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Clarendon Hills quilter exhibiting work in international competition
Updated: August 20, 2012 6:05AM
Gail Heneghan of Clarendon Hills has been selected as a semifinalist for the 2012 AQS Quilt Show & Contest, Aug. 22-25, at the DeVos Place Convention Center in Grand Rapids, Mich.
Heneghan has been chosen to display the quilt Rhythms in Blues, along with 357 others in the first year of this annual contest. Three quilting authorities judge this elite group in Grand Rapids, awarding first, second and third place prizes in five categories, along with five overall awards. Winners will be announced prior to the opening of the show, at 8:40 a.m. Aug. 22 in the Exhibit Hall at the DeVos Place Convention Center.
Cash awards totaling more than $44,000 will be granted, with prizes including $10,000 for the Best of Show and $5,000 each for the Best Hand, Machine, and Longarm Workmanship. Regardless of how Rhythms in Blues places in the final judging, all semifinalists’ quilts will be displayed at the show, which is expected to draw more than 20,000 people.
Quilts were entered in this international contest from 40 states and six other countries. The quilt artists employ a wide variety of techniques and design methods ranging from traditional designs, such as the Log Cabin and Lone Star, to original painted and embellished motifs.
Some of the special exhibits featured along with the contest quilts include the U.S. debut of Stitch Like an Egyptian-Tentmakers of Cairo; Japanese Color and Form-New Works by Fifty Japanese Artists; Spontaneity in Medallion Quilts curated by Gwen Marston; The Magical World of Mary Buvia; Home is Where the Heart Is challenge by the Alliance for American Quilts; AQS Authors’ Exhibit; New Quilts from an Old Favorite: Baskets; 2013 Pilgrim/Roy Challenge; and Alzheimer’s Illustrated: From Heartbreak to Hope.
The American Quilter’s Society hosts four shows annually, each with its own quilt contest. Besides the Grand Rapids show, AQS hosts other prestigious shows in Paducah, Ky.; Des Moines, Iowa; and Lancaster, Pa.
