One month to go...

To all you wonderful Blue Mountains quilters out there - it's just one month to go until entries close for our 2017 quilt show.

We classify the Blue Mountains region from Penrith to Bathurst over to Windsor. Or if you aren't in this area but you are a student of one our clever Blue Mountains teachers, or perhaps you get your quilts quilted by a Blue Mountains quilter you're eligible to enter quilts too. We simply ask that you have a connection with the Blue Mountains in some way. 

If there's anyone who's not sure about entering their quilts remember it's a great way to help raise money for the Blue Mountains Rural Fire Service. With all the hot weather and catastrophic weather conditions we've been having it's good to know we have a great RFS watching over us. For me, I know that if there was a fire I couldn't hold one of those big hoses in front of a wall of flames, but what I can do is be part of a show that raises money that assists the people who do.

We also donate money and supplies to the Springwood High School textiles department ensuring future generations of sewers and quilters.

If you are shy about sharing your quilts please be assured that you don't need to be. Our show is non-juried so you don't have to feel as though your quilts will be judged. We only ever hear the most positive comments about the quilts on show.

I've heard some people say they don't think their quilt is good enough. Phooey!!! Every quilt is beautiful whether it's a simple patchwork of squares or a complicated applique quilt, modern, art or traditional, table runner, mini or a big quilt etc. We believe it's the variety of different quilts that make an exhibition of quilts so wonderful and interesting to see.

You can enter up to 3 quilts so if you have already entered one why not pick out a couple more to enter. They don't have to be your most recent quilts, we'd love to see your old favourites too.

You'll find the link for the online entry form on the right hand side column. We have the easiest and most straight forward forms to fill out and use. We don't require photos and it's free to enter!
If you prefer not to use an online form you can print a form out and send it to us at the address provided.

If you have any questions simply let us know by emailing springwoodquiltshow@hotmail.com.

We look forward to receiving your wonderful entries! Remind all your quilter friends to enter their quilts too.

Entry Form Tips - Copyright Consent

How are you going at filling out your entry forms?

In our previous post we talked about writing descriptions for our quilt entries. This week I thought we should mention Copyright Consent.

In our terms and agreements we ask that entrants must obtain any necessary copyright consents to exhibit their quilts and publish photos. 

Don't worry - It's not as scary as it sounds. Most quilts don't need copyright consent.

It is NOT necessary to have permission to display and publish a quilt made from a commercially available pattern, including a quilt kit, Block of the Month or a quilt pattern from within a magazine or book. 

That pretty much covers most quilts that are made other than those designed by the entrant.

In other words if you haven't designed the quilt yourself and it does not fall into one of the above categories then you are required to obtain copyright consent from the original source, that could be a designer or museum. You can email or write them a letter.

If you have any questions about this or need need clarification email us at springwoodquiltshow@hotmail.com. 

It's as easy as that. 

So if you haven't already picked out your quilts that you want to show this year, now is a good time to get them out, measure them up and enter them using our online form or print a form out and send it to the address provided. It's exciting to think of all the wonderful quilts that we'll be seeing in just a couple of months time at the show. 

Tips for writing a quilt description

As we're all measuring up our quilts in preparation to fill out entry forms for the upcoming show I thought we could have some blog posts about entering quilts and filling out entry forms.

I know from chatting with others that a stumbling block when filling out the entry form for some people is the Description section. This is the blurb that is printed on the white card that hangs on the quilt that tells veiwers about the quilt. It can be hard to write about your own work or to think of what details to include. The simple trick is to remember what information you like to read when you see other peoples quilts.

Here are some suggestions of things you can include in your descriptions:

Inspiration - What inspired you to make the quilt? Was it a particular fabric? An antique quilt,  a photo or even a song?
Is the quilt the result of class/workshop or a special pattern.
Did you make the quilt for a special occasion  - to welcome a baby, celebrate an anniversary or birthday.
Did you design the quilt yourself? - once again what were you inspired by
Talk about the techniques you used to make the quilt.
Does the quilt feature a special element to look out for?
You can even get creative and write your description as a poem.

Once you have thought of the information you'd like to include in your description now the trick is to limit it to 275 characters. To save you counting each letter yourself you can use a free online charter counter such as this one. It will tell you the number of characters as you write and it's easy to edit. Once you are happy with your description you can simply copy and paste what you have written into the online form or write it onto a printed form.

Hopefully some of these tips will make it easier to write your descriptions. If you have any tricks or tips about writing quilt descriptions please share them with everyone by writing them in the comments.