I belong to a new and small homemakers group. To make money so we can give to special needs projects, we have decided to try and have a small quilt show in February. We have secured a building and we are in the process of gathering and seeing what kind of old and new quilts we have available to show. Do you think it would be o.k. to show quilt tops? I have several I have pieced, but not quilted. Also, any input or suggestions you might have would be greatly appreciated. We hope to have at least 50 quilts, quilt tops and Swedish Embroidery afghans to show. We don't want to sell any patterns because of copyright stuff, but would it be o.k. to print some off that are free and give them away?

Our County has a show every year and there is a special catagory just for tops that have not been quilted. (My sister took second place last year.) I say go for it. It may inspire someone. Also it may inspire the person who made it, to finish it up.

I like your name. Makes me think of the movie "Night at the Museum".

Many of the free pattern sites have stipulations on the distribution of their patterns. They want you to visit their websites afterall. I would honor their requests and if they say it's okay to print their patterns for distribution to others, I would include their web address and any conditions they require for use of the pattern so others are aware of them (e.g., you cannot sell the pattern and you cannot kit the pattern and sell the kit). Good luck with your show!!

I didn't realize that. I will sure check before I do that. Don't want to get into trouble our first time out.

What about raising money by selling some of the quilt tops? Is that possible - or to offer, for a fee, of course, to quilt the tops for the people who'd want to pay for that service?

Well, we are a group that when we do something that turns out good, it was such a magnificent feat, that we don't want to part with anything. One lady has a Civil War Quilt made from actual uniform fabric. She bought an old house, was remodeling and found it in the attic. It will have to go into a glass case.

Instead of copying patterns, how about putting together a list of links related to quilting? There are tons out there.

Good idea. Keep them coming.

This is what I was going to suggest :D:D:D

List sites with free patterns/tutorials . Maybe a section with some ideas for smaller beginner projects?

YouTube for free tutorials: maybe suggest certain key words for doing the searches ex: rotary cutting, piecing, 1/4" or scant 1/4" seams, paper/foundation piecing, sandwiching, basting quilt sandwiches, binding, applique (adding needle turned, raw edge, machine stitched) etc... Many people still do no know how to do internet searches :wink: or may pick up a tip or two to add to what they already know :D

A display board with pictures of different quilts, identifying the different blocks, techniques : tube quilting, Kaleidoscope, applique, etc... and have someone knowledgeable standing by it to answer questions and hand out the flyers with the web site info on it.

Maybe display some small quilted beginner's projects? Potholders, wall hangings, sewing machine covers, etc... to get their feet wet.

I think you can legally display any quilting patterns that you all have, you aren't selling them, altering them or anything... you are just displaying them as exmples for the public to view, showing them different quilt patterns and color ways.
It would be fun if you could display a pattern with several different quilts in different fabrics, quilting styles, to show the public too. Especially if it is an older pattern :D:D:D

If your LQS has a newsletter that might be good too. Or if your quild has one.

I don’t know if you’d have enough time to get this done by your show date, but you might want to try. One of the local guilds here made what they call a “Touch-Me Quilt” that they hang at all their shows. It was done so that visitors could touch and examine a quilt and see exactly how all the different parts are made. The guild members made up 16 different blocks, each representing a different technique or style of quilting (pieced, appliqué, set in seams, curves, Seminole, etc). Each of the four borders is also different, as are sections of the binding/finishing edge. The entire right side is left open so visitors can see the inside and on that row the quilt is tied. The paper is even left on one of the paper pieced blocks. It’s a giant sampler, not just of blocks, but of methods, techniques, styles, and quilting.

There have been a lot of positive comments from visitors and the quilt has answered many questions for quilters and non-quilters alike. The monitors frequently take a visitor to this quilt to show them the answer to a question rather than just trying to explain something that cannot really be seen and touched otherwise. Even when it’s not at shows, it helps answer questions that guild members may have. Not all of us know everything about every technique after all! It’s a great group learning project just to make one!

I love the idea of a "touch me" quilt. What a great learning tool.

Awesome suggestion ghostrider!!! :D:D:D

A special Christmas corner is a nice feature, with special pieced ornaments with each member putting her name on one. We set up an artificial tree, at several shows--created good feedback. the old one

I know some of the links to free patterns, can someone please put some on this page for me. I especially like www.fatcatpatterns.com and www.withthreadandneedle.com, Nancy has a bom.

Thanks

If you enter 'free patterns' in the search function you will find a ton of them. Most are under the Links and Resources section of the board. :-D

Another idea for quilt tops is to display all of them on a bed frame (or something rigged up to resemble a bed). At various times during the show, two members can uncover the quilts, one at a time, telling something interesting about the quilt. At our guild, we call this a "bed turning". Good luck with your show!

When our guild has a show, the members bring orphan blocks, and small quilted objects to sell, raffle off a quilt and also bring discarded/unwanted back issues of quilt magazines to either give away or sell for a very small amount.