"Not Fade Away 2015: Sharing Quilt Stories In The Digital Age"

I'm sharing the press release for the upcoming event, "Not Fade Away":  Sharing Quilt Stories In The Digital Age".  I'll be offering a labeling workshop (times two!) with Michele Muska and would love to see you there!  And to sweeten the deal:  "Sacred Threads", which debuts on July 10th at the same location as the conference, will be open for attendees to visit!

Read on......

Quilt history isn't over. Every time a new quilt is made, another chapter of quilt history is written -- or at least it should be. The nonprofit Quilt Alliance teaches quiltmakers, quilt collectors and quilt lovers everywhere how to record history as it happens.

This summer, the Alliance will conduct its second conference on the oral history of quilts, full of up-to-the-minute techniques and inspiring projects. Not Fade Away: Sharing Quilt Stories in the Digital Age will be held on Saturday, July 18 in Herndon, Virginia, near Washington, D.C. The conference, sponsored by eQuilter.com, Sacred Threads and the International Quilt Study Center & Museum, will feature lectures, workshops, networking opportunities and more. 

Attendees from our 2013 Not Fade Away conference said: 

"Information shared, inspiration invoked, comfort and ease of facilities all came together."

"Combining the conference with a quilt show was a wonderful idea and helped my decision to attend."

"I loved the entire conference. This was the first Quilt Alliance conference that I have attended, and I was blown away by the professionalism and collegial atmosphere. The presentations were top-knotch and I will definitely attend other QA events when I am able to."

"My experience was outstanding! I thought the facilities were ideal, the staff was most gracious & cordial, the online registration process was easy & was handled beautifully."

This year's conference features a packed day-long program on Saturday, July 18, as well as an optional Friday night program. A two-day pass to the conference costs $75 for Quilt Alliance members and $90 for non-members (annual membership starts at $25/year). One-day passes are also available, as well as packages that include a fundraising dinner on Saturday evening.

A ticket to Friday evening's program includes a welcome mixer with appetizers and non-alcoholic drinks, a preview of the Sacred Threads exhibition, and an exciting night of video previews and a special presentation of the work of Donna Sue Groves, founder of the first Quilt Barn Trail in Adams County, Ohio. Filmmaker Julianne Donofrio will preview her film, Pieced Together and answer questions about how she put together funding for this documentary about "How quilt square trails changed America - and saved Donna Sue's life after job loss and breast cancer."

Admission to Saturday's full day program includes coffee and danish breakfast, a boxed lunch, and a full day of workshops, discussions and informal networking sessions on oral history and documentation techniques, challenges and successes. Conference registration includes one-day admission to Sacred Threads, an international exhibition of quilts exploring themes of spirituality, joy, inspiration, peace/brotherhood, grief and healing.

  

Marin Hanson will give the keynote address "One Hundred Good Wishes Quilts: Commemorating and Documenting Adoptions from China" about the tradition of American families making a special kind of quilt to celebrate and commemorate their children's adoption from China.

Shoshana (on left) and Anna (on right) Levin showing off their One Hundred Good Wishes Quilts made by their mom, Michele Levin. Photo courtesy Michele Levin.

Marin Hanson

 Marin Hanson is the Curator of Exhibitions at the International Quilt Study Center & Museum (IQSCM) at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL). She holds undergraduate degrees from Grinnell College and Northern Illinois University and earned her MA in museum studies and textile history with a quilt studies emphasis from UNL. Marin has served on the board of the Quilt Alliance since 2009.

Saturday's program will also include a panel discussion titled 

Using the Family Tree to Piece Together the Story of a Quilt. 

Panelists include Gloria Comstock, Michelle Flamer, Kyra Hicks, Mary Holton Robare and Mary Worrall.

The Alliance's newest video oral history project, Go Tell It at the Quilt Show! as well as the Quilters' S.O.S. - Save Our Stories project (launched in 1999), will also be demonstrated. Quiltmakers whose work will appear in the Sacred Threads Exhibition will be interviewed for this short-format video documentation project during the lunch break.

Conference attendees will choose two workshops from the following topics:

• Self-Publishing for Quilters with Kyra Hicks.
• Label It. Today! with Leslie Tucker Jenison and Michele Muska.
• Create Your Own Adventure: Using the Q.S.O.S. Project Database with Christine Humphrey
• How to Conduct Q.S.O.S. Interviews with Pauline Macaulay and Emma Parker 
• Untapping the records and resources of the Quilt Index with Mary Worrall
   

The conference will close on Saturday evening with a dinner to honor outgoing Quilt Alliance president Meg Cox at Amphora Diner Deluxe in Herndon. Meg will share both the story of her life with quilts and some of the most meaningful quilts in her collection, like the one pictured below made by Meg's mother, Jo Cox. 

Quilt Alliance President Meg Cox

Those unable to make the trip to Herndon for the Not Fade Away conference can attend virtually by purchasing a Not Fade Away Home Ticket, which will provide them with online access to video footage of the event after the conference closes. The cost of a Home Ticket is $15 for Quilt Alliance members and $20 for non-members.

Discounts for groups of ten or more are available. Contact Debby Josephs for more information at admin@quiltalliance.org or 828-251-7073.

Not Fade Away attendees can also take advantage of a Museum Bus Tour on Friday, July 17 (9:00 am - 5:00 pm). The tour will stop at three museums, and participants will get to see special exhibits at each, including the DAR Museum's "Eye on Elegance" show. This trip is offered by Sacred Threads and tickets are $75/person. Information and ticket sales for the bus tour can be found here: http://sacredthreadsquilts.com/html/bustour.html

The Not Fade Away conference is made possible by support from these generous sponsors:

 

Seating for the conference is limited so early registration is encouraged. Not Fade Away conference details and online registration can be found on the Quilt Alliance website here: http://www.allianceforamericanquilts.org/support/NFA2015tickets.php.