Machine quilt show to tell stories

Every quilt tells a story. Some stories are of the process of putting it all together. Some are of the inspiration that sparked the idea. Some are of the people who made it or for whom it was made.

There are stories of interesting embellishment techniques, of colorful fabric combinations, of time shared with other quilters, of personal challenges met.

The stories are different for every quilt, says Jennifer Pond, event manager for the Home Machine Quilting Show, which will be held at the South Towne Exposition Center Thursday through Saturday. And that's the theme for this year: "Every Quilt Has a Story."

Although many people still do beautiful hand-quilting, this show focuses on machine quilting, which is one of the fastest growing segments of the quilt world, she says. Now in its seventh year, HMQS offers classes on a variety of quilting topics, a judged quilt competition with $24,000 in cash awards and prizes, a Vendor Mall with 200 booths, free demonstrations and "make & take" projects, and about 500 quilts on display.

Special evening activities include the Thursday evening awards ceremony, with entertainment by quilter and cowgirl poet Yvonne Hollenbeck; a Friday Night Shopping Frenzy, which offers lots of deals and sales; and a Friday night concert by award-winning musical group Joshua Creek.

On Saturday, at 12:30 p.m., there will be a live auction of quilts made as part of the 200 Riley Blake Designs Fabric Challenge. All proceeds from the auction will go to PJ's Forgotten Children, a nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing comfort, joy and dignity to children who parents suffer from mental illness. PJ's Forgotten Children is the official 2010 HMQS show charity. Admission to the auction is free.

In addition to the display of judged quilts submitted by quilters from all over the state, there will be several special exhibits, including:

Mini Quilts: These 12x12-inch quilts were created by an online community of quilters from all over the country. Members submit a word, either abstract or concrete in nature — such as "peace," "sandstone," "frog" or "comfort" — and then quilters use their own creative approaches to make a mini-quilt. For more information, visit www.twelveby12.org

Storybook Quilts: For the past 15 years Corey Kunde, who lives in Midvale, has combined her love of quilting with her love of children's books and designed quilts around some of her favorite stories.