of owning it! Download application form here.

Until next time…

Tracey & Sharon

New Class available!

2010-08-05T18:02:00.001+09:30

We are thrilled to introduce to you a new class…

Penny Roberts is the owner of Penny Quilt LLC a professional machine quilting business that has thrilled hundreds of quilters since 2002. Her quilt friends lovingly refer to her as “The Quilt Whisperer,” a title she is proud to hold. Penny has been an Elite Beta Tester for the Statler Stitcher and a Certified Creative Studio Trainer since 2007. She continually strives to find innovative ways to improve her quilting talents and skills by pushing her abilities to the creative edge. She has designed the “3D Threader” for use on Gammill, APQS, A-1 and other long arm machines because she wanted to offer you the opportunity to stretch your creativity in texture quilting. With this new tool, the 3D Threader, she has won a 3rd place ribbon in the Thread Challenge Category at the 2010 Machine Quilter’s Showcase.

3D Threader is her website where you can see more information.

Class 251:Thread Dimensions, Adding Texture to Quilting

Group Discounts

We would also like to encourage local groups to attend Festival to come shopping & see all the amazing quilts that have been entered from around the world into AMQAS 2010. We are thrilled with the quality & number of entries that we have received. Now we just have to fit them all in.

There will be a discount if you have a minimum of 10 people coming to Festival together. Buy a minimum of 10 daily tickets for $5- each. To obtain this, ONE person needs to come to the ticket desk & purchase all the tickets in one transaction then distribute them to their friends to come in. As long as there is a minimum of 10 purchased at one time then there is no upper limit. ie: purchase 15 or 20 or a busload for only $5- each ticket in one transaction.

Please let all your friends know of this offer & encourage your local guilds to bring a bus or car convoy to Festival! There will be lots of shopping, quilts to see & demonstrations to view on the stage.

Keep watch for some more exciting news next week!

Until next time…

Tracey & Sharon

Classes Reopened!!

2010-07-28T21:19:00.003+09:30

Classes Tracey and I, along with our DH's Paul and Tony, spent a few hours at Endeavour College today working on the logistics for "Festival" and checking the class configuration against the student lists. We have now made a few changes which will enable more students in some of the classes. This has resulted in opening a few of the classes that had previously been closed. If you were one of those that had missed out go to the website and check if the particular class you were interested in is one of those that have been reopened. Classes have been filling rapidly, as the early closure of some has indicated, please book asap to avoid disappointment.

Sponsorship Opportunity The chance to have your business promoted on the registration bags is rapidly drawing to a close. This is a fantastic opportunity to gain great exposure for the very small outlay of $200 including GST. This offer will end on August 3rd!

Valuation of Quilts If you have a quilt/s that you would like to have valued, the Valuation Panel from the Quilters' Guild of SA Inc are offering this service. The cost of valuation for SA Guild members is $16.50, $27.50 for members of affiliated groups and $33.00 for non-members. If you are interested in taking advantage of this offer please contact Heather Ford, Valuation Panel Coordinator via email. Please note that this is a service being offered by the Guild and not AMQF - all coordination is to be done between those wishing to have their quilts valued and the Valuation Panel.

Accommodation The accommodation at Mawson Lakes Hotel is almost at capacity. If you are thinking about attending Festival and haven't booked your accommodation please do so asap.

Remember to mention AMQF for your discount!

Stay tuned for updates,

Sharon & Tracey

New Class available!

2010-07-22T12:51:00.001+09:30

Hi everyone.

I am thrilled to advise that our lovely Keryn Emmerson has agreed to teach a repeat of her FULL class 228 on Monday.

Class 428 Creative Studio 3 in Stand Alone Mode with Keryn Emmerson is now open for registrations and being run 11-1pm on Monday 4th October.

Thank you also to those volunteers that are letting our coordinator know what times you have available now that you have booked classes!

Don't forget to let all your quilt group buddies know that Festival is for all machine quilters! There are many classes available for domestic machine quilters as well.

Quilt entries are coming in! Don’t miss out on the opportunity to enter your quilts and be in the running for some really nice prizes, get the exposure for your work/business and the feelgood feeling of seeing your quilt on display.

Until next time…

Tracey & Sharon

Classes & Volunteers

2010-07-20T22:21:00.005+09:30

Class registrations have just reached 665 and as Tracey mentioned in her last post some of them had reached capacity. Due to some re-organisation of classrooms and machines we have been able to offer these classes again. If you are considering attending Festival please register asap to avoid disappointment.

We are very excited and a little overwhelmed at the response we have had and this has prompted us to put out the call for more volunteers.

If you have any spare time and would like to offer your services we would love to have you help us. There are many positions available from Thursday, judging day, through to pack up on the Monday. We have had over 40 offers from volunteers but are calling for more.

Val Towill, Bluegum Quilts, has very kindly offered to act as the Volunteer Coordinator and she can be contacted via email. Many people offered their services before the class registrations and as such didn't know when they'd be available. If you have previously registered to volunteer it would be appreciated if you could contact Val and let her know what days/times you are available.

Until next time,

Sharon & Tracey

Update on class availability…

2010-07-17T15:19:00.001+09:30

We are thrilled to let you know that we are able to re-open the two full classes with Kim Brunner (142 & 440) to allow a limited number of extra students in them. There were so many that missed out that we have negotiated a different classroom that will allow room for more people in there. It has theatre seating, screens & Kim’s classes will have full video camera/laptop/data projector to enable everyone the perfect view of what she is teaching.

Class 228 - Creative Studio 3 in Stand Alone Mode with Keryn Emmerson is now FULL.

There are other classes that are getting close to full as well, so if you are still thinking about classes we suggest that you don’t wait too long to avoid disappointment.

Don’t forget the AMQAS 2010 entry forms for all your wonderful quilts are due at the end of July!

We are thrilled to advise that Sue’s Sewing World has generously donated a Brother NV400 sewing machine. This machine is priced at $1199.00 and will be presented to the winner of the Best of Show quilt!! Well worth getting organised to enter some of your quilts isn’t it??

There are many opportunities for sponsors to get involved still. Please visit our Marketing Opportunities page to see more details on this. If you would like to add your sponsorship to any of the AMQA Quilt show categories then please email president@amqa.com.au to discuss this further.

Until next time…

Tracey & Sharon

Class full already!

2010-07-15T07:40:00.001+09:30

Just a quick note to encourage everyone to book your classes if you really want them? Already our first class is FULL…

Kim Brunner’s Friday class – It’s more than just Edge to Edge - is FULL.

Her Twirly Whirly Feathers is very close as well.

Could we ask all of you to let your local guilds know that Festival is celebrating ALL machine quilting and as such there are many classes suitable for domestic machine quilters as well? We have two multi award winning domestic machine quilting teachers at Festival and they don’t want to miss out on these classes!

The majority of registrations have gone very smoothly, so thank you for reading and following the instructions on the online registration page. There were a few of you that have forgotten to DEDUCT the delivery fee when you chose to pay by Internet Transfer. We will refund this fee to you in an envelope with your registration package to collect at Festival. There are also some that have mistakenly purchased classes or registration more than once? Please be patient whilst we get through the list & contact you to sort all that out.

Until next time….

Tracey & Sharon

Registrations are OPEN!

2010-07-12T07:10:00.001+09:30

You can now visit the website and choose the classes you would like to attend. Please ensure you choose carefully.

Please remember you are responsible for your own schedule.

It has been LOTS of work for both Sharon & I, so I do hope that you are thrilled with all the choices we are able to offer. The ability to educate ourselves on this scale at the one place has been a dream for both of us. The promotion & exposure the machine quilting industry is already receiving and will continue to receive from this event, will be ongoing & positive.

We also greatly appreciate that the Australian Machine Quilting Association Inc has agreed to run their AMQA Show 2010 in conjunction with Festival. We hope that everyone considers entering a quilt to make this a ‘show’ to showcase your work & be proud of it.

None of this would be possible without some amazing sponsors! So please show your appreciation of their support by thanking them & visiting them when you can. The list of sponsors is still growing and can always be found on our sponsor page.

until next time….

Tracey & Sharon

Registration time is almost here!

2010-07-11T20:26:00.011+09:30

Registration opens in less than 12 hours - good luck with getting in to your classes of choice. Remember to choose carefully and ensure you coordinate the times & days so that you don't find yourselves booked into two classes at the same time.

Over the past few months we have featured quite a few of our teachers and this post will expand on a few more.

Clare Fairless-Lewis will be teaching 3 classes and on reading what she has to offer has made me realise what I'll be missing out on. Clare's first class is Fun & Funky Fillers -one thing that is very important for all quilters to have in their arsenal are "fillers" - almost all quilts have spaces that need filling. The second class Clare is offering is Time Efficient Traditional Based Quilting showing how to completely finish a quilt top without marking or having to turn to do the borders - what a bonus!! Saving the best til last - in fact the very last class at Festival will be Clare's "Fairless Fancy Quilts". This class is for the time-poor quilter - it'll teach you to whip up an eyecatching quilt that will be the envy of all!

Michele Turner will be teaching all the skills required to make your own wholecloth quilts from scratch. Michele has won award both here in Australia and at two of the major machine quilting shows in America. She will be sharing her method for designing, marking and creating a wholecloth quilt including cut-away trapunto, motifs and background fillers.

Sharon Parkinson will be sharing all the tips she has learnt in her years of machine quilting in her Basics for Beginners and Beyond Class. She will be sharing ways she has discovered to make the life of a machine quilter much easier, more pleasurable and as stress free as possible. You will gain comprehensive tips to help you from the initial call from a customer right up until you remove the completed quilt from the machine and beyond. Sharon's second class, A Feather in Your Cap is sure to have you drawing feathers like a professional in a few short hours. Once you have mastered this skill there'll be no stopping you.

Belinda Betts will be teaching a class on the use of rulers and templates, an area which scares many machine quilters! Belinda will have many different types and designs of templates and go through their uses and applications. She is a very accomplished award winning quilter and has a gift of knowing where and when to use a particular ruler - her quilting is testament to this skill.

Good luck with your class registrations! Whichever classes you choose you will have a fantastic time and expand your knowledge as machine quilters which is what "Festival" is all about.

Sharon & Tracey

Not long now…

2010-07-08T21:26:00.001+09:30

Just a reminder to everyone that online class registrations will be available early on Monday 12th July!!

Here is a sneak preview of some information that you will need to read…

How to Register for Classes

There are two ways to register for classes.

You can register online below (This is the fastest and preferred method)
OR
You can print the class registration form when it is available and mail it in with your payment. Class Registration Form can be mailed to:Australian Machine Quilting Festival, Student Registration, 13 Harbour Drive, Gulfview Heights, SA, 5096. Make cheques payable to AMQ Festival Pty Ltd.
A complete class book (Class descriptions, teacher bios, Special Events, etc) will be available for download as soon as it is ready.

Registration opens July 12, 2010 at 9:00am.
Online Registration closes September 17, 2010.
Mail-in Registrations must be postmarked before September 1, 2010.

Watch class times carefully! You are responsible for your own schedule!

Schedules, tickets (Banquet Dinner and/or Day Passes), badges, etc.will not be mailed in advance. Students need to check-in at the Student registration desk when you arrive.

Fees:

Class Registration fee is $60.00. (This is a $110.00 value)
- This fee will be payable by all students nominating for classes. This fee not only helps towards teachers fees and expenses, staff time, supplies and equipment but also offers benefits to students. These benefits include 4 days admission into the show and vendor mall, and also a fabulous tote bag complete with goodies including magazines from Meander Publishing.
Attendee Package is $100-. This is a $230.00 value & is optional & includes the Registration fee with more benefits
- In addition to the above, the Attendee Package includes a Commemorative Badge, at least 3 full patterns, 3m of wide backing fabric, a listing in the show catalogue and a few other surprises.
Banquet Fee is for our Sunday evening banquet, awards presentations & special guest speaker - Kim Brunner. Please visit our Special Events page to view the menu & timetable.
Festival Photo CD - this will be a fantastic professional CD of photos of the quilt show and the festival itself. Great inspirational quilting shots to inspire you with your own quilting at your fingertips.
Class fees are listed with the class descriptions and payable at time of registration. All fees are GST inclusive.
A Kit fee & Handout fee may be listed for some classes. This fee is payable directly to the instructor before the class starts.

Online Registration Instructions: PLEASE READ THIS CAREFULLY !

View the class description by clicking on the class number and a new browser window will open to review the details.
Choose your classes by placing a number one (1) in the box. You can add all your classes at once in the form then click the Add Me button below. This will take you to the shopping cart to see what you have ordered. You can press the back button to return to the registration page to add more classes or to add class registration fees, banquet dinner etc Once all your classes have been added to the "Shopping Cart", proceed to "Go To Payments" to enter your billing and shipping information. Then "Continue"
Choose your method of payment and then press Continue..
Methods of payment are
- Internet Banking (our preferred option) Please manually deduct the 'delivery fee' then perform your internet transfer -to do this you will need to open a new browser (leaving the AMQF window open), go to your banking website & perform this transaction. You will be allocated a reference number from your bank. THEN complete the AMQF transaction by placing the reference # and date of deposit on the next page of the cart. Your position in your classes is NOT confirmed until payment is received in our account.
- Credit card using Paypal. There is a processing fee added to your total when choosing this option. This is the 'delivery fee' in your shopping cart which is the actual 'fee' that Paypal charges us to use this service.
- Print & mail order with a cheque minus the 'delivery fee'.

After your payment information is entered, click on "Continue". The final page is "Order Receipt". You will receive an email showing your registered classes. Please print this for your records.

Class enrolments: Classes will be processed on a “First Come” basis. On-site class enrolments will be available for classes that are not filled. The class registration fee will still apply.

Waiting List: We will maintain a waiting list of 10% of the maximum allowed in a class.

_______________________________________________________

We would also like to remind everyone to prepare their quilt show entries and get them in by July 31st. We love seeing quilts & the quilting on them in all genres, so download the entry forms and get them in to AMQA before the due date. There will be some great prizes along with the thrill of seeing your own quilt hanging as well as on the Festival CD to remember the event.

until next time…

Tracey & Sharon

Class Registration & Advertising Opportunities

2010-06-29T22:54:00.011+09:30

Class Registrations

Class Registrations will go live on the website on July 12th, how exciting is that??? We will also have a Program of Events available in PDF form for download direct from the website at this time. Our plan is to send a hard copy of the Program to various groups so that we can get the information to as many people as possible. If you are in a sewing group, or know of anyone that may be interested it would be a great help if you could share this information with them.

Program of Events The Program of Events is the basis for the Show Program that will be included in your Registration Bags and also available at "Festival". We would like to offer everyone the opportunity to advertise in the program, it is an excellent chance to target a specific audience with your new products and/or services. You can supply an advert in colour for the online show program, however, the printed program will be in Black & White, please keep this in mind when designing your advertisement; the program will be A4 in size. The cost of advertising in the Program is as follows;

Single line listing $30
1/4 Page $75
1/2 Page $150
Full Page $250

The advertisement must be supplied in a completed format, ie PDF - NO artwork will be undertaken by AMQF. Please register your interest for advertising, by 31st July, via email.

Registration Bags

The Registration Bag is a lovely laptop style conference bag and will be given to every registered student. There is an advertising option available to you for the price of $220 (inc GST) to have your logo printed on the bags. There is only room for 10 logos to be printed on the bag and at this stage 3 people have taken advantage of this offer, 7 available . This is a great way to advertise as the bags will be carried by students throughout "Festival" and in use long after. Please contact Sharon for further information.

Bag Inclusions

You may wish to have a flyer, business card and/or discount voucher added to the bag to reach students to encourage them to shop with you. The cost of this option is $50 (inc GST) and you would need to provide us with the inclusions no later than 10th September.

Another opportunity you may like to consider is to include product in the Registration Bags and/or Attendee Packages. This can be organised at no cost to you except to supply sufficient product to be included in either every Registration Bag or just the Attendee Packages. This is ideal for those that have products with their business name on them or sample sized items that are useful and also advertise your products. Sample spools of thread, rulers, patterns, tape measures, gadgets etc would be a fantastic addition to the bags. We have three pattern designers that have taken advantage of this opportunity and are donating a pattern, each valued around $15, to be included in every Attendee Package.

Attendee Package

The Attendee Package was released on May 28th and the response has been incredible. These packages include;

Registration Fee
Entry to Quilt Show & Vendor Mall (4 days)
Conference Bag including pad, pen, magazines, vouchers patterns and much, much more
AMQF Commemorative Badge
3 metres of wide backing fabric
Listing in Show Catalogue

Cost is $100.00 (inc GST) , value is over $230.00. There are still packages available for purchase, to register your interest please email

Quick Quarter Spotlight Demonstrations

"Quick Quarters" will be making their debut at AMQF. Quick Quarters will be a 15 minute timeslot in which you can showcase any product, service, technique etc that you wish to get out into the quilting community. These timeslots will be available throughout the weekend commencing at 10am and concluding at 5pm Saturday and Sunday and 3pm on Monday. Quick Quarters will cost $30 per demo and will take place on the main stage in the Vendor Mall and Quilt Show area and held every 30 mintues. The program of demonstrations will be published in the Show Program that all attendees will receive at the door or in their registration bags. You can download the registration form for Quick Quarters from the website now.

Commemorative Badge Sponsor - $500 (one only available)

For purchasing this sponsorship you will receive,

Your company logo on the onsite signage
PA announcements recognising your company as the sponsor of the badges
Company name and logo in the Program stating your level of sponsorship
Listing on the AMQF website and blog, including company name & logo with a link to your website
1/2 Page Advertisement in the Show Program (sponsorship needs to be confirmed before 31 July 2010)

Until next time......93 days and counting,

Sharon & Tracey

AMQF in Sydney

2010-06-19T17:03:00.007+09:30

The journey begins.......... Tracey, Sarah (Tracey's daughter) and I drove to Sydney last Thursday June 10th, leaving South Australia at 6am in wet, foggy conditions. It was a long way but the drive was an easy one, particularly for Sarah and me, as we only had to keep Tracey awake by continually feeding her and topping her up with coffee.

We arrived at Jugiong, NSW around 7pm and spent the night, leaving the next morning around 8am. We headed for the Goulburn Bakery for a tasty egg and bacon roll with coffee. What a fantastic bakery - reasonable prices and a very welcoming open fire - if you're ever passing I'd recommend a quick exit off the freeway to indulge.We arrived at our destination around noon so that AMQF could have its first public outing, at the Quilt & Craft Expo. The Expo was held over 2 days in the beautiful Grand Pavilion at Rosehill Gardens, Sydney, NSW.

The response from those attending the Show was very encouraging and we'd like to thank everyone that stopped by to say hello, pick up leaflets and get more information on coming to South Australia for "Festival" in October. It was lovely catching up with "old" friends and meeting new ones and sharing the excitement that is AMQF.

Just before we left for Sydney confirmation was received that Anne Bright will be coming to teach at Festival and will also have a booth in the Vendor Mall. Anne owns and operates Anne Bright Designs and produces her incredibly large range of patterns in both digital and paper format, visit http://annebright.com/ Anne is an extremely enthusiastic dynamo and I'm sure she never sleeps, she is very creative and her ideas for designs seem positively endless. A full list of Anne's classes are available on the website http://amqfestival.com.au/

The initial response to the Attendee Packages has been fantastic and we'd like to answer a few of the questions we have received about the package inclusions.

Firstly, the package includes the $60.00 Registration Fee. This fee will be payable by all students nominating for classes. This fee not only helps towards teachers fees and expenses, staff time, supplies and equipment but also offers benefits to students. These benefits include 4 days admission into the show and vendor mall, and also a fabulous tote bag complete with goodies including magazines from Meander Publishing.

In addition to the above, the Attendee Package includes a Commemorative Badge, at least 3 full patterns, 3m of wide backing fabric, a listing in the show catalogue and a few other surprises.
The value of the Attendee Package exceeds $230 - at $100 the package is fantastic value!

There are a limited number of the packages available, to avoid disappointment please register your interest by contacting Sharon.

A list of our Sponsors is listed on both this blog and the website. We are very appreciative of all those that have offered sponsorship in various forms as it would be impossible for us to host an event such as AMQF without such generosity, please support their businesses whenever you can.

If you, or anyone you know, would like to be involved with AMQF in the capacity of a sponsor please don't hesitate to contact us. There are many levels of sponsorship available and we would be as happy as clams to have as much involvement in this area as possible - it can only enhance "Festival". For further information please email Sponsorship.

Tracey is as busy as a beaver at the moment collating all the information to enable online registrations. Her bedside reading during our recent stint in Sydney was a manual on a new computer program she has to know to be able to upload all the information - glad it's her and not me or it'd never happen:-)

Class registrations are due to open in mid-July with a Registration Progam being available at this time on the website; a hard copy will be available mid-August. If you know of a group that may be interested in receiving this information please forward any details to Sharon Due to printing and postage costs as well as saving the environment the preferred method of sharing this information if at all possible is via the website. Having said that, we fully understand that not everybody has this "tool" available to them.

Once again, if you have any questions, concerns or queries please don't hesitate to contact us.

Until next time......."quilt on"!!!

Sharon & Tracey

NEW CATEGORY FOR THE QUILT SHOW!

2010-06-09T13:32:00.001+09:30

We are thrilled to advise that due to hard work and generous sponsors, AMQA Inc & Festival are pleased to announce the addition of a 7th category in the Quilt Show.

Art/Pictorial:

Minimum of 100 overall inches, maximum of 280 overall inches. Involving thread play and/or a mixture of mediums and embellishments. All embellishments must be firmly attached and quilt must be able to be hung conventionally and with minimal care required. All quilts entered in this category must be the original design of the quilt maker and not made under the direction of another person in a workshop/course situation.

So the final list is

Categories for AMQAS 2010:

Note: Overall inches are determined by totalling the measurements of ALL sides.

Custom Heirloom/Show -Large: Minimum of 281 overall inches, maximum of 480 overall inches. Custom Heirloom/Show quilts have been specifically designed as quilt show entries and/or not intended to be used as functional bed quilts. Fibers, fringe, crystals and embellishments of any kind are permitted.

Custom Heirloom/Show—Wall: Minimum of 100 overall inches, maximum of 280 overall inches. Custom Heirloom/Show quilts have been specifically designed as quilt show entries and/or not intended to be used as functional bed quilts. Fibers, fringe, crystals and embellishments of any kind are permitted.

Wholecloth : Minimum of 281 overall inches, maximum of 480 overall inches. The entry must be a single piece of fabric or pieced fabric that is all of the same colour, texture and content. The wholecloth piece should be designed to highlight the many quilting techniques of today’s machine quilters, including, meandering or background quilting, straight lines, feathers, continuous line and non-continuous line designs. The quilting must be the dominant feature of the Wholecloth and the quilting should encompass the entire quilt.

Functional Custom -Large: Minimum of 281 overall inches, maximum of 480 overall inches. This category is for those functional bed quilts that we do for ourselves or for our customers that are meant for daily use but have been machine quilted with high quality custom quilting techniques. No embellishments, metallic threads or thread painting of any kind are permitted in this category.

Functional Custom -Wall: Minimum of100 overall inches, maximum of 280 overall inches. This category is for those functional lap quilts that we do for ourselves or for our customers that are meant for daily use but have been machine quilted with high quality custom quilting techniques. No embellishments, metallic threads or thread painting of any kind are permitted in this category.

NEW!!

Art/Pictorial: Minimum of 100 overall inches, maximum of 280 overall inches. Involving thread play and/or a mixture of mediums and embellishments. All embellishments must be firmly attached and quilt must be able to be hung conventionally and with minimal care required. All quilts entered in this category must be the original design of the quilt maker and not made under the direction of another person in a workshop/course situation.

Edge-To-Edge: Minimum of 281 overall inches, maximum of 480 overall inches. An all-over-the-quilt pattern which is continuous-line derived from a pantograph or freehand quilting. The quilting design must cover the quilt completely from one edge to the other.

You can now download the entry form & terms & conditions here!

Entries are due by 31st July 2010.

We encourage everyone to think about entering a quilt into this show. The prize pool is growing all the time and we are positive you will appreciate the quality of our Australian quilters in this display at Festival. This is an amazing opportunity to receive feedback from the judges, gain personal satisfaction of showing your work, gain valuable marketing exposure and feel proud of your work being presented to the general public, your peers and potential customers.

The quilt show is for any machine quilted quilt. Does not matter what size or type of machine you have used to complete it. We would like to present a variety of quilting designs, from functional everyday use quilts to heirloom custom and in between.

Both Sharon & I are hitting the road at 6am tomorrow morning!!! ughhh I hear you….vbg

We will be attending the Quilt & Craft Expo at Rosehill racecourse in Sydney over the weekend. We have been blessed to have a booth to promote Festival to all attendees. So if you are at the show, make sure to drop by & say hi! We will have Quilt Show entry forms to collect & a list of sponsors, vendors, teachers & their classes on display. We look forward to chatting with everyone there.

Until next time….

Tracey & Sharon

owners AMQ Festival 2010

AMQF Update and Release of Attendee Package

2010-05-28T19:12:00.007+09:30

Our aim is to blog more often as the time draws nearer to AMQF, please be patient with us and call back often to see how we’re going. It’d be great to hear your comments on how you feel we are progressing at this time and your opinions in general on the Festival. Do you think we have most things covered, do you have ideas that you’d like to put forward? Don’t be shy but please be kind :-)

We’d like to share a comment that was put forward to us recently as it may help you make a decision about classes. Someone shared their disappointment that “hands-on” longarm classes aren’t being offered at AMQF. AMQF is in the embryonic stages and we are unable, at this stage, to source enough machines to make hands-on classes a possibility. Having said this I’d like to share my own experience - I don’t have a natural drawing talent and have found the art of machine quilting quite difficult to master. To put someone like me in front of a machine and expect me to execute anything worth looking at would be a waste of time. However, if I am taught, through drawing, and practice on paper then I can quilt almost anything! Recently, I attended a hands-on class and I spent the majority of the class trying to learn/control the machine that was supplied; I would have benefited far more by sitting and drawing. There is a very good and wise saying “If you can draw it, you can quilt it”!!

Are there any people that would like to open their home to visitors? We’d like to be able to offer a hospitality service to our country, interstate and overseas visitors. If you’d like to be involved in this program please provide us with your details or contact Sharon for further information. Billeting can be very worthwhile, you'll not only have the chance to learn from your fellow quilters but you may form lifetime friendships.

At this stage we have had 30 people register their interest to Volunteer. If you haven’t put your name on the list we'd love to have you onboard. It can be great fun being involved as a Volunteer and you'll be close to the action. We can’t do this on own and are counting on having as many volunteers as possible – many hands make light work and we’ll do our best to reward you for your efforts.

Last but by no means Least - We’ve been attempting to put something together for our attendees and are SO excited to offer a fantastic “Attendee Package”! The cost of this package is $100.00 (inc GST) and includes the following;

Registration fee

Entry to Quilt Show & Vendor Mall (4 days) Conference Bag including pad, pen, magazines, vouchers, patterns and much, much, more

AMQF Commemorative Badge

3 metres of wide backing fabric

Listing in Show Catalogue

This package gives attendees over $200.00 value for the low cost of $100.00, FANTASTIC isn't it? If you are interested in purchasing one of these packages please email us for further details.

That’s it for now – stay tuned and please leave us some feedback.

Cheers,

Sharon & Tracey

AMQF is for ALL machine quilters…

2010-05-17T12:49:00.001+09:30

This newsletter list is getting larger & larger daily! Thank you to everyone for signing up and also keep spreading the word for us as well. Keep an eye on magazines coming out in June for our full page advertisements and articles about machine quilting & festival.

Thank you also to so many who have already put their name down to assist with volunteering. We really can’t do all this without you and we very much appreciate your willingness to help.

I would like to bring to your attention that you can view all the classes being offered already by going to the teachers page on the website and clicking the ‘about’ button for each of them to view their classes. You will not be able to register until we have finalised the schedule to fit them all in. If there are topics that you feel we have not addressed and you desperately would like to learn about then please do not hesitate to contact us as soon as possible. There is still space to add a couple more classes in rooms without longarm machines. ie: demo/lecture style classes.

We are thrilled to offer domestic machine classes by both Rachelle Denneny and Helen Stubbings. Rachelle is a consumate machine quilter who has won numerous awards for her amazing quilting. Helen has won awards for her domestic machine quilting both here in Australia and the USA! Now don’t forget that there are many, many other classes that are suitable & very relevant for domestic machine quilters as well…

Pam Clarke’s classes are also brilliant for those using a domestic machine on a frame OR a table top.

Jenny Scott’s Web Marketing 101 will be a must have class for those wanting to learn all about marketing & social networking in different ways.

There really is something for everyone we hope!

Until next time….

Tracey & Sharon

owners AMQ Festival 2010

5 months to go!

2010-04-30T12:42:00.001+09:30

Tracey mentioned in the last blog post that I would be teaching at the Machine Quilters Exposition (MQX) which was held in Providence, Rhode Island, USA a few weeks ago. Attending a show such as this is not only exciting but so inspiring, it is like an explosion of all things “quilty”.
Three years ago I attended MQX for the first time and since then have longed for an event in Australia which focused on machine quilting. During a discussion with Tracey in November 2009 it became apparent that she’d had similar thoughts – hence the inception of what is now known as the Australian Machine Quilting Festival. It has been a torrid few months to get everything in place in such a short space of time and we are very excited with how it is coming together.
Since being in the US I’ve been thinking about the fantastic opportunity that AMQF will provide machine quilters in our own Country. We will no longer have to mortgage our homes to travel overseas, suffer 21 hours flying time, eat airline food, cope with time changes, jetlag and the chance of lost luggage! (That’s another story). No, we will have a wonderful show of our own!
There are quite a few shows in America dedicated to machine quilting such as MQX, Machine Quilters Showcase (MQS), Home Machine Quilting Show (HMQS) and the work that goes into making them a success is absolutely enormous. It is shows such as this that Tracey and I have used as a model for AMQF.
Having had classes with 3 of the teachers we have coming from America I can tell you that I would crawl, if I had to, just to sit in their classes.
Pam Clarke can give you endless ideas for designs to fill any spaces in such a quick and easy manner. If you are having trouble marking your quilts then her use of stencils will amaze and astound you. Never does a custom quilt leave my machine that I haven’t used her “one inch” stencil on.
Helen Baczynski is teaching Intelliquilter (IQ) Classes for those that have that particular robotic system. She is very calm with a lovely English accent and her teacher training for kindergarten has certainly put her in good stead to teach those of us that are a little challenged. She truly has the patience of a saint, puts you at ease and finds time to answer all questions.
Kimmy Brunner is without doubt one of the best teachers that you will ever be able to learn from. Apart from the fact that she is hilarious, her teaching method is outstanding. Kimmy has just received the Teacher of the Year Award at the Machine Quilter’s Exposition. Her way of teaching feathers is fun and so easy to learn and once executed they are simply stunning.
We, of course, have our Australian teachers and also John Neilson from New Zealand; they will be featured in future blog posts.
Many experienced teachers have indicated a desire to teach at AMQF so it can only get bigger & better. A show such as AMQF, will benefit us whether we quilt as a business or hobby.
If you have any questions or maybe some ideas of your own please don’t hesitate to contact either Sharon or Tracey

Let’s make “Festival” the success we know it can be!

Until next time….

Tracey & Sharon

owners AMQ Festival 2010

Happy Easter

2010-04-03T12:37:00.001+10:30

Hi all

I trust you haven’t overeaten in the chocolate department yet this weekend?

We have some very exciting news!!

AMQ Festival now has FIVE International Teachers coming to share their knowledge with us…

We are thrilled to announce the latest additions to our line-up.

Kimmy Brunner

is a third generation quilter who has made it a goal to bring her family's quilting history into the future. Her work has won multiple national and international level awards and has been featured in numerous books, magazines and calendars. Nominated five times for Teacher of the Year, and known for her beautiful quilting and crazy sense of humor, her style combines laughter with years of experience. She produces top-rated instructional DVDs for midarmers and longarmers alike, digitized patterns for computerized quilters, and high quality quilting aids and tools. A frequent contributor to quilting industry publications and the author of the ask-the-expert column ‘Ask Kimmy!’, she teaches jam-packed classes at major machine quilting shows. Still sane (sort of) despite having two teenagers, she lives in Minnesota with her family, spoiled rotten dogs, and an alarming stash of fabric. Visit her website at www.Kimmyquilt.com for more information.

Kimmy has offered 4 classes to AMQ Festival & we are thrilled that she is coming.

Stewart Plank

Owner of A1 Quilting Machines/Plank Manufacturing has agreed to come to lovely South Australia and to present a class on A1QM maintenance as well – more details later…

John Nielsen

Introducing John Nielsen, of Quiltfairies at Baylys Beach.

I am originally from Denmark, but I have lived in New Zealand for almost 20 years I have been doing patchwork and quilting for seven years, and for the last three years quilting for customers on my A1 Longarm machine. In July 2009 we added the Intelliquilter Computer System to my longarm, - which of course is like a "Quilter’s dream come true".
In my Quilt studio I have three favourite tools. One of them is Pre-Design! (If you ask me I will also tell you about the two other ones later!)
I can do free-hand quilting, but have never been good drawing with pen on paper, and did not like to draft and doodle quilt designs, - well that was until I found Pre-Design Studio 2 years ago. Pre-Design is a computer drawing software , - vector based, where you can draw or trace block or panto designs to your hearts content, print on paper and / or convert the drawings to "sew-files" (dxf-files) to be sewn on either your domestic embroidery machine, or on a computer guided longarm machine.
Visit the website to learn more about John & his classes!

_______________________________________________________

To help you find all this information go to the teacher page on the website and you will find all the teachers that have agreed to participate so far and if you click on the About Me button below their name/photo you will find more information and a list of their classes being offered. This is still a work in progress as they provide us with their class offerings.

When all this is finalised we will create a schedule and let everyone know when they will be able to register for AMQ Festival and the classes of your choice. We are aiming for mid July for this to be finalised & released.

AMQ Festival will allow you to choose which classes you wish to attend and you only pay for what you want.

There will be a student registration fee that will cover a goodie bag (which will have magazines, discount vouchers & merchandise & more), entry into the vendor mall & quilt show everyday. Then you will simply choose individual classes, banquet dinner & what ever else we come up with to attend & pay for those accordingly. Very similar to attending a machine quilting show in the USA. You have total control of your budget and scheduling….

______________________________________________________

We are also thrilled to announce our GOLD sponsor for AMQ Festival 2010 is Victorian Textiles

Silver Sponsors

Zoltan Kasa of Kasa Engineering

Meander Publishing

Sue from Sue’s Sewing World

Hetties Patch

Universal Magazines

Without generous sponsors festival simply could not happen, so please express your appreciation when dealing with these businesses at all times!

A full list is always available on the website and is updated as they are received.

Until next time…

have a blessed Easter & a safe one!

Tracey & Sharon

owners AMQ Festival 2010

ps: Best wishes to Sharon Parkinson, who is about to head off to the USA to teach her classes at MQX this month! Have a great time Sharon…

Wow – what a response!!

2010-03-19T14:51:00.002+10:30

We have been overwhelmed by the wonderful support from the quilting community both here in Australia and overseas. Thank you to all of you for your words of encouragement and your promises to attend and make this a wonderful festival.

Please keep spreading the word with your quilting friends & acquaintances so that we can continue to let people know that festival is happening.

We have heard that quite a few have already booked their accommodation! You will absolutely love the rooms, suites & apartments that are available at the Mawson Lakes Hotel. They have such a variety of extremely high standard rooms AND they are giving us an incredible group discount on accommodation when you mention AMQ Festival when you book.

As you know, all events need lots of volunteers in order to operate smoothly. AMQ Festival is no exception. Anyone may now sign up to volunteer. If YOU would like to be a volunteer, please let us know as soon as possible so that you may have first choice of jobs.

There are many opportunities to volunteer including:

Judging assistance
Scribes
Quilt hanging and taking down for the show
White glove host/hostess
Reception assistance
Door greeters
Classroom assistance
Demos
Quilt award presentations
Speaker assistance
Passing quilts to owners who are present at take down
Packing and shipping of quilts at take down

If you are interested in gaining some fabulous hands-on experience as a volunteer, contact us at volunteer@amqfestival.com.au to be added to our volunteer list.

For every 2 hours you volunteer, you are eligible to enter your name into the exclusive, volunteer only, door prize drawings. We do several drawings throughout the day, and then all the names go back into the "pot" for the GRAND PRIZE, given away at the end of the show. You do not need to be present to win. Some lucky winner will walk away with a basket of goodies!

Keep an eye on your inbox for some more very exciting news coming soon!

Tracey & Sharon

owners AMQ Festival 2010

Announcing the inaugural Australian Machine Quilting Festival!

2010-02-28T18:05:00.001+10:30

We are thrilled to welcome you to our first newsletter.

Tracey Browning & Sharon Parkinson, have joined together to create an amazing event that will celebrate machine quilting across Australia.

The Australian Machine Quilting Festival is dedicated to providing inspiration, education and encouragement to all machine quilters that own a longarm, midarm and/or a domestic sewing machine.

Come & join us in our new venture to grow & learn about machine quilting!

We will utilise this newsletter/blog to advise you of updates to the website and program for the weekend. So please ensure that you put our email address in your safe senders list.

For now, we would love you to put aside the dates

1st –4th October 2010

and arrange your accommodation to ensure your stay is comfortable and close by.

We look forward to renewing old friendships, making new ones and sharing machine quilting stories with you all.

Tracey Browning & Sharon Parkinson

owners AMQ Festival 2010

AMQ Festival

Tickets for Ricky Tims Seminar

AMQF Staff

Volunteers

Teacher/Class Information

2012 Teacher listing

Ricky Tims

Ricky Tims all day seminar!

AMQA Show 2012

Quilt Challenge

Congratulations to the winners….

A Challenge for everyone to remember!

Quilt Challenge Theme “Memory”

First Prize:

Second Prize:

Third Prize:

Diary Giveaway competition

Technology at its best!

AMQF Announces Major Sponsor

Teaching Opportunities closing soon…

Vendor applications open

Teacher class submissions now open!

Submissions will close on 30th September 2011.

Progress Report

Update on Quilting Roster

Quilting Roster

AMQF photo DVD is ready!

AMQF Wrap Up

It’s all over…

28th September – 1st October 2012

Glorious weather forecast for Festival!

Appointments for Electrical Tagging

Entry to quilt show & vendor mall

Class requirements lists

Electrical Equipment Must Be Tagged!

We are back online!

Online Registrations closing

Banquet

Registrations closing!

Breaking news….

Congratulations to Rachelle Denneny

Quick Quarter Demos

Banquet

15 days to go..

How true this is!!

A Give-away for everyone!

REMINDER!

Class requirements lists

Countdown to Festival – less than 3 Wks to go!

Eye Candy to see…

Thread Dimensions, Adding Texture to Quilting

BONUS for attendees!!

Statler Owners invitation

AMQA Members Get Together

Class updates

Kimberley

Accommodation options

Banquet & Accommodation

More classes for everyone…

Be your own Virtuoso

Important information for Students

AMQF Information book now available!

Class change:

Very own Virtuoso with Helen Stubbings

Do the Zentangle® … would you like to??

Do the Zentangle ® and create beautiful background fillers for your quilts - Basic starter class

New Class available!

Class 251:Thread Dimensions, Adding Texture to Quilting

Group Discounts

Classes Reopened!!

New Class available!

Classes & Volunteers

Update on class availability…

Class full already!

Registrations are OPEN!

Please remember you are responsible for your own schedule.

Registration time is almost here!

Not long now…

How to Register for Classes

Registration opens July 12, 2010 at 9:00am. Online Registration closes September 17, 2010. Mail-in Registrations must be postmarked before September 1, 2010.

Registration opens July 12, 2010 at 9:00am.
Online Registration closes September 17, 2010.
Mail-in Registrations must be postmarked before September 1, 2010.